Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Form Membership lists

The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States records, 1880-1980 (bulk) 1857-2012 (inclusive)

Extent:: 155.5 linear feet
Abstract:: In response to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) was founded on April 15, 1865, in Philadelphia by Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Brown Wylie Mitchell, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Ellwood Zell and Captain Peter Dirck Keyser. The object of MOLLUS was and is “to cherish the memories and associations of the war waged in defense of the unity and indivisibility of the Republic; to strengthen the ties of fraternal friendship and sympathy formed from companionship-in-arms; to advance the best interests of the soldiers and sailors of the United States, especially of those associated as members of this Order, and to extend all possible relief to their widows and children; to foster the cultivation of Military and Naval Science; to enforce unqualified allegiance to the General Government; to protect the rights and liberties of American citizenship, and to maintain National Honor, Union and Independence.” The MOLLUS collection...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries [Contact Us]

Woman's Club of Germantown records , 1917-1982 (inclusive)

Extent:: 15 linear ft. (10 containers, 26 volumes)
Abstract:: The Woman's Club of Germantown records document the efforts of clubwomen to engage in community and civic life in Germantown, Pennsylvania from 1917 to 1982. The collection is not complete; however, researchers will find a fair sampling of documentation, evidencing Club administration and work for most years of its existence. The collection houses meeting minutes; committee, financial and other administrative records; scrapbooks and photograph albums; and records of the Woman's Club of Germantown Juniors.

Held at: Bryn Mawr College [Contact Us]

Emma Cadbury papers, 1894-1963 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.5 boxes (200 items)
Abstract:: The papers of Emma Cadbury (1875-1965), a Quaker social worker, consist of correspondence, programs, essays, notebooks, and clippings. These papers were kept by Cadbury while attending Quaker Women's Yearly Meetings and summer schools at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges and the George School (Pennsylvania), during the early 20th century.

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]

Society for Social Responsibility in Science records, 1948-1976 (inclusive)

Extent:: 7 linear ft. (14 boxes)
Abstract:: The Society for Social Responsibility in Science was founded in 1949, the convening meeting and Constituting Assembly both held at Haverford College. It was conceived as an organization of workers in the natural sciences to maintain free inquiry concerning the relations of science and society. The collection provides an in-depth look at the founding, history, activities and correspondence of the Society for Social Responsibility in Science.

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]

Austro-American Relief Society records, 1916-1942 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.83 linear feet (5 boxes + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:: Records of the Austro-American Relief Society of Philadelphia, Pa., mainly documenting its charitable work from 1916 to 1941, including fundraising in behalf of war relief for Austro-Hungarian and German civilians and prisoners of war during and after World War I. The collection includes financial records, membership and donor lists, inventories, correspondence, ephemera, and clippings.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Deutsch-Amerikanischer Zentralbund von Pennsylvanien, Philadelphia branch, records, 1909-1941 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.21 linear feet (1 box, 18 folders)
Abstract:: This collection contains records of the Philadelphia branch of the Deutsch-Amerikanischer Zentralbund von Pennsylvanien (DAZB), also known as the German-American Central Alliance, or the German-American Federation, of Pennsylvania. The federation existed from 1899 until 1941; from 1901 to 1918 it was part of the National German-American Alliance, which it had helped to found. These extant records mainly comprise materials related to activities of the School Committee, which promoted German language learning, and learning about German-American culture, among German-American youth. Included are minutes (with financial reports), correspondence, fliers, and educational materials, dated 1909 to 1933. The remaining materials are ephemera, including a flier related to the fifth anniversary of the women's auxiliary, in 1932, and programs for German Day celebrations in 1940 and 1941. A few fliers bear texts composed by Adolph Timm and Max Heinrici concerning the preservation of...(see more)

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Deutscher Klub und Technischer Verein records, 1884-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.9 linear feet (5 boxes)
Abstract:: Records of two Philadelphia societies, the Deutscher Klub (German Club), founded 1874, and the Technischer Verein von Philadelphia (Technical Society of Philadelphia), founded 1872. The Technischer Verein first became affiliated with the Deutscher Klub in 1896, and met at the latter society's clubhouse. In 1910 the two societies merged administratively; and in 1928 they finally published a newly revised constitution and by-laws for the combined organization, which was called Deutscher Klub und Technischer Verein. The collection includes Technischer Verein records from 1884 to 1926; Deutscher Klub minutes from 1888 to 1898; and minutes of the combined organization from 1922 to 1937, with one item dated 1939. Also included is ephemera dating from 1927 to 1933, inlcuding items from the Women's Auxiliary of the organization, and from the National Association of German-American Technologists, which from its beginnings in 1884 was closely aligned with the Technischer Verein von Philadelphia.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Deutscher Orden der Harugari, Teutonia Loge No. 225 records, 1894-1909, 1923-1933

Extent:: 0.5 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: Records of the Teutonia Loge No. 225 (Manayunk, Philadelphia, Pa.), of the national German-American fraternal organization Deutscher Orden der Harugari. Includes minute book, 1894-1909; a volume of membership forms containing completed forms for approximately 50 members who joined from 1923 to 1933; and multiple copies of printed books related to the rituals of lodges of the order: four copies of an 1880 version (no publication information); and six copies of an 1874 version printed in Reading, Pa. (two different printings, one dated 1902).

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Frauenhilfsfond records, 1914-1922, 1924

Extent:: 0.17 linear feet (1 box + 3 legal-size folders)
Abstract:: The Frauenhilfsfond was the women's auxiliary of the Hilfsfond (Relief Fund), a German-American charitable organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, devoted to war relief and humanitarian aid in German-speaking areas overseas during and after the First World War. The Frauenhilfsfond was essentially an umbrella group of German-American women's organizations in the Philadelphia area that coordinated the women’s efforts related to the relief work. The collection contains the complete minutes of the group from August 1914 until March 1917, as well as a record of donations received from March 1915 to April 1917. It also includes a log of homemade knitted items produced for overseas relief from October 1919 to March 1920, as well as a few items dated in the early 1920s related to campaigns to feed destitute children in German-speaking areas in Europe, efforts that were led by the American Friends Service Committee. The records dating from after 1917 appear to overlap with the activities...(see more)

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

German Society of Pennsylvania institutional records, 1764-1968 (bulk) 1764-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:: 27.4 linear feet
Abstract:: The German Society of Pennsylvania, founded in Philadelphia in 1764, directed its early efforts to assisting new German immigrants, especially those forced into indentured servitude when they were unable to pay their sea fare. Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Society was very visible in the thriving German-American community in Philadelphia, boasting just over one thousand members at the peak of its growth, in the late 1870s. In the 20th century, the Society’s scope and prominence was affected by the two World Wars, which created suspicion and criticism of Germanic culture. That suspicion and government scrutiny played a role in the dwindling membership of the Society. In the post-World War II era the Society channeled its overseas relief activities through a Quaker-based aid society. In the second half of the century, the neighborhood was also changing, as it became predominantly African-American, rather than German, and more impoverished. But the Society pressed...(see more)

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]