Collection contains correspondence, poetry, and newspaper articles.
Admin/Biographical History
Blanche Nevin (1841-1925), artist and poet, was born in Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of John Williamson Nevin, a theologian, teacher, and minister, and Martha Jenkins, daughter of the politician and iron master at Windsor Forges, Robert Jenkins. When Dr. Nevin became the president of Franklin & Marshall College in 1855, he moved the family to Lancaster. They moved to Windsor Forges (or Windsor Place) from 1856 to 1858, while Dr. Nevin acted as executor of his mother-in-law's estate, and then moved permanently to Caernarvon Place on Columbia Avenue (the present site of Degel Israel Synagogue). The Nevin children were well-educated and cultivated for society, as their parents had been.
Blanche was the nation's first noteworthy sculptress. In 1889, she sculpted the statue of Revolutionary War General Peter Muhlenberg, which stands in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. She also sculpted the bust of President Woodrow Wilson. Lancastrians are most familiar with her Lion in the Park (1905) at Reservoir Park and her horse drinking fountain (1898) at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and West Orange Street. Blanche composed a number of poems and set several to music; many were inspired by Lancaster County, her travels, and family and friends. Her poems include: "Great-Grandma's Looking-Glass" (1895), "One Usual Day" (1916), and "To My Door" (1921).
She bought Windsor Place in Caernarvon Twp. in 1897, restored the mansion house and the name Windsor Forges, and added a studio. Furniture and other influences from her travels adorned the house and grounds. She also owned a house in Manasquan, New Jersey; spent time with friends in New York and Philadelphia; and traveled a great deal, especially during the winter.
Her obituary in a Lancaster County newspaper states, "The simple, unpretentious neighbors of Miss Nevin never questioned her foreign ideas and eccentricities, but accepted her for the true, human qualities which she so abundantly possessed."
This collection contains items from the Hiram Buckwalter and John S. Shelley families. Hiram Buckwalter recorded the birth dates of his children in the account book. John S. Shelley's letterhead was preserved in the account book, as was an insurance receipt and two loose account and calculation sheets.
Folder 1: Account book of Hiram Buckwalter, 1881-1907; page 173 is an "account of Minnie Buckwalter," 1907 -- The account shows items purchased to furnish a home. Birth dates of Hiram's children are on the last page.
Folder 2:
Letterhead of John S. Shelley, Rapho Township Supervisors. No date.
Receipt to Hiram Buckwalter from the Manor Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Lancaster County. 1923.
Account of labor by Joseph Knabel and receipt of payment.1908.
Page of calculations. No date.
Folder 3: Facsimile of invitation to John S. Shelley and cover of program for the dedication of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, 1930
Admin/Biographical History
John S. Shelley (1880-1965) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30594169/john-s-shelley
John's daughter, Grace (1916-2012), married Paul B. Brubaker (1913-2004). Paul was the grandson of Hiram Buckwalter (1857-1930).
Bonds posted by constables, showing names of constable and surety; date and amount of bond; conditions of obligation; signatures of constable, surety, and witnesses; and date filed. 1809-1924. Arr. chron. by date filed. No index. Hdw. and typed on ptd. fm.
Admin/Biographical History
The County of Lancaster has given LancasterHistory.org custodial responsibility of this collection.
System of Arrangement
Arranged by year; alphabetical by surname with in year.
