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Pierre Eugène du Simitière collection, 1492-1784 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.8 linear feet and 12 containers, 4 volumes
Abstract:
Pierre Eugène Du Simitière (1737-1784) was a collector, artist, and historian, who opened the first public museum, the American Museum, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the American Musuem, Du Simitière presented his many materials collected during his travels and from his collections. The Library Company of Philadelphia purchased many of the manuscript materials at an auction in 1785 following Du Simitière’s death and the closing of the American Museum. The following collection is Du Simitière’s manuscript collection purchased at this auction. The collection reflects his interests and his lifestyle and includes poetry, sketches, watercolors, newspaper excerpts and clippings, treatise, correspondence, lists of nature, historical chronologies, bibliographies, and copies and originals of historical documents. The collection includes compiled information on places such as the West Indies, Pennsylvania, New England, New York, and the Carolinas in the form of historical chronologies,...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

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Logan family papers, 1684-1925 (inclusive)

Extent:
11.0 linear feet and 10 containers, 62 volumes
Abstract:
The Logan family was prominent in Philadelphia from the start of the province, serving the people in many capacities, including political, medical and literary. This is a collection of manuscripts obtained by the Library Company of Philadelphia that relates to the Logan family. The collection includes papers of the Logan family members Albanus Charles, Algernon Sydney, Deborah Norris, William Jr., and James as well as family materials collected by Frances A. Logan and William Logan Fox. The collection dates from 1684 to 1925 and consists of family papers, correspondence, diaries, writings, medical texts, lecture notes, financial records, poetry, visiting cards, and invitations.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

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Rush family papers, 1748-1876 (inclusive)

Extent:
34.5 linear feet
Abstract:
The Rush Family papers includes material from Benjamin Rush, physician, social activist, educator, writer and patriot; his brother Jacob Rush, lawyer, Supreme Court judge, and patriot; and Benjamin’s son James Rush, physician and Treasurer of the United States Mint. These American men were “strong characters, zealous patriots during the stirring period in which they lived, tenacious of their convictions and of the high standard of individual duty which they set for others, and typified in themselves,” (Richards, page 53). The bulk of the collection is the papers of Dr. Benjamin Rush and his son Dr. James Rush. Judge Jacob, John, Richard and William are represented, but to a much lesser degree. The other Rush family members are represented in a very limited manner. The collection contains correspondence; financial records; medical notes, lectures, and case histories; writings regarding medicine, politics, and the judicial system; and observations on colonial Philadelphia, the...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

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Samuel W. Pennypacker family papers, 1860-1916 (bulk) 1821-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
100.0 cubic feet
Abstract:
Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker (1843-1916) served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1903-1907. A prominent Philadelphia lawyer, judge, and president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania from 1900 to 1916, Pennypacker also authored more than ninety books and publications. The Samuel W. Pennypacker family papers at Pennypacker Mills, 1821-1980, is a well documented collection that reflects the interests of Samuel W. Pennypacker, his term as governor of Pennsylvania, the construction of the State Capitol, Pennsylvania history, family history, and Pennsylvania German culture. Pennypacker's papers include more than 25,000 letters received by Pennypacker, copybooks containing more than 13,000 letters he wrote, his notes and writings on his family genealogy, and documents Samuel collected for autographs, including more than 300 deeds of eastern Pennsylvania dating from 1682 to 1915. The collection also contains more than 1700 photographs of the family and places they visited, as well as...(see more)

Held at: Pennypacker Mills [Contact Us]

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Logan family papers, 1670-1872 (bulk) 1638-1964 (bulk 1670-1872) (inclusive)

Extent:
34.8 linear feet (65 boxes, 79 volumes, 12 flat files)
Abstract:
The Logan family was a prominent Philadelphia family dating back to 1699, when James Logan, the family patriarch, arrived in Philadelphia to serve as the first secretary of the Pennsylvania colony. Through work in agriculture and politics, Logan and his descendants were intimately involved in the development of the Pennsylvania colony and, later, the fledging United States. James Logan's prominence resulted in connections, both professional and familial, with other prominent colonial families, including the Norris and Dickinson families. The Logan family papers, 1638-1964 (bulk 1670-1872), documents James Logan’s personal and professional life, as well as that of several generations of his descendents. There are papers documenting the lives of his son William, his grandson George Logan, his great-grandsons Albanus Charles Logan and Algernon Sydney Logan, and the subsequent relationships with the Dickinson and Norris families. John Dickinson, who married one of James Logan's...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Robert Proud collection, 1681-1811 (bulk) 1681-1903 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.8 linear feet (; 7 boxes and 1 flat file)
Abstract:
Robert Proud was born on May 10, 1728 in Yorkshire England, and was trained formally in a Quaker school in classical studies. He moved to Philadelphia in 1759, and by 1761 was teaching Latin at the Friends School. Proud was a staunch Loyalist. From 1775 to 1780, Proud left his teaching post and went into seclusion, where he began writing on various subjects. Most of his writings were never published. Also during these years, he worked extensively on what became his most best-known work, The History of Pennsylvania in North America. The book was highly unsuccessful, due to its Loyalist leanings, and some very strong inaccuracies. Robert Proud died in 1813 at the age of 85. The collection is arranged into two series, the first consisting mostly of handwritten copies and drafts of The History of Pennsylvania in North America, and primary source materials used in the book. The second series consists of memoranda, poetry, and other personal papers.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Jasper Yeates papers, 1733-1876 (inclusive)

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)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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William Watts Hart Davis papers, 1809-1908 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.0 linear feet (7 boxes, 7 volumes, 1 flat file)
Abstract:
William Watts Hart Davis was graduated from military school in Norwich, Vt., in 1842, was professor at Portsmouth (Va.) Military Academy, studied law, was an officer in the Mexican War, returned home to Doylestown and practiced law, was appointed to various government offices for the territory of New Mexico, 1853-1857, returned home where he purchased the Doylestown "Democrat," recruited the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment, and served through the Civil War, returned home to spend the rest of his life managing and editing the Democrat, and speaking and writing on historical subjects. Davis's papers are arranged into several volumes. His incoming correspondence, 1832-1846, 1857-1860, 1880-1882, from family and friends touches on all his activities, with many passing references to politics, although the content is primarily of personal affairs. One volume of the correspondence has been designated "autographs" and includes letters of political and military men, together with clipped...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Michael and Elliott Zayon collection, 1942-1946 (bulk) 1857-1946 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.7 linear feet (; 1 box, 1 flat file, 5 volumes)
Abstract:
Philadelphia resident Elliot Zayon culled together this collection of his father, Michael Zayon's (1914-2009) World War II memorabilia and local publications and ephemera. Along with these items is Zayon's own collection of books, papers, and photographs, that echoes and expands upon the materials collected by his father. The collection consists primarily of publications, such as Fourth Armored Divison by Captain Kenneth Koyen, Up Front by cartoonist Bill Mauldin, a portfolio of World War I-era rotogravure images entitled The War of Nations, and Jewish Holy Scriptures, published in 1942 for Jewish personnel in the U. S. Army. Additional items include a loan certificate from 1866, manuals of the Philadelphia City Council from 1920 and 1928, and a copy of the 18 August 1945 issue of the Paterson Evening News from Paterson, New Jersey.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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