The J. U. Neuhauser & Sons Records collection contains records of the hardware and farm machinery business of J. U. Neuhauser & Sons, Bird-in-Hand, Pa. The items include product inventories, records of sales and customers, territory lists and salesmen, financial records, and tax records.
Admin/Biographical History
Neuhauser Brothers was established in 1891. In 1901, brothers Isaac U. Neuhauser and Jonas U. Neuhauser bought land from Levi Rhoads at 2701 Old Philadelphia Pike in Bird-in-Hand. The transaction included buildings that the Neuhausers had been using since 1890. Jonas bought out Isaac's share in 1921 and the business name was later changed to J. U. Neuhauser & Sons. Jonas' sons sold the store to Abram E. Keener in 1958 who continued the hardware business, but did not deal in farm machinery.
The business was located on property formerly owned by the Bird-in-Hand Hotel, was The Old Village Store for many years, and is presently the Bird-in-Hand Village Antique Market (2008).
Employees in 1958 were Irvin Denlinger (shop), Aaron L. Hershey (store clerk), Miriam G. Neuhauser (bookkeeper), Aaron P. Miller (store clerk), Henry K. Blank (shop), Michael L. Fisher (shop).
Reference: Bird-in-Hand, 1734-1984: A History of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. 1984.
The source is unknown for the bulk of the collection. Record book of automobiles, farm machinery, and major appliances, 1922-1959 in Folder 12 was a gift of Robert G. Neuhauser, December 2006.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Folder 13 is restricted.
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-21
Classification
MG0021
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The collection was cataloged prior to 1997; Folder 12 was added by HST in 2007. Added to database 29 July 2021.
The Mayor's Court was established at the incorporation of the City of Lancaster in 1818, and was composed of the mayor, recorder, and aldermen with powers and jurisdiction analogous to the Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, Oyer and Terminer, and Jail Delivery. It was abolished on 6 February 1849.
System of Arrangement
Organized by court term.
Arranged with general materials first, then constables reports, tavern licenses, un-numbered cases, and numbered cases.
Liens filed by contractors showing names of parties including owner of property; description of property including location; nature of claim; description of materials and work done on property; volume and page number of recording in Mechanics' Liens Docket; and date filed.
Record of applications for peddlers' licenses showing date of application, name of applicant, type of license, and dates granted and lifted. Many applications for soldiers' licenses; these are peddlers' licenses issued to honorably discharged veterans. Handwritten.
System of Arrangement
Organized by year, then alphabetically by surname.
Coroners' Inquests are inquests conducted by six men, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, into the cause of a person's death. Inquests include: municipality; name of coroner; signatures of the six jurors; name of decedent; date of inquest; reason for death; name of coroner's physician, and names of witnesses to the inquest. Handwritten on printed form.
Court martial records of the Pennsylvania Militia from the War of 1812. Docket book entries include charges, pleadings, witness accounts, court minutes, and judgments. Summons papers include defendant's name, name of commanding officer, appearance date, and amount of fine.
System of Arrangement
Arranged by regiment and company, then numerically by case number.
Marriage applications completed by the bride and groom contain the names, ages, places of birth, current residences, occupation of groom, if either party had been married before and the results of that union, signatures of applicants, if African-American, and degree of kinship, if any. Parental consent forms, filed with marriage applications, were completed by parent or guardian of under-age applicants and contain the name of parent or guardian, place of current residence, residence of child or ward, and signature of parent or guardian. Files may contain both an application and consent form or forms, an application, or a consent form or forms.
System of Arrangement
Arranged chronologically by year and then by application number within that year. Box 2 has additional files for 1895 that were not able to be included in Box 1.
A writ of habeas corpus is a procedure for obtaining a judicial determination of the legality of an individual's custody. This collection includes petitions for writs of habeas corpus and the writs themselves, showing the names of petitioners, persons to be brought to court, nature of dispute or alleged crime, dates of writs and accompanying documents, names of judges, and names of persons that the writs are filed against. Petitioners include indentured servants, Freedom Seekers, free persons of color, convicted prisoners, those awaiting trial, relatives of prisoners, parties in child custody disputes, and relatives of army recruits and draftees. Handwritten, handwritten on printed forms, and a very few typewritten.
