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Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia (Pa.) records, 1888-1980 (bulk) 1802-2002 (inclusive)

Extent:
35.0 linear feet
Abstract:
In 1838, Rebecca Gratz (a Jewish philanthropist in Philadelphia), along with the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, founded a Sunday School in Philadelphia that was open to all Jewish children regardless of parental financial standing or synagogue affiliation. Founded in 1819, the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society was the first Jewish charitable organization in Philadelphia, and the first such organization in the United States to offer free basic Jewish religious education. In the first year of operation, attendance at the school grew to 80 students, a number which represented nearly 90 percent of the Jewish children in Philadelphia at the time. The Female Hebrew Benevolent Society operated the Sunday School until 1858 when it was incorporated as the Hebrew Sunday School Society (HSSS). Rebecca Gratz served as president of the organization until she was 80 years of age. The Hebrew Sunday School Society records house the organizational records of HSSS. This collection, which dates from...(see more)

Held at: Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]

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John Rutter Brooke papers, 1861-1902 (bulk) 1767-1918, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
13.9 linear feet (; 27 boxes, 37 volumes, 6 flat files)
Abstract:
The papers of John Rutter Brooke include correspondence, accounts, regimental reports, military orders, and pamphlets that primarily pertain to his career in the United States Army, 1861-1902. Brooke’s military papers document the activities of the 53rd Pennsylvania volunteer regiment during the Civil War; the 3rd Infantry division and 7th Cavalry during the Indian Wars; the 1st Corps of the Army during the Spanish-American War; and Brooke’s service as military governor of Puerto Rico and Cuba, as well as his service in the Departments of the Missouri, the Platte, the Gulf, and the East. The collection is particularly rich in its documentation of the United States Army’s “Sioux Campaign” during 1890-1891, containing extensive correspondence during the height of the Ghost Dance on the Standing Rock and Pine Ridge reservations, and the ensuing military build-up, which escalated into the massacre at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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James Buchanan papers, 1815-1868 (bulk) 1783-1895, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
35.0 linear feet (74 boxes, 25 volumes)
Abstract:
The James Buchanan papers span the entirety of Buchanan's legal, political and diplomatic career, including his service as Pennsylvania assemblyman, U.S. representative, minister to Russia, U.S. senator, secretary of state, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain, and president of the United States. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, but also includes speeches, notes, business papers, legal papers, manuscript drafts, pamphlets, books, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks. The most significant groups of materials in this collection are related to Buchanan's time as secretary of state, 1845-1849; minister to Great Britain, 1854-1856; and the growing differences between the North and South before the Civil War, 1857-1861.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Carpenter Family Papers, 1780-1870 (bulk) 1695-1915, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
5.3 linear feet (; 5 boxes, 18 volumes, 1 flat file)
Abstract:
The Carpenter family papers include Brigadier General Louis Henry Carpenter's military papers and Civil War-era correspondence, as well as more than 200 years of correspondence, genealogical material, and other papers related to the Carpenter family of New Jersey. The Carpenter family was among the first settlers of the Philadelphia area and established several towns in Salem and Gloucester counties, New Jersey. They also had ties to numerous prominent families in the Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic region during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The collection offers insights into a variety of topics, including the Revolutionary War in the Philadelphia region; the early history of Haddon Township, N.J.; medicine in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; and life as a Union soldier during the Civil War.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Salmon P. Chase Papers, 1850-1872 (bulk) (1824-1884, undated) (inclusive)

Extent:
12.0 linear feet (; 43 boxes; 16 volumes; 10 flat files)
Abstract:
Salmon P. Chase (1808-1873) was a career politician and an influential Union decision-maker during the Civil War. He served as governor of Ohio, U.S. senator, secretary of the Treasury, and Supreme Court chief justice. The Salmon P. Chase Papers, which span the years 1824-1884, provide tremendous insight into the professional life of Chase and provide information on the National Bank and specie debates, as well as the abolition movement from the early 1820s through the Civil War. This collection contains correspondence, speech notes, newspaper clippings, biographical material, court opinions, financial papers, and a myriad of miscellaneous items. In addition to containing Chase's papers, this collection also contains the papers of J. W. Schuckers, Chase's personal secretary and biographer. Schuckers’s papers give further insight into the economic situation immediately following the Civil War and include correspondence, newspapers, investments records, and other financial papers.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Jay Cooke papers, 1858-1874 (bulk) 1831-1906, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
43.4 linear feet (; 102 boxes, 30 volumes, 12 flat files )
Abstract:
The Jay Cooke papers are a rich source of information about the finances of the Union war efforts during the Civil War, the politics of the Union during and after the Civil War, westward expansion and the construction of railroads across the country, and banking and finance during the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Cooke's correspondence documents the work of Jay Cooke & Company and contains communications with many of the era's most powerful politicians and businessmen. Cooke's connection with the Department of the Treasury provides a unique inside view of political decisions, and illustrates Cooke's influence with many leaders in positions of great authority. This collection also contains a small group of personal papers, offering a perspective on Jay Cooke's philanthropic, religious, and family orientation.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Ferdinand J. Dreer autograph collection, 1492-1925 (inclusive)

Extent:
105.0 linear feet (; 330 boxes, 133 volumes, 2 flat files)
Abstract:
Ferdinand Julian Dreer’s chief hobby was collecting autographs. He started with two documents and over time he was able to amass more than 15,000 items from some of the world’s most prominent and intriguing public figures. Owing to this interest, Dreer became acquainted with many people in the world of arts and letters, politics, education, clergy, business, and international affairs. As he was aware of such a collection’s potential impact on scholarship and society, Dreer donated all of his holdings to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, with which he had been associated for many years as the institution’s vice president.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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George G. Meade collection, 1845-1872 (bulk) 1811-1897, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
9.0 linear feet (11 boxes, 36 volumes, 29 flat files)
Abstract:
George G. Meade's career in the military began during his student years at West Point, where he studied topographical engineering. He served in the Mexican-American War and went on to become a celebrated Union general in the Civil War, where his son George served under his command. This collection covers all aspects of Meade's career, including his student work, his work as a cartographer while working for the U.S. coastal survey and during the Civil War, and his service as commander of the Army of the Potomac. In addition to his military papers, there are a significant group of letters to Meade's wife Margaretta and their children, which document his family relationships and his feelings about his military service during the Mexican-American and Civil wars. Also included in this collection are letters compiled by Meade's son George while he was writing a biography of his father, titled The Life and Letters of General Meade. The manuscripts for this work make up...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Lavington Quick Papers, 1861-1865 (bulk) 1847-1876, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
0.6 linear feet (; 2 boxes, 5 flat files)
Abstract:
Lavington Quick (1819-1876) served as a U.S. Army Brigadier surgeon during the Civil War. The Lavington Quick Papers contain various documents pertaining to his medical career, as well as medicine and hospitals during the Civil War. The collection contains records of Quick's medical schooling, reports of inspections of soldiers, records of medical discharges, invoices for medical supplies received by Dr. Quick, mainly at the Army hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, special Army orders regarding Quick and others. There are a number of newspapers articles by Quick, that touch on the state of the Army and the hospitals but speak mostly to the political events and currents of the early 1860s. Additionally, there are other newspaper clippings, photographs, currency, and stock certificates. From the collection, one can gather a fair bit about the inner workings of the surgeon general's office during the Civil War, and of the state of medicine in wartime.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Alexander H. Stephens Papers, (1858-1882) (inclusive)

Extent:
0.8 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
Alexander H. Stephens (1812-1883) was a career politician who served as a United States senator and representative from Georgia, both before and after the Civil War. He also served as the vice president of the Confederate States of America. This collection contains correspondence between Stephens and William Hidell, Stephens's private secretary while he was vice president of the Confederacy. The letters provide insight into the daily business of the Confederacy, as well as information about the close of the war, attempts at peace, and Stephens's time in prison immediately after the war. The correspondence continues into Stephens's time as U.S. representative from Georgia during Reconstruction and contains entirely political commentary during that time.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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