A collection of PDF finding aids from the Library Company of Philadelphia.

http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/search.html?fq=top_repository_facet%3ALibrary%20Company%20of%20Philadelphia

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Albert Newsam Papers. 1833-1864 (inclusive).
The Albert Newsam Papers holds correspondence and documents sent to, written by, and about the artist. Some of the material relates to the Gallaudet Monument Association, which was organized to collect funds from the deaf community nationwide to raise a monument to Thomas H. Gallaudet (1787-1851) on the grounds of the American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb (now the American School for the Deaf) in Hartford, Connecticut. Newsam designed the monument, and was vice president for fundraising in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The collection also holds a circa 1835 folio album, titled “Principles of Perspective,” which is thought to be in Newsam's hand and functioned as his workbook on the subject., Letters from Albert Newsam to John A. McAllister are in the Library Company's John A. McAllister Papers (McA MSS 001); in those letters, Newsam writes accounts of his life at the Living Home and the work he is pursuing while there. The Library Company's Print Department holds several portrait prints by Newsam., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., Albert Newsam (1809-1864), was a deaf artist who was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and orphaned at an early age. Through devious means he was taken to Philadelphia where, by good fortune, he was admitted in 1820 to the recently established Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. Newsam had exhibited great talent as an artist while young man, and became an apprentice with Philadelphia lithographer Col. Cephas G. Childs (1793-1871) in 1827, after which he became the principal artist with the noted printer Peter S. Duval (1804 or 05-1886). A master copyist, portraitist, and chromiste, Newsam is generally credited with helping to elevate the art of lithography in the United States. His career ended suddenly in 1859 when he suffered a stroke that affected his vision and coordination; he spent his final years at Dr. John A. Brown's Living Home for the Sick and Well, near Wilmington, Delaware, a situation arranged for him and funded by a committee of friends that included John A. McAllister.
Anne Hampton Brewster papers finding aid
The Anne Hampton Brewster papers dates from 1777 to 1892, with the majority of the materials dating from 1845 to 1892. The materials primarily consist of diaries, journals, commonplace books, correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes about her writings and drafts of her writings. The materials document Anne Hampton Brewster's personal life with friends and family, as well as her professional life as a journalist and writer.
Bank of Columbia Records. 1794-1828 (inclusive).
The Bank of Columbia Records has correspondence and legal and financial papers that document the history of the bank and its depositors. The collection holds letters, predominantly single letters, from many prominent citizens of Georgetown and Washington in the early nineteenth century, as well as from Treasury Department officials and officers of the Bank of the United States., The Library Company of Philadelphia holds the Bank of the United States Records (McA 012), which are also part of the McAllister Collection; Bank of Columbia material can be found there in the files of Massachusetts senator James Lloyd (1769-1831), the Bank of the United States Office of Discount and Deposit, and William Wirt (1772-1834)., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., The Bank of Columbia was chartered in 1793 in George Town, Maryland. Its first president was Benjamin Stoddert (1751-1813), who served through 1798; the second was John Mason (1766-1849). The bank's chief administrative officer was its cashier. Samuel Hanson held the office through October 1801, followed by William Whann (d. 1822). Daniel Kurtz was appointed cashier in June 1821. The bank failed in 1824.
Bank of the United States Records, 1790-1842 (inclusive).
The Bank of the United States Records contains correspondence and documents primarily related to the second Bank of the United States in Philadelphia, with a small collection of material from the first bank, and from several of the second bank's branches in other American cities. There is correspondence with officers of the banks and its patrons John Sergeant, Basil Hall, Nathaniel Silsbee, and William Henry Harrison, as well as documents relating to the construction of the second Bank building designed by William Strickland. Papers relating to the duties of the Commissioners of Loans in the states of Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania are filed at the end of the collection., The early national period of the United States was marked by two attempts at central banking, the first and second Bank of the United States, both headquartered in Philadelphia. The first bank was chartered in 1791 with a twenty-year term that was allowed to expire in 1811. Its first president, serving from 1791 through 1807, was Philadelphia merchant Thomas Willing (1731-1821). The bank established offices of discount and deposit in 1792 in Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, and New York, after which it opened offices in Norfolk (1800), Washington and Savannah (1802), and New Orleans (1805)., Plagued by financial troubles during and after the War of 1812, Congress authorized a second bank in 1816, also with a twenty-year renewable term. The acting treasury secretary and Philadelphia native William Jones (1760-1831) was appointed the second bank's first president, succeeded in 1819 by Langdon Cheves (1776-1857), and in 1823 by Nicholas Biddle (1786-1844). The second Bank of the United States opened in Philadelphia in 1817 with seventeen branches in twelve states and the District of Columbia; by 1830 there were twenty-five branches in operation. The bank was not renewed by Congress, and ceased operation in 1836.
Barker Family Papers, 1785-1832 (inclusive).
The Barker Family Papers contains letters and documents related to the personal and professional lives of a father and son who were prominent Philadelphia public servants., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., John Barker (1746-1818), was distinguished by a life in public service. He served in the Revolutionary War and remained active in the military through 1808, retiring as Major General of the First Brigade, First Division. He was twice sheriff of Philadelphia, serving from 1794-1797 and 1803-1807, and twice elected as mayor (1808-1810 and 1812-1813). He was, by trade, a tailor., James Nelson Barker (1784-1858) was respected for his accomplishments in the military, literature, and public service. The son of General John Barker, he rose to the rank of major in the War of 1812 and became adjutant general of the local militia, was a Philadelphia alderman and a one-term mayor (1820-1821), and collector of customs for the port of Philadelphia (1829-1838). For the last two decades of his life, Barker was comptroller at the Department of the Treasury in Washington, an appointment he received from Martin Van Buren. In addition, he was a published playwright whose work centered on themes from American history.
Binny & Ronaldson Papers, 1805-1822 (inclusive).
The Binny & Ronaldson Papers contains correspondence relating to their type-founding firm, including letters from the noted publisher John Binns, and author Joel Barlow, as well as to their ceramics factory, the Columbian Pottery. The financial records hold material documenting both business and the pair's personal lives, such as invoices for the funeral and burial of Binny's first wife Elizabeth (d. 1812)., The Library Company holds copies of A Specimen of metal ornaments cast at the letter foundery of Binny & Ronaldson (Philadelphia: Printed by Fry and Kammerer) in 1809, and their Specimen of printing types from the foundery of Binny & Ronaldson, Philadelphia in 1812., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., Archibald Binny (1762-1838), type founder, was a native of Portobello, near Edinburgh, Scotland, and immigrated to the United States in 1796. James Ronaldson (1768-1842), also born near Edinburgh, arrived in America in spring 1794, and opened a bakery in Philadelphia in 1795. After losing his business in a fire in 1796, he joined Binny in partnership as Binny & Ronaldson type founders. Binny and Ronaldson were also partners in another endeavor, the Columbian Pottery, which was located on Cedar (now South) Street in Philadelphia, and operated from 1808 through about 1814. Binny retired to St. Mary's County, MD, in 1815, and Ronaldson continued in the type founding business through 1831.
Charles Bird Papers, 1800-1837 (inclusive).
The Charles Bird Papers holds the business records of a successful hardware importer and merchant, and includes correspondence and records of financial transactions with merchants in England, cities along the American east coast, and Cuba., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., Charles Bird was a hardware merchant in Philadelphia from 1802 to 1833, importing merchandise from England, and selling it to customers in the United States and the Caribbean. He was also involved in partnerships with his sons Henry, John, and Joseph, as well as with James Clemson and the brothers George, Robert, and Thomas Earp. Bird made extensive investments in real estate, and was active in community affairs and charitable organizations in Philadelphia.
Civil War Manuscripts, 1854-1868 (inclusive).
The collection holds disparate letters and documents pertaining to both military and naval officials, and civilians, active during the Civil War. There are small groups of material relating to the careers of five Union men who functioned at various levels in the war: an army colonel, William Watts Hart Davis; a navy surgeon, James McClelland; a soldier from Philadelphia, J. Ridgway Moore; an army general, Lovell Harrison Rousseau; and a Union spy, Richard Wilcox. There are also ten prisoner-of-war letters written by Confederate soldiers being held in Indianapolis, IN, and Columbus, OH. Much of the material was removed from military office files during the war and sent to the collector, John A. McAllister in Philadelphia., Additional Civil War-related autographs, clipped from letters and documents, are in the McAllister Autograph Collection (McA MSS 022)., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., Some of the items in this collection were previously assigned accession numbers 5786.F, 5787.F, and 5795.F., John A. McAllister was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia.
Committee to Attend to and Alleviate the Sufferings of the Afflicted with the Malignant Fever minutes finding aid
This collection consists of one volume containing the minutes of the "Proceedings of the Committee, Appointed on the 14th of September, 1793, by the Citizens of Philadelphia, the Northern Liberties, and the District of Southwark." The collection dates from 1793 to 1794 and includes an appendix. The minutes include a list of Bush Hill patients and records of their convalescence or death.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, General Assembly Records, 1783-1859 (bulk 1790-1838).
A small collection of records of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania holds late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century correspondence, reports, petitions, and maps filed with the Assembly by government officials, politicians, corporations, and citizens. Among the documents are letters sent to the Senate by Governor Thomas Mifflin (1744-1800), and the Seneca Indian Chief Cornplanter (1732?-1836) who appeared before the legislators in 1790., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org.
David Lewis Papers, 1793-1839 (inclusive).
The David Lewis Papers span Lewis's career, and document some of his activities with his firm Wharton & Lewis, with the Phoenix Insurance Company of Philadelphia, and as a merchant., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., David Lewis (1766-1840) was a Philadelphia merchant in business with Isaac Wharton (1745-1808) for twenty years. Wharton and Lewis were two of the founders of the Phoenix Insurance Company of Philadelphia, which was organized in 1803. Wharton was elected the company's first president and Lewis its vice president, offices they held until Wharton resigned in November 1805. At that point, Lewis became president, and retained the position until his death in 1840.
Dillwyn & Emlen family correspondence finding aid
This collection consists of five disbound volumes of letters written to and from William Dillwyn of London and his daughter Susanna Dillwyn in America from 1770 to 1795; and thereafter until 1818, to and from Susanna and her husband Samuel Emlen, Jr. of Burlington County, New Jersey. Although Susanna lived almost her entire life apart from her father, their letters are frequent and deal primarily with family matters and kin. However, there is frequent comment concerning such topics as yellow fever; abolitionism and slavery; and American and European politics, including the Napoleonic wars and the embargo, as well as their effects upon trade and merchants in Philadelphia and London. Moreover, events such as the Federal Convention of 1787 and topics such as the health of Benjamin Franklin, the popularity of President Washington and the trials of a new republic are addressed throughout the correspondence.
Elizabeth Graeme Fegusson papers finding aid
This collection consists of six volumes of writings by Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson who is considered to be the outstanding female poet of her place and time, and a leader in the literary world of colonial Pennsylvania. These volumes, which date from 1752 to 1799, are arranged alphabetically by title.
Episcopal Clergy Manuscripts Collection, 1765-1867 (inclusive).
The Episcopal Clergy Manuscripts Collection primarily contains letters written by ordained leaders of the Episcopal Church to their peers. Nearly all of the authors of the letters and documents were then, or became, bishops in the church. Some letters hold notable content, while others simply ask for, or reply to, a request. Several of the correspondents wrote from or of the American Midwest, chiefly Ohio, and describe conditions in their dioceses, churches, and communities. Most of the letters are unrelated to each other and were most likely acquired for their signatures. The collection also holds two eighteenth-century autograph manuscript sermons by Rev. Edward Bass (1726-1803), the rector of St. Paul's Church in Newburyport, MA., The Library Company's Print Department holds portraits of American clergymen, both in prints and photographs. The John A. McAllister Papers (McA MSS 001) contain several letters to McAllister from clergymen of all denominations, including Episcopal., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., John A. McAllister was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia.
George Gillespie notes taken from Dr. Thomas Young’s Lectures on Midwifery finding aid
This collection consists of two volumes which contain what appears to be verbatim notes taken by George Gillespie from Dr. Young's Lectures on Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh in 1761. The first volume primarily focuses on the history of midwifery, basic female anatomy and common gynecological problems and disorders. Topics in the second volume include techniques for removing the placenta, laborious labors, use of the forceps, properties of different kinds of milk, and a host of possible complications. Both volumes contain an index.
Gerard van Swieten dictata in materia medica finding aid
This collection consists of eight volumes of medical writings in Latin concerning nutrition, pharmacy, and surgery. Several pages at the beginning of Volume I, and a few pages elsewhere, are translated into English on the facing pages.
Godfrey Weber Papers. 1802-1844 (inclusive).
Series I, Correspondence (1842-1843) holds letters that relate to Weber's business interests. There are three letters from Pennsylvania representative Joseph Reed Ingersoll (1786-1868), one of which replied to Weber's letter regarding silk duties. One letter is unsigned and unattributed; written in December 1842, it is addressed to President John Tyler and recommends the appointment of Henry Mahler of New York to the position of United States Consul in Zurich. It is filed with the Weber material based on a letter from Ingersoll to Weber saying that he had forwarded Weber's recommendation to the secretary of state along with an endorsement of Weber's character as a reference. Mahler was appointed to the post as the country's first consul to Zurich, and served from 1843-1844., Series II, Documents (1802-1844) mostly pertains to the estate of a doctor and druggist, Peter Anthony Blénon (1759-1836), for which Godfrey Weber was an executor. A native of Sens in the Burgundy region of France, Pierre Antoine Blénon became an American citizen in 1798, and was a resident of Hamilton Village in West Philadelphia. He left a large part of his estate to “Institutions of Charity and Benifence” in the city of Philadelphia. Included in the Weber papers is a set of refunding bonds signed by each of the thirty-two organizations, which bear a collection of beautiful institutional seals. Other documents in the series are a receipt book that records payments made from the Blénon estate between July 1836 and February 1844, two of Weber's French passports and two of his French military conscription forms., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., Godfrey Weber (1780 or 1-1862) was a merchant in Philadelphia. Born Christian Godfrey Weber in Strasbourg, France, he first appeared in the Philadelphia directories in 1820 as Godfrey Weber, a merchant at 160 1/2 South Second St. In 1833 his description and location changed to an importer of French goods at 68 South Third St. The compendium Memoirs and Auto-biography of some of the Wealthy Citizens of Philadelphia (1846) describes Weber & Co. as “Importers of French and other goods. Adopted citizens.” with a net worth of $50,000. At the end of his life, Weber was listed in the Philadelphia directories as a dry goods merchant living at 635 Pine Street. The donor of the papers, John A. McAllister, was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia. Family history and census documents suggest that Weber was related to McAllister's wife Annette Steinbrenner (d. 1926); the McAllisters are buried with the Weber and Steinbrenner families in Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Gratz-Franks-Simon Papers, 1752-1831 (inclusive).
The Gratz-Franks-Simon Papers contains correspondence and documents concerning the lives of two generations of three families of merchants living and working in eastern Pennsylvania. The material is primarily related to their business transactions, with some personal and family topics also present. Among the correspondents are Levy Andrew Levy, who worked with Joseph Simon in Lancaster, the trader and speculator George Croghan, and the Gratz's cousins Jacob and Solomon Henry., The Edwin Wolf 2nd Collection of Jewish Historical Documents at the Library Company holds many letters by and to members of the Gratz, Franks, and Simon families., Barnard Gratz (1738-1801) and his brother Michael (1740-1811) immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1750s. They were merchants active during the Revolutionary period, and who formed partnerships with the merchants David Franks (1720-1794) of New York and Philadelphia, and Joseph Simon (ca. 1712-1804) of Lancaster, PA. Michael Gratz's two sons, Simon (1773-1839) and Hyman (1776-1857), inherited their father's business.
Greenway Family Papers, 1772-1802 (inclusive).
The Greenway Family Papers hold letters and documents relating to the family's personal and business lives in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Letters discussing the yellow fever epidemics in Philadelphia are included., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., Joseph Greenway (d. 1803) and his wife Hannah (d. 1810) lived in Philadelphia, and had close ties to Cape May, NJ. Greenway was a tradesman and a merchant.
John A. McAllister Papers, 1820-1885 (bulk 1860-1866).
The collection holds correspondence and documents which are primarily the papers of the Philadelphia antiquarian collector John A. McAllister, but it includes some additional material relating to his family and their optical business. As McAllister was an active collector of autograph letters, there are items from many of the important names in nineteenth-century politics, culture, religion, and the military, including members of the Peale family and other Philadelphians. A large component of the collection relates to McAllister's acquisition methods, so there are letters from private and institutional collectors of Americana in other parts of the country as well as with working historians such as Benson J. Lossing. Much of the collection focuses on the American Civil War (1861-1865); the single literary item is a manuscript by Edgar Allan Poe., John A. McAllister's collection is now in the Library Company of Philadelphia; parts of the collection are either described as individual items in the library's online catalog, or in a series of archival finding aids., Some of the items in this collection were formerly assigned accession numbers 5786.F and 5787.F., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., John A. McAllister was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia.
John B. Budd Business Records, 1820-1846 (inclusive).
The John B. Budd Business Records span the dates 1820 to 1846, and describe the workings of a Philadelphia commission merchant who was importing and exporting goods between Philadelphia and England, the American South, and the Caribbean. Many of his contacts were merchants in New Orleans., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., John Britton Budd was born in Philadelphia, and was a merchant/grocer and a commission merchant in the city for more than forty years.
John Dickinson papers finding aid
This collection documents John Dickinson's roles in politics, business, law, nation building, and the American Revolution. The collection is arranged in two series: "John Dickinson" and "Mary Norris Dickinson," with the bulk of the collection contained within the "John Dickinson" series. This collection was organized into its current arrangement, probably in 1978. Prior to that, the collection was described to an item level in a calendar created by John H. Powell. While the 1978 re-arrangement has resulted in the physical order of the calendar being unusable, the information contained therein is of the utmost value and a pdf version of the calendar is attached to this finding aid.
John Smith Papers, 1802-1819.
The collection contains correspondence and documents covering the government and military careers of John Smith; they primarily related to his career as the United States marshal for the district of Pennsylvania during the War of 1812., John Smith was appointed United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Thomas Jefferson on March 28, 1801, replacing John Hall. He was reappointed by James Monroe on November 27, 1818, for a four-year term, but in January 1819 he was removed from office and replaced by Samuel D. Ingram. Smith was listed in the Philadelphia city directories as “late marshal” from 1819 to 1822, and was not listed thereafter. He married Elizabeth Turner on October 15, 1795, at St Michael and Zion Lutheran Church, Philadelphia. No date of death is known. Smith also had a long military career, serving almost continuously from 1776 until 1814, when the 1st Regiment of the Pennsylvania Cavalry, which he commanded, was disbanded., United States Marshals were public servants appointed by the President; their primary function was to provide local support for the operation of federal courts. The post involved a wide range of duties including procuring witnesses, serving subpoenas and warrants, and paying the fees and expenses of court clerks, judges, federal attorneys, and jurors. Marshals advertised seized property and oversaw its sale. In addition, until 1870, marshals conducted the federal census, and collected a variety of statistical information on behalf of the federal government., In time of war, such as the War of 1812, the marshal's duties expanded to include keeping track of enemy aliens living in the U.S., issuing passports for their domestic travel, and guarding and providing for British prisoners of war.
Lapsley Family Business Records. 1805-1817 (inclusive).
The Lapsley Family Business Records span the period from 1805 to 1817, and contain correspondence, shipping, and financial documents relating to the textile manufacturers and dry goods firms in England and America with whom the family was involved in commerce., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., David Lapsley and his four sons were carpet and dry goods merchants in Philadelphia from the 1780s through the mid-nineteenth century, and importers of textiles from England to the United States.
Library Company of Philadelphia minute books finding aid
This collection consists of minute books documenting the meetings of the Directors (both final minutes and rough minutes), 1731 to 2000; the Trustees of the Loganian Library, 1853 to 1876; and the Committee for Fixing the Value of Lost Books, 1785 to 1848. Included in these volumes are financial reports and supporting materials such as excerpts from annual reports, exhibition announcements, menus and correspondence.
Library Company of Philadelphia publications finding aid
This collection consists of printed material created by the Library Company of Philadelphia. Included are brochures; information about institutional resources and services; event brochures, announcements, exhibit catalogues, and conference programs; and published works regarding the Library Company of Philadelphia or the materials held by the Library Company of Philadelphia.
Library Company of Philadelphia Shareholders records finding aid
This collection consists of twelve volumes of shareholders records dating from 1742 to 2007. The volumes, Record Books A to L, document share purchases and transfers of shares. Entries include date, name of member, and occasionally brief notes on circumstances of share transfers. The earliest volume, Record Book A, is a photocopy of the original, and contains entries by Benjamin Franklin and manuscript copies of founding documents which are dated 1742 and lay out initial membership guidelines and rules of operation of the Library Company. The collection also includes receipts for dues paid and documents related to share transfers.
Logan family papers finding aid
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. The collection is divided into seven series and arranged in the following order: “Albanus Charles Logan papers,” “Algernon Sydney Logan papers,” “Deborah Norris Logan papers,” “Frances Armat Logan collection,” “James Logan papers” and “William Logan Fox collection of papers relating to the Library Company of Philadelphia v. William Logan Estate.”
McAllister Autograph Collection, 19th century (bulk).
A collection of approximately four hundred autographs clipped from letters and documents that contains signatures of most of the prominent men (and six women) in eighteenth and nineteenth-century American history. There is also a specific group of Civil War-era autographs collected from servicemen during the war., John A. McAllister was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia.
McAllister Miscellaneous Manuscripts, 1683-1872 (inclusive).
A collection of miscellaneous and individual papers including letters, deeds, indentures, invoices, depositions, wills, certificates, passports, summons, and other government, legal and financial documents, most of which bear no relation to each other. Among the documents is a memoir by Scottish immigrant Quintin Campbell, three songs by Scottish hymnist James Montgomery, a letter from Dr. J.K. Mitchell, papers relating to A.H. Dohrmann and William Kneass, and a letter from Louis-Antoine Caraccioli to Tobias Smollett.., Several hundred clipped signatures were filed throughout the pre-2005 McAllister Manuscript Collection; they were extracted and assembled into their own alphabetically arranged McAllister Autograph Collection (McA MSS 022)., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., John A. McAllister was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia.
McAllister Small Manuscript Collections, 1781-1857 (inclusive).
McAllister Small Manuscript Collections consists of sixteen small groups of papers that were isolated from the McAllister Miscellaneous Manuscripts because of their cohesive content. Most of the material is the papers of merchants and businessmen in Philadelphia, but also included are letters related to the theatre, law, politics, religion, and literary publishing. The collection, too, holds a small group of early nineteenth century requests for water service in the city of Philadelphia., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., John A. McAllister (1822-1896) was an antiquarian collector in Philadelphia. During his lifetime, he acquired all sorts of Americana, ranging from printed books and pamphlets to ephemera and manuscripts. The latter material includes substantial records groups such as family papers and business records, as well as the smaller groups of papers as found here: they are each not extensive enough to stand alone as a collection, yet are too cohesive in content to remain filed within the McAllister Miscellaneous Manuscripts.
Oswald Family Papers. 1792-1816 (inclusive).
The Oswald Family Papers relate to William Hunter Oswald, a merchant living and working in Malta and Italy in early nineteenth century, his father Eleazer, and his brother John. Primarily William Hunter's incoming and outgoing correspondence, the papers also include his diary covering eighteen months during 1809 and 1810, when he was traveling from Philadelphia to Malta, and around Mediterranean area. Other materials in the collection are documents that Eleazer Oswald assembled to request payments due him from the French government for his military service, records of a ship owned and sold by John Oswald, and passports for the two brothers., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., William Hunter Oswald (b. 1787) was the son of the printer Eleazer Oswald (1755-1795), a printer who served in the French military in the 1790s. A merchant by trade, Willilam Oswald lived and worked in Malta and Italy during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. John Holt Oswald (1777?-1810), his brother, was also a merchant involved in international trade.
Peter Renaudet medical apprentice notebook finding aid
This collection consists of a medical apprentice notebook containing the observations of a mid-18th century New York apprentice, Peter Renaudet. It is a record of clinical cases, in which Renaudet describes the patient's ailments, treatments prescribed and the result of those treatments. Common ailments include dropsy (edema) and costiveness (constipation). Purging, letting and herbal remedies are often recommended remedies.
Peter S. Du Ponceau Papers. 1787-1844 (inclusive).
The Peter S. Du Ponceau Papers holds both incoming and outgoing correspondence with friends and business associates. Most of the letters in the collection, however, are in the second subseries: twenty-six letters written to Du Ponceau by the Marquis de Lafayette, and two by his secretary Auguste Levasseur. They range in date from January 1825, during their tour of America, until just prior to Lafayette's death in 1834. Lafayette's correspondence deals partly with personal and family topics, but also raises contemporary political issues., On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org., A noted linguist, Peter Stephen Du Ponceau was born in St Martin de Ré, France, on June 3, 1760. In 1777 he came to the American colonies as secretary to Prussian military officer Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus, Baron von Steuben, during the American Revolution. Du Ponceau served as a captain in the American army until 1781 when illness forced him to resign; afterward, he remained in America, eventually settling in Philadelphia and becoming a lawyer. He was an active member of Philadelphia's cultural organizations, serving as president of the American Philosophical Society (elected to membership in 1791), the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He was a founding member of the French Benevolent Society of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Philadelphia Court Records, 1802-1862 (inclusive).
Primarily official legal forms, most of the documents in the collection hold little in the way of narrative about the suits cited, and were most likely kept for the value of their signatures. The Arbitration Records are forms that record the names of the plaintiffs, defendants, and arbitrators, location of the arbitration (often a tavern), and the settlement, but generally not a précis of the case. The Insolvency Petitions record the petitioner (and sometimes his occupation), a schedule of his property, his creditors and debt owed, and a statement of the means by which he became insolvent; most of the forms were printed and sold by Thomas S. Manning. The Miscellaneous Records are mostly simple docket transcripts for capias (arrest warrant) cases or certifications of appeals filed in the Court of Common Pleas, and contain little content about the parties involved or their suits. There are just a few folders with more extensive testimonial evidence, including one involving the officers of the Brotherly Union Society of the County of Philadelphia, a mutual aid organization that was formed in 1823 by group of free black men. Many of the folders hold printed forms titled bear the signature of Philadelphia alderman John Binns., John A. McAllister was an antiquarian collector living in Philadelphia.
Pierre Eugène du Simitière collection finding aid
The Library Company of Philadelphia purchased this collection of Pierre Eugene Du Simitière's manuscripts at the auction of Du Simitière's American Museum after his death on March 10, 1785. The books and pamphlets bought at the same auction have been dispersed through the Library Company's collections. Du Simitière gathered or copied these manuscripts during his travels in the West Indies, Boston, New York, and while he lived in Philadelphia, where he was a member of and one of the curators of the American Philosophical Society. After the Library Company of Philadelphia purchased the manuscripts, they were bound together. The Historical Records Survey of the Works Progress Administration described the manuscripts in "Descriptive Catalogue of the Du Simitière Papers in the Library Company of Philadelphia" (1940), from which many of the following series and records descriptions have been abstracted. Since the Historical Records survey, many of the bound volumes have been unbound and foldered by the Library Company of Philadelphia. The unbound volumes in the series descriptions contain folder level description; however, the bound volumes are described only as an overall work. For more detail on the bound volumes, see the "Descriptive Catalogue of the Du Simitière Papers in the Library Company of Philadelphia" (1940). Researchers should be aware that the series titles are drawn from the title of the bound volume. It is important to read the entire scope note for each series, because the volumes often contained additional topics than are listed in the title.
Professional and personal papers of Edwin Wolf 2nd finding aid
The professional and personal papers of Edwin Wolf 2nd houses the professional and personal records of Edwin Wolf 2nd, Curator (1953-1955) and Librarian (1955-1984) of the Library Company of Philadelphia. This collection, which dates from 1798 to 1996 (with bulk dates of 1920 to 1988), contains correspondence, research files, volumes, publications, photographs, and other records that document the education, career, and personal family life of one of Philadelphia's most prominent bookmen during the 20th century. The collection is arranged into four series: “I. Personal papers, 1798-1991,” II. Professional records, 1899-1992,” “III. Scholarship, 1833-1996,” and “IV. Photographs by Edwin Wolf 2nd, 1970s.”
Proprietor of Pennsylvania accounts finding aid
This collection consists of a volume recording the transactions of William Penn's proprietary government of Pennsylvania, including date, name of seller or customer, item or service, and amount paid. This volume dates from 1701 to 1704.
Read family papers finding aid
This collection contains the papers of four generations of the Read family of Philadelphia, consisting of John Read, Judge John Meredith Read, General John Meredith Read, and Harmon Pumpelly Read. The materials date from 1736 to 1896, with the bulk dating from 1792 to 1896, and include extensive correspondence, bills and receipts, genealogical notes, legal documents, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks and ephemera. The majority of the collection consists of General John Meredith Read's papers relating to his family history and genealogy, correspondence, and political materials. The collection is particularly valuable in illustrating Philadelphia social life, global and local politics, as well as Civil War experiences, as it includes extensive correspondence describing first-hand accounts of war activities as well as with several key political figures during the Civil War era.
Samuel George Morton papers finding aid
This collection contains the papers of Samuel George Morton of Philadelphia, a physician, ethnologist, and professor of anatomy at Pennsylvania Medical College. The papers date from 1832 to 1851, when Morton devoted his research efforts almost exclusively to ethnology and to the collecting of human skulls for comparative studies. The bulk of the papers consist of incoming correspondence, relating to ethnology and other related interests such as anthropology, craniology, paleontology and Egyptology. His collecting efforts in the field of crania resulted in extensive correspondence on the subject, which is also included here. The collection is particularly valuable in illustrating the publication process of Morton's technical publications, as it includes extensive notes, annotations, sketches, research and reviews of his published work. There is also a small grouping of documents related to Morton's son, James St. Clair Morton. The collection is arranged into six series: “Correspondence,” “Notes,” “Pennsylvania Medical College,” “Writings,” and “James St. Clair Morton.”

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