Call Number:

3606

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

3.2 linear feet (; 5 boxes, 5 volumes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Brake and Wineman families papers, (Collection 3606), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1816-1889 (bulk) and 1762-1947 (inclusive)

Creator:

Brake and Wineman

Form:

School notebooks.

Abstract:

The Brake (Brecht or Break) family owned a farm in Letterkenny Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, from the 18th century. The Brake and Wineman families came together with the marriage of Solomon Brake (1828-1919) and Sarah Belle Wineman (1855-1925). The collection documents several generations of the two families and includes correspondence, vital records, military records, copy books and other school documents, farm records including account books, property and estate records, receipts, photographs, eighteenth century currency notes, and other items. There are several Civil War letters, primarily from Private George Wineman of the 107th Pennsylvania Infantry, who was killed at Gettysburg. Most of the collection is in English, with a few items in German.

The Brake (Brecht or Break) family of Letterkenny Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, descended from Adam Brecht, a German immigrant who settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Adam's son, Christian Brake (1755-1825), moved to Franklin County during the eighteenth century and bought two farms. Christian married Mary Roller (1757-1836) of Frederick County, Virginia, and the couple had a large family of six daughters and and three sons. One of the sons, John Brake (1795-1858), helped maintain his family's farms and eventually bought his own 300-acre farm in partnership with one Frederick Deck. John married Catherine Sleighter (Schlichter or Slighter) (1794-1857) and together they had seven children: Magdalena, Christian, Catharina (or Katie), John S., Solomon, Jacob, and Jeremiah. This branch of the family became connected to the Wineman family through the 1882 marriage of Solomon (1828-1919) and Sarah Bell Wineman (1855-1925). Sarah's own large family included father Matthew Wineman (1818-1893), mother Catherine Boch (1818-1899) and eight older siblings. Matthew Wineman was also a German immigrant and served as an elected official of Franklin County. Sarah's brother George (1840-1863) served during the Civil War and died at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Solomon Brake eventually took possession of one of the original family farms in Letterkenny Township. Solomon and Sarah had one son, Frank Wineman (1883-1901), and one daughter, Stella Belle (1886-1973), and both were born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Stella's husband, James F. Slyder (1881-1965) assisted Solomon on his farm and cared for the farm equipment.

Stella's and James's daughter, Sarah Belle Slyder (1904-1965), and son-in-law, Paul R. Mehring, eventually brought this family line to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where some later family members are interred. Solomon and Sarah Brake are both buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

The Brake and Wineman families papers span from the 1760s to the 1940s, though the bulk of the material dates from the nineteen century. The papers are housed in five boxes and five volumes. Prior to arriving at HSP, the papers had been generally grouped according to type or family member and inventoried. At HSP, for the most part, the individual groups of papers were simply transferred to folders; however, the order of the papers was changed so that papers attributed to specific family members appear first, in Box 1 and part of Box 2. The rest of Box 2 and Box 3 contain papers of the families, either the Brakes or the Winemans. Box 4 contains an assortment of collected material, such as Colonial currency and printed matter, as well as photographs of the family and Solomon Brake's Letterkenny farm. Most of the collection documents the family's farms and interactions with each other through correspondence and photographs. There are several school note books in the collection, including those of John Brake (Box 1, Folder 2), Magdalena Brake (Box 1 , Folder 17), George Wineman (Box 1, Folder 18), and Frank W. Brake (Box 2, Folder 4); papers on the family's genealogies; photograph albums; and daguerreotypes.

The first group of papers is made up primarily of material from John Brake, Solomon's father. There are bills, receipts, property agreements, correspondence, bank books, a few military papers. A copy of Brake's citizenship certificate from 1814 is also included, as well as papers relating to jury duty and the position of Inspector of Letterkenny Township. Many of these papers are intermixed with those of his sons, Solomon, Jacob, and Jeremiah. Additionally, there are also papers of the Sleighter (Schlichter or Slighter) family (Box 1, Folder 1), George Wineman's Civil War letters (Box 1, Folder 19), and a short biography of Solomon Brake done for a Franklin County newspaper (Box 2, Folder 3). Additionally, Volume 1 is a daybook that belonged to John Brake. Loose papers from this volume have been removed to Box 1, Folder 7. There is also a folder of a few German letters to John Brake's father, Christian Brake (Box 1, Folder 16).

Comprising the second group of papers are general family materials, such as receipts, deeds, financial papers, wills and other legal documents, insurance policies, and genealogical papers. Several of the Brake family's farm account book can be found in Box 3, Folder 2. They contain records of items bought and sold and money paid to workers. There is also a small group of lodge papers and booklets, mostly by-laws of the George Washington Lodge No. 143, the Columbus Lodge No. 75 of the International order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), and Olive Branch Encampment No. 13 of the IOOF (Box 3, Folder 8). Papers of the Wineman family include a selection of correspondence between family members on their genealogy (Box 3, Folder 12) and a family bible, 1838-1922 (Volume 2).

The final group of papers contains an assortment of items that were apparently collected by the family, such as Colonial currency (Box 4, Folder 2) and paint samples (Box 4, Folder 8). There are also a few more papers in German (Box 4, Folders 1 and 3) and printed obituaries (Box 4, Folder 4). Box 4, Folder 7 contains two 1901 pencil drawings that may have been done by one F. Slyder, possibly James Slyder's father Frank Slyder, who died in 1904. The signature on each is difficult to read. One depicts a village scene, while the other shows a horse-drawn cart and driver.

Lastly, the collection contains an array of family photographs, and most have been labeled with either the person or place. In addition to small snapshots, there are formal portraits, mounted images, cabinet cards, cartes de visite, tintypes, and daguerreotypes. The photographs are housed in Boxes 4 and 5 and in three photograph albums, Volumes 3-5.