The Blanche Nevin Papers include manuscripts of Blanche Nevin's prose and poetry, the 1878 contract for her statue of Gen. Peter Muhlenberg, letters, essays, biographies, and articles about her travels.
See also the Photograph, Library, and Curatorial Collections
Notes
The collection has not been fully processed-please see the inventory below.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Original documents may be used-contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at the Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-730
Classification
MG0730
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Inventory prepared by donor, 2014. Added to database 26 December 2023.
The Dr. Martin L. Herr Family Collection contains correspondence, photographs, Civil War documents, marriage certificates, bonds and promissory notes, a patent, and estate papers. Documents pertaining to Dr. Herr's medical career and an article on midwifery are also part of this collection.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Original documents may be used--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at the Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-126
Classification
MG0126
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared in 1998-1999. Added to database 26 December 2023.
This collection contains letters, correspondence, documents, a copy book, marriage license, an issue of the Wrightsville Star newspaper and other ephemera of the family of James Fleming Smith (1807-1854) and his son, Howard Persifor Smith (1847-1872).
Admin/Biographical History
James Fleming Smith, son of Isaac Smith and Margaret Fleming, was born in 1807 in Lancaster County and died in 1854 in Wrightsville, York County. He married Elizabeth Schall, 3 September 1845, and had one child, Howard Persifor Smith, born in 1872.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), James Fleming Smith Family Papers, 1821-1924 (MG0912), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request at the Reference Desk or contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Accession Number
Unknown.MG0912
Other Numbers
MG-912
Classification
MG0912
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Transferred from Robert Smith family file 26 September 2002. Transferred from Document Collection, Box 32, Folder 3, 8 April 2022.
This collection contains letters written to or received from Gen. William McCaskey and other members of his family, as well as two photographs.
Admin/Biographical History
Gen. William Spencer McCaskey was born near Paradise, Lancaster County, and was the younger brother of noted educator John Piersol McCaskey. At 17 he enlisted in Company F of the 47th Regiment during the Civil War. He reenlisted and saw combat in Kentucky, Tennessee, and participated in Sherman's March to the Sea. He mustered out in 1865 as a Captain. He reenlisted again the following year and served all over the United States before retiring as a Major General in 1907. He died in San Francisco in 1914. He was married to Eleanor Garrison, with whom he had six children: Margaret, Hiram, Garrison, Douglas, Charles, and Eleanor.
MG0741 Gen. William S. McCaskey Papers (Farioli and Nichols)
MG0742 Farioli and Nichols' Research on Gen. McCaskey
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Gen. William McCaskey Family Collection, 1866-1906 (MG0941), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org. Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
The Rose Family of Safe Harbor Collection contains correspondence and genealogy about the family of William Rose. Civil War letters from Samuel Rose mention battles and troop movements.
Admin/Biographical History
William Rose moved to Pennsylvania from [Connecticut] and settled in Safe Harbor. He married Mary Ann Tripple, whose parents were from England. They had seven children. He owned a canal boat and worked along the canals in Pennsylvania. Their house stood near the Conestoga River.
William's brother Samuel fought in the Civil War. Family tradition states that Samuel Rose died 2 May 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville, nine days before his enlistment expired. He was wounded and carried to the edge of the woods. The woods were later set on fire and it is believed that Samuel perished there.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Rose Family of Safe Harbor Collection (MG0338), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level. Please request at the Reference Desk or contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Samuel R. Slaymaker II, White Chimneys Collection, Series 2
Description
The Samuel R. Slaymaker II, White Chimneys Collection, Series 2 was carefully curated by Mr. Slaymaker and contains papers dating from the mid-eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. This series is primarily composed of correspondence related to business, railroads, legal affairs, and personal matters. The personal letters are rich in details of social history and genealogy. Legal documents include estate papers for the Fleming, Slaymaker, Leech, and Boyd families. The remaining documents include land surveys, receipts, tickets, accounts, bonds, and wills.
System of Arrangement
The Samuel R. Slaymaker II, White Chimneys Collection is divided into six series according to the original order; Series 1, 2 and 4 have been cataloged and are available for research.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Series #, Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org. Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-268, Series 2
Classification
MG0268
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
Added to database 8 August 2022.
Much of this series was microfilmed by the Pennsylvania State Archives. The microfilmed items are noted within the finding aid and the microfilm is available in LancasterHistory's Research Center.
Collection consists of records by Cassius Emlen Urban, a Lancaster architect. He supervised the construction of the Lancaster Post Office at 120 N. Duke St., Lancaster. Many letters from James H. Windrim, supervising architect of the Treasury Department, Washington, D. C. Book of correspondence contains details of the construction. Also includes letters he wrote to his son, Rathfon, dated February 14-29, 1939, while on the Italian liner, Roma.
Admin/Biographical History
C. Emlen Urban
Throughout Downtown Lancaster numerous iconic buildings make up the city's landscape giving it its unique and ornate character. Landmark buildings such as the Greist Building, the Watt and Shand Department Store, Hager Building, Southern Market, along with many more churches, residential units including the facade of the Fulton Opera House were the design of Cassius Emlen Urban. Urban was Lancaster's first architect and one of the most significant influences on the city. 1 Urban modernized the city's landscape as he designed buildings in a new era where technologies never before available to architects made it possible for himself to leave such a grand impression.
Urban was born on February 20, 1863 in Conestoga Township to a Civil War veteran Amos Urban, a distinguished citizen known for his modesty and community service. Urban finished high school in 1880 and would get his architectural training through an apprenticeship with Scanton, PA architect E.L. Walter. Later in 1884 Urban would move to Philadelphia where he served as a draftsman to Willis G. Hale. Upon returning to Lancaster roughly a year later Urban would open his own practice in Lancaster.2
Only a few years after Urban opened his practice through a family connection he would receive a commission to design Lancaster's Southern Market. Urban's career would take off leading him to design many more iconic buildings in Lancaster and Hershey as well. Urban, through his membership at the Hamilton Club made acquaintance with Milton Hershey who hired him to design such buildings as Hershey Chocolates original company offices and even his own mansion.3
Urban spent the majority of his life in Lancaster with the exception of his time studying as a young man. Urban is remembered for his buildings designed in Queen Anne and Beaux style architecture.4 Shenk in his A History of Lancaster County wrote of Urban, "Few men of Lancaster county can point to a finer array of useful and beautiful work than can Cassius Emlen Urban."
Nicole O. Sturla, "Cassius Emlen Urban: Lancaster's First Native Architect," Susquehanna Monthly Magazine, September 1980.
2 History of Lancaster County, ed. E.M.J. Klein (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company Inc., 1924), 443.
3 "Urban, C. Emlen; 1863-1939," Hershey Community Archives, accessed September 30, 2014. http://www.hersheyarchives.org/essay/details.aspx?EssayId=34&Rurl=%2Fresources%2Fsearch-results.aspx%3FType%3DBrowseEssay.
4 "Introduction," To Build Strong and Substantial: The Career of Architect C. Emlen Urban, (2009): 2-3.
This collection of Steinman Family Business Records contains ledger and account books for George M. Steinman, J. P. Hale, Hale Lumber Company and the Steinman Hardware Store. There are also stock certificate and ledger books from Lancaster Broadcasting Service, Inc. and Kirk Johnson and Company.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Steinman Family Business Records (MG0563), Folder/Book #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restricted access for Books 19-23. Please contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org. Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-563
Classification
MG0563
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Cataloged by HST, 4 February 2010. Added to database 31 August 2017.
Lt. General Daniel B. Strickler Collection (MG-0029)
Description
General Strickler was a three star general who served in the Mexican Conflict, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Far East Command in Japan. He was born in Columbia, Pa., educated as a lawyer, and served as Pennsylvania's Republican Lieutenant Governor from 1947-1950. Collection includes military citations and certificates, correspondence when elected, speaking engagements, clubs and organizations, and photographs.
Admin/Biographical History
Daniel Bursk Strickler
Personal Life:
Daniel Bursk Strickler was born on 17 May 1897 in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His parents, Calvin Ruby Strickler and Harriet Bursk Strickler, raised him in Columbia. Strickler married Caroline Grace Bolton on 11 October 1924. Daniel and Caroline Strickler had two children, Nancy Cupper Strickler and Daniel Bursk Strickler, Jr. Daniel Bursk Strickler, Sr. died on 21 June 1992.
Military Career:
Daniel Strickler enlisted in the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry of the Army National Guard under the command of General Edward C. Shannon as a private on 31 January 1916. By April, Strickler was promoted to corporal and in July was assigned to the Mexican Border Conflict as a sergeant. He soon showed his value as a soldier and leader, and in April of 1917 was elected second lieutenant of Company C of the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry of the Army National Guard.
In September, Strickler was promoted once again to first lieutenant, at the same time that Company C became Company B of the 109th Machine Gun Battalion of the 28th Infantry Division of the United States Army. His company was deployed to France in September 1917 during World War I. Strickler served in five French campaigns including the Battle of Argonne Forest, which was when he received his Purple Heart. He obtained several commissions over the next eleven years including captain in 1918, major in 1922 and lieutenant colonel in 1928.
Just seven years after being promoted to colonel, Strickler was sent to France for a second time. He was in command of the 28th Division, Infantry Regiment during World War II. In 1942, he started command with the 109th Unit and then the 110th Unit of the 28th Division. In June of 1944, Strickler and his men landed at Omaha Beach. Strickler commanded troops during the Battle of the Bulge in the following December. He returned to the United States after three years of fighting.
Strickler was presented the honor of brigadier general in March of 1946 and on 24 December 1947, he was promoted to major general. Strickler remained in the Army and served in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. Afterwards, he served as an advisor for the Army as a diplomat to Korea until his retirement in 1957. Strickler's final commission occurred on 8 February 1960 to lieutenant general. He had been honored many times and received military decorations for valor, heroism, and dedication including three stars.
Education:
Daniel Strickler attended Columbia area public schools until he graduated from Columbia High School in 1916. He was the captain of the track team, president of the junior and senior class, and a member of the baseball and basketball teams. Upon his return from World War I in 1918, Strickler enrolled at Cornell University Law School in Ithaca, New York. He took on many more responsibilities at this stage of his life. Not only did he receive his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1922, but he was also a member of various organizations, clubs and teams during his three years at Cornell University. He was captain of the track team and a member of the Senior Honor Society. Strickler was also president of the following organizations: Senior Class, Student Council, Quill and Dagger Society and Alpha Kappa Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
Professional Career:
Daniel Strickler was admitted to the Bar of several courts during the 1920s including Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Courts of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Superior Court of Pennsylvania; United States District Court; and United States Supreme Court. He worked with several law firms after obtaining his degree and in 1930, between the births of his two children, he established his own law firm in Lancaster. His legal career was not much different from his military or educational careers. He was involved with various professional organizations such as Pennsylvania Bar Association, Lancaster Bar Association, The American Bar Association, the Blackstonian Club of Lancaster, and the Republican Club. Strickler served as Auditor for Lancaster County from 1927 to 1929 and on a Special Counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1928 to 1930. In 1931, Strickler was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature to serve in the House of Representatives, thus jump-starting his political career.
Political Career:
The political career of Daniel Strickler brought him several new titles including auditor, special counsel member, representative, commissioner, solicitor, committeeman, delegate and lieutenant governor. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives during 1931 and 1932, General and Special Sessions. In 1931, Strickler served as the delegate for Pennsylvania at the National Young Republican Conference in Washington, DC. He was the temporary president of the Young Republican State Committee (YRSC) during 1931 as well. After his temporary appointment, he became an executive committee member of YRSC until 1936 and was also appointed as treasurer from 1934 until 1936.
From April to December of 1932, Strickler became the commissioner of the police department of Lancaster City as a special temporary appointment. During this time, he was in charge of cleaning up the police department and taking a stand against corruption and crime. He was a strong prohibitionist and cleaned up the city. Upon selection, he became the solicitor for Lancaster County, the York-Lancaster Inter-County Bridge Commission, and the Lancaster Municipal Airport from 1933 to 1941. He also served as the Republican County Committeeman for the 1st Precinct, 6th Ward, in Lancaster City until 1941. In 1946, Strickler was elected lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, which he fulfilled from 1947 until 1950 when he resigned to serve in the Korean War.
System of Arrangement
Boxes 1-6 are organized by subject. Scrapbooks are organized by volume
Book 1: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, Military Records, November 1918-February 1933
Book 2: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, [1919-1922]
Book 3: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, October 1923-January 1947
Book 4: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, April 1932-November 1933
Book 5: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, February 1942-September 1975
Book 6: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, March 1945-January 1947
Book 7: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, January 1947-May 1948
Book 8: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, January 1947-October 1950
Book 9: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, January 1958-March 1958
The Paul A. Mueller, Jr. Collection contains a deed for property in Lancaster Borough, an early collection of recipes, a receipt book for the Hamilton Lots, a valentine, stock certificate books for the New Process Steel Corporation, and Civil War letters. The Honorable Paul A. Mueller, Jr. is a descendant of the Zahm, Shreiner, and Cochran families on his mother's side. The items in this collection were passed down through the family for several generations.
Admin/Biographical History
Klein, Huffnagle, and Mussertown
The deed shows the sale of property in Mussertown by innkeepers Leonard and Rosina Klein to Peter Huffnagle. Leonard (1725-1793) married Amalia Rosina Waidlin (1732-1795) at Warwick, Lancaster County in December 1749. At that time he was a saddler in Lancaster. Although they did not have children, they were sponsors at several baptisms at the Moravian Church and Trinity Lutheran Church, both in Lancaster. Peter Huffnagle (1746-1806) and his wife, Charlotte, had their children baptized at the First Reformed Church in Lancaster. They were also buried in that churchyard. Mussertown was laid out in 1760 by John Musser, and was later added onto by Henry Musser. Its original boundaries were the streets now called Church, Strawberry, Locust, and Rockland.
Hamilton Lots
In 1730, Andrew Hamilton, a skilled lawyer, purchased a tract of land in the newly incorporated Lancaster County and convinced the commissioners to place the county seat within his holdings. Queen Street and King Street run through that tract. James Hamilton (1710-1783) acquired 500 acres of land from his father in 1734, and started selling lots by 1735. Although Hamilton sold the lots, he imposed ground-rents so tenants had to pay for the right to occupy and improve the land that they owned. Tenants were also required to build dwellings on their property within two years and to meet certain building specifications. He continued to acquire and sell lots until 1773. Ground-rents were still being collected on the Hamilton Lots after World War II.
Zahm and Shreiner
Godfried Zahm was a brushmaker in Lancaster. His son, Michael (d.1883), learned the brushmaking business from his father and then learned the watchmaking and jewelry business from his brother-in-law, Martin Shreiner, Jr. (1767-1866). Godfried's daughter, Maria, married Martin Shreiner who is best remembered as a Lancaster clockmaker. Maria kept a trimming shop on North Queen Street in Lancaster.
Cochran and New Process Steel Corporation
Harry B. Cochran, great-grandfather of Paul A. Mueller, Jr., was the president of New Process Steel Corporation in 1916. New Process Steel Co. began as New Process Steel Wire Manufacturing Co. and was renamed in 1907. This manufacturer of drill rods and special steel shapes became a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation in 1919. It is significant that Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. owned stock in the New Process Steel Corporation in 1916. Sloan was president of Hyatt Roller Bearing Company when it merged with the United Motors Corporation in 1916. He then became president of United Motors which merged with General Motors Corporation in 1918. Sloan was president and CEO of General Motors from 1923-1946.
Shand, William and Dean Keller. 1965. "Twentieth Century Industrial Development of Lancaster." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society 69: 151-162.
Wood, Stacy B. C. 1994. "Martin Shreiner: from Clocks to Fire Engines." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society 96: 114-137.
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Paul A. Mueller, Jr. Collection (MG0360), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-360
Other Number
MG-360
Classification
MG0360
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Folders 1-9 cataloged in 2005. Folder 10 cataloged in 2009. Added to database 7 September 2017.
