Year: <span class="from" data-blrl-begin="1750">1750</span> to <span class="to" data-blrl-end="1799">1799</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

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]

Ogden and Cuthbert family papers, 1760-1830 (bulk) 1750-1906 (inclusive)

Extent:: 17.0 volumes and [1 box]
Abstract:: The Odgen and Cuthbert families joined when Anthony Cuthbert (1751-1832) married Mary Ogden (1770-1862) in 1799. Both families had strong connections to the rivers of Philadelphia. The Ogden and Cuthbert family papers consist largely of financial records (receipt, invoice and account books) of Joseph Ogden, his son George, and his son-in-law Anthony Cuthbert.

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

Anne Hampton Brewster papers, 1845-1892 (bulk) 1777-1892 (inclusive)

Extent:: 28.0 containers
Abstract:: Anne Hampton Brewster (1818-1892) was an American novelist, journalist and foreign correspondent who defied contemporary conceptions of womanhood and society during the nineteenth century. The papers date from 1777 to 1892, with the majority of the materials dating from 1845 to 1892. The materials primarily consist of diaries, journals, commonplace books, correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes about her writings and drafts of her writings. The materials document Anne Hampton Brewster’s personal life with friends and family, and they document her professional life as a journalist and writer.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Dillwyn and Emlen family correspondence, 1770-1818 (inclusive)

Extent:: 7.0 containers
Abstract:: The Dillwyn and Emlen family was joined in 1795 when Susanna Dillwyn married Samuel Emlen, Jr. Both the Dillwyn and Emlen families were prominent in early America as Quakers and advocates for abolition. This collection consists of five disbound volumes of letters written to and from William Dillwyn of London and his daughter Susanna Dillwyn in America from 1770 to 1795; and thereafter until 1818, to and from Susanna and her husband Samuel Emlen, Jr. of Burlington County, New Jersey. Although Susanna lived almost her entire life apart from her father, their letters are frequent and deal primarily with family matters and kin. However, there is frequent comment concerning such topics as yellow fever; abolitionism and slavery; Native Americans; breast cancer; and American and European politics, including the Napoleonic wars and the embargo, as well as their effects upon trade and merchants in Philadelphia and London.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

The professional and personal papers of Edwin Wolf 2nd, 1920-1988 (bulk) 1798-1996 (inclusive)

Extent:: 20.0 linear feet
Abstract:: Edwin Wolf 2nd (1911-1991) was a librarian, bibliophile, author, historian, Franklin scholar, and a civic leader in Philadelphia. Wolf was Curator of the Library Company from 1953 to 1955, and then served as Librarian from 1955 to 1984. During those years, he led the Library Company though a period of rejuvenation, growth, and prosperity. The Edwin Wolf 2nd papers contain correspondence, research files, volumes, publications, photographs, and other records that document the education, career, and personal family life of one of Philadelphia’s most prominent bookmen during the 20th century.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson papers, 1752-1795 (inclusive)

Extent:: 6.0 volumes
Abstract:: Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson (1737-1801), considered to be the outstanding female poet of her place and time, was a leader in the literary world of colonial Pennsylvania and an avid writer, who composed poems, songs, travel accounts and other writings, referencing literature, natural history, religion, politics and current events. This collection consists of six volumes of writings which probably represent all of her work, most of which is unpublished. Researchers interested in Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson, women authors in colonial America and the early United States, or a female commentary on contemporary events will find this collection to be extremely valuable.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Thomas Leiper and family business records, 1771-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:: 47.0 volumes
Abstract:: Thomas Leiper (1745-1825) was introduced into the business of tobacco shortly after his arrival in Virginia in 1763. Within several years, he moved to Philadelphia where he opened a tobacco shop. During the Revolutionary War, Leiper became the principal tobacco provider in Philadelphia. In 1776, Leiper purchased land in Delaware County that included a mill at a waterfall on the Crum Creek. He established snuff mills and later purchased a stone quarry. The Thomas Leiper and family business records include correspondence, country estate records, and business and financial records of the family's paper, lumber and wood working businesses, quarry business, and tobacco business dating from 1771 to 1947.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Logan family papers, 1684-1925 (inclusive)

Extent:: 11.0 linear feet and 10 containers, 62 volumes
Abstract:: The Logan family was prominent in Philadelphia from the start of the province, serving the people in many capacities, including political, medical and literary. This is a collection of manuscripts obtained by the Library Company of Philadelphia that relates to the Logan family. The collection includes papers of the Logan family members Albanus Charles, Algernon Sydney, Deborah Norris, William Jr., and James as well as family materials collected by Frances A. Logan and William Logan Fox. The collection dates from 1684 to 1925 and consists of family papers, correspondence, diaries, writings, medical texts, lecture notes, financial records, poetry, visiting cards, and invitations.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Gerard van Swieten dictata in materia medica, 1733-1756 (inclusive)

Extent:: 8.0 volumes
Abstract:: Gerard van Swieten (1770-1772) was a Dutch-Austrian physician who served as the personal physician to Austrian Empress Maria Theresa in 1745 and transformed the Austrian health services as well as medical university education. This collection consists of eight volumes of medical writings in Latin concerning nutrition, pharmacy, and surgery. Several pages at the beginning of Volume I, and a few pages elsewhere, are translated into English on the facing pages.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Christ Church records, 1695-2016 (inclusive)

Extent:: 200.0 linear feet
Abstract:: Christ Church is an Episcopal church located in the Old City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1695 as a condition of King Charles II of England's 1681 Charter to William Penn, which allowed for the formation of Church of England congregations in Pennsylvania. Several notable Philadelphians attended services at Christ Church including Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, and members of the Continental Congress. Christ Church records, 1695-2016, document Christ Church and its parish and congregation. The records consist of vestry minutes, parish records, accounting and financial records, deeds, architectural drawings, photographs, and audiovisual materials. In addition, there are materials from parish organizations and affiliated institutions such as Christ Church Hospital, Episcopal School, Christ Church Burial Ground, and Christ Church Preservation Trust. A detailed finding aid is available on-site.

Held at: Christ Church Archives [Contact Us]

Patrick Coad family papers, 1798-1888 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet (; 2 boxes)
Abstract:: Patrick Coad (1783-1872), an Irish immigrant who settled in Philadelphia, was the first patentee of a graduated galvanic battery with insulated poles. Touting his battery among other uses as an instrument that helped cure various diseases, Coad’s invention attracted a good deal of attention within the scientific and medical communities. A teacher whose interests focused on medicine and the sciences, Coad also travelled throughout Pennsylvania and the surrounding area as a lecturer on the natural sciences. The collection includes Coad’s correspondence, his lecture and medical notes, and ephemera, such as newspaper clippings, pamphlets and broadsides, publicizing his galvanic battery and lectures. Several of Coad’s family members are also documented through correspondence, ephemera, and estate items, including his son Joseph R. Coad (1829-1868), a prominent Philadelphia physician. A family scrapbook with miscellaneous materials is also included.

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

Martin, Campbell, and Furlong families papers, 1825-1930 (bulk) 1795-1963 (inclusive)

Extent:: 5.2 linear feet (; 13 boxes)
Abstract:: This collection contains papers that document several generations of the Martin, Campbell, and Furlong families with the Martin family receiving the most coverage. To a lesser extent, the Kennedy and Jenkins families, who had strong personal and mercantile ties to the Martin family, are also represented. These interrelated middle class Irish Catholic families from Philadelphia were involved in several prominent industries in the region, including overseas commerce. Devout in their religious beliefs, the families, the Campbells in particular, played a significant role in shaping Catholicity in Philadelphia. Members of the Campbell family were also actively involved in political and social movements of the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries, including the labor movement and women’s suffrage. Distinguished members of these families are represented, including suffragist and writer Sarah Jane Campbell (1844-1928). Items in the collection date from 1795 to 1939 with the majority of...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

Rodrigue family papers, 1770-1875 (bulk) 1770-1975 (inclusive)

Extent:: 4.59 linear feet
Abstract:: Marie Jacques Dominique D’Orlic (1748-1825) was a French colonist and a wealthy planter in St. Domingue, a French colony on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now modern-day Haiti). D’Orlic and his wife and daughter were forced to flee the island during the slave uprisings of the 1790s, and lost their wealth. The D’Orlics eventually landed in Philadelphia by 1795, where D’Orlic served as a trusted advisor to other white refugees from St. Domingue. Jacques Andre Rodrigue (1759-1844) was also a French aristocrat and a wealthy merchant and sugar planter in St. Domingue. Rodrigue lost nearly all his wealth in the slave uprisings of the 1790s and was also forced to flee to Philadelphia, where he settled, married the daughter of D’Orlic, and built another large business as a merchant trading with France. The Rodrigue family papers date from 1770 to 1975, with the bulk of records dating from 1770 to 1875. This collection contains the papers of Jacques Andre Rodrigue (1759-1844) and the...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

Elizabeth Ann Seton letters, 1799-1818 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear feet (; 1 box)
Abstract:: This small collection includes letters from Elizabeth Ann Seton to Matthias and Joseph O’Conway. Matthias, a prominent Philadelphian especially within the Catholic community, was the father of Cecilia O’Conway, Philadelphia’s first nun and the first women to join Seton’s order, the Sisters of Charity. The correspondence is personal in nature and relates to several members of the O’Conway family, particularly Cecilia. Also included is a letter from Elizabeth to her sister-in-law Rebecca Seton regarding members of the Seton family.

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]