This collection contains ephemera related to Alice Potter Fordney, antiques dealer and rugmaker. Items in the collection include business correspondence with Armstrong, F. Schumacher & Co., and the Montclair art museum; personal correspondence with friends and family; hooked rug patterns; and antiques sale flyers from the early 20th century. Also included in the collection are newspaper clippings, including the obituary of Fordney's sister Ellen Franklin; reference material for rug making and interior design (informational sheets, books and patterns); several items related to the Yeates School, which Fordney's brother William Bush Fordney attended; several photographs of unidentified persons; and a statement related to the will of William J. Fordney, her uncle.
Admin/Biographical History
Alice Potter Fordney was born June 21, 1887 in Lancaster, the daughter of Ida Cox and Thomas Potter Fordney. A prominent antique dealer from the late 1920s to her retirement in 1965, Fordney also made and sold hooked rugs.
Fordney's family features prominently in Lancaster County history. Her maternal great-grandfather was John Michael, who owned the historic Grape Hotel from 1805-1839. Fordney's paternal great-grandfather William Jenkins built Wheatland in 1828 and later sold the property to President James Buchanan. Colonel William Bush Fordney, her paternal grandfather, was a prominent lawyer in Lancaster. He served as district attorney from 1839-1845 and negotiated for the loan that enabled Lancaster city to build the "water works" in the 1830s. Sarah Cox, her maternal grandmother, was a known philanthropist and for years helped to manage the Home for Friendless Children in Lancaster. Her sister, Ellen Fordney Franklin, was a "pioneer" in the industry of women's knit suits, opening her first shop in 1929 in Philadelphia.
Fordney never married. She kept in contact with her nieces and nephews, as evidenced by letters in the collection. According to notes provided by Wendell Zercher, Sarah Ellmaker McIlvaine Muench, her niece and the donor of the collection, recalled her as "warm and artistic," and "a character." She died April 17, 1973, at the age of 85.
Works Cited:
"Mrs. Franklin, pioneer of women's knit suits, dies." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], 10 May 1963, p. 2.
"Accident Fatal to Mrs. Sarah A. Cox." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], no date, page unknown.
"Miss Fordney, Antique Dealer, 85, Succumbs." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], 18 April 1973, p. 2.
"One of Lancaster's Most Prominent and Venerable Citizens Passes Away." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], 29 July 1889, p. 1.
3 boxes, 37 folders, 333 items, 1,015 pages to scan, 4.5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
HC0001
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Associated Material
Sarah McIlvaine Muench Family Papers, MS 44 at Archives and Special Collections, Shadek-Fackenthal Library, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA.
Related Item Notes
See photograph collection.
See curatorial collection for examples of rugs.
Fordney Family Diaries (MG0539)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Archive of Alice P. Fordney (HC0001), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
The kraft paper patterns in Folders 33-37 are restricted. Please make an appointment with the Director of Archival Services to view these items.
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.
Accession Number
G.04.23.52
Classification
HC0001
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
From the Heritage Center of Lancaster County collection, G04.23.52.
Processed and finding aid prepared by MJ, June 2018.
On 10 January 1950, Marian L. Baker was brutally murdered by Edward Lester Gibbs. This collection contains W. Hensel Brown's copies of the clerk's file, transcripts, appeal briefs, and other court records from the murder trial of Edward L. Gibbs, 1950. Newspaper articles report on the 1950 trial and his 1951 electrocution.
Admin/Biographical History
Edward Lester Gibbs (1924-1951), veteran (98th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force) and husband of Helen Woodward, was from Gloucester County, NJ. In 1950, he was a student at Franklin and Marshall College. (1)
Marian Louise Baker (1928-1950), the daughter of Walter M. Baker and Helen Beatrice Soule Britcher, was originally from New Bloomfield, Perry County, PA. (2) She had spent much of her childhood in Conestoga, PA with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy O'Donel. (3) In 1950, she worked as a cashier and secretary in the treasurer's office at Franklin and Marshall College (4) and was engaged to Edward Rankin. (5)
W. Hensel Brown was the attorney chosen to defend Gibbs.
"On January 10, 1950, Marian Louise Baker was brutally slain by being
beaten to death with a lug wrench. Eight days later Edward Lester
Gibbs, defendant, confessed the killing. Thereafter, he was indicted in
Lancaster County, tried by a jury, and convicted of murder in the first
degree with the penalty fixed at death. Prior to his bringing this appeal, his motion for new trial was denied and sentence was imposed in accordance with the verdict.
At the time of the killing, defendant, a married war veteran twenty-five years of age, was a student at Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. *185 In the early afternoon of January 10, 1950, he was in downtown Lancaster when he saw Miss Baker, an employee of the college. He offered to drive her back to the campus in his car and she accepted. However, instead of returning directly to the college, they rode out of town and into the open country. When they reached an isolated spot several miles from the city she commented on the view and defendant stopped the car so that they both might enjoy it. While sitting there he suddenly reached over and began choking her. She broke away and got out of the car. He followed her and after choking her again, he returned to the car, unlocked and opened the luggage compartment, removed the lug wrench, and beat her over the head with it until she was dead. He then left but later returned to hide the body and remove any incriminating evidence. The body was not discovered until four days later.
On January 18, 1950, defendant admitted committing the crime and on that same day he signed a statement setting forth the facts as we have synopsized them here. Neither at the trial nor at any other time did he deny the truth of that confession and substantially all of the facts contained in it were verified by the independent investigation of the Pennsylvania State Police." (6)
1 "Edward Lester Gibbs," Find A Grave, accessed November 27, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76555590/edward-lester-gibbs.
2 "Marian Louise Baker," Find A Grave, accessed November 27, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76632108/marian-louise-baker.
3 "Vintage photos, the 1950 murder of an F&M secretary," PennLive.com, last modified January 8, 2016, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/vintage_photos_the_1950_murder.html.
4 "Marian Louise Baker," Find A Grave, accessed November 27, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/76632108/marian-louise-baker.
5 "Vintage photos, the 1950 murder of an F&M secretary," PennLive.com, last modified January 8, 2016, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/vintage_photos_the_1950_murder.html.
6 "Opinion by Mr. Chief Justice Drew, November 20, 1950," Justia, accessed November 27, 2018, https://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/supreme-court/1950/366-pa-182-0.html.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Heritage of Christiana Collection (MG0906), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. 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
This collection contains ephemera related to Julius J. "Jule" Ritchey of Lancaster and his career as a middleweight boxer.
Admin/Biographical History
Julius J. "Jule" Ritchey was born in 1895 in Lancaster's Cabbage Hill neighborhood. During his career as a middleweight boxer, he fought 75 bouts, won 65 of them and had 4 KOs. He fought alongside local contemporaries Leo Houck, Rosey Stoy, and Tim Droney. He trained in various places around the world, including Havana, Cuba. Ritchey later worked from Armstrong until he retired in 1960. He died 9 January 1983 in Lancaster.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Jule Ritchey Collection (MG0913), 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.MG0913
Other Numbers
MG-913
Classification
MG0913
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Transferred from Boxing Information File, 13 May 2003. Transferred from Document Collection, Box 32, Folder 9, Items 1-7, 13 April 2022.
This collection contains deeds, articles of agreement, descriptions of property, and a land draft pertaining to property on Gibney Road in West Lampeter Twp. and one deed for property in Penn Twp.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Gibney Road Property Records, 1846-1955 (MG0919), 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
2004.MG0919
Other Numbers
MG-919
Classification
MG0919
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Transferred from Document Collection Box 33, Folder 9, 15 April 2022.
Boxing and Wrestling Collection of Paul L. Stauffer
Description
Collection of boxing and wrestling ephemera, photographs, and programs compiled by Paul L. Stauffer:
National Bank and Trust bank books with records of proceeds from boxing matches, 1936-1941
Issues of the Referee Sportsman, 20 December 1937, 24 January 1938
Souvenir Pictorial Program, 24 May 1937
Scrapbook/album of photographs of boxers and wrestlers, programs, and newspaper clippings relating to the sports, 1930s-1960
Admin/Biographical History
Paul L. Stauffer, retired president of Lancaster Pump and Manufacturing Co., was business manager of the local Boxing and Wrestling Club in the 1930s and 1940s.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Boxing and Wresting Collection of Paul L. Stauffer (MG0925), Folder # or Object ID, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
This collection has not been fully cataloged, but may be used by appointment. 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 for permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Ressler Family and Mascot Roller Mill Collection, 1942-1990
Description
The Ressler Family and Mascot Roller Mill Collection contains Christmas cards sent by the Ressler Family, owners of the Mascot Roller Mill in Upper Leacock Township, and information about the mill, the family home and the Ressler Mill Foundation.
Admin/Biographical History
The Mascot Roller Mill was built in 1760 by Jacob Becker. William Ressler acquired the mill in 1864 and his family continued to operate the mill until 1977. With the mill no longer in production, the Ressler Mill Foundation was established to preserve the mill and its waterways.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Ressler Family and Mascot Roller Mill Collection, 1942-1990 (MG0887), 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
This collection contains programs and ephemera from the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.
Admin/Biographical History
The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was established by C. Bernard Seiple and performed at the Columbia High School Auditorium and at the Columbia Opera House.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Columbia Symphony Orchestra Collection (MG0927), 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
Masonic Homes of Lancaster County Collection, 1910-1957
Description
This collection contains programs, booklets, and leaflets about the Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown; a booklet about the Louis H. Eisenlohr Home for Girls at the Masonic Homes; and information, correspondence and an admission application for the Thomas Ranken Patton Masonic Institution for Boys.
Admin/Biographical History
The Masonic Homes of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was established in Elizabethtown in 1910. It is known today as the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Masonic Homes of Lancaster Collection, 1910-1957 (MG0929), 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 United Brewery Workers Collection contains membership books, roll book, ledger, and daybooks for Local 206 of the International Union of United Brewery Workmen of America, then the International Union of United Brewery and Soft Drink Workers of America, and later the International Union of United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers of America. Most membership books show name of member, place and date of birth, date of initiation into the union, industry, department, international book number, local ledger number, local union number, locality, and the signatures of union officials. The "Declaration of Principles" is printed at the front of the book and most have stamps showing dues paid.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), United Brewery Workers Collection, 1900-1951 (MG0287), Box #, Folder #, 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.MG0287
Other Numbers
MG-287
Classification
MG0287
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Added to database 1 August 2022. Source unknown unless stated at item level.
