Subject: Coal mines and mining - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 1.5 cubic feet
Abstract:: Jacob Cist (1782-1825) was an American naturalist, artist, inventor, businessman, author, treasurer and United States Postmaster. He was also one of the most important pioneers in the marketing of anthracite coal and a leading authority on its economic potential. This collection includes personal and business letters, documents, agreements, memorabilia, clippings and records of Cist's service as United States Postmaster of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. His accounts as treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Co. are included, as are records of his activities as a co-founder and officer of the Luzerne County Agricultural Society and his service as a Commissioner from his county to the Pennsylvania Commission for Internal Improvement. His tax accounts as County Treasurer, with supplementary letters give details of the procedures in vogue during that era. The collection also includes some typescript and some facsimile copies.

Held at: Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Extent:: 0.75 linear feet
Abstract:: The Weiss family was prominent in the coal business in eastern Pennsylvania during the late 1700s and 1800s. The Weiss family collection dates from 1777 to 1916 and documents, most fully, Jacob Weiss (1750-1839), Francis White (1773-1845), and Francis White (1819-1888). The papers include diaries, geological and surveying notebooks, maps and observations; personalia and biographical notes; transcribed documents, portraits, scrapbooks, business journals, daybooks, mercantile records and account books as well as correspondence of many members of the family.

Held at: Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Extent:: 75.0 linear feet (75 linear feet (79 box of records + photographs + maps and drawings + pamphlets + patents and realia))
Abstract:: The Birkinbine Engineering Company got its start through Henry P. M. Birkinbine. His son, John, gained early engineering experience through various water supply projects in and around Philadelphia; this experience later helped direct the Birkinbine Engineering Company’s involvement in many water-related projects around the country in the late 19th century as part of the improved public sanitation initiatives. The Birkinbine firm also specialized in mining engineering, both in the United States and Mexico. John also had a firm grounding in mechanical engineering through his work in the Weimer Machine Works in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. John’s interest in manufacturing pig iron from charcoal, combined with his knowledge of hydraulics, catalyzed his concern for the condition of forests in Pennsylvania and he became one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association. He also was president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, founding member and secretary of the United...(see more)

Held at: Lehigh University Special Collections [Contact Us]

Extent:: 50 cubic feet and 401 of maps + 86 drawings + 13 textual material + 4 maps on rollers; 50 cubic feet
Abstract:: The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company was a prominent coal mining and shipping company first established in 1820 with the merger of the Lehigh Coal Mining Company and the Lehigh Navigation Company, both of which operated in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania beginning in 1818. The Company owned and operated an extensive system of coalmines in Pennsylvania’s Carbon and Schuylkill Counties, two canals, and several railroads and railways. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company is credited with shaping the course of the American industrial revolution in Pennsylvania, as it contributed to innovation in transportation, manufacturing, and use of natural resources. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company records house the business records of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. This collection dates from 1815 to 1940, the bulk from 1826 to 1913, and consists primarily of maps and...(see more)

Held at: Lehigh University Special Collections [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:: The collection documents the work of the American Friends Service Committee child relief team in the bituminous coal fields of West Virginia and Kentucky, 1931-1933. Of particular interest are (carbon) letters sent regularly to the American Friends Service Committee Coal Committee headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa., recounting almost daily the activities of the team from February-May 1932 as well as the hardships and political unrest. The first year of the program concentrated on feeding and clothing; thereafter, the administration for relief was gradually transferred to local government and was focused on social and economic reconstruction.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

Extent:: .2 cubic ft. (1 box, stored with pa-139)
Abstract:: The President's Committee on Unemployment Relief and the Federal Children's Bureau requested that the American Friends Service Committee provide relief for the children of unemployed mine workers in the poverty stricken bituminous coal fields in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and West Virginia during the winter of 1931-1932. Charles Maris Tatum worked in West Virginia and Kentucky for the AFSC Coal Relief mission from 1931-1933.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]

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