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Malta Boat Club records

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Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
1525
Repository:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Extent:
2.92 linear feet (; 7 boxes)
Language:
English
Date:
1870-1912, undated
Creator:
Malta Boat Club (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Abstract:
Established as the Malta Barge Club by members of the Minnehaha Lodge of the Sons of Malta in 1860, Malta Boat Club is an amateur rowing and social club located on Boat House Row in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Malta Boat Club's membership currently includes several prominent Philadelphians from a variety of professions. The Malta Boat Club records, 1870-1912, consist of financial accounts and other business papers, correspondence, lectures on banking, and other materials.

Malta Boat Club is an amateur rowing club located on Boat House Row in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The club was founded as the Malta Barge Club in 1860 by members of the Minnehaha Lodge (Philadelphia) of the Sons of Malta, a fraternal order active in the mid-19th century. The club's colors are royal blue and white and its symbol is the Maltese cross (white cross on a blue, square background). Malta Boat Club's membership currently includes several prominent businessmen, doctors, lawyers, educators, priests, and students. Former members include U.S. boxing and wrestling champions, a congressman, a Philadelphia district attorney, and Olympians.

The club's original home and storage location for its six-oared barge "Minnehaha" was a house on Smith Island in the Delaware River, somewhat in line with Chestnut Street. The club reorganized and moved to the east side of the Schuylkill River above the Spring Garden Street dam in 1863. Two years later, Malta Boat Club acquired the Excelsior Club's clubhouse on Boat House Row. Malta and neighboring Vesper Boat Club joined together to build a new boathouse at this location in 1873. Originally 1.5 stories, the Malta side of the boathouse was expanded in 1880. In 1901, George and William Hewitt designed further additions for the boathouse, giving Malta a third story and making it the tallest boathouse on Boat House Row.

The Malta Boat Club records, 1870-1912, consist of financial accounts and other business papers, correspondence, lectures on banking, and other materials. Most of these papers appear to have belonged to Howard E. Young, the treasurer and secretary of the club during the early 1900s. The bulk of the collection is financial records. The correspondence relates to membership, the collection of dues from current and expelled members, and subscriptions to bonds for club renovations. Internal complaints regarding member behavior at events and member use of boats are also documented in the collection. Additional materials include captain's reports and other committee reports, materials related to the club house, lectures on banking, and other items.

Purchased.; 1948 acquired

Subject

Publisher
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Sarah Leu.
Finding Aid Date
; 2017.
Sponsor
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Collection Inventory

Financial accounts, 1880, 1891.
Box 1 Folder 1
Account book - Coupon sales, 1888-1890.
Box 7 Folder 1
Financial accounts, 1892-1897.
Box 1 Folder 2
Account book - General, 1892-1898.
Box 7 Folder 2
Financial accounts, 1898-1900.
Box 1 Folder 3
Financial accounts, 1901.
Box 1 Folder 4
Account book - Building fund, 1901.
Box 7 Folder 3
Account book - Building fund "duplicate", 1901-1908.
Box 7 Folder 4
Account book -Contractors, subscribers and bonds, and bond transfers, 1901-1909.
Box 7 Folder 5
Account book - Materials removed from "Contractors, subscribers and bonds, and bond transfers", 1902-1908.
Box 5 Folder 7
Financial accounts, 1902.
Box 1 Folder 5
Receipts, 1902 May-November.
Box 1 Folder 6
Financial accounts, 1903 January-June.
Box 1 Folder 7
Financial accounts, 1903 January-June.
Box 1 Folder 8
Receipts, 1903 May.
Box 1 Folder 9
Financial accounts, 1903 July-December.
Box 2 Folder 1
Financial accounts, 1903 July-December.
Box 2 Folder 2
Financial accounts, 1904 January-June.
Box 2 Folder 3
Financial accounts, 1904 January-June.
Box 2 Folder 4
Receipts, 1904 April-November.
Box 2 Folder 5
Financial accounts, 1904 July-December.
Box 2 Folder 6
Financial accounts, 1905 January-May.
Box 3 Folder 1
Financial accounts, 1905 January-May.
Box 3 Folder 2
Financial accounts, 1905 June-August.
Box 3 Folder 3
Financial accounts, 1905 September-December.
Box 3 Folder 4
Financial accounts, 1906 January-June.
Box 3 Folder 5
Financial accounts, 1906 July-December.
Box 4 Folder 1
Financial accounts, 1907.
Box 4 Folder 2
Financial accounts, 1908 January-May.
Box 4 Folder 3
Financial accounts, 1908 June-December.
Box 4 Folder 4
Financial accounts, 1909 January-August.
Box 4 Folder 5
Financial accounts, 1909 September-December.
Box 5 Folder 1
Financial accounts, 1910.
Box 5 Folder 2
Financial accounts, 1911 January-May.
Box 5 Folder 3
Financial accounts, 1911 June-December.
Box 5 Folder 4
Financial accounts, 1912.
Box 5 Folder 5
Financial accounts, undated.
Box 5 Folder 6

Committees - Building Committee and Improvement Committee reports [PHOTOCOPIES], 1900 February-June.
Box 6 Folder 1
Committees - Building Committee and Improvement Committee reports [ORIGINALS- FRAGILE, PLEASE USE PHOTOCOPIES IN BOX 6 FOLDER 8], 1900 February-June.
Box 6 Folder 2
Committees - Building and Improvement Committee notes, 1901 July-August.
Box 7 Folder 6
Committees - Committee of Malta Boat Club in Re-Willows Association report on relationship Boat Club and the Willows Association, 1907.
Box 6 Folder 3
Committees - Committee on Abuse of Club Privileges and Club Property, 1902-1910.
Box 6 Folder 4
Committees - Entertainment Committee list, undated.
Box 7 Folder 7
Committees - House Committee reports, 1902 April-May.
Box 6 Folder 5
Committees - House Committee event announcement, 1907 October 10.
Box 7 Folder 8
Correspondence, 1896, 1900, undated.
Box 7 Folder 9
Correspondence, 1901 January-June.
Box 6 Folder 6
Correspondence, 1901 July-December.
Box 6 Folder 7
Correspondence, 1902-1904.
Box 7 Folder 10
Correspondence, 1905-1906.
Box 7 Folder 11
Correspondence - Unopened letters, 1907.
Box 7 Folder 12
Correspondence, 1907-1908.
Box 6 Folder 8
Correspondence, 1909.
Box 6 Folder 9
Correspondence, 1910.
Box 6 Folder 10
Membership - Rosters, proposed members, and report, 1901-1910.
Box 7 Folder 13
Membership - Partial list of members with notes, undated.
Box 6 Folder 11
Monthly meeting announcement, 1902 January 14.
Box 7 Folder 14
Property - Charter of the Malta Boat House Association of Philadelphia, 1870.
Box 6 Folder 12
Property - Malta Boat House Association lease to Malta Boat Club, 1885.
Box 6 Folder 13
Property - Club house contracts, 1901-1905.
Box 6 Folder 14
Reports - Delegate to the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, 1906 August 14.
Box 7 Folder 15
Reports - Captain's reports [9], 1907, 1910-1911, undated.
Box 6 Folder 15
Reports - Mileage log, 1908.
Box 6 Folder 16
Reports - President's address (Joseph M. McCready), 1909 February 5.
Box 7 Folder 16

John R. Read dinner program, ticket, and seating chart, 1894 April 14.
Box 7 Folder 17
The Evening Bulletin "Men and Things" article about the Philadelphia Record [PHOTOCOPY], 1902 May 16.
Box 7 Folder 18
William Post's lectures on banking, 1906 April-May.
Box 7 Folder 19
Business cards, undated.
Box 7 Folder 20

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