Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Researchers may access the digital files and the history of Long's Park Amphitheater and the Summer Music Series for educational and research purposes according to United States copyright law. (see below)
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Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Transcription of the diary of Frank E. Witmer, 1879.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
This collection contains Frank E. Witmer's original 1879 diary, as well as a transcription and index prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace. The diary provides a detailed record of the daily activities of all members of the family. He primarily records the work involved in running a truck farm--planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops, and preparing for market. Other entries of interest include helping a neighbor move a carriage house; building a hog pen; canning; attendance at several Mennonite churches in the area; the process of moving from one house and barn to a new house and barn on the property; frequent visits between relatives and neighbors; and a few mentions of school and the leisure activities of the young men.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
Please use transcription and index, MG0847_F002 and MG0847_F003.
Original diary may be used by appointment--contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
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Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 1
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
PDFs of the transcription and index are attached to the correlating records.
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
One of two metal signs from the exterior of the Tally Ho Tavern, 201 West Orange St., Lancaster, PA. Each sign reads "TALLY HO" in large red block letters on white background.
See also 2023.020.002
Date Range
Circa 2020
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
South Wall
Object Name
Sign, Trade
Height (cm)
21.59
Height (ft)
0.7083333333
Height (in)
8.5
Length (cm)
152.4
Length (ft)
5
Length (in)
60
Object ID
2023.020.001
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
One of two metal signs from the exterior of the Tally Ho Tavern, 201 West Orange St., Lancaster, PA. Each sign reads "TALLY HO" in large red block letters on white background.
See also 2023.020.001
Date Range
Circa 2020
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
DAC
Storage Wall
South Wall
Object Name
Sign, Trade
Height (cm)
21.59
Height (ft)
0.7083333333
Height (in)
8.5
Length (cm)
152.4
Length (ft)
5
Length (in)
60
Object ID
2023.020.002
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Reports and cases taken in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years of the late King Charles : as they were argued by most of the King's sergeants at the Common-Pleas barre
collected and reported, by that eminent lawyer, Sir Thomas Hetley ; now Englished, with an exact table of the principal matter therein contained, and likewise of the cases, both alphabetical.
Reports of that reverend and learned judge Sir Humphry Winch, Knight, sometimes one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas : containing many choice cases and excellent matters touching declarations, pleadings, demurrers, judgements, and resolutions in points of law, in the foure last years of the raign of King James
faithfully translated out of an exact French copie, with two alphabetical and necessary tables, the one of the names of the cases, the other of the principal matters contained in this book.
Printed for W. Lee, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell, and are to be sold at their shops in Fleetstreet,
Date of Publication
1657.
Physical Description
[8], 125, [11] p. ; 28 cm (fol.)
Notes
Signatures: A-Sâ´ (S4 blank).
Jasper Yeates's Colonial Law Library.
Yeates's signature at the top of title page.
Book number 743 as assinged by Yeates.
Sowerby, E.M. Catalogue of the library of Thomas Jefferson,
English short title catalogue,
Wing, D.G. Short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English books printed in other countries, 1641-1700 (2nd ed.),
Hugo Grotius, his most choice discourses out of that excellent treatise De veritate religionis Christianæ. I. Of God, and His providence. II. Of Christ, His miracles and doctrine, with annotations, and the authors life. III. His judgement in sundry points controverted, contained in his vote for the churches peace. IV. An epistle consolatorie
The third edition, corrected with lively brasse pieces newly added.
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for W. Lee at the Turks Head in Fleetstreet over against Fetter-Lane.,
Date of Publication
1657.
Physical Description
[22], 142 pages plates ; 12mo
Notes
Includes "Appendix. Hugo Grotius his judgement ..." which has separate titlepage dated 1658 but continuous pagination and signatures. Bound, and possibly issued with, "The mourner comforted ... ", London, 1658 which is catalogued separately.
Wing reports an issue of the third edition dated 1658 but no example dated 1657.
Jasper Yeates's Colonial Law library.
Yeates's signature at top of title page under that of struck W. Coward.
