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Collection

Pennsylvania Seamen's Friend Society papers, 1793-1898 (majority within 1847-1872)

0.25 linear feet

The Pennsylvania Seamen's Friend Society papers are made up of financial records, correspondence, and reports pertaining to the society's work in the mid- to late 19th century.

The Pennsylvania Seamen's Friend Society papers (around 215 items) are made up of financial records, correspondence, and reports pertaining to the society's work in the mid- to late 19th century. The collection also contains earlier financial records and documents concerning residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The earliest 15 items (1793-1843) are comprised mostly of receipts and financial records regarding the personal finances of Philadelphia residents. Some receipts concern purchases of shoes and clothing items; other documents relate to property in Philadelphia. The bulk of the collection (1846-1895, around 200 items) pertains to the affairs of the Pennsylvania Seamen's Friend Society; most of the material is dated between 1847 and 1872. Letters, reports, and financial records relate to the society's fundraising efforts, charitable work, and administration; other items include lists of donors and donations, many of which were compiled by churches. The society's corresponding secretary wrote most of the reports, which occasionally mention the affairs of similar organizations in New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. Many of the letters from the late 1850s and early 1860s are addressed to the society's president, George Hughes. Most correspondence pertains to administrative affairs and finances, such as expenses for printing the society's fourth annual report in December 1847. The society also occasionally received personal requests for assistance. One item is a program for an anniversary celebration held on April 29, 1850, containing the reprinted text of 2 hymns.

Collection

Perdue family account book and journal, 1843-1877

1 volume

The Perdue family account book and journal contains financial accounts, employment records, and diary entries related to William Folliard Perdue of Wagontown, Pennsylvania. Much of the volume pertains to family news, local travel, and farm work.

The Perdue family account book and journal (152 pages) contains financial accounts, employment records, and diary entries related to William Folliard Perdue of Wagontown, Pennsylvania. The first (unnumbered) page contains a recipe for a rheumatism treatment and instructions for washing clothes. Pages numbered 1-4 contain financial accounts, mostly related to wheat and other crops (1843-1844).

Pages 5-151 contain employment records ("Time Accounts") and irregular diary entries covering the years 1843-1877, the bulk of which are dated from 1845-1876. William F. Perdue maintained records of the number of days or partial days that laborers worked on his farm and wrote diary entries and notes alongside and between these records. He commented on workers, farm work, livestock, and crops such as potatoes, corn, wheat, and oats. Perdue often mentioned visits to or from family members and acquaintances, and sometimes attended religious meetings, political meetings, or other social events. An entry dated January 1, 1848, reports his marriage to Emily Pyle. Page 92 contains list of fruit trees planted in the spring of 1860.

William's daughter Annie signed some entries dated 1861, and the subsequent entries, many of which concern local funerals, visits to or from family members, and other social activities, were written by an author or authors who referred to William F. Perdue as "Papa." Brief letters, a receipt, and recipes are laid into the volume, and newspaper clippings are pasted onto the endpapers.

Collection

Philadelphia (Pa.) Mayors collection, 1705-1976

52 items

This collection contains letters, legal documents, receipts, and printed images related to mayors of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1705-1976. The content pertains to Philadelphia commerce and politics, as well as to mayors' personal affairs.

This collection contains 52 individual letters, legal documents, receipts, and printed images related to 25 mayors of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The content pertains to Philadelphia commerce and politics, as well as to mayors' personal affairs.

Notable items include the following:
  • Four 18th-century documents, bearing the Philadelphia city seal and ordering the sheriff to assemble 24-person juries. Joseph Willcox (March 13, 1705), Nathan Stanbury (December 18, 1706), Richard Hill (June 17, 1715), and Thomas Lawrence (December 18, 1764)
  • A letter from John Inskeep to the Common Council, discussing administrative issues and forwarding "a copy of a letter…from Thomas Howell at New York containing propositions to furnish the Corporation of this city with three engines of a peculiar kind which he imported from England for the Corporation of New York" (December 4, 1800)
  • A partially printed order to apprehend Francis Barrett for being "an idle drunk or vagrant following no legal visible means for a support," signed by Robert Wharton (November 16, 1815)
  • A letter to Joseph Watson from Benneville Keim, president of the Farmer's Bank of Reading, regarding counterfeiting issues (May 16, 1827)
  • A letter from John M. Scott respecting his fire insurance policy and investments (July 11, 1827)
  • A letter of recommendation for "William Magill, late proprietor and Editor of the 'Daily Keystone,' for a Situation in the Customs. He has been an efficient co. laborer in the Democratic ranks, battled faithfully and long to maintain the continued supremacy of the Party, and is in our opinion highly entitled to a position commensurate with his services and merits," signed by Richard Vaux and others (November 1846)
  • Appointment of Addison B. Burk as Philadelphia's official delegate to the 1911 National Rivers and Harbors Congress, by John E. Reyburn (November 10, 1911)
  • 11 partially printed receipts from the Department of Receiver of Taxes for "city and school taxes" paid by Margaret B. Stewart, George F. Caldwell, and Elsie M. Caldwell (1919-1929)
  • Brief notes from 20th-century mayors responding to requests for autographs
Collection

P. H. Miller docket book, 1869-1887, 1869-1887 (majority within 1869-1870)

1 volume

P. H. Miller, Justice of the Peace for Warrick County, Indiana, maintained this docket book from 1869 to 1871 to record legal cases that came before him relating to debt, assault and battery, property disputes, and one case relating to mental illness. Additional financial documentation relating to the cases dates to 1887.

P. H. Miller, Justice of the Peace for Warrick County, Indiana, maintained this docket book from 1869 to 1871 to record legal cases that came before him relating to debt, assault and battery, property disputes, and one case relating to mental illness. Additional financial documentation relating to the cases dates to 1887.

The bulk of the volume relates to debt, and most of the entries do not reveal the nature of the transactions between the parties. Those that do, however, reveal how local dry goods merchants, doctors, and laborers used the court system to recoup unpaid bills. Several include copies of bills, providing insight into services and goods being exchanged in the community. In one instance where the defendant fled the state to defraud his creditors, the court included an inventory of his holdings assessed to cover his debts (p.119). They also reveal the kinds of work happening in the community, from blacksmithing, making molasses, farming, brickmaking, and more.

A number of assault and battery cases are also documented, including several that involve plaintiffs and defendants from earlier legal disputes indicating escalating emotion and violence. At least one involved domestic violence, where Josephine Mischke accused August Mischke of hitting her with a horsewhip (pp. 137-139). August Mischke was later taken to court for abusing a horse, and appears periodically throughout the volume as a plaintiff bringing debt cases against patrons of his dry goods store for unpaid bills.

Several disputes over land and household goods like quilts, beds, and clocks are also recorded. The entry for State of Indiana vs. John A. Bristow documents the juried case that adjudged John A. Bristow was "insane and dangerous to community if suffered to remain at large," appointing Larkin Bristow "to take charge of him" (pp. 62-63).

Miller wrote marginal notations about associated fees. Throughout the volume, individuals signed to acknowledge receipt of the "Judgment in full," or loose receipts were pasted or laid in acknowledging payment.

Collection

Pollard family papers, 1841-1893 (majority within 1844-1865)

0.5 linear feet

The Pollard family papers contain correspondence, indentures, and financial records related to Asa D. Pollard and his children, including Joseph G. Pollard, Cyrus W. Pollard, Emily F. Pollard, and George F. Pollard. Members of the Pollard family corresponded about their lives in New Hampshire and Massachusetts from the 1840s-1860s.

The Pollard family papers (334 items) contain correspondence, indentures, and financial records related to the Pollard family of New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The Correspondence and Documents series (228 items) includes personal letters between siblings Joseph G. Pollard, Cyrus W. Pollard, Emily F. Pollard, and George F. Pollard. From 1849-1865, the Pollard siblings wrote to each other about their daily lives, social activities, health, local travel, and family news from cities and towns in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York. Some of George F. Pollard's letters concern his education in New Hampton, New Hampshire. Joseph Pollard wrote about his work teaching in a country schoolhouse; in one letter, he mentioned his plans to attend a lecture by Ralph Waldo Emerson, though he suspected it would be "beyond ordinary comprehension" (December 8, 1857). During the Civil War, the Pollards sometimes mentioned topics such as the draft, particularly as it related to Cyrus Pollard and his relocation from Woburn, Massachusetts, to Albany, New York; they also discussed George Pollard's attempt to obtain a commission in the Union Army. The Pollard siblings received letters from other acquaintances, occasionally pertaining to business matters.

The series also includes indentures regarding Asa D. Pollard and land in New Hampshire and Massachusetts; one document pertains to his purchase of a pew in the First Congregational Church in Woburn, Massachusetts (November 1, 1860). Undated items include a manuscript "Report of the School Committee of Woburn," a printed circular letter to children attending Sabbath schools, and a report about Emily Pollard's academic progress at the Charlestown Female Seminary.

The Financial Records series (106 items) is comprised of receipts, invoices, accounts, and promissory notes. Most of the items pertain to the financial affairs of Asa D. Pollard, including receipts for Pollard's tax payments in Derry, New Hampshire. Many of the remaining items, including most of the items dated after the mid-1850s, relate to Joseph G. Pollard's financial affairs in Boston.

Collection

Quaker collection, 1700-1888

113 items

The Quaker Collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents relating to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Quaker collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents related to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. These items offer insights into Quaker's daily activities and concerns, such as family life, education, and attending meetings, as well as their participation in various social reform movements, such as abolition, treatment of Native Americans, prison improvements, temperance, and pacifism. The collection also documents internal divergences of American Quakerism in the 19th century, particularly the social and doctrinal disputes that culminated in the Hicksite and Wilburite schisms.

Among the collection's notable items:
  • 1707: A manuscript copy of the death warrant of William Leddra, the last of four Quakers (including Mary Dyer) executed in Massachusetts Bay colony for their religious beliefs
  • July 26, 1755: A letter from Alexander Colden to Sir William Johnson voicing frustration with Quakers who refuse to support the war effort in Pennsylvania, and an announcement of General Braddock's defeat
  • August 4-12 and 17, 1761: Two accounts, one by an anonymous woman, of Quaker presence at Treaty negotiations held at Easton, Pennsylvania, between the government of Pennsylvania and the Six Nations tribes. Discussed are the negotiations, Quaker-Indian interactions, and the role of Quaker women in the Society
  • [After 1770]: An account by an anonymous author of a conference with Native Americans, mostly of the Minnisink Tribe
  • October 13, 1829: A letter from Phoebe Post Willis of Jericho, New York, to Isaac Post on the death of John Hicks and strife between Orthodox and Hicksite Quakers
  • March 10, 1843: A letter from Ethan Foster of Westerly, Rhode Island, to Thomas B. Gould on Wilburite-Gurneyite strife in his local meeting, and the disownment of Wilbur
  • [After 1863 July]: A letter describing a meeting between Abraham Lincoln and five Quaker prisoners of war, who had been forced into the Confederate army, captured by the Union, and held at Fort Delaware
  • Various dates: Reports, minutes, and epistles from yearly friends meetings in America and Great Britain
Collection

Ramsey family papers, 1786-1935 (majority within 1827-1935)

7 linear feet

This collection is comprised of correspondence, diaries, documents, financial papers, and other materials of the family of stonecutter and marble worker John M. Ramsey, his wife Cyanea, and their children. The family lived in Greenfield, New Hampshire; Milwaukee and Port Washington, Wisconsin; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Around 60 Civil War letters and one diary of the Ramseys' son Henry, who served in the 16th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, and around 10 letters of a cousin Ridgeway P. Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included. Particularly notable are 96 daily diaries of the Ramsey daughters Emily S. and Cyanea H., kept largely while they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1870s-1920s.

This collection is comprised of 1,182 letters; 98 diaries; 210 documents; 468 receipts, checks, and account books; seven school papers and writings; three photographs; 34 printed and ephemeral items; and other materials of the family of stonecutter and marbleworker John M. Ramsey, his wife Cyanea, and their children. The family lived in Greenfield, New Hampshire; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Around 60 Civil War letters and one diary of the Ramseys' son Henry, who served in the 16th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, and around 10 letters of a cousin Ridgeway P. Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included. Particularly notable are 96 daily diaries of the Ramsey daughters Emily S. and Cyanea H., kept largely while they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1870s-1920s.

The Correspondence series includes 1,182 items and opens with the 1827-1830s letters of Caroline and Hannah Ramsey of Greenfield, New Hampshire, and a sister, Sarah Marshall, of Augusta, Maine. A group of letters pertain to the courtship and marriage of John M. Ramsey and Cyanea Stevens--including a letter from Cyanea's parents Lemuel and Reliance about Cyanea's request for their approval of the wedding (August 5, 1836). Letters of the 1850s include correspondence of Collins Hinckley Stevens, regarding the death of Cyanea's mother Reliance in 1858, and incoming letters to Emily Ramsey from her schoolmates. A selection of letters to Emily from E. H. Langdon, a schoolteacher in Milwaukee, are present.

In the 1860s, sisters Emily, Frances "Fannie", and Cyanea carried on correspondence with each other and with friends and family, including:

  • "Hannah" from the Baraboo Female Seminary (Sauk County, Wisconsin) in 1863
  • Fannie to Emily while visiting Stoughton in 1863; Fannie's correspondence while attending the Ripley Female College, 1865-1866; her letters while staying with family in Greenfield, New Hampshire; and correspondence while in Chicago for medical reasons
  • Ora Stevens in Nashville and Louis H. Stevens of Manchester, Vermont
  • Friend "Louise" in Hartford, Connecticut (who moved to Bay City, Michigan, and married Edwin Wood)
  • John M. Ramsey's nephew David Butler Ramsey (1829-1899), from Chicago and Milwaukee, many written while working in the law offices of Palmer, Hooker & Pitkin, later Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
  • Female friends and family to Emily and Fannie, written from Evanston, Illinois; Milwaukee and Ozaukee, Wisconsin; and Poultney, Vermont

The Ramsey family correspondence includes around 60 Civil War letters of Corporal Henry C. Ramsey of the 16th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. He wrote from Camp Randall, the steamship Planet, Camp Sabin, Camp near Grand Junction, Camp near Memphis, Camp near Lake Providence, Louisiana, Camp Randall, and Vicksburg. In the mid-1870s, Henry was admitted to the Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the family received letters from Dr. E. H. VanDensen about his progress, especially around 1876. Around 10 letters of a cousin Paul Ridgeway Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included.

Cyanea's and Emily's other correspondents from the 1870s to the 1930s include but are not limited to:

  • Friends, cousins, and other relatives, including the Stevenses in Vermont; Persis Moore of Niles, Michigan; "Augusta" of Allegan and Otsego, Michigan; Almira Marshall in Owasso, Michigan; Frederick Marshall of Saginaw, Michigan; "Lizzie" in Woburn, Boston, and Framingham; Elvira Elizabeth Ramsey in Greenfield, New Hampshire; "David" in Greenfield; Murray J. Hoppock of Fremont, Michigan; and many others
  • William H. Ramsey, Jr., a cousin, employed at the Ozaukee County Malting Company at Port Washington, Wisconsin, in the late 1880s; and as Secretary and Treasurer of the Wisconsin Chair Company in the 1890s
  • Grand Rapids attorneys More & Wilson and bankers Edward M. Deane and Company, following the death of their father in 1897
  • Gertrude P. Newton (Mrs. E. B. Newton) from Newton's Ranch, Colusa, Kansas, early 1900s
  • Cousins James and Sarah (Saidee) Baker, from Ancón, Canal Zone, Panama, 1921-1935

The Diaries series includes 98 daily diaries, 96 of which were kept by sisters Cyanea H. and Emily S. Ramsey between 1873 and 1935, while the two lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The remaining two diaries include Henry C. Ramsey's Civil War diary for the year 1864 and a partial 1921 diary kept by [Howard Stevens?] in a pre-printed 1894 pocket journal. Henry Ramsey's 1864 pocket diary includes entries covering the 16th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry's movements from Vicksburg to Tennessee, to Georgia, with accounts of Kennesaw Mountain and the battle of Atlanta. The diary also covers his experiences as part of Sherman's march to the sea.

The Documents series is made up of 210 legal and financial documents pertinent largely to land and property in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Michigan, between 1786 and 1919 (bulk 1825-1911). Additional items include tax documents, stock-related items, and other materials.

The Financial and Business Papers includes 300 receipts, around 160 bank checks, and eight account books. The receipts date between 1831 and 1928, pertaining largely to John M. Ramsey's marble and stonecutting business. Additional receipts relate to personal property and tax payments. The 160 checks are drawn largely from Grand Rapids, Michigan, banks between December 1869 and October 1880. The account books include:

  • [John M. Ramsey?] Account Book, 1830-1836. Comprised largely of accounts related to farm labor (haying, plowing, tending stock, etc.) in Greenfield, New Hampshire.
  • John M. Ramsey Ledgers and Account Books, 1854-1886 (7 vols.). Consisting of the accounts of John M. Ramsey's marble and stonecutting businesses. One undated, illustrated manuscript book of monuments designed by N. Merritt for J. M. Ramsey, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is included with the account books.

The collection's School Papers and Writings (7 items) include John M. Ramsey's teacher's book, November 1830-February 1831; a fragment of mathematical rules by J. M. Ramsey; a chronological table by Emily Ramsey, 1851; a reward of merit for Mary Ramsey; two penmanship exercises; and a manuscript issue of The Literary Chip Basket (vol. 111, no. 11), Port Washington, 1861, with list of contributors including Fanny Oatman and Emily Ramsey.

The Photographs series includes one carte-de-visite of Henry C. Ramsey of the 16th Wisconsin Infantry; and one carte-de-visite and one cabinet card of unidentified individuals.

The Ephemera and Printed Items series is made up of invitations, Nashua Manufacturing Company employee regulations (August 31, 1837), advertisements for marble and other products, and torn pages from the History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, ed. Hurd, 1885.

The collection also contains items pertinent to Genealogy (6 items) and an Address Book, Fragments, and Envelopes.

Collection

Revolutionary Cuba and Philippines collection, 1849-1925 (majority within 1895-1903)

2.75 linear feet

This collection consists of 883 letters, documents, an orderly book, printed items, and other materials concerning revolutionary conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, American involvement particularly, dating largely from the 1890s-1900s. This collection's contents include detailed information from Cuban and Philippine revolutionaries at home and in exile; U.S. Army activities related especially to the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and postwar occupations; American, Cuban, Filipino, and Spanish consular and governmental officials; and civilians (including families of U.S. Army soldiers' and sailors' family members) involved in the events.

This collection consists of 883 letters, documents, an orderly book, printed items, and other materials concerning revolutionary conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, American involvement particularly, dating largely from the 1890s-1900s. This collection's contents include detailed information from Cuban and Philippine revolutionaries at home and in exile; U.S. Army activities related especially to the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and postwar occupations; American, Cuban, Filipino, and Spanish consular and governmental officials; and civilians (including families of U.S. Army soldiers' and sailors' family members) involved in the events.

Please see the box and folder listing in this finding aid for extensive, detailed descriptions of items and groups of items in the Revolutionary Cuba and Philippines Collection.

Collection

Richmond family collection, 1872-1909

20 items

This collection contains correspondence and other items pertaining to the Richmond family of Lebanon, New York. Correspondents wrote about travel in Oregon and Missouri, opium addiction, real property, and family deaths, including death during childbirth.

This collection (20 items) contains correspondence and other items pertaining to members of the Richmond family of Lebanon, New York. Two items pertain to Ernestine Patterson, who lived with Rollin and Ruth Richmond in the late 19th century.

Lewis L. Richmond wrote 3 letters to his mother, Lydia M. Richmond, while living in Saint Joseph and Saint Louis, Missouri between April 9, 1872 and December 25, 1873. He offered condolences on the death of his father, advised her to secure her money during her visit to Missouri, and discussed his life in Missouri; one envelope that he sent to his mother contains a picture of a woman at a sewing machine. Albert D. Richmond wrote to his mother (May 12, 1872) and to his sister-in-law Ruth (September 1, [ca. 1872]) about his life and travels in Oregon.

Items concerning Rollin (or Rowland) M. Richmond and his wife Ruth include 2 receipts for a Remington sewing machine (July 18, 1874, and December 31, 1874), 3 items pertaining to treatments for Rollin Richmond's addiction to opium and morphine (May 8, 1877-July 20, 1878), and 1 item related to Richmond's bill with an insurance company (April 8, 1879). Rollin's brother Edwin later wrote him a letter about a legal issue (October 18, 1908). Ruth Richmond received letters from her nephews Emmet J. Close, Frank D. Courtney, and E. J. Fisk. Close mentioned his travels in upstate New York (April 2, 1890), Courtney described his wife Lena's death after giving birth to a stillborn son (June 7, 1891), and Fisk discussed his intention to purchase a recently foreclosed tract of land (3 items, October 22, 1891-February 15, 1892). Ruth Richmond also received a letter from a family member who shared news of her baby (undated).

Ernestine Patterson received 2 letters while living with Rollin and Ruth Richmond: one from a friend who discussed her religious views (June 16, 1889), and another from her sister, Hazel C. Fuller, about life in Toledo, Ohio (May 25, 1909).

Collection

Robert and Washington Caldwell papers, 1823-1901 (majority within 1840-1901)

0.25 linear feet

This collection contains legal and financial documents related to Robert Caldwell and his son Washington, both of Penn Township, Pennsylvania. Material includes indentures and court documents related to Robert Caldwell's land holdings, as well as receipts and court records reflecting Washington's career as a carpenter and, later, his service as a justice of the peace for Allegheny County.

This collection contains legal and financial documents related to Robert Caldwell and his son Washington, of Penn Township, Pennsylvania. The first item is an indenture between Samuel and Margaret Caldwell of Salem, Pennsylvania, and Robert Caldwell, related to the estate of the recently deceased Joseph Harvey (January 24, 1823). The bulk of the material dates from 1840 to 1901, and documents the property interests of Robert Caldwell, as well as the financial and legal affairs of his son. Early items (1840-1872) consist of indentures, court records, and other documents, primarily pertaining to land in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Also included are several early bonds (late 1840s), as well as testimonies from several court cases, including Caldwell's disputes with William and Sophia Whitfield, John P. Schuster et al., George Miller, and Robert M. Callen. A survey map that Caldwell commissioned from E. H. Heastings, shows land along Plum Creek, near Millersville (December 28, 1854).

Later material pertains to the financial and legal affairs of Washington Caldwell, beginning with his assumption of administrative powers over his father's estate (March 25, 1873). Several receipts dated throughout the late 1800s relate to the purchase of carpentry supplies, and a series of court documents from 1899-1900 concern legal cases he presided over while a justice of the peace for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, particularly wage disputes against Daniel Moore. Other material includes insurance policies from various companies, covering Washington Caldwell's property in Verona, Pennsylvania (1886-1892).

Two broadsides document Robert Caldwell's efforts to arrest a burglar (December 21, 1843), and Washington Caldwell's sale of his deceased father's "Frame Grist and Saw Mill" (January 23, 1875).