Repository: Historical Society of Pennsylvania / Place: Philadelphia (Pa.)--Commerce. - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 1.6 linear feet (; 4 boxes)
Abstract:: Arthur C. Bining was a Philadelphia historian, worked as a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and was associated with the Pennsylvania Historical Association. This small collection contains letters, autographs, and papers he collected over time. A portion of the papers originated from the United States Customs House of Philadelphia and deal mostly with routine customs matters. There are also folders of papers from individuals that are not associated with the Customs House, such as army officer James Barker, painter Abbott H. Thayer, and inventor August F. W. Partz. Additional papers include those of Joseph R. E. Bunel, paymaster general of the French colony of Santo Domingo, Haiti; and Marie F. M. Bunel, a businesswoman in Santo Domingo.

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Extent:: 0.33 linear feet (; 2 volumes)
Abstract:: This collection contains the memoirs and autobiographical notes of Peter Adolph Grotjan, a German merchant who immigrated to Philadelphia in 1796 and became an important figure in area commerce and politics. He served as Philadelphia County Auditor twice (once from 1828 to 1836 and again from 1841 to 1844) and published a commercial newspaper, Grotjan's Philadelphia Public Sale Reports. Volume 1 of the collection is a bound book of "preparatory notes and memoranda" used in writing his memoir, which is Volume 2. The memoir is a detailed account of Grotjan's life to 1817, briefly covering his childhood in Germany and focusing on his adult life in and around Philadelphia. It provides a detailed description of the cholera and yellow fever epidemics in Philadelphia, Albert Gallatin's visit to Reading, Pennsylvania in 1798 and the ensuing riot, and encounters with political figures including Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and James Buchanan. There are also descriptions of...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Extent:: 19.2 linear feet (; 50 boxes)
Abstract:: Jasper Yeates (1745-1817) was a leading lawyer in Lancaster County and associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; the collection contains his notes on trials, evidence, arguments, depositions, and judicial opinions rendered in numerous legal cases. Making up a large portion of the papers is his personal correspondence with noted men such as Edward Burd, Thomas Hartley, Richard Peters, William Tilghman, and others, which deals with political events, public questions, and congressional and administrative affairs. There is also Yeates's personal correspondence with his wife Sarah Yeates. The collection also contains papers of John Yeates that relate chiefly to commerce and shipping between the Middle Atlantic colonies and Barbados, Antigua, and other islands in the West Indies. Other items include Redmond Conyngham letters and essays, Peter Grubb estate papers and accounts, Jasper Yeates Cunningham family papers, the work Chronology of the History of the...(see more)

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Extent:: 0.2 linear feet (; 1 box)
Abstract:: These letters of William Strahan, London printer, bookseller, and associate of Benjamin Franklin, are addressed to David Hall, printer and merchant of Philadelphia, and to his son, William Hall. Many of the letters provide richly detailed and intelligent commentary on British politics and other current events. There are also discussions of trade, finances, and family matters.

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Extent:: 1.25 linear feet (; 10 volumes)
Abstract:: William Redwood, son of Abraham Redwood and his second wife Patience Phillips, was born in 1726 in Newport, Rhode Island. There he worked for a number of years as a merchant in partnership with Elias Bland. Redwood moved to Philadelphia 1772 where he continued business. From 1782 to 1787, Redwood lived at and helped maintain the family's plantation on the island of Antigua in the West Indies. This collection consists of ten account books (ledgers, journals, and daybooks) associated with Redwood. Most of them document his work in Philadelphia; however two volumes contain information on his Newport business and partnership, and two contain detailed financial records concerning the family's Antigua plantation.

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Extent:: 436.4 linear feet (;1069 boxes, 85 volumes, 22 flat files)
Abstract:: The Albert M. Greenfield papers consist of correspondence, office files, appointment books, photographs, audio-visual materials, and scrapbooks spanning almost fifty years of business and personal records. The collection reflects Greenfield’s career as a real estate mogul, banker, department store developer, mortgage financier, motion-picture theater owner, hotelier, philanthropist, and Philadelphia City commissioner. He also served as delegate to national conventions of both the Democratic and the Republican parties, and was appointed to commissions by Philadelphia mayors and U.S. presidents, keeping thorough records of his involvement in multiple social, political, religious, and business organizations.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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