The Charles Kessler Papers contain some personal and professional correspondence, research for articles and books, and manuscripts for published and unpublished works. Kessler authored several pamphlets and books on local history including Lancaster in the Revolution in 1975 and President Buchanan: Trapped in a Whirlwind in 2003.
Admin/Biographical History
Charles H. Kessler, a World War II veteran, began his career as a reporter for the Reading Eagle Times, and later worked for the Lancaster New Era until his retirement in 1984.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Charles Kessler Papers (MG0432), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the folder or 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. 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.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-432
Classification
MG0432
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The collection has not been fully cataloged. Added to database 22 February 2022.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Papers of Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
Description
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 2 contains the financial and legal documents of Harriet Lane Johnston. The series is divided into three subseries.
Subseries 1 contains lists, bills, receipts, ledgers, and accounts. Subseries 2 contains legal papers concerning stock in the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-Road Company, as well as an acknowledgement of George B. Willson's purchase of Wheatland.
Subseries 3 contains the last will and testament and codicils of Harriet Lane Johnston and a broadside advertising of the 340 items from Wheatland to be auctioned by Davis & Harvey Auctioneers in 1884.
Admin/Biographical History
Born on May 9, 1830, Harriet Lane was the youngest surviving child of Elliot Toll Lane and Jane Buchanan Lane. When both of her parents died of consumption, now known as tuberculosis, Harriet went on to be her Uncle James Buchanan's ward in 1841. A well-educated lady, Harriet attended several boarding schools before graduating from the Georgetown Academy of Visitation Convent at the age of 18. When James Buchanan served as the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, Harriet Lane joined him for a time and served as a hostess. During her time in England, which she noted as "the realization of a beautiful dream," she befriended none other than Queen Victoria. When her Uncle assumed the presidency, Harriet Lane assumed her role as hostess. She is considered the first First Lady, as the title had initially been given to the president's hostess during Harriet's time in Washington.
After Buchanan's presidency, Harriet Lane married Henry Elliot Johnston, a banker from Baltimore, on January 11, 1866. She was 35 years old. The couple went on to have two sons, both of whom would pass away from rheumatic fever in their early teenage years. Two years after losing her youngest son, Harriet lost her husband to pneumonia. By 1884, Harriet was a childless widow. She would go on to leave a legacy for generations to come, including establishing a children's hospital in Baltimore called The Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children (today the Harriet Lane Clinic at the John's Hopkins Children's Hospital), preserving her Uncle's letters and manuscripts, bestowing her art collection to the Corcoran Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and constructing the St. Alban's School, a school for choir boys. She died on July 3, 1903. [https://www.lancasterhistory.org/about-wheatland/, accessed 10/24/2019]
System of Arrangement
JBFP Part 2 Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
James Buchanan Papers, Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections http://archives.dickinson.edu/collection-descriptions/james-buchanan-papers
James Buchanan and Harriet Lane Johnston Papers, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-buchanan-and-harriet-lane-johnston-papers/
James Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/b/Buchanan0091.html
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries, https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Family Papers
James Buchanan Collection, MG0096
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph collections
Curatorial collections
Wheatland Mansion
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available.
Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Some items are photocopies from other collections--researchers must obtain permission for reproduction and publication from the owner of the original material. 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.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
Remains of green silk at both ends over linen. Backing appears to be natural color linen with an open weave wool decorated with needlepoint floral-design repeated about ten times down length. Red rose/lavender rose/blue violets, with green leaves also shadings of brown.
One of 16 glass finger bowls. Frosted glass except where clear shield near the upper rolled edge. Shallow bowl with slightly convex bottom on inside. Shield design is etched with an engraved old English letter 'J'. Eight-point star impressed into center of bowl's exterior base.
One of 16 glass finger bowls. Frosted glass except where clear shield near the upper rolled edge. Shallow bowl with slightly convex bottom on inside. Shield design is etched with an engraved old English letter 'I'. Eight-point star impressed into center of bowl's exterior base.
One of 16 glass finger bowls. Frosted glass except where clear shield near the upper rolled edge. Shallow bowl with slightly convex bottom on inside. Shield design is etched with an engraved old English letter 'I'. Eight-point star impressed into center of bowl's exterior base.
One of 16 glass finger bowls. Frosted glass except where clear shield near the upper rolled edge. Shallow bowl with slightly convex bottom on inside. Shield design is etched with an engraved old English letter 'I'. Eight-point star impressed into center of bowl's exterior base.
One of 16 glass finger bowls. Frosted glass except where clear shield near the upper rolled edge. Shallow bowl with slightly convex bottom on inside. Shield design is etched with an engraved old English letter 'I'. Eight-point star impressed into center of bowl's exterior base.
One of 16 glass finger bowls. Frosted glass except where clear shield near the upper rolled edge. Shallow bowl with slightly convex bottom on inside. Shield design is etched with an engraved old English letter 'I'. Eight-point star impressed into center of bowl's exterior base.
One of 16 glass finger bowls. Frosted glass except where clear shield near the upper rolled edge. Shallow bowl with slightly convex bottom on inside. Shield design is etched with an engraved old English letter 'I'. Eight-point star impressed into center of bowl's exterior base.
