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Herbert Welsh collection, 1898-1925 (bulk) 1759-1935, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
59.4 linear feet (; 120 boxes, 14 flat files, 145 volumes)
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of Herbert Welsh, noted political reformer and activist, founder of the Indian Rights Association, editor and publicist, and advocate for the conservation of the forests of Lake Sunapee. The collection also contain papers collected by Herbert Welsh, mostly by his father John Welsh, Philadelphia merchant, U.S. diplomat, and chairman of the International Centennial Exhibition of 1876. The collection spans from 1759 to 1935 with the bulk of the materials covering the years between 1898 and 1925 and includes correspondence, financial files, papers related to Welsh’s interests and activism, broadsides, pamphlets, serials, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and photographs.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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James Wilson papers, 1710-1877, undated; bulk 1775-1794

Extent:
6.4 linear feet (; 16 boxes, 4 volumes, 2 flat files)
Abstract:
James Wilson (1742-1789) was one of Pennsylvania's leading politicians during the nation's founding years. He signed the Declaration of Independence, assisted in drafting the United States Constitution, and was a member of the Continental Congress. Wilson was also one of six men apointment by George Washington to the first Supreme Court of the United States. This collection contains a variety of papers on the early federal government and on James Wilson's business and professional activities. There are copies of drafts of the Constitution and a corrected copy of the same, notes of debates and resolutions in the Constitutional Convention, items on the establishment of the national bank, Wilson's business and personal correspondence, letters of Mary Wilson Hollingsworth, and miscellaneous documents.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Jasper Yeates papers, 1733-1876 (inclusive)

Extent:
19.2 linear feet (; 50 boxes)
Abstract:
Jasper Yeates (1745-1817) was a leading lawyer in Lancaster County and associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; the collection contains his notes on trials, evidence, arguments, depositions, and judicial opinions rendered in numerous legal cases. Making up a large portion of the papers is his personal correspondence with noted men such as Edward Burd, Thomas Hartley, Richard Peters, William Tilghman, and others, which deals with political events, public questions, and congressional and administrative affairs. There is also Yeates's personal correspondence with his wife Sarah Yeates. The collection also contains papers of John Yeates that relate chiefly to commerce and shipping between the Middle Atlantic colonies and Barbados, Antigua, and other islands in the West Indies. Other items include Redmond Conyngham letters and essays, Peter Grubb estate papers and accounts, Jasper Yeates Cunningham family papers, the work Chronology of the History of the...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Mary Elizabeth Hallock Greenewalt papers, 1879-1950 (bulk) 1769-1950, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
18.2 linear feet (39 boxes, 29 volumes, 23 flat files)
Abstract:
Mary Elizabeth Hallock’s arrival in Philadelphia in 1882 at the age of eleven set into motion a forty-year career as a musician, inventor, lecturer, writer and political activist. Born in Beirut, September 8, 1871 to Sara (Tabet) Hallock, descendant of an aristocratic Syrian family, and Samuel Hallock, a U.S. consul, she was educated in Beirut and Philadelphia. A gifted musician, Hallock graduated from Philadelphia’s Musical Academy in 1893, and in 1897 studied piano in Vienna with Theodore Leschetizky. In 1898 in Johnstown, New York, Hallock married Dr. Frank L. Greenewalt, thirty-two years old and a physician-in-chief at Girard College. The Greenewalts had one son, Crawford, born in 1902. Greenewalt, a pianist noted for her interpretation of Chopin, began in the early 1900s to investigate how gradated colored lighting might enhance the emotional expression of music. By 1920 Greenewalt had obtained the first of many patents covering a color organ designed to project a sequence of...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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North American Land Company records, 1765-1904 (inclusive)

Extent:
14.0 linear feet (; 5 boxes, 92 volumes)
Abstract:
Robert Morris (1734-1806), James Greenleaf (1765-1843), and John Nicholson (1757-1800) founded the North American Land Company on February 20, 1795. The North American Land Company was one of the largest land trusts in American history. The land company had 30,000 shares of stock, each valued at $100, and a total of 6 million acres of land in the District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Some of those associated with the company include: James Greenleaf, Robert James, Tobias Lear, Robert Morris, John Nicholson, Benjamin Tilghman, and James Wilson. The North American Land Company was plagued by serious financial difficulties and all three of its founders were sent to debtors’ prison. The North American Land Company remained in existence until 1872. The North American Land Company records include financial and administrative records as well as correspondence, deeds, and shares of the company’s stock from 1793-1898. The...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Nazareth Hall School for Boys account books, 1785-1840 (bulk) 1785-1870 (inclusive)

Extent:
7.0 linear feet (; 112 volumes, 5 boxes)
Abstract:
Nazareth Hall School for Boys was founded by the Moravian Church in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1759. At first, the school only accepted the sons of Moravian clergy, but they opened their enrollment to other boys in the community by 1762. The school was forced to close temoporarily due to financial difficulty in 1779. In 1785, Nazareth Hall re-opened as a boarding school with a revised curriculum that emphasized classical education as well as vocational training and religious instruction. In 1862, students were organized into a uniformed cadet company and military drill was introduced as part of a routine of physical education. Shortly thereafter, Nazareth Hall gained a reputation as a military academy which it mainted until the school's closure in 1929. This collection documents certain aspects of the school's finances, especially the personal billing accounts for certain students and accounts with local craftsmen and laborers who provided services to the school. Also included are...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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The Historical Society of Pennsylvania collection of Civil War papers, 1861-1865 (bulk) 1830-1923 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.1 linear feet (8 boxes, 15 volumes, 4 flat files)
Abstract:
The Civil War papers contain several different types of materials including muster rolls, daily reports, order books, official government documents, personal and official correspondence, and other Civil War ephemera. The bulk of this collection is contained within Series One, which contains documents generated by the military. These provide a glimpse into the logistical planning and book-keeping which the business of war required. Also represented are several civilian organizations and individual persons.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Citizens' Bounty Fund Committee records, 1862-1863 (bulk) 1861-1887, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
9.8 linear feet (22 boxes, 13 volumes)
Abstract:
The Citizens' Bounty Fund Committee records relate to an effort in Philadelphia in 1862 to encourage Union enlistments through the payments of bounties and premiums. The records include the administrative papers of the committee, as well as the enlistment and bounty records of the men who qualified for bounties under the system. Administrative papers include resolutions, committee reports, minutes, and assorted financial papers. The bulk of the collection is volunteer enlistment forms, enlistment affidavits, bounty certificates, muster forms, muster rolls, and lists and statements of bounties and premiums paid.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Simon Gratz papers, 1838-1943 (inclusive)

Extent:
9.0 linear feet (; 19 boxes, 36 volumes)
Abstract:
Correspondence of Simon Gratz, Philadelphia lawyer, autograph collector, and member of the Philadelphia Board of Education, including letters from most of the politically prominent Philadelphians of the period. There is considerable material on the public schools of Philadelphia.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Plumsted family papers, 1702-1890, undated

Extent:
0.8 linear feet (; 2 boxes)
Abstract:
The Plumsted family was a distinguished and prolific Quaker family with connections to several prominent persons in early Philadelphia. The documents in this collection relate to Clement Plumsted, a wealthy Pennsylvania merchant and land owner, and his son William. Both father and son served as mayor of colonial Philadelphia. Last will and testaments, obituaries and financial papers give an outline of various family members and their offspring’s personal affairs and accomplishments. Deeds and land transfer documents describe land holdings on South Front Street, Philadelphia, Warren County, Pennsylvania, and Harrison County, Virginia. Correspondence with the Gore, Elliot and Cathcart families discuss financial, health and personal matters. The family name is spelled both as “Plumsted” and “Plumstead,” in these papers. Correspondence and documents use both spellings and no clear date can be drawn as to when one spelling is used henceforth. It is apparent, however, that the earlier...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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