Collection consists largely of information on the descendants of Edward Hand and on the Hand Family Reunion. Contains correspondence, genealogical materials, family charts, photographs, and commemorative booklet 1912, on Lancaster County in the Revolutionary War. Also, three documents concerning the settling of the Hand estate.
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.
Sheet music for the 'Wheatland Polka- Composed & Respectfully Dedicated to James Buchanan President of the US.' This text has swirly designs around it. On bottom half of this front page, drawing of Wheatland with the words 'Wheatland Home of James Buchan
Plain coarse linen weave hand towel. Machine woven. Hand woven and knotted fringe. 10' borders on either end. Hand drawn work and embroidery in cotton thread. Mostly satin, feather, french knots, outline stitches. White, blue, pink, cream and tan. Drawn
One of two teacups. Inside of cup is lined with gold. Gilt decor forms a wide band on the exterior around the rim that and connects to and covers the handle and a vertical gilt band that connects to the flared foot. The body of the bowl is white with a flower and landscape hand-painted scene.
Nast or Darte Freres factory, Jean-Pierre Feuillet, designer.
Mark applied over glaze, therefore some of the ojects no longer have the designer's signature
Height (cm)
6.35
Height (ft)
0.2083333333
Height (in)
2.5
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2023-04-03
Object ID
W.1935.010.010
Notes
In 1995 the JBF staff assigned the Object ID W.95.69.2 to this Compote as a FIC probably because original paper records were not found.
In March 2023 the paper file has been found that identifies Lois Cassatt Thayer as the donor in 1935. Mrs. Thayer was the daughter to Alexander Cassatt and his wife, Maria Lois Buchanan Cassatt. Maria Lois Buchanan was the daughter to Rev. Dr. Edward Y. Buchanan, the youngest sibling to President James Buchanan.
One of three demitasse cups. Inside of cup is lined with gilt decor that extends over the cup's rim. The rim gilding connects to two vertical gilt bands and a band around the base forming a frame around varied handpainted landscape scenes; the cup handle is also gilded. The remainder of the outer body has a solid pink hue.
Nast or Darte Freres factory. Jean-Pierre Feuillet, designer.
Mark applied over glaze, therefore some of the ojects no longer have the designer's signature
Height (cm)
6.35
Height (ft)
0.2083333333
Height (in)
2.5
Depth (cm)
5.3975
Depth (ft)
0.1770833333
Depth (in)
2.125
Diameter (cm)
6.35
Diameter (ft)
0.2083333333
Diameter (in)
2.5
Condition
Fair
Condition Date
2023-04-14
Condition Notes
Inside lip of the cup has a large chip missing.
Object ID
W.1963.002.025
Notes
In 1995 the JBF staff assigned the Object ID W.95.69.2 to this Compote as a FIC probably because original paper records were not found.
In March 2023 the paper file has been found that identifies Patty Lane Fayer Eldridge as the donor in September 1963. Mrs. James W. Eldridge was the daughter to Patty Lane Fay and the great niece to Harriet Lane Johnston. Patty Lane Fay was daughter to James Buchanan Lane, the first-born to Jane Buchanan Lane, President James Buchanan's sister.
Pencil drawing of left-facing profile of a man ('Pop') with receding hairline. He is wearing a suit coat, dress shirt and tie. There is a large '12' in the upper left corner above the man's forehead. Below, in cursive, written in pencil: "Picture of pop drawn at party at Aunt Anna's on Dec. 27 1939 by Wayne Weaver. (Probably Wayne's father or grandfather.)
On the back a pencil drawing of a man with curly hair and wearing spectacles has been crossed out.
"A.B. Rote & Co., Ornamental and Structural Iron and Steel Works" advertisement containing a list of work done by the company and address. A precise ink drawing (scale 1"= 1 ft.) of a sample ornamental iron gate is featured below the written information.
Items listed include: plain and ornamental iron fences, cellar grates, window guards, iron stairs, fire escapes, stable fittings, brass and iron grilles and railings, elevators enclosures, beams and girders, roof trusses and columns, bolts and anchors and erecting of structural steel works.
Young Republican ribbon. Rectangular badge at top (2.5" x .75"); paper insert with " D.B. Strickler" typed on it. Blue ribbon with gold/bronze inked "General/ Committee/ 50th/ Anniversary/ Incorporation/ The/ Young/ Republicans/ October 29, 1937/ Lancaster, Pa." Made by Erisman, Lancaster, Pa.
