Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 33

Repository:

German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library

Extent:

0.3 linear feet (1 volume/box + 6 folders)

Language:

German

Preferred Citation:

Frederick W. Haussmann scrapbook, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania

Date:

circa 1921-1925

Creator:

Haussmann, Frederick W., 1868-1929

Form:

Clippings (information artifacts), Manuscripts, American--20th century, Manuscripts, German--20th century, Obituaries, Programs (documents), and Scrapbooks

Abstract:

Scrapbook kept by Frederick W. Haussmann, from approximately 1921 to 1925, related to his recreational and volunteer activities in Philadelphia, especially concerning the United Singers of Philadelphia (Vereinigte Sänger von Philadelphia), an umbrella organization of German-American choral societies, and the related regional group, Nordöstlicher Sängerbund, as well as the charitable organization Hilfsfond, which raised funds for humanitarian aid to Germany following the First World War. The volume also includes a section devoted to obituary clippings on German Americans in Haussmann's milieu.

Born in or near Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany, on 9 December 1868, Frederick W. (Friedrich Wilhelm) Haussmann immigrated to the United States with his family as a nine-year-old [1]. He resided in Philadelphia and became a pharmacist, graduating from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy around 1890. He worked in the drug store of Christian Weiss located at 6th Street and Girard Avenue. He went on to manage the store, and became its owner in 1918, following Weiss's death.

Haussmann was an active member of the Philadelphia choral society Allemania Gesang-Verein, which he joined in 1900. In 1910 he became secretary of the umbrella organization of Philadelphia singing societies known as the United Singers of Philadelphia (Vereinigte Sänger von Philadelphia), and, at the same time, corresponding secretary of the related regional group Nordöstlicher Sängerbund (Northeastern Saengerbund) [2]. In 1919 he became president of the United Singers; at the time of his death he was honorary president, according to the group's memorial resolutions honoring him [3].

Haussmann joined the German Society of Pennsylvania in 1911, and served as Vice-President from 1923 until his death. He was also the treasurer of the charitable organization Hilfsfond (Philadelphia, Pa.), from December 1919 until around 1925.

In one newspaper report Haussmann is referred to as hailing from the city of Stuttgart [2]. His hometown may have been Urach, Württemberg, about 50 kilometers south of Stuttgart, where he died in July 1929 during a visit in Germany. In memorial resolutions honoring him, Allemania Gesang-Verein refers to his having passed away in his "Swabian home" (schwäbischen Heimat) [3].

Footnotes

[1] "F. W. Haussmann 55 Jahre alt," Philadelphia Tageblatt, 9 December 1923. Clipping in the present collection, Frederick W. Haussmann scrapbook, p. 61.

[2] "F.W. Haussmann, Präsident der Ver. Sänger von Philadephia," ca. 29 May 1922, Philadephia Tageblatt[?], clipping in the present collection, Frederick W. Haussmann scrapbook, p. 26.
[3] Memorial resolutions upon the death of Frederick W. Haussmann, 1929. Ms. Coll. 18, Horner Library, German Society of Pennsylvania.

The collection consists of a scrapbook kept by Frederick W. Haussmann, from approximately 1921 to 1925, related to his recreational and volunteer activities in Philadelphia, especially concerning the United Singers of Philadelphia (Vereinigte Sänger von Philadelphia), an umbrella organization of German-American choral societies, and the related regional group, Nordöstlicher Sängerbund, as well as the charitable organization Hilfsfond, which raised funds for humanitarian aid to Germany following the First World War. The volume also includes a section devoted to obituary clippings on German Americans in Haussmann's milieu.

The scrapbook contains primarily newspaper clippings, with occasional programs for events tipped in. The articles are mostly in German, frequently from the Philadelphia Gazette-Demokrat or the Philadelphia Tageblatt; scattered articles are in English. Haussmann often adds headings by hand, providing information such as the sources, dates, and/or authors of articles; or the names and locations of events, including street addresses of halls. In the section of obituary clippings Haussmann also writes additional notes about the people.

The volume is a commercially sold blank book designed for filing invoices, with pre-printed page numbers, and alphabetical tab pages at the front. On the inside front cover is a label reading: "The 'Standard' Invoice Book, No. 876, 500 pages." The word "Invoices" appears on the upper spine, and the number "500," at the bottom of the spine. The pages measure 11-1/2 by 17 inches, and the volume is about 3-1/2 inches thick.

Due to its size as well as its condition, the scrapbook requires very careful handling. The leaves of the book are brittle and fragile around the margins. Since clippings have often been pasted all the way to the edge of the page, some fragments have been lost.

Many loose clippings, dating from 1924 to 1925, were found laid in the book. The loose clippings have been photocopied onto acid-free paper and are stored separately in six folders.

Clippings are pasted down on about two-fifths of the pages, in four groupings, or sections, with many blank leaves separating them. In the alphabetical tab pages Haussmann makes only four entries, corresponding to the four observable sections of the book, with the page number on which each begins. In the order in which the topics occur in the book, they are:

1) the Vereinigte Sänger von Philadephia (United Singers of Philadelphia), p. 6 [to 101]

2) the Hilfsfond, Philadelphia, p. 295 [i.e. 294; to 333]

3) the Nordöstlicher Sängerbund (Northeastern Saengerbund), p. 400 [to 434]

4) obituaries of John B. Mayer [and other German Americans in Haussmann's circle], p. [480 to 488].

(With regard to the obituaries, only Mayer's name is listed in the index.)

Haussmann was president of the United Singers of Philadelphia at the time that he kept the scrapbook, and he notes at the beginning of the first section that the clippings are a continuation of the records of that group ("Fortsetzung vom Protokollbuch der Ver[einigten] Sänger von Phila[delphia] Seite 364"; p. 6). (See the separate collection, United Singers of Philadelphia records.)

Similarly, the clippings related to the Hilfsfond, of which Haussmann was treasurer at the time, are a substantial supplement to that organization's records, including reports of its meetings, with treasurer's accounts, that were published in the newspaper. (See the separate collection, Hilfsfond records.)

The book documents meetings and peformances related to singing societies mainly in Philadelphia, but also includes articles pertaining to singing festivals in other places such as Reading, Pa. (p. 54-55); Riverside, N.J. (p. 80-81), and Brooklyn, N.Y. (p. 24-27). Articles on singing events in New York City and Buffalo, N.Y., and Waterbury, Conn., are found among the loose clippings.

Among scattered other topics: two fliers bearing the 19th and 20th annual report (1923-1924) of the American Theatre Realty Company (assets including the theater building at Franklin and Girard; p. 62, 92); and clippings on the Deutsch-Amerikanischer Zentral-Bund von Pennsylvanien (p. 332; Folder 6).

The United Singers of Philadelphia sometimes gave concerts for charitible causes, and, like the Hilfsfond, raised money for humanitarian aid to Germany following the First World War (see, for example, clippings on a concert to benefit the work of the American Friends Service Committee in 1921, p. 12-13; and a charitable concert at the Academy of Music in 1923, p. 43-44). Also related to the aftermath of the First World War are articles about the United Singers' resolving to send a letter to President Warren G. Harding and the Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes protesting the occupation of the Ruhr valley area of Germany by French troops (p. 46-47).

Another notable thread through the book are articles related to German Day celebrations, in 1921 in New York (p. 306-307); and in Philadelphia in 1922 (p. 313-314), 1923 (p. 58-60, 320-321), and 1924 (p. 82-88).