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Grand Army of the Republic. Philip R. Schuyler Post, No. 51 records

Notifications

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:
1825
Repository:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Extent:
7.0 linear feet (3 boxes, 44 volumes, 1 flat file)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Grand Army of the Republic. Philip R. Schuyler Post, No. 51 records (Collection 1825), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Date:
1874-1931, undated (inclusive)
Creator:
Grand Army of the Republic. Dept. of Pennsylvania.
Abstract:
This collection consists of records from the Philip R. Schuyler Post No. 51 of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Ladies Aid Society No. 4, the Sons of Union Veterans Camp No. 2, and the Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans. The majority of records pertain to the operation and membership of the Philip R. Schuyler Post No. 51 and include the constitution and by-laws, applications for membership, cash books, dues ledgers, member lists, "black books" that list rejected applicants, correspondence, minutes, orders and reports. Ladies Aid Society/Auxiliary records consist of expenses and dues ledgers, minutes, orders, and receipt books. These records provide a thorough illustration of the operations and concerns of the Schuyler Post in Philadelphia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was one of many veterans' organizations created after the conclusion of the Civil War. These patriotic and social groups helped to unite veterans and to form powerful political lobbies, which advocated for the rights and compensation of veterans. The GAR was founded in 1866 as a national organization, which was divided into departments by state. Membership was limited to honorably discharged Union veterans of the Civil War who applied to local posts; applicants' admission was voted upon by the post membership. The Philip R. Schuyler Post No. 51 was a local division of the Department of Pennsylvania, which was founded in Philadelphia in 1874.

The organization hosted yearly encampments on the state and national level that served as the rule-making boards of the Grand Army of the Republic. In addition to these formal state and national gatherings, each post hosted a range of social and formal commemorative activities, which included attending funerals of post members, and hosting memorial services, lectures, and trips.

The Grand Army of the Republic formed several allied organizations during its existence, one of which was the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW). The SUVCW eventually took over all of the Grand Army of the Republic's operations and became the steward of the GAR history.

This collection contains records from the Philip R. Schuyler Post No. 51 of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Ladies Aid Society No. 4, the Sons of Union Veterans Camp No. 2, and the Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans.

The majority of records pertain to the operation and membership of the Philip R. Schuyler Post No. 51 and include the constitution and by-laws, applications for membership, cash books, dues ledgers, member lists, black books, correspondence, minutes, orders and reports. The bulk of the collection is housed in volumes that are arranged by date and material type. Another significant group of materials relates to the activities of the Ladies Aid Society/Sons of Union Veterans Auxiliary. These records consist of expenses and dues ledgers, minutes, orders, and receipt books, which document the Auxiliary's charitable and relief work.

This collection provides a thorough understanding of the operations and activities of the Schuyler Post in Philadelphia.

Gift of Philip R. Schuyler Post No. 51, GAR through Maxwell Whiteman.

The Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library in Philadelphia holds records for many Philadelphia posts of the GAR. See their website http://www.garmuslib.org/ for a list of related collections.

Grand Army of the Republic. Courtland Saunders Post No. 21. (Collection 1574).

The Historical Society's library holds a wide selection of volumes, pamphlets, and other material related to the Grand Army of the Republic. Some of these materials document the history of the organization, while others focus on specific events. Search our online catalog (www.hsp.org) for a full list of these items.

Organization
Subject

Publisher
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Cathleen Miller
Finding Aid Date
2010
Sponsor
The Digital Center for Americana pilot project was funded by the Barra Foundation and several individual donors.
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Collection Inventory

Applications for membership, (1875-1882, undated).
Box 1 Folder 1
Applications to the Citizens' Corps, (1894).
Box 1 Folder 2-3
Applications to the Citizens' Corps, (1890-1917, undated).
Box 1 Folder 4-6
Ballots, (1904-1911).
Box 1 Folder 7
Bills and receipts, (1891-1897).
Box 1 Folder 8-10
Bills and receipts, (1897-1920).
Box 2 Folder 1-2
Blank forms, (undated).
Box 2 Folder 3
Correspondence, (1896-1919).
Box 2 Folder 4
GAR Pennsylvania Headquarters orders, (1893-1915).
Box 2 Folder 5-9
Grand Army Association of Philadelphia and vicinity, (1898-1908).
Box 2 Folder 10
Membership information, including lists of deaths, (1897-1922).
Box 2 Folder 11
Miscellaneous committee reports, (1897-1908).
Box 2 Folder 12
Miscellaneous printed matter, (1893-1917, undated).
Box 2 Folder 13
Muster rolls and membership certificates, (1890-1897).
Box 2 Folder 14
Orders and circulars--GAR Headquarters, (1892-1920).
Box 3 Folder 1-4
Ordinance designating Philip R. Schuyler Post Park, (undated).
Box 3 Folder 5
Poems, (1903, undated).
Box 3 Folder 6
Post No. 51 Memorial services and circulars, (1897-1917).
Box 3 Folder 7
Post No. 51 orders, (1893-1913).
Box 3 Folder 8
Proceedings, findings and sentence of John F. Bechter, (1894).
Box 3 Folder 9
P.R. Schuyler Auxiliary No. 4 notes and receipts, (1908-1927).
Box 3 Folder 10
Quarterly reports of first sergeant, (1887-1888).
Box 3 Folder 11
Quartermaster's monthly reports, (1891-1920).
Box 3 Folder 12-14
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War constitution, (1920).
Box 3 Folder 15
Union Defender's service and family record, (undated).
Box 3 Folder 16
"The Banner: Patriotic Journal of America", (1914).
Oversize Flat File 1
Address book, (undated).
Volume 1
Black books of Post 51, (1875-1896).
Volume 2-3
Cash ledger, (1897-1908).
Volume 4
Constitution and by-laws, (1877).
Volume 5
Dues ledger, (1881-1928) .
Volume 6-20
Membership list, (undated).
Volume 21
Post 51 minutes, (1874-1879).
Volume 22-23
Post 51 minutes, (1884-1922).
Volume 24-33
Ladies Aid Society/Sons of Veterans Auxiliary dues ledgers, (1892-1928).
Volume 34-35
Ladies Aid Society expense ledger, (1906-1928).
Volume 36
Ladies Aid Society/Sons of Veterans Auxiliary minutes, (1892-1924).
Volume 37-40
Orders from national headquarters of Auxiliary to Sons of Union Veterans, (1924-1931).
Volume 41
Orders from Pennsylvania headquarters of Auxiliary to Sons of Union Veterans, (1924-1931).
Volume 42
Ladies Aid Society/Sons of Veterans Auxiliary receipt books, (1893-1923).
Volume 43-44
Instances for barcoding.
Volume 14 Volume 15 Volume 12 Volume 13 Volume 18 Volume 19 Volume 16 Volume 17 Volume 22 Volume 44 Volume 20 Volume 21 Volume 41 Volume 40 Volume 43 Volume 42 Box 1 Box 2 Box 3 Volume 8 Volume 9 Volume 10 Volume 23 Volume 4 Volume 5 Volume 6 Volume 7 Volume 11 Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 38 Volume 39 Volume 36 Volume 37 Volume 34 Volume 35 Volume 32 Volume 33 Volume 30 Volume 31 Volume 28 Volume 29 Volume 26 Volume 27 Volume 24 Volume 25

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