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Start Over Repository Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library Year 1940 to 1944

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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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Independence Seaport Museum collection of Pennsylvania Nautical School material, 1900-2009 (bulk) 1859-2009 (inclusive)

Extent:
8.5 linear feet
Abstract:
The Pennsylvania Nautical School was formed in 1889 by the Pennsylvania State Legislature to meet the nation's demand for trained seamen. For 58 years cadets were instructed by U.S. Navy officers in the arts of navigation, marine engineering and seamanship to prepare them for careers in the maritime trades and professions. In 1942 the school was renamed the Pennsylvania Maritime Academy (based in Morrisville, Pennsylvania) and in 1947 the Academy closed. Between 1889 and 1947, close to 2000 cadets graduated from the program. Ships retired from the Navy were retrofitted into schoolships. The Nautical School taught aboard five different ships over its 58 year history: Sloop of War USS Saratoga (1889-1907); Screw Bark USS Adams (1907-1914); Gunboat USS Annapolis (1919-1942); Cutter Keystone State, ex USCG Seneca (1942-1946); and Attack Cargo Ship USS Keystone State II, ex. USS Selinur (1946-1947). In 1940 the Light Cruiser USS Omaha and the Ammunition Ship USS Pyro were hosts to...(see more)

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

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John E. Hand & Sons Co. records, 1865-2002, undated [bulk dates: 1900-1980]

Extent:
26.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The John E. Hand & Sons Company was founded in Philadelphia in 1873. The Hand Company built navigational equipment for all varieties of floating vessels, and operated a chain of retail outlets with “service stations” in numerous port cities, including Baltimore and New Orleans, until 1956. Service stations sold Hand instruments as well as other nautical paraphernalia and provided compass adjusting services. The collection documents the business activities of the John E. Hand & Sons Company from its institution in 1873 to 1997, when the company was sold. The collection boasts a wide breadth of material that includes legal documents, financial records, patents, correspondence, contracts, reports, catalogs and other ephemera, photographs, and engineering plans. Together, the records provide a thorough account of the firm’s operations.

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

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John H. Mathis Company records, 1919-1987 (inclusive)

Extent:
195.0 linear feet (43 containers, 12 flat file drawers [includes 2,480-2,760 drawings])
Abstract:
Founded in 1870 by John H. Mathis and W.W. Reynolds, by the time of its 1913 incorporation, the John H. Mathis Company was an already established and well-represented shipbuilding firm in the maritime world. Located at Point and Erie Streets in Camden, New Jersey, the Mathis Company built and repaired yachts, river steamers, tugs, barges, car floats, ships and other varieties of floating vessels for private individuals and businesses as well as the Navy and Coast Guard. During World Wars I and II, a variety of ships were built, including minesweepers, transports, Coast Guard Cutters, and ferries. Of note, was the presidential yacht Sequoia, which was built by Mathis Yacht Building Company as a separate but allied venture at the Mathis shipyard in 1910. The Mathis Shipyard closed in 1961. The Mathis Shipyard was later used by the firm Camden Ship Repair. The John H. Mathis Company records, which date from 1919 to 1987, consists of business records, correspondence,...(see more)

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

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Marvin Rosefield Keck papers, 1916-1920 (bulk) 1916-1972 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.25 linear feet
Abstract:
Marvin Rosefield Keck, (1895-1971) was a musician who served in World War I in Admiral Niblack’s Flagship Band of the Mediterranean Fleet on the Flagship Olympia. The Marvin Rosefield Keck papers, which date from 1916 to 1972, consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence, diaries, drawings, photographs, scrapbooks, and unpublished writings. The collection covers Keck's experience in World War I as a band member in the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. Olympia and his experience in the American Legion band in South Dakota after World War I.

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

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Thomas D. Bowes M.E., Associates records, 1904-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
129.5 linear feet (95 containers [includes approximately 5764 rolled plans])
Abstract:
In 1905, Thomas D. Bowes (1883-1965) founded the naval architecture firm of Thomas D. Bowes, M.E., Associates Inc. From 1905 to 1965, the Bowes firm functioned as part of a large network of ship design and building companies along Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront, which included the John H. Mathis Company, which built many of Bowes’ designs, and RTC Shipbuilding Company. Bowes designed vessels of all sizes, from small sail boats to 300 foot barges; and for all purposes, receiving contracts for leisure, business and military vessels. More specifically, Bowes designed over eighty tugboats, several of Philadelphia’s fireboats and over 300 yachts, which were mostly commuter and houseboat yachts. He also designed and patented the Bowes Drive, an electric device for the reduction of speed between the engine and drive shafts in marine installations. Overall, “Tugboat Tom,” as he was known, designed over 800 vessel plans. The Thomas D. Bowes, M.E., Associates records, 1904-1980,...(see more)

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

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Albert Family Papers., 1855-1954 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.63 linear feet
Abstract:
This collection focuses on one family’s multi-generational U.S. Naval service during the Civil War and World War II. Additionally, there is small but significant focus on one family member’s involvement with the 1876 Centennial Exhibition.

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

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George Sproule papers, 1884-1944 (bulk) 1784-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.16 linear feet (3 boxes, 17 volumes)
Abstract:
George F. Sproule (1867-1928), known as an authority on the Port of Philadelphia, served on the Board of Port Wardens of Philadelphia from 1884 to 1907, as Secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Navigation for the Delaware River from 1907 to 1920, and as Director of Wharves, Docks and Ferries from 1920 to 1928. His son, Samuel Jackson Sproule served as Port Representative for the United States Shipping Administration, Recruitment and Manning Organization during World War II. This collection documents the professional life of George F. Sproule in the Philadelphia shipping and maritime industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the history of the Port of Philadelphia, and the World War II career of his son. The collection includes clippings, correspondence, appointment books, a scrapbook, business records, photographs, ephemera, and writings. The collection also includes a large number of maritime-related newspaper clipping volumes dating from 1891 to 1928.

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

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Independence Seaport Museum collection on New York Shipbuilding Corporation, 1919-1964 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.5 linear feet (4 containers, 1 volume)
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 collection houses small caches of documentation relating to the history and operations of the New York Shipbuilding Corporation from 1919 to 1964. Of note, is an oversized scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the New York Shipbuilding...(see more)

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

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