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Lorenz and Zehring family papers

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. 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:
Ms. Coll. 1510
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Extent:
10.25 linear feet (16 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Lorenz and Zehring family papers, 1880-2018, Ms. Coll. 1510 , Kislak Ceenter for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.
Date:
1880-2018 (inclusive) and 1920s-1970s (bulk)
Form:
Photographs, Correspondence, and Scrapbooks
Abstract:
Rev. Dr. Edmund Simon Lorenz was an American pastor, hymnist and composer who founded the Lorenz Publishing Company in 1890. The Lorenz and Zehring family papers documents the descendants and history of these families. Materials comprise: photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, music, printed materials, some audiovisual, poems, plays, report cards, minutes, clippings, diaries, certificates, genealogy research and family histories.

Edmund Simon Lorenz, son of Edward Lorenz and Barbara Gueth-Geil Lorenz, was born on July 13, 1854 in Canal Fulton, Stark County, Ohio. He was an American Pastor, hymnist and composer. After graduating from Otterbein College (1880) and Yale Divinity School (1883), Edmund served as President of Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pennsylvania from 1886-1888. During this time, he wrote hymns, and composed many gospel songs, anthems, and cantatas, occasionally using pseudonyms such as E.D. Mund, Anna Chichester, and G.M. Dodge. In 1890 he founded the Lorenz Publishing Company of Dayton. He edited three of the Lorenz choir magazines: The Choir Leader, The Choir Herald, and Kirchenchor and compiled and edited song-books and hymnals for his church. He married Florence Luella Kumler (1857-1943) on October 1, 1878 and together the couple had six children: Karl Kumler Lorenz (1879-1965), Justina Lorenz Showers (1885-1984), Mary Lorenz Van Deusen (1891-1975), Katherine Lorenz (1893), Edward Henry Lorenz (1895-1946), and Barbra Lorenz Reeder (1897-1990). Rev. Dr. Edmond Simon Lorenz died on July 10, 1942.

Karl Kumler Lorenz (1879-1965) joined his father's publishing company after graduating from Columbia University. He was one of the first founders of the Church Music Publishers Association. Karl married Caroline Boalt (1882-1955), daughter of John F. and Ellen Jane Boalt (Sheffler), in 1906. The couple's children included: Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter (1907-1996), Gretchen Lorenz Zehring (1910-2010) and Edmund B. Lorenz (1915-2010). After Caroline's death in 1955, Karl remarried Margaret Kenny Lorenz (1903-1969). Ellen Jane joined the Lorenz Publishing Company in 1932 as Editor-in-Chief and was made a partner in 1940. In 1964, Ellen pursued a Master in Music degree from Wittenberg University and at the age of 71, she earned her Ph.D. in Sacred Music from Union Graduate School and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Dayton. Ed Lorenz joined the company in 1940 as business manager. In 1958, he started a printing department which expanded rapidly.Ed installed the company's first computer system in 1964, making Lorenz one of the first in the music industry to do so. He was also very active in the Church Music Publishers Association and with ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).

Gretchen Lorenz Zehring [Duchess] studied home economics at Simmons College in Boston after completing a course at the Fanny Farmer School of Cookery in Boston. She married Robert William Zehring (1903-1974) in 1932. Robert graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor's degree in economics, from the University of New York with a master of arts degrees, and from Harvard Business school with a masters in business administration. He worked as a sales expert for Louis DeJonge Company out of New York. The couple had three children: Linda, Robin, and Karen Zehring. Their daughter Linda Zehring was born on March 13, 1939. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1960. She married Daniel Richard Butler on August 20, 1960. After the death of her first husband, Gretchen married Glenn Martin Proos on April 10, 1977.

The Lorenz and Zehring family papers comprise: photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, music, printed materials, audio cassette tapes and films, poems, plays, report cards, minutes, clippings, diaries, certificates, genealogy research and family histories.

The first series consists of materials related to members of the Lorenz family and the Lorenz Publishing Company and includes: biographies, clippings, correspondence, films, photographs, and extensive family histories and genealogical research. Also included are poems and plays written by Caroline Boalt Lorenz.

Series two comprises materials related to the Zehring family and includes: audio cassettes and films, certificates, clippings, correspondence, photographs, travel diaries, budget books and financial records, report cards and academic papers, scrapbooks, and family histories. Most of the materials relate to: Gretchen Lorenz Zehring, Robert Zehring, and Linda Zehring Butler. There is also material related to members of the Butler and Proos families.

The collection is organized into 2 series:

Series 1: Lorenz family papers, 1880-2003

Series 2: Zehring family papers, 1903-2018

Gift of Linda Butler, 2019.

Accessioned as 2019.000009. Samantha Dodd wrote and encoded the finding aid, 2023.

Subject

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Samantha Dodd
Finding Aid Date
2023 May 1
Access Restrictions

The bulk of this collection is open for research use, however, use of the original audio cassettes and films in box 11 is restricted. If the original does not already have a copy, it may be sent to an outside vendor for copying. Patrons are financially responsible for the cost. The turnaround time from the time of request to delivery of digital items will depend on the nature of the material and is subject to review for condition. Please contact the Kislak Center (kislak@upenn.edu) for cost estimates and ordering. Researchers should be aware of specifics of copyright law and act accordingly.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts.

Collection Inventory

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Scope and Contents

Series comprises materials related to various members of the Lorenz family and includes: photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, biographical and family history, and copies of printed texts. Folders are arranged alphabetically. Dates and names are provided when known.

Physical Description

7 boxes

Addresses of the 18 cousins of the Edmund S. and Florence K. Lorenz clan, 1996, 1999.
Box 1 Folder 1
Biography of Caroline Boalt Lorenz by Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter, undated.
Box 1 Folder 2
Bookplate designed by Caroline B. Lorenz, Waldheim, undated.
Box 1 Folder 3
Bread of Life, published by Ridgewood Pentecostal Church [cover features photograph of Waldheim Brant Lake, home of Dr. E. S. Lorenz] "Portrait of a Patriarch: Edmund S. Lorenz, LL.D., D., Mus.," by Ellen J. Lorenz Porter pg., 5, 1973 July.
Box 1 Folder 4
Calendar "Earth Tones" by David R. Lorenz, 1990.
Box 16 Folder 2
Certificate for the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Caroline Boalt Lorenz, 1949 February 1.
Box 1 Folder 5
Certificates for the Women's Missionary Association, Barbara Lorenz, 1923, undated.
Box 1 Folder 6
Clippings, Caroline Boalt Lorenz [Mrs. Karl K. Lorenz], 1953-1955.
Box 1 Folder 7
Clippings, Edmund S. Lorenz, 1940-1942, undated.
Box 1 Folder 8
Clippings, Edward Henry Lorenz, undated.
Box 1 Folder 9
Clippings, Ellen Jane Lorenz, 1938, undated.
Box 1 Folder 10
Clippings, Florence K. Lorenz [Mrs. Edmund S. Lorenz], undated.
Box 1 Folder 11
Clippings, John R. Boalt and Ellen Jane Boalt [Shreffler], 1927-1939.
Box 1 Folder 12
Clippings, Karl K. Lorenz, 1959-1967.
Box 1 Folder 13
Clippings, Phil Lorenz, 1990.
Box 1 Folder 14
Correspondence to family, from Caroline Boalt and Karl K. Lorenz, 1950s.
Box 1 Folder 15
Correspondence to family, 1930s-1950s.
Box 1 Folder 16
Correspondence to other, 1982, 1990, 2003.
Box 1 Folder 17
Descendants of Edmund Simon Lorenz, undated.
Box 1 Folder 18
Film Bellingrath Gardens, 2320 Ridgeway Rd, Dayton, Ohio, Grandma Boalt [RESTRICTED], circa 1935.
Box 11 Item 10
Genealogy, undated.
Box 1 Folder 19-21
The Lorenz Family: Its History and that of the Families Associated with It by Marriage, A Study in Heredity Fundamental and Acquired, prepared by Edmund Simon Lorenz [photocopies], 1932.
Box 1 Folder 22-24
The Lorenz Family: Its History and that of the Families Associated with It by Marriage, A Study in Heredity Fundamental and Acquired, prepared by Edmund Simon Lorenz [photocopies], 1932.
Box 2 Folder 1
Lorenz family joke book compiled by Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter, 1940s-1970s, 1990.
Box 2 Folder 2
Loyalty contract Lorenz family, 1953.
Box 2 Folder 3
Memorial, tributes, service, gifts for Justina Lorenz Showers [Aunt Tina], 1970s-1980s.
Box 2 Folder 4
Memorial service for Margaret Kenny Lorenz, 1969 December 20.
Box 2 Folder 5
"Our Aunt, the Traitor?", by Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter, undated.
Box 2 Folder 6
Scope and Contents

Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter's Great-aunt Justina Lorenz Stevens [Aunt Tina]

A Passionate Pilgrim: Letters of Edmund S. Lorenz 1883-1884 [photocopy], 1932.
Box 2 Folder 7
Photograph album of Lorenz, Kumler, Zehring family ancestor cabinet cards, undated.
Box 13 Item 1
Photograph albums of Barbara Lorenz, 1911-1929.
Box 14 Item 1-4
Photographs of Boalt family ancestors, 1900s.
Box 2 Folder 8
Photographs of Boalt family, and Edmund and Florence K. Lorenz family, undated.
Box 2 Folder 9
Photographs Lorenz family, undated.
Box 2 Folder 10-13
Photographs Lorenz family, ancestors, 1880s-1900.
Box 3 Folder 1
Photographs Lorenz family, Brantingham Lake, New York, 1900-1904.
Box 3 Folder 2
Scope and Contents

Waldheim, Brant Lake, home of Dr. E. S. Lorenz

Photographs Lorenz family, Caroline Boalt Lorenz, circa 1880s.
Box 3 Folder 3
Photographs Lorenz family, Christmas in Dayton, Ohio, 1955.
Box 3 Folder 4
Photographs Lorenz family, Edmund S. Lorenz, 1905.
Box 3 Folder 5
Photographs Lorenz family, ESL and FKL [Edmund Simon Lorenz; Florence K. Lorenz], 1930s, undated.
Box 3 Folder 6
Photographs Lorenz family, The Lorenz tribe taken on Mary's wedding day, Waldheim, Brant Lake, undated.
Box 3 Folder 7
Photographs Waldheim, Brant Lake, 1920s.
Box 3 Folder 8
Scope and Contents

Waldheim, Brant Lake, home of Dr. E. S. Lorenz

Photographs Brant Lake, undated.
Box 16 Folder 3
Photographs wedding, 1932 October 15.
Box 16 Folder 4
Plays written by Caroline Boalt Lorenz, 1926-1939, undated.
Box 3 Folder 9-11
Poems written by Caroline Boalt Lorenz, 1932-1950s.
Box 3 Folder 12
Postcard of Brant Lake, 1971 August 26.
Box 3 Folder 13
Religious Telescope, Edmund S. Lorenz memorial pgs. 6-7, 1942 July 25.
Box 3 Folder 14
Sheet music, songs, E.S. Lorenz, 1919, undated.
Box 3 Folder 15
"A Trip Back to My Old Hometown," Tina Van Deusen Olson, 1980 September 11.
Box 3 Folder 16
"Wish You a Merry Christmas," Ellen Jane and Jim Porter, undated.
Box 3 Folder 17
A Woman Called Ruth," [Ruth Donaldson] by Nancy Ramer, Sangli Industrial School, undated.
Box 3 Folder 18
Will and Estate of Caroline Boalt Lorenz, 1956 July.
Box 3 Folder 19
"Why a Lorenz Publishing Company?" pamphlet, undated.
Box 3 Folder 20

Scope and Contents

Series comprises materials related to members of the Zehring family, most prominently: Gretchen Lorenz, Robert, and Linda. Also included in are materials related to members of the Butler and Proos families. Materials are organized by individual: Gretchen Lorenz Zehring Proos (boxes 3-6, 11), Robert Zhering (boxes 7, 15), Linda Butler (boxes 7-8, 16), followed by the Zhering, Butler, and Proos family papers (boxes 8-12, 16).

Physical Description

12 boxes

Audio, [RESTRICTED], 1974.
Box 11 Item 14
Scope and Contents

Cassette tape: Thanksgiving Day, 1974

Audio, [RESTRICTED], 1990.
Box 11 Item 15-17
Scope and Contents

Three compact disks (CDs): The Life of Gretchen Lorenz First 20 years in her own words, recorded by Duchess in 1990 when she was 80 years old.

Autograph and address book for guests of Gretchen and Robert Zhering, 1967-1983.
Box 3 Folder 21
Baby book, 1910-1931.
Box 4 Folder 1
Book of the bride, 1931-1932.
Box 4 Folder 2
Certificate Department of Education State of Ohio, temporary Vocational, 1940 September 1.
Box 4 Folder 3
Clippings, 1930s-1978.
Box 4 Folder 4
Correspondence to Gretchen, 1920s-1986.
Box 4 Folder 5-8
Garden tour Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Gretchen Proos with Linda Butler, 1992.
Box 4 Folder 9
Film [RESTRICTED], 1931-1932.
Box 11 Item 11
Scope and Contents

Gretchen and Robert Zehring Brant, 1931; engagement 1931 December 26; wedding and trousseau, 1932

Film [RESTRICTED], undated.
Box 11 Item 12
Scope and Contents

Peter Davis, "wedding", reel 12/5/1980

Film [RESTRICTED], 1932.
Box 11 Item 13
Scope and Contents

Wedding

Invitation to Gretchen Lorenz Proos' 80th birthday, 1990 November 11-13.
Box 4 Folder 10
Miss Farmer's School of Cookery application and brochure, 1927-1928.
Box 4 Folder 11
Miss Farmer's School of Cookery certificate of completion and correspondence, 1927, 1932.
Box 4 Folder 12
Miss Farmer's School of Cookery school notebook, 1930 February 20.
Box 4 Folder 13
Miss Farmer's School of Cookery school notebook, 1940 February 10.
Box 5 Folder 1
Observation at 92 years of age, Gretchen Lorenz Zehring Proos "Duchess", 2002 November 21.
Box 5 Folder 2
Photograph album "In My Michigan Garden", 1994-2002.
Box 5 Folder 3
Photographs of Gretchen Lorenz, 1920s-1984, 1999.
Box 5 Folder 4-6
Photographs of Gretchen and family, 1940s-1970s.
Box 5 Folder 7
Spotlight Steele High School class of 1928 50th anniversary, 1978 June 24.
Box 5 Folder 8
Travel diaries, 1960-1978.
Box 5 Folder 9-11
Scope and Contents

Europe, Mexico, Bali, Austrailia, New Zeland, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, California

Travel diaries, 1978-1996.
Box 6 Folder 1-11
Scope and Contents

Texasa, Florida, Mexico, England, Michigran, Pacific Northwest, Africa, China, Hawaii, Alaska, Trinidad, Cancun, Iceland, World Nature Tour, Scotland, Italy, Spain, South America

Budget books, expense for Mr. Robert Zehring and Gretch L. Zehring, 1931-1975.
Box 15
Correspondence to Robert Zehring, 1921, 1931, undated.
Box 7 Folder 1
Day book "College expense", University of Pennsylvania [Penn], 1921-1925.
Box 7 Folder 2
Photographs – Upenn, 1925.
Box 7 Folder 3-4
Photographs of Robert Zehring, 1903-1931.
Box 7 Folder 5
Photograph album – residences RWZ to 1950 [Robert William Zehring], 1933-1950.
Box 7 Folder 6
Report cards, 1915-1921.
Box 7 Folder 7
U.S. ration books for Robert Zhering and Linda Zehring, 1942-1943.
Box 7 Folder 8
The ballad of Linda Zehring, undated.
Box 7 Folder 9
Budget book, 1947-1952.
Box 7 Folder 10
Certificates, 1950-1955.
Box 7 Folder 11
Clippings, 1960.
Box 7 Folder 12
Correspondence to Linda Zehring, 1939-2012.
Box 7 Folder 13
Daily exercise and calorie books, 1989-1994.
Box 7 Folder 14-15
Daily exercise and calorie books, 1995-2018.
Box 8 Folder 1-2
Hair clippings, 1947-1950.
Box 8 Folder 3
L's clothing book, items pertaining to Linda Zehring's clothing expenses, allowance, 1950.
Box 8 Folder 4
Memento and certificate of baptism, 1939 October 8.
Box 8 Folder 5
Photograph album, 1939-1958.
Box 8 Folder 6
Photographs, 1930s-1975.
Box 8 Folder 7-12
Report cards, 1950s.
Box 8 Folder 13
Scrapbook, 1950s.
Box 16 Item 1
Woodside Methodist Church bulletin, 1956 June 24.
Box 8 Folder 14
Butler artwork, 2003, undated.
Box 16 Folder 5
"Butler on Delaware Corporations – New Perspectives for the Takeover Artist," [photocopy of title page only], undated.
Box 9 Folder 1
Butler photograph albums, 1990s-2002.
Box 9 Folder 2-3
Butler photographs, 1955-2017.
Box 9 Folder 4-8
Butler photographs, 391 Casparus Way. Elkton, MD, vacation house of Dan and Linda Butler from 1980-2013, undated.
Box 9 Folder 9
Butler photographs, Dan, Linda, children, and grandparents Zehring, 1960-1981.
Box 9 Folder 10-14
Butler photographs, Duchess' and Linda's trip to orient, 1976.
Box 9 Folder 15
Butler photographs, gravestones, undated.
Box 9 Folder 16
Butler photographs, home on S. Taylor, Mt. Victory, Ohio, undated.
Box 9 Folder 17
Butler photographs, Miriam Cahill, Gordan and Daniel Butler, 1927-1955.
Box 9 Folder 18
Zehring clippings, 1903, 1945, 1999.
Box 9 Folder 19
Zehring The Descendants of Christian Zehrung and Johannes Zehrung Jr., 1995.
Box 10 Folder 1
Zehring family history, 1940s-1960s.
Box 10 Folder 2-3
Zehring minutes of family council, 1948-1951.
Box 10 Folder 4
Zehring photograph album, "The Nest", 1950-1965.
Box 10 Folder 5
Zehring photographs, 1919-1949, 1972.
Box 10 Folder 6-7
Zehring photographs, 1109 Spring Street (interior), Silver Spring, MD, 1953-1954.
Box 10 Folder 8
Zehring photographs, ancestors, 1890s-1950s.
Box 10 Folder 9
Zehring-Proos photographs, 1951, 1961.
Box 16 Folder 6
Zehring-Proos photographs, 1980-1981.
Box 10 Folder 10-11
Zehring scrapbook, 1959-1970.
Box 12 Item 1
Zehring-Proos photographs, 1986-2002.
Box 11 Folder 1-8
Zehring song lyrics "Napoleon" by Aaron Zehring, undated.
Box 11 Folder 9

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