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Savidge family papers
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Held at: Newtown Historic Association [Contact Us]Centre Avenue and Court Street, Newtown, Pennsylvania
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Newtown Historic Association. 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
At some time during the 1860s, Charles Savidge (1835-1908) moved from the area of Hopewell, New Jersey to Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He first married Caroline Hogeland (1840-1892), and then Sarah Hutchinson Morris (1864-1914), with whom he had two children: Morris Savidge (1895-1979) and Clarence Savidge (1900-1986).
Charles Savidge opened a footwear store in 1866, which he ran until his death in 1908. The store was operated by the Charles Savidge Estate beginning in 1908 until Charles' sons, Morris and Clarence Savidge, took over in 1921. Savidge Brothers footwear merged with P. H. Morris clothing and men's furnishings store in 1922 to form Morris & Savidge Bros. clothing, furnishing, and footwear. After P.H. Morris' retirement in 1928, the company continued as Savidge Bros. clothing, furnishing, and footwear. The store closed circa 2000.
During World War I Morris Savidge served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France and was charter member and commander of the Morrell Smith Post #440 of the American Legion, Newtown. He then became a partner in the Savidge Bros. clothing store until he became secretary and manager of the Newtown Savings Association in 1957, a position he held until his retirement in 1972. Morris and his wife, Jennie Elms Savidge (1910-2002), both served as directors of the Association. Morris was also a director of the First National Bank and Trust Company in Newtown, a Mason at the local lodge, and a member of the Newtown Reliance Company. He served as president of the Exchange Club of Newtown and Newtown Cemetery Association, and also served as chairman of the Borough Planning Commission.
Clarence Savidge, who owned and operated Savidge Bros. clothing store with his brother Morris, married Esther Hampton Savidge (1900-1993). They had three daughters: Sarajane S. Dallas (b. 1927), Carolyn S. Long, and Joanne S. Whitesell. Clarence was a member of the Newtown Presbyterian Church, Newtown Lodge No. 427 F&AM, the Knights of Pythias Lodge, the Newtown Rotary Club, and the Newtown Reliance Company.
Bibliography:
"Morris Savidge." Obituary found in the Newtown Historic Association vertical files obituaries series.
"Clarence Savidge." The Advance. Obituary found in the Newtown Historic Association vertical files obituaries series.
"Savidge Brothers' Founding Dates Back to 1866." Clipping found in collection.
This collection consists mostly of personal papers of the Charles and Sarah H. Savidge family, particularly those of brothers Morris and Clarence Savidge. These include letters and postcards from Morris to Clarence while the former was in military training in the United States and during his active duty with the American Expeditionary Forces in France at Camp Tremblay, 1918-1919. There are also photographs that Morris took while he was stationed in France.
Other materials in the collection include an album of funeral cards and calling cards/invitations, 1890-1900; family photo albums, circa 1875-1927; and some correspondence, financial papers, and ephemera relating to other family members. Financial records and miscellaneous items relating to the Newtown School District and Alumni Association, circa 1920s-1930s, are also included.
There are some materials relating to the Savidge Bros. retail store and other business ventures, including Morris Savidge's scrapbook with clippings and ephemera relating to Newtown businesses, circa 1935-1970.
A few items in the collection relate to Sarajane S. Dallas and her involvement with Newtown Historic Association.
An item-level inventory for this collection is available in a database on-site.
Gift of Sarajane Dallas
Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in 2012-2014 as part of a project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project.
Detailed, computerized inventories of all of the items in this collection are available on site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact Newtown Historic Association directly for more information.
People
- Savage family
- Savidge family
- Savidge, Charles, 1835-1908
- Savidge, Clarence, 1900-1986
- Savidge, Morris, 1895-1979
- Savidge, Sarah H., 1864-1914
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Newtown Historic Association
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Faith Charlton through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories
- Sponsor
- This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Access Restrictions
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Contact Newtown Historic Association for information about accessing this collection.