Contains records starting with the purchase of land for construction of the Northern Market in Lancaster. Includes financial documents of stockholders, minutes, lease agreements, tax returns, ledger books, bank statements, and forms. Also, some personal papers of Menno B. Hess, a member of the Board of Directors.
The Woodward Hill Cemetery Collection contains records of the cemetery from 1851-1997, such as the charter and by-laws, board minutes, lot holder records, plans, programs, financial documents, and grant proposals. The records include the names of thousands of people who were employed by, buried at, served on the cemetery board, or were otherwise associated with the cemetery.
Admin/Biographical History
For more than 150 years, Woodward Hill Cemetery has been one of Lancaster’s most significant historic sites. As the final resting place of numerous prominent citizens including President James Buchanan, with a layout reflecting Victorian ideals of landscape design and containing fine examples of funerary monuments, Woodward Hill’s national significance was recognized in 2005 when the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Woodward Hill was the largest and most elaborate of the new rural cemeteries established in Lancaster during the mid-nineteenth century. Rural cemeteries were designed as vital open spaces or public parks for the community; they provided a place for recreation as well as veneration of the dead. As a final resting place for illustrious citizens, Woodward Hill is a “museum” of notable clergy, educators, civic leaders, and veterans. Today the cemetery occupies 32 acres and contains approximately 13,750 grave markers ranging in date from the late eighteenth century to the present day. They illustrate the 200-year evolution of funerary art, sculpture and associated symbolism. In addition to tombstones, there are numerous obelisks and mausoleums representing Victorian, neoclassical, and early modern architectural styles. Founded in 1852 by Trinity Lutheran Church, Woodward Hill Cemetery is one of Lancaster's significant historic sites. The cemetery was the largest and most elaborate of the new "rural" cemeteries established in the mid- nineteenth century. It was designed as vital open space, allowing for recreation as well as veneration of the dead. The final resting place of many notable clergy, veterans, education, civic and business leaders, Woodward Hill's best known grave site belongs to James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States http://www.woodwardhillcemetery.com/ 8/11/17
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Woodward Hill Cemetery Collection (MG0264), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Folders 11-15 contain restricted materials.
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
This collection contains minute books of the Lancaster City & County Medical Society.
Admin/Biographical History
The Lancaster City & County Medical Society, which was established in 1844, is a professional association for physicians in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Collection at Lancaster Medical Heritage Museum https://lancastermedicalheritagemuseum.org/
Notes
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
Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied, but pages may be photographed without flash. 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-373
Classification
MG0373
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The volumes in Folders 1-7 were transferred from MG-266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 1 on 3 March 2009.
This collection contains the historical records of Congregation Shaarai Shomayim, including minutes, service bulletins, financial records, Lancaster Jewish history, and property records.
Box 1: Lancaster Jewish histories
Box 2: Shaarai Shomayim Cemetery
Box 3: Other Lancaster Jewish Organizations
Box 4: B'Nai B'rith Lancaster
Box 5: Rabbis
Box 6: Board Decisions, 1963-1978
Charter and By-laws
Box 7: Minutes, 1855-1934
Box 8: Minutes, 1934-1978
Box 9: Minutes, 1978-1995
Box 10: Presidents' Reports
1997 Triple Anniversary
Box 11 & 12: Special Services
Service Programs
Celebrations
Congregation Anniversaries
Box 13 & 14: Committee Reports
Old Church Music, adapted
Box 15 & 16: Property Records
Deeds, Mortgages
Renovations
Box 17: Membership Financial Ledgers, 1892-1949
Box 18 & 19: Membership Dues Receipt Books, 1939-1970
Resolution regarding Benjamin Lurio https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169712251/benjamin-lurio
Picture of the Simon lintel "In colonial times, when synagogues were scarce, traditional Jews in cities without synagogues conducted prayer services in their homes. This hand-carved wooden lintel was affixed horizontally above the opening of Joseph Simon's personal Torah ark in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In the lintel's center is a depiction of the two tablets symbolizing the Decalogue (the ten commandments) and below it the Hebrew saying, "Know before Whom you are standing," a phrase that often appears in synagogues on the ark lintel or above the reader's lectern." www.loc.gov/exhibits/haventohome/haven-haven.html#obj11
Digital archive (images, text, and history) by David Brenner: (accessible onsite)
"Over 7000 images related directly or indirectly to Congregation Shaarai Shomayim in Lancaster Pennsylvania. This is a file of scanned and downloaded documents, publications, newspaper articles, photographs etc. from the archives of Congregation Shaarai Shomayim, Lancaster, PA, items loaned to me and online newspapers. The goal of this collection is to have in one place as much information as possible on Lancaster's Reform Jewish community, institutions, and mid to late 19th century Jewish immigrants that populated the second Jewish community of Lancaster in the 1840s and chartered the congregation."
Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment--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
2023.043
Other Numbers
MG-978
Classification
MG0978
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Originally inventoried by Ellen Pike and the Archives Committee at Shaarai Shomayim.
The Empire Hook and Ladder Company Records contain minute books, a committee report, responsibilities of the directors, a reunion program and banquet menu, financial records, and a membership book.
Folder 1 Minute book of the Empire Hook and Ladder Company, Lancaster. 1856-1865. Gift of Barry L. Dusel, 4 March 2003. (Accession # 2003.MG0519.F1)
Insert 1 Report of Committee on Constitution and By-laws for Hook & Ladder Co. Duties of Directors. No date.
Promissory note to John Waters, janitor. [1873].
4th annual reunion program and banquet menu, with list of members. 24 February 1892.
Folder 2 Ledger book. 1873-1884.
Folder 3 Roll book showing active members, 1866-1883 and honorary members, 1867-1881. (poor condition, loose boards)
Insert 1 Resolution regarding the death of member, Harry C. Hoffman. No date.
Folder 4 Minute book, including the constitution and by-laws and a list of active members. Handwritten transcription of a few pages at the front of the volume. Loose papers interleaved and newspaper articles pasted at the back. 1865-1876.
Folder 5 Minute book. 1879-1884.
Admin/Biographical History
The Empire Hook and Ladder Company was formed in June 1856 and incorporated in March 1861. (Ellis and Evans, History of Lancaster County, pp. 391-392)
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The minute book in Folder 1 was a gift of Barry Dusel, February 2003. The records in Folder 2-5 were placed with LancasterHistory by the Lancaster City Archives in 1959.
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-519
Classification
MG0519
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The volume in Folder 1 was transferred from MG-266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 4 on 10 March 2009. The records in Folder 2-5 are part of the Lancaster City Archives and have been placed in this collection to provide easier access for researchers. LancasterHistory cares for and provides access to the historic records of Lancaster City.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 1, Papers of James Buchanan, Series 1 Correspondence
Description
The James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 1, Papers of James Buchanan, Series 1 Correspondence, Subseries 1 contains letters to James Buchanan and Subseries 2 contains letters from James Buchanan. Within these subseries, the letters are arranged chronologically, dating from 1819-1868.
This collection contains letters, both to and from James Buchanan. The letters from Buchanan range from the different periods of his life-as a private citizen and lawyer, senator, and ambassador to Russia and Britain; his Presidential term from 1857 to 1861; and his later years until his death in 1868. The earlier letters include details of his travels, political matters and the military, social engagements and responsibilities, his responsibilities as a political figure, and accounts of family chatter and gossip. He also discusses at length, in his letters to and about Harriet Lane, his opinions of whom she should marry, his opinions about her social encounters and interactions, her living situations, and her livelihood. Buchanan also often wrote about his Christian beliefs, especially during the later years of his life. Letters from his later years detail the day-to-day life at home in Wheatland, including some of his guests, his servants, and his illnesses as the end of his life neared.
The letters that are addressed to James Buchanan range in different topics, concerning military affairs, political and legal information, and family chatter. Other letters include details of Buchanan's financial matters that are in reference to loans, Buchanan's investments and purchases, deeds and bonds. There are also a number of thank-you letters and notes of recommendation.
Many of the letters are to his niece, Harriet Lane and nephew, James Buchanan Henry. Other correspondents are H. B. Swarr, Henry A. Muhlenberg, family members, Francis Scott Key, Riggs & Co., James L. Reynolds, and many political colleagues.
Admin/Biographical History
James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791 to James Buchanan and Elizabeth Speer. He was the second child born out of ten children, and he would go on to outlive all but one of his siblings. Most popularly remembered as Pennsylvania's only President and as a lifelong bachelor, Buchanan committed a lifetime to politics. In 1821, he left his law practice and embarked on his political career after having been voted into the U.S. House of Representatives. He would remain in the House for five consecutive terms before serving as the U.S. Minister to Russia, a Senator in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, and finally, the 15th President of the United States. He died in his bedchamber at Wheatland at 8:30 AM on June 1, 1868. He was 77 years old. [https://www.lancasterhistory.org/about-wheatland, accessed 10/24/2019]
System of Arrangement
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 1 Papers of James Buchanan is arranged into six series.
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) https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo3760
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph Collection
Curatorial Collection
Wheatland Collection
Wheatland Mansion
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Part #, Series #, Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
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.
The Washington Fire Company Records contain the eleven articles and a list of members for the Washington Fire Company of Lancaster in 1820, a minute book for 1857-1879, constitution and by-laws printed in 1857, and an undated account sheet.
Admin/Biographical History
The Washington Fire Company was organized in 1820 at the home of John Landis. (Ellis and Evans, History of Lancaster County, pp. 389-390)
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Washington Fire Company Records (MG0521), 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
The Active Fire Company Records contain a minute book for the Active Fire Company of Lancaster, a partial transcription of the minutes, and an announcement for a meeting.
Admin/Biographical History
The Active Fire Company was established in 1791 or 1792. (Ellis and Evans, History of Lancaster County, pp. 388-389)
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Active Fire Company Records (MG0518), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment--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.
Accession Number
Unknown.MG0518
Other Numbers
MG-518
Classification
MG0518
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
These volumes were transferred from MG-266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 4 Fire Companies on 10 March 2009. Added to database 1 August 2022.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), American Fire Engine and Hose Company Records, 1834-1883 (MG0522), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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.MG0522
Other Numbers
MG-522
Other Number
MG-522
Classification
MG0522
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
The volumes in Folders 2-8 were transferred from MG-266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 4 on 10 March 2009. Added to database 1 August 2022.
The Friendship Fire Company Records contain the constitution and by-laws, minutes, partial transcription of the minutes, and an account book for the Friendship Fire Company of Lancaster.
Admin/Biographical History
The Friendship Fire Company began in 1763. It was out of existence from 1768 until 1791 and then reorganized. The company ended its active service in 1882 when the paid City Fire Department came into existence. (Ellis & Evans, page 384)
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Friendship Fire Company Records (MG0523), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment--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
Other Numbers
MG-523
Classification
MG0523
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
These volumes were transferred from MG0266 Daybook and Ledger Collection, Series 4 on 10 March 2009. Added to database 10 August 2022.