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speculator George Croghan, and the Gratz's cousins Jacob and Solomon Henry., The Edwin Wolf 2nd Collection of Jewish Historical Documents at the Library Company holds many letters by and to members of the Gratz, Franks, and Simon families., Barnard Gratz (1738-1801) and his brother Michael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.
Creator
McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector
Date
1752
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | MSS McA MSS 011, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A64563#page/1/mode/1up
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.
Creator
Oswald family
Date
1792
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | MSS MSS McA MSS 009, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A64716#page/1/mode/1up
