Search

Start Over Subject Shipping

Main content

Rodrigue family papers, 1770-1875 (bulk) 1770-1975 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.59 linear feet
Abstract:
Marie Jacques Dominique D’Orlic (1748-1825) was a French colonist and a wealthy planter in St. Domingue, a French colony on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now modern-day Haiti). D’Orlic and his wife and daughter were forced to flee the island during the slave uprisings of the 1790s, and lost their wealth. The D’Orlics eventually landed in Philadelphia by 1795, where D’Orlic served as a trusted advisor to other white refugees from St. Domingue. Jacques Andre Rodrigue (1759-1844) was also a French aristocrat and a wealthy merchant and sugar planter in St. Domingue. Rodrigue lost nearly all his wealth in the slave uprisings of the 1790s and was also forced to flee to Philadelphia, where he settled, married the daughter of D’Orlic, and built another large business as a merchant trading with France. The Rodrigue family papers date from 1770 to 1975, with the bulk of records dating from 1770 to 1875. This collection contains the papers of Jacques Andre Rodrigue (1759-1844) and the...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

Main content

George Sproule papers, 1884-1944 (bulk) 1784-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.16 linear feet (3 boxes, 17 volumes)
Abstract:
George F. Sproule (1867-1928), known as an authority on the Port of Philadelphia, served on the Board of Port Wardens of Philadelphia from 1884 to 1907, as Secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Navigation for the Delaware River from 1907 to 1920, and as Director of Wharves, Docks and Ferries from 1920 to 1928. His son, Samuel Jackson Sproule served as Port Representative for the United States Shipping Administration, Recruitment and Manning Organization during World War II. This collection documents the professional life of George F. Sproule in the Philadelphia shipping and maritime industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the history of the Port of Philadelphia, and the World War II career of his son. The collection includes clippings, correspondence, appointment books, a scrapbook, business records, photographs, ephemera, and writings. The collection also includes a large number of maritime-related newspaper clipping volumes dating from 1891 to 1928.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Main content

Red D Line records, 1861-1936 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.66 linear feet (12 volumes)
Abstract:
The Red D Line was the main transportation link between the United States and Venezuela from 1820 to 1936. The line took its trade name from the red D on its white flag, which stood for the line's founder, John Dallett, a Philadelphia merchant. Dallett travelled to Venezuela in 1823, where he went into business with the influential Venezuelan merchant, John Boulton. Dallett returned to Philadelphia and set up a business shipping cargoes to Boulton, and in 1838 began chartering sailing vessels to carry his merchandise. The Red D Line records house a sampling of business and financial records of the shipping line from 1861 to 1936. There are twelve volumes.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Main content

Robert Chambers collection on William Wagner and the history of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1820-1910 (bulk) 1798-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.0 linear feet (5 containers)
Abstract:
Incorporated by William Wagner (1796-1885) in 1855, the Wagner Free Institute of Science is a natural history museum and educational institution in Philadelphia that is dedicated to providing free public education in the sciences. The Robert Chambers collection on William Wagner and the history of the Wagner Free Institute of Science includes material collected by Chambers and contains correspondence; genealogical and family information; documents on William Wagner's early business career with Stephen Girard, the Lennoxville Steam Saw Mill and Snowden and Wagner; Wagner Free Instute of Science financial and operational material; and personal material from Sydney T. Skidmore, a member of the Board. This collection will almost certainly not provide a researcher with all the information needed—instead, this is an excellent starting point. Because these materials were, according to institutional memory, removed from other collections by Robert Chambers and kept close at hand due to...(see more)

Held at: Wagner Free Institute of Science [Contact Us]

Main content

Thomas P. Cope Family papers, 1795-1891 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Abstract:
Letters, legal, business and financial papers, accounts, minutes, diary, portraits and other papers chiefly related to the Cope family of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Topics include business and civic interests in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting committe aiding German Separatists led by Joseph M. Bimeler (Baumler), Separation of 1827-1828, slavery and immigration of free Black people to Haiti, War of 1812, etc. Letters (1854-1857) of Thomas Garrett (1789-1871) discuss his work assisting fleeing formerly enslaved people.

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

Main content

Philadelphia Custom House records, 1779-1934 (inclusive) 1790-1900 (bulk)

Extent:
12.2 linear foot (13 boxes), 1 oversize removal, and 1 oversize box
Abstract:
The Philadelphia Custom House records consist of materials generated by and related to the United States Customs Service of the Port of Philadelphia from 1779 to 1932. These records illustrate commercial and shipping interests, as well as foreign trade relations, in the United States from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. The materials also highlight the growth of the U.S. Customs Service as it took on new responsibilities and wielded greater authority over the course of the nineteenth century. In addition to documents related to shipping and paying duties, the collection also contains materials related to marine insurance, the internal administration of the Philadelphia Custom House, and the activity of ship crews.

Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]

Main content

Awbury Arboretum Association Cope family collection, 1791-2011 (inclusive)

Extent:
5.3 linear feet
Abstract:
Henry Cope purchased 40 acres of land in East Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1852 where he built a home for his growing family. Over the next 70 years, his descendants build 24 houses representing a variety of architectural styles. A portion of this land, now known as the Awbury Arboretum, was left to the City Parks Association in 1916 to protect it from development. The Awbury Arboretum Association Cope family collection, 1791-2011, encompasses several small collections donated by various descendants of the Cope family. It includes correspondence, deeds, financial records, journals, and photographs.

Held at: Awbury Arboretum [Contact Us]

Main content

Donnaldson family papers, 1773-1915 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.25 linear feet
Abstract:
John Donnaldson (1754-1831) was a merchant and insurance broker who owned shares in the Canton, the first ship to sail from Philadelphia to China in 1785-1787. All of his five sons also had mercantile careers, and three of them--Edward Milner Donnaldson (1778-1853), Richard M. Donnaldson (1787-1873) and Hugh Donnaldson (1796-1819)--traveled to China. The Donnaldson family papers, 1773-1915, include documents relating to various family members, but principally Richard M. and Harriet Donnaldson. Documents include correspondence, land draughts, marriage certificates, etc. Of special interest are two original accounts of voyages to China, 1818-1819.

Held at: Historical Society of Montgomery County [Contact Us]

Main content

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company letter book, 1864-1865 (inclusive)

Extent:
1 volume
Abstract:
Oversized volume containing copies of the outgoing correspondence from the commerical shipping company, Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O Company). The letters provide a record of the day-to-day operations of the company from 1864 to 1865.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Main content

Harbor shipping records, 1813-1823 (inclusive)

Extent:
1 volume
Abstract:
A volume listing the arrival of ships, probably at Boston Harbor spanning ten years from 1813 to 1823. Ships are entered by date of arrival.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Limit your search

more »

more »

more »

more »

more »

more »

Current results range from 1762 to 2011

View larger »