Search

The Charles C. Pratt papers contain incoming letters to Pratt about two of his political campaigns: his unsuccessful bid for the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1902 and his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1908.

The Charles C. Pratt papers (859 items) contain incoming letters to Pratt about two of his political campaigns: his unsuccessful bid for the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1902 and his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1908.

Pratt's incoming Correspondence (837 letters) pertains to state-level politics in early 20th century Pennsylvania. Many letters written during the early stages of Pratt's 1902 campaign were optimistic, and some writers already considered the election effectively settled in Pratt's favor, particularly due to his affiliation with the Republican Party. Others exercised more caution. The collection also has telegrams from the night of the election (November 4, 1902) and letters from Pratt's friends expressing their disappointment in the outcome.

The second group of letters, apart from one 1905 item, documents Pratt's campaign for the United States House of Representatives in 1908. The Republican Congressional Committee sent letters prior to the election, but most items are congratulatory letters to Pratt written from November 4-6, 1908. Later items include requests for official appointments and recommendations of friends or family for particular positions. Some items have illustrated letterheads, including one with an illustration of whiskey bottles and a distillery (November 2, 1902) and one for the Beach Sanitarium, "Famous for the cure of cancer without the use of knife or plasters" (November 4, 1908).

• Completed but unsigned survey about the potential abolition of direct primaries
• Petition for "legislation providing for a system of parcels delivery on the rural mail delivery routes, and for the establishment of postal savings banks" (4 copies)
• Petition for creation of a National Highways Commission
• Typed list of "Republican Voters, New Milford Twp."
• Typed election results from two Pennsylvania elections (November 1902), with notes on the 1908 United States House of Representatives election

• Newspaper clipping about George W. Kipp's expenditures during a congressional campaign
• "A Toast" ending with the lines "Here's champagne to your real friends/And real pain to your sham friends"
• Wedding announcement for Frederick W. Poten and Mary Belle Cross (February 11, 1909)
• Printed text of "An Act. Punishing the Printing, Posting and Distributing of Any Libelous Circular or Poster or Other Written or Printed Paper" (June 26, 1895)
• Printed pamphlet entitled "Another Bank Cashier in Politics. Another Bank Gone to Smash! Startling Instance of Misplaced Public Confidence"
• Printed circular from Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association
• Printed speech of Charles Morningstar & Co., of New York, before the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means
• Charles C. Pratt speech notes (3 items)
• Notes and fragments (4 items)

The Pennsylvania Civil War pollbook collection contains pollbooks documenting the absentee voting of residents of four Pennsylvania counties during the Civil War, who were in Company C, 11th Pennsylvania Infantry; Company E, 198th Pennsylvania Infantry; and a detachment at Camp Biddle near Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania Civil War pollbook collection contains three poll books with records of the 1864 election, held October 11, 1864, for soldiers in the field voting by absentee ballot in Pennsylvania.

The book for residents of Westmoreland County within Company C, 11th Pennsylvania Infantry, documents many aspects of the election. These include its location (Fort Dushane in Dinwiddie County, Virginia), the names of the poll officials, the names and residences of the 15 soldiers who voted, and the number of votes received by various candidates. The offices up for election were U.S. Representative, State Representative, Prothonotary, Clerk of Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer, County Commissioner, Director of the Poor, County Auditor, and Trustees of Academy.

The book for voters of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties within Company E, 198th Pennsylvania Infantry, contains similar information for their election, held at "Camp near Petersburg." It includes the names and addresses of 31 voters, as well as names of candidates and number of votes each received for the following offices: U.S. Representative, State Representative, State Senator, Sheriff, Register, Clerk of Orphans' Court, Coroner, County Commissioner, Director of the Poor, County Auditor, Reviewer of Taxes, and City Commissioner.

The pollbook for residents of Wyoming County, within a detachment at Camp Biddle, contains the voting record of just one man, Albert Strong of Northmoreland Township.