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Start Over Repository Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library Year 1900 to 1949

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Red D Line records, 1861-1936 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.66 linear feet (12 volumes)
Abstract:
The Red D Line was the main transportation link between the United States and Venezuela from 1820 to 1936. The line took its trade name from the red D on its white flag, which stood for the line's founder, John Dallett, a Philadelphia merchant. Dallett travelled to Venezuela in 1823, where he went into business with the influential Venezuelan merchant, John Boulton. Dallett returned to Philadelphia and set up a business shipping cargoes to Boulton, and in 1838 began chartering sailing vessels to carry his merchandise. The Red D Line records house a sampling of business and financial records of the shipping line from 1861 to 1936. There are twelve volumes.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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RTC Shipbuilding Company records, 1921-1965 (inclusive)

Extent:
8.8 linear feet (21 containers)
Abstract:
In 1940, Leroy M. Robinson (President), George R. Taylor (Vice-president), and John P. Carson (Secretary and Treasurer) formed RTC Shipbuilding Company in Camden, New Jersey. Their initials are the basis for the name of the company. All three men were former executives at J. H. Mathis Company. Subsequent to the death of Robinson and the retirement of Taylor in 1946, Carson became the firm's president and assumed sole ownership. The RTC Shipbuilding Company records evidence the shipbuilding and repairs conducted by this company from 1934 to 1965. The collection also includes an impressive photographic documentation of the daily work performed on the RTC Shipyard. Heavily involved in ships designed for the Navy in World War II, as well as in building fishing vessels in subsequent years, one of the strengths of this collection lies in the hundreds of records found in the “Shipbuilding records” series. The “Photographs” series is also a strength of the collection, with many images of...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Schuylkill Navy records, 1859-2009 (inclusive)

Extent:
50.0 linear feet (121 containers)
Abstract:
The Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia was founded in 1858. It is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States. By charter, "[the Schuylkill Navy’s] object is to secure united action among the several Clubs and to promote amateurism on the Schuylkill River." The Schuylkill Navy records documents the history of this rowing organization from 1859 to 2009. An organization dedicated to hosting rowing events for its member clubs and visiting teams, the collection houses the administrative records of the Schuylkill Navy and its member clubs, including the original founding members as well as clubs that joined the organization later; and records related to the planning and promotion of regattas. In addition, the collection includes an extensive assortment of newspaper clippings and photographs that highlight Schuylkill Navy rowing events and its influential members. The collection contains administrative records, information regarding regattas and member rowing clubs,...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Seamen's Church Institute records., 1919-1998 (bulk) 1828-2000 (inclusive)

Extent:
55.0 linear feet (149 boxes, 30 volumes, 6 flat file folders)
Abstract:
Seamen's Church Institute (SCI) was founded in Philadelphia in 1919 to care for the moral, spiritual, mental and bodily welfare of seamen, and to generally better the conditions surrounding and affecting "men of the sea." It joined ranks with similar organizations that had established a long tradition assisting the merchant marine, going back to the first decade of the nineteenth century when the Bible Society of Philadelphia singled out seamen as important beneficiaries of their work. Over one hundred years later, and in a considerably more ambitious manner than this earliest precursor, SCI set to work providing clean and affordable housing, affordable food, morally sound entertainment, banking, religious services and employment assistance to seamen while in the Port of Philadelphia. The Seamen's Church Institute Records document the business activities of the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) in Philadelphia from 1919 to 2000. The collection boasts a wide breadth of textual...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company records, 1916-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:
26.0 linear feet and 9 boxes 8 volumes 5 oversize drawers 1 drawer
Abstract:
Established in 1916, the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company produced hundreds of ships (primarily tankers and cargo ships) for other companies as well as its own. These included private parties, other oil companies, and, particularly during World War II, the United States Maritime Commission. During World War II, the National Defense Program helped make the Sun shipyard one of the world's biggest producers of oil tankers, with more than 35,000 people working in the shipyard. The yard built more than 250 tankers for the war effort and repaired more than 1,500 ships that were damaged during the conflicts. The company also developed many new building technologies and became known for its use of "All-Welded Construction." The Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company records date from 1916 to 1998 and document the design, construction, and launching of ships built by the organization; the history and promotion of the company; and also the administration of the organization through the...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Thayer family collection, 1892-1986 (inclusive)

Extent:
10.0 boxes
Abstract:
The Thayers were a prominent Philadelphia-area family at the turn of the 20th century. John Borland Thayer, Jr. was a vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad when he died in the sinking of Titanic on April 15, 1912. The Thayer family collection consists of more than 700 items of ocean liner ephemera dating from 1892 to 1986, including postcards, abstracts of logs, advertisements, passenger lists, menus, deck plans, photographs, stationery and baggage tags from ships of more than 40 lines. The collection also includes one of the only extant first class passenger lists from Titanic.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Undine Barge Club records, 1856-1986 (inclusive)

Extent:
35.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The Undine Barge Club records documents the history of this rowing organization from 1856 to 1986. Included in the collection are annual records on membership participation, correspondence, files regarding stewdarship of Castle Ringstetten, and scrapbooks documenting significant Undine Barge Club events. Researchers interested in the history of this organization, or on the history of activity on the Schuylkill River would find this collection useful.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Ward collection of New York Shipbuilding Corporation material, 1954-1967 (bulk) 1919-1969 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.5 linear feet
Abstract:
The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (NYS) was founded in 1899 by Henry G. Morse (1850-1903), who served as the company’s first president. The company held significant government contracts during both World Wars, and built ships for the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Emergency Fleet Corporation as well as the Department of Commerce and Labor. During the 1930s, the company built luxury ocean liners, such as the Manhattan and the Washington for the United States Lines, and also built ships for Pennsylvania Railroad, Reading Railroad, Standard Oil and American Export Lines. During its tenure, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation constructed over 500 ships. NYS completed its last ship in 1967 and went out of business shortly thereafter. The bulk of the collection appears to have been work-related materials used by John F. Ward, a New York Shipbuilding employee in the 1950s and 1960s. The collection includes material from 1919 to 1969, with the...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Edward O. Clark papers, 1860-1985 (bulk) 1830-1995 (inclusive)

Extent:
16.73 linear feet and 25 boxes 2 oversize
Abstract:
Edward O. Clark (1918-1994) was an avid marine historian and photographer who traveled across the country pursuing interesting vessels and ports of call, and documented the vanishing heritage of American steam navigation. This collection houses the personal papers and research materials of Edward O. Clark and contains four series: “I. Photographs, 1835-1995,” “II. Reference files, 1830-1994,” “III. Correspondence, 1943-1991,” and “IV. Index cards, undated.” This collection dates from 1830 to 1995, with bulk dates of 1860 to 1985, and consists of a variety of materials relating to the Delaware River steamship industry, especially the Wilson Line. Specifically, it includes photographic prints, admeasurements, advertisements, albums, clippings, contracts, receipts, catalogs, correspondence, chronologies, ship manifests, negatives, plans and drawings, writings, and other ephemera. This collection thoroughly documents the variety of Delaware River steamships, their operating lines, and...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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Conner family papers, 1832-1856 (bulk) 1832-1856 1816-1903 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.0 folders
Abstract:
Susan Dillwyn Physick was born on June 22, 1803, in Philadelphia, the second of four children. Her parents were Elizabeth Emlen, whose family was one of the wealthiest in Philadelphia, and Philip Syng Physick, the prominent physician. In 1824 she met naval Master-Commandant David Conner, and the two married on June 25, 1828. The Conner family papers consist primarily of 23 journals kept by Susan Dillwyn Physick Conner from 1832 to 1856. The collection also includes her unfinished autobiography with amendments by her son, a scrapbook, two notebooks, two journals by her son, one journal by Philip Conner’s wife, two letters (one by Mary Lewis, one by Philip Conner), three account books, two published books owned by Susan Physick Conner, and notes and drafts by Arthur Hale, Philip Conner’s son-in-law.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

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