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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/e9e1e3c9-88b8-4de5-97f3-843122087561
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847
Date Range
1879, 2020
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
This collection contains Frank E. Witmer's original 1879 diary, as well as a transcription and index prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace. The diary provides a detailed record of the daily activities of all members of the family. He primarily records the work involved in running a truck farm--planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops, and preparing for market. Other entries of interest include helping a neighbor move a carriage house; building a hog pen; canning; attendance at several Mennonite churches in the area; the process of moving from one house and barn to a new house and barn on the property; frequent visits between relatives and neighbors; and a few mentions of school and the leisure activities of the young men.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
Date Range
1879, 2020
Creation Date
1879, 2020
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Other Creators
Witmer, Franklin Elmer, 1855-1931
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Indexes
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Transcriptions
Indexes
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
3 items, 146 pages to scan
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0847
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use transcription and index, MG0847_F002 and MG0847_F003.
Original diary may be used by appointment--contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
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
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 1
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
PDFs of the transcription and index are attached to the correlating records.
Documents
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Finding Aid

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Clipping, Newspaper

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/31891739-35a8-4a8d-ac4f-547145850330
Collection
Menu Collection
Title
"Nostalgia Marks Hotel's Last Night"
Object ID
MG0339_F007_In02
Date Range
1963
President Avenue • Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603-3125 717.392.4633 • www.LancasterHistory.org Search Terms: Menus Finding aid Manuscript groups Related Materials: Processing History: This collection has been documented, preserved and managed according to professional museum and archives standards. The
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Menu Collection
Title
"Nostalgia Marks Hotel's Last Night"
Description
Newspaper article, "Nostalgia marks hotel's last night: Owner's eyes filled with tears as guests sign 'Auld Lang Syne'," by Gerald S. Lestz. Lancaster New Era.
Date Range
1963
Creation Date
[1963]
Creator
Lancaster New Era
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 08
People
Andes, William D., Jr.
Barr, Richard
Burnett, C. E. "Tex"
Cohen, Burrell
Dunlap, Anne Louise Reist
Dunlap, James Cecil
Farkas, Albert A.
Fournaris, James F.
Hopf, Richard
Lestz, Gerald S.
Mack, J. Edward
Means, Grant
Myers, Bernard J.
Myers, Margaret
Rengier, Charles F.
Rengier, John B.
Schneebeli, Otto J.
Schock, Dorothy
Seibel, M. J.
Seibel, Martin
Shand, Dorothy Schaeffer
Shand, William
Shoemaker, Robert Reed
Shoemaker, Mabel Alexander "Bubbles"
Stauffer, Claude R.
Subjects
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Restaurants
Search Terms
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Newspaper clippings
Restaurants
Stevens House
Toby Room
Extent
1 items, 1 page to scan
Object Name
Clipping, Newspaper
Language
English
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2021-11-26
Object ID
MG0339_F007_In02
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Stevens House Hotel Records (MG0246)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder # (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Items 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
2014.MG0339.F7
Other Numbers
MG-339, Folder 7, In 2
Other Number
MG-339, Folder 7, Insert 2
Classification
MG0339
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Added to database 26 November 2021.
Documents
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Finding Aid

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Index

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/c9cb9ac2-62dd-4a36-a9c9-463988761160
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847_F003
Date Range
2020/11
More detail
  2 documents  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer, 1879.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
Date Range
2020/11
Creation Date
2021
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Indexes
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Indexes
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
1 item, 10 pages
Object Name
Index
Language
English
Object ID
MG0847_F003
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Original diary: MG0847_F001
Index: MG0847_F003
Access Conditions / Restrictions
A PDF has been provided for research purposes.
Copyright
A PDF has been provided for research purposes only.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847, Folder 3
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 3
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Index prepared in November 2020.
Documents
thumbnail

MG0847_F003.pdf

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Finding Aid

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Menu

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/1b45c8e8-103c-40fc-a45a-147012309879
Collection
Menu Collection
Title
Souvenir menu and postcard of the Stevens House
Object ID
MG0339_F007_In01
Date Range
1963
President Avenue • Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603-3125 717.392.4633 • www.LancasterHistory.org Search Terms: Menus Finding aid Manuscript groups Related Materials: Processing History: This collection has been documented, preserved and managed according to professional museum and archives standards. The
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Menu Collection
Title
Souvenir menu and postcard of the Stevens House
Description
Souvenir menu of The Stevens House. "At the crossroads of American History" Signed by Bob and "Bubbles" Shoemaker. Stamped "Souvenir Menu 1874-1963." [1963]
Postcard of the Stevens House, Lancaster, Pa. "Historic English Dining Room has not only excellent food but also many interesting pictures and mementos on the walls. Recommended by Duncan Hines for both rooms and food, the Stevens House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is centrally located and on Routes 30, 72, 222 and 230." Color photo by James E. Hess. Published by Mellinger Studios, Lancaster, Pa. Printed by Dexter Press, Inc., West Nyack, NY.
Date Range
1963
Creation Date
[1963]
Creator
Hess, James E.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 08
People
Hess, James E.
Shoemaker, Robert Reed
Shoemaker, Mabel Alexander "Bubbles"
Other Creators
Mellinger Studios
Dexter Press, Inc.
Subjects
Menus
Postcards
Restaurants
Search Terms
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Menus
Postcards
Restaurants
Stevens House
Toby Room
Extent
2 items, 6 pages to scan
Object Name
Menu
Language
English
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2021-11-26
Object ID
MG0339_F007_In01
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Postcard of the Stevens House, Lancaster, Pa. (911-012-016) https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/ecc04d1d-b4d9-471e-a9bb-285519631120
Stevens House Hotel Records (MG0246)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder # (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Items 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
2014.MG0339.F7
Other Numbers
MG-339, Folder 7, In 1
Other Number
MG-339, Folder 7, Insert 1
Classification
MG0339
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Added to database 26 November 2021.
Documents
thumbnail

Finding Aid

Read PDF Download PDF
Less detail