The Linden Hall Seminary Collection contains school catalogs and Linden Hall Echo, the school yearbook. Other items include financial records, fundraising information, school workbooks, and a diploma from 1886.
Admin/Biographical History
Linden Hall Seminary is a girls' school located in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1742 by the Moravian community, it is the oldest continuously operated girls' school in the United States.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Linden Hall Seminary Collection (MG0010), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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.
Other Numbers
MG-10
Classification
MG0010
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
This collection was cataloged prior to 1997; added to database 8 Febraury 2018.
The John Wise and History of Ballooning Collection contains material about John Wise, a pioneering balloonist from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and the history of ballooning. Articles written by and about John Wise provide information about the man and his career. The bulk of Series 1 is correspondence, research notes, and drafts of "The John Wise Story," by John H. Andrews. Series 2 contains material about the ballooning hobby, other early aircraft, and the history of air mail.
Admin/Biographical History
As an adventurous and inquisitive young boy, John Wise was drawn to the skies above his native Lancaster County. He was fascinated by aerial pursuits and began to conduct experiments. He tied his cat to his homemade parachute and observed the cat's safe descent from a local church steeple.
A keen interest in ballooning developed and Wise became a famous aeronaut. Although balloon ascensions were common at county fairs and carnivals he had never observed an ascension before he made his first one in Philadelphia in 1835. John Wise completed 462 balloon ascensions including Lancaster ascensions from Penn Square and the prison yard.
In the nineteenth century many ascensions were made just for the novelty of the event, but John Wise's approach was from a scientific perspective. Each ascension gave him a chance to conduct scientific investigations of the atmosphere, pneumatics and hydrostatics.
It also gave him the opportunity to develop a more advanced flying machine. Wise was the first to observe the "great river of air which always blows from west to east" in the higher regions of the atmosphere. Today we call this phenomenon the jet stream. He also developed the ripcord safety mechanism.
John Wise promoted the advantages of balloon transportation. In 1843 he conceived a project for crossing the Atlantic Ocean and asked Congress to appropriate $15,000 for the project. Congress rejected the appropriation. Wise suggested a plan to bomb the Castle at Vera Cruz during the Mexican War and during the Civil War the Bureau of Topographical Engineers requested his services as a balloonist. He is credited with the first airmail transportation in 1859.
Detailed descriptions of his ascensions and experiments are found in his book, Through the Air, published in 1873. The last ascent of John Wise took place on September 29, 1879 from St. Louis, Missouri. This flight ended disastrously in Lake Michigan where his balloon fell and his remains lie.
Prepared by the Lancaster County Historical Society, ca. 1995.
Collection of items relating to the Society of Seventh Day Baptists and Ephrata Cloister. Legal papers deal with a dispute concerning the election of trustees and mismanagement of the estate. There are brief histories of the Cloister, poems, publications, programs, tourist brochures, and a booklet describing treatments for various ailments.
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
Restrictions are noted at the item level. Original documents may be used--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at 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.
Classification
MG0081
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Originally cataloged prior to 1997. Added to database 01 November 2018.
The Fulton Opera House Collection contains programs, tickets, and schedules for public performances and events at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The programs list cast members and celebrities, as well as advertising for businesses and sponsoring organizations. The collection also includes a booklet from the theatre's centenary celebration in 1952 and items related to the Landmark Campaign to restore and renovate the theatre in 1995.
World War I Papers of Thomas, James, and Victor Kegel
Description
The World War I Papers of Thomas, James, and Victor Kegel collection contains materials written and collected by three brothers who fought during World War I in the 109th Machine Gun Battalion. The collection contains letters written by the brothers to their families while in the service, and some other letters from their loved ones. There are also newspaper articles, literature on the battalion they fought in, post cards, military paperwork, and photographs.
Admin/Biographical History
Thomas Kegel (1895-1958), James Kegel (1891-1927), Victor Kegel (1898-1923) were three brothers who served together in the 109th Machine Gun Battalion during World War I. Their parents were Charles and Mary Rogers Kegel, and they had eleven children. Their family home was on 59 Locust Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They were all drafted in 1917, and were trained in Camp Hancock in Augusta, Georgia. After their extensive training, they were sent to fight in the trenches in France. On separate occasions, each brother was wounded during the war, but they all survived and came home to Lancaster after the war in 1919.
James L. Kegel was born on August 10, 1891. He was a poultry dresser and dealer and was married to Arabella E. Raymond Kegel (1884-1966) on August 27, 1911. They had three children: Charles, James, and Mary Annabelle. James passed away at the age of 35 on February 9, 1927, due to pneumonia.
Thomas Kegel was born on January 18, 1895. He married Veronica R. "Fannie" Karch Kegel. Together, they had four children: Thomas, Helen, Dorn Anne, and John. He was a watchmaker, in addition to other various occupations. By a doctor's recommendation in 1939, Thomas and his family moved to Miami, Florida, due to his injuries and struggles with PTSD. He passed away on February 18, 1958.
Victor A. Kegel was born on March 29, 1898. He was a poultry dresser after coming back to Lancaster from the war in 1919. He was married to Ellen F. Kegel. He passed away on December 26, 1923, due to inflammation of the brain. He was 25 years old.
The dosuments in folders 24, 33, and 47 are fragile and require staff supervision.
Object ID
MG0798
Related Item Notes
World War I Collection, 1916-1972, MG-45
World War I Papers for Frank Schober, MG-797
Charles E. Schuler Papers, MG-780
William Barlow Papers, MG-781
William Raymond Elbert Papers, MG-784
Military Records for Charles A. Meisenberger, MG-782
Diary Collection, 1836-1978, MG-247
William J. Buch Papers, 1917-1958, MG-658
Notes
Donation was made possible with the assistance of Charles and Mary Brill.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level. The documents in Folders 24, 33, and 47 are fragile and require staff supervision. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
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-798
Other Number
MG-798
Classification
MG0798
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by EM, January/February 2019.