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Amazing Grace / letters to the editor

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo11302
Author
Behrens, Grace E. ,
Date of Publication
2002.
Call Number
809.6 B421
More detail
Responsibility
by Grace E. Behrens.
Author
Behrens, Grace E. ,
Place of Publication
[Lancaster, Pa.]
Publisher
Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster, Pa. :
Date of Publication
2002.
Physical Description
96 p. : cover ill. ; 22 cm.
Notes
Includes letters about Grace Behrens by other letter writers John W.W. Loose, Jeannet Pitz, John Fry, Ralph Lindsay and G. Denlinger Cox.
The letters of Grace E. Behrens found in this book were previously published all or in part by Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
Subjects
Behrens, Grace E.
Letters to the editor - Pennsylvania - Lancaster .
Additional Author
Jackson, Paula E.
Location
Lancaster History Library - Lancaster County
Call Number
809.6 B421
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American genealogical research at the DAR, Washington, D.C

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo12822
Author
Grundset, Eric.
Edition
2nd ed.
Date of Publication
c2004.
Call Number
016.9291 G891
More detail
Responsibility
by Eric G. Grundset and Steven B. Rhodes.
ISBN
1892237083 (pbk.)
Author
Grundset, Eric.
Edition
2nd ed.
Place of Publication
Washington, D.C
Publisher
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution,
Date of Publication
c2004.
Physical Description
175 p. : ill., maps ; 28 cm.
Notes
Includes index.
Subjects
Daughters of the American Revolution. - Library - Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Genealogy.
United States - Genealogy - Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Additional Author
Rhodes, Steven B.
Additional Corporate Author
Daughters of the American Revolution.
Location
Lancaster History Library - Book
Call Number
016.9291 G891
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America's bachelor president and the First Lady

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo18300
Author
Stern, Milton.
Date of Publication
c2004.
Call Number
923.173 B918ste
More detail
Responsibility
by Milton Stern.
ISBN
1413729088
9781413729085
Author
Stern, Milton.
Place of Publication
Baltimore
Publisher
PublishAmerica,
Date of Publication
c2004.
Physical Description
326 p. ; 23 cm.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 322-326).
Subjects
Buchanan, James, - 1791-1868.
Johnston, Harriet Lane, - 1830-1903.
Presidents - United States - Biography.
Presidents' spouses - United States - Biography.
Location
Lancaster History Library - Book
Call Number
923.173 B918ste
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An ounce of prevention : integrated disaster planning for archives, libraries, and record centres

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo12125
Author
Wellheiser, Johanna G.
Edition
2nd ed.
Date of Publication
2002.
Call Number
025.82 W452
More detail
Responsibility
Johanna Wellheiser and Jude Scott.
ISBN
0810841762 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Author
Wellheiser, Johanna G.
Edition
2nd ed.
Place of Publication
Lanham, Md. : Toronto, Ont
Publisher
Scarecrow Press ; Canadian Archives Foundation,
Date of Publication
2002.
Physical Description
xvi, 283 p. ; 28 cm.
Notes
Rev. ed. of: An ounce of prevention / John P. Barton, Johanna G. Wellheiser, editors. 1985.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects
Libraries - Canada
Archives - Canada
Emergency management - Canada.
Libraries
Archives
Emergency management.
Library materials
Archival materials
Additional Author
Scott, Jude,
Additional Corporate Author
Canadian Archives Foundation.
Location
Lancaster History Library - Book
Call Number
025.82 W452
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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/7dbdd094-b41c-40ef-b16d-538502636080
Collection
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Title
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Object ID
MG0736
Date Range
1814-1957
South, Side 15 Scope and Content Note: The Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records collection contains correspondence between various members of the Haldeman family—the majority of which were sent or received by Samuel Haldeman or his daughter Eliza. The first sets of letters are between Samuel’s
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Collection
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Title
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Description
The Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records collection contains correspondence between various members of the Haldeman family-the majority of which were sent or received by Samuel Haldeman or his daughter Eliza. The first sets of letters are between Samuel's parents and other family and acquaintances, then progress to Samuel and his family. The content includes Paris Haldeman's life during the California gold rush; Eliza's studies in Philadelphia and France; the Civil War; Carsten Haldeman's severe throat illness; and Samuel's travels throughout Europe. The letters span from 1814 to 1883. Mentioned in many of the letters to and from Eliza is her friend Mary Cassatt, an American Impressionist artist. As for the letters sent by Samuel, their content tends to be extremely detailed, sending home as good a description of his travels as he could with locations ranging from Philadelphia to Pompeii. Also included in the collection are several newspaper clippings concerning the Haldeman mansion and Chickies Rock as well as a ledger from the E. Haldeman and Co. furnaces at Chickies.
Admin/Biographical History
Samuel Steman Haldeman (1812-1880) born at the mansion in Bainbridge on August 12, 1812, was the oldest of seven children of Henry Haldeman (1787-1849) and his wife Frances Steman (1794-1826). His father, who appreciated culture, endeavored to foster a love of learning in his children. His mother, an accomplished musician, died when Samuel was fourteen years of age.
Samuel was educated in the public schools, at the classical academy in Harrisburg and at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA. He found college routine irksome and left after two years at the age of eighteen saying, "I cannot learn from others, I must see for myself." Thereafter he educated himself by attending lectures, recording observations of bird habits, learning to stuff birds and mammals from a traveling Methodist minister, resulting in a large collection of specimens in natural history and also a scientific and linguistic library.
As a child Haldeman had a penchant for collecting specimens from nature and Native American stone implements found on and near the mansion site, keeping them in his own museum. His collection included skeletons of rabbits, opossums, muskrats, and field mice, which he prepared by boiling the carcasses. It also included fresh-water shells from both banks of the Susquehanna River and its islands. A letter from Samuel to a friend, dated 1844, says, "I collected shells on the banks of the Susquehanna long before I knew the meaning of genus and species." We'll see later what an influence these early shell-collecting days on the Susquehanna River had on Haldeman's scientific scholarship.
After his marriage in 1835 to Mary A. Hough of Bainbridge, he moved to a new residence at the base of Chickies Rock, Marietta. Not only did he design the stately home built by his father, he laid out the grounds with native specimens of trees and shrubs gathered from the surrounding woods, and some foreign varieties, all of which were planted with his own hands.
Not having a particular fondness for business, he continued his studies of nature, but did assist his father in a saw mill and later became a silent partner in the iron business with his brothers. He wrote articles on anthracite furnaces for Silliman's Journal, and contributed sound and practical suggestions for improvements to both the mill business and construction of the blast furnace.
At the age of twenty-three, Samuel contributed to the Lancaster Journal an article refuting Locke's "Moon Hoax". From then on, his life was devoted to science. For forty-five years he spent most of the time in his library, many times working sixteen hours a day. In 1836, Professor Haldeman became an assistant on the State geological survey of New Jersey, and was later transferred to a similar position in Pennsylvania. During extensive geological work, he discovered a new genus and species of fossil plant. Geology did not engross his whole attention, as he was now busy collecting and studying shells, and made substantial contributions in this field through an expertly illustrated massive work of copperplate engravings, drawn and colored from the original shells and living animals. This was finished in 1845.
One professional association of Samuel Haldeman during this period of 1840 to 1850 is particularly significant for his scientific development as well as for the development of American science. In 1844 he became a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fledgling organization just beginning to function. At the request of this organization, he prepared a paper entitled "Enumeration of the Recent Freshwater Mollusk Which are Common to North America and Europe, with Observations on Species and their Distribution." Fifteen years later, an obscure British scientist had the following to say about this paper, "In 1843-44 professor Haldeman (Boston Journal of Natural History, United States, Vol. IV, pg. 468) has ably given the arguments for and against the hypothesis of the development and modification of species: he seems to lean towards the side of change." This scientist was Charles Darwin and he was writing in the preface to his Origin of Species, one of the most influential and controversial science books ever published. Samuel was said to have been the only American Naturalist with whom Charles Darwin corresponded, and whose opinion Darwin regarded as authoritative."
Samuel continued to write important and prize-winning essays and articles in philology, phonography, ethnology, natural history, and archaeology. His writings in all fields of science are literally innumberable, with well over one hundred articles on such scientific subjects as conchology and crustacea (the study of mollusks and shells), entomology (the study of insects), arachnidae (the study of spiders), annelids (the study of earthworms, leeches and related animals ), geology, chemistry and archeology.
He became professor of zoology at Franklin Institute of Philadelphia in 1841; chemist and geologist of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Society in 1852; professor of natural history at the University of Pennsylvania from 1850-1853; and the same position at Delaware College at Newark, Delaware from 1855-1858; and professor of comparative philology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1876 until the time of his death. This university conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. Professor Haldeman was among the first to undertake the spelling reform of English words. He corresponded with Noah Webster, who credited him with many words and definitions in his dictionary, also contributing to Worchester's Dictionary, the National Dictionary, and Johnson's Cyclopedia. He studied the languages of our Indian tribes, and of various nations and tribes of other parts of the world. He considered his most outstanding accomplishments to have been his investigations in philology (the study of the evolution of speech sounds).
Dr. Haldeman was elected to twenty-eight honorary scientific societies, both in this country and abroad. With others, he formed the Entomological Society of Pennsylvania and was president of the American Philological Association. Letters of inquiry from all parts of the world came across his desk; publishers asking opinions of books; writers begging information; teachers with a pronunciation to be settled; naturalists forwarding packages of shells, insects, or minerals for identification; farmers and others sending clays to be analyzed; requests for lectures; requests for data from scientific newspaper articles; request for reviews from editors, and so on.
Samuel Steman Haldeman died on September 10, 1880 at the age of sixty-eight, at his study table, of heart paralysis. He left a wife, two sons, and two daughters. He is buried beside his wife in the Haldeman family plot in the Marietta Cemetery. At a meeting of scientists following his death, this remark was made of him, "He was no ordinary man whom you might compliment with a passing respectful obituary notice - in science and letters he was a great man." - HMPS Records www.haldeman-mansion.org/samuelstemanhaldeman.htm
The biographical information was provided by the Haldeman Mansion Preservation Society. www.haldeman-mansion.org
Date Range
1814-1957
Creation Date
1814-1957
Year Range From
1814
Year Range To
1957
Creator
Haldeman family
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 15
People
Haldeman, Samuel Steman
Figyelmessy, Elisa Jacobean Haldeman
Haldeman, Henry
Haldeman, Paris
Haldeman, Mary Ann Hough
Haldeman, Carsten N.
Haldeman, Victor Macholski
Haldeman, Horace
Haldeman, Preston Elder
Black, Mira H.
Black, Harry "Pep" Crawford
Figyelmessy, Loyos Philip Haldeman
Cassatt, Mary Stevenson
Solis-Cohen, Jacob da Silva
Subjects
Business records
Letters
Search Terms
Letters
Correspondence
Business records
Manuscript groups
Finding aids
Extent
1 box, 73 folders, 291 items, 1,115 pages to scan, .5 cubic foot
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0736
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Associated Material
Haldeman Mansion Preservation Society https://www.haldeman-mansion.org/
Related Item Notes
Curatorial Collection
S. S. Haldeman Papers, MG0344
Notes
The following notes, including a partial Haldeman Family tree, document only those who authored and/or received the letters:
Henry Haldeman (18 Dec 1787 - 21 Mar 1849)
m. (1) Francis Steman (1 Mar 1794 - 15 Feb 1826) on 1811
Children: Samuel Steman Haldeman; Horace Haldeman
m. (2) Margaret Armstrong (15 Aug 1804 - 17 May 1867) on 1830
Children: Paris Haldeman
Samuel Steman Haldeman (12 Aug 1812 - 10 Sep 1880)
m. Mary Ann Hough (12 Dec 1812 - 6 Jul 1883) on 1835
Children: Carsten N. Haldeman (13 Oct 1837 - 14 Apr 1892); Eliza (Itty) Jacobean Haldeman (5 Nov 1843 - 10-Dec 1910); Frances H. Haldeman (9 May 1840 - 20 Oct 1904); Victor M. Haldeman (29 Jul 1854 - 12 Aug 1924)
Horace Haldeman (14 Aug 1820 - 10 Sep 1883)
m. Annie Breneman Haines (1823 - 16 Jan 1892)
Paris Haldeman (30 Jan 1831 - 13 Aug 1893)
Preston Elder Haldeman was Eliza Haldeman's cousin
Mira/Myra H. Black (1847-1895) and her brother Harry (Pep) Crawford Black (14 Mar 1846 - 22 Mar 1921) were second cousins to Eliza Haldeman.
Loyos Philip Haldeman Figyelmessy (2 Sep 1877 - 8 Apr 1889) was Eliza Haldeman's son. Eliza was married to Col. Philip Figyelmessy (1822-1907).
Mary S. Cassatt (May 22, 1844 - June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. She was a close friend of Eliza Haldeman.
J. Solis-Cohen had a private medical practice in Philadelphia, where he concentrated on diseases of the throat and chest. www.collegeofphysicians.org
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.
Accession Number
2014.MG0736
Other Numbers
MG-736
Classification
MG0736
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The letters and record book in this collection were kept by Eliza Haldeman and later sold by her son, S. Haldeman Figyelmessy, to his cousin and the donor's father, Guy K. Haldeman.
Processed and finding aid prepared by RR and SM in Summer and Fall 2015; and SW in Spring 2016. Added to database 23 May 2021.
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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/4088f15c-7609-4924-b191-735213387660
Collection
James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Order of the Eastern Star Minutes
Title
James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Order of the Eastern Star Minutes
Object ID
MG0753
Date Range
1920-2010
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Order of the Eastern Star Minutes
Title
James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Order of the Eastern Star Minutes
Description
This collection contains the minutes of the James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Order of the Eastern Star.
Admin/Biographical History
The James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Order of the Eastern Star was founded in 1920 and was dissolved in 2011.
Date Range
1920-2010
Creation Date
1920-2010
Year Range From
1920
Year Range To
2010
Creator
James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Order of the Eastern Star
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 15
Subjects
Fraternal organizations
Lancaster (Pa.)
Minutes (Records)
Order of the Eastern Star
Order of the Eastern Star. James Buchanan Chapter No. 315 (Lancaster, Pa.)
Search Terms
Finding aids
Fraternal organizations
Manuscript groups
Minutes
Order of the Eastern Star. James Buchanan Chapter No. 315, Lancaster
Extent
6 boxes, 30 volumes, 3 cubic feet
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0753
Location of Originals
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-753
Other Number
MG-753
Classification
MG0753
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by RR and SM in Summer and Fall 2015; and SW in Spring 2016. Added to database 23 May 2021.
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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/8a5867f3-c0b0-43f4-a85f-295937364513
Collection
William J. Buch Papers
Title
William J. Buch Papers
Object ID
MG0658
Date Range
1917-1958
More detail
  1 document     5 images  
Collection
William J. Buch Papers
Title
William J. Buch Papers
Description
The William J. Buch Papers contains photographs, scrapbook pages, and personal letters to and from William J. Buch, also known as Joe. Several letters and items pertain to his likeness to Franklin D. Roosevelt, including correspondence with the White House and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. Other items include documents and photographs of his service in World War I, Lancaster County boxers, and his son's World War II service.
Admin/Biographical History
William "Joe" Buch served in World War I. He founded Buch's Pharmacy at the corner of Charlotte and King Streets in Lancaster, Pa. and later ventured into the sporting goods business. Mr. Buch was known as a Franklin D. Roosevelt double and wrote often to offer support to the President. Mr. Buch was very active in the local and state Democratic Party. He posed as Roosevelt's twin at many political events. More information is available in Folder 17.
Date Range
1917-1958
Year Range From
1917
Year Range To
1958
Date of Accumulation
1917-1958
Creator
Buch, Stanley Jay, 1924-2016
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 13
People
Bowman, Lester
Brodbeck, Andrew R.
Buch, Stanley Jay
Buch, William Joseph "Joe"
Cantor, Eddie
Gott, Peter
Graves, David Bibb
Hauck, Johnny
Nutt, Carl
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
Smythe, J. Henry, Jr.
Wise, Robert P.
Other Creators
Buch, William Joseph, 1893-1962
Subjects
Boxers (Sports)
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Democratic Party (U.S.)
Drugstores
Letters
Lookalikes
Pharmacists
Scrapbooks
Veterans
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1939-1945
Search Terms
Boxers (Sports)
Buch's Drug Store
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Democratic Party
Drugstores
Finding aids
Letters
Manuscript groups
Newspaper clippings
Pharmacies
Pharmacists
Photographs
Veterans
World War I
World War II
WWI
WWII
Extent
2 boxes, 18 folders, 1 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0658
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images when available.
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-658
Other Number
MG-658
Classification
MG0658
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by KB, July 2014. Photographs transferred to the Photograph Collection, 6 October 2017.
Added to database 24 May 2021.
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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/630b63d7-2431-4861-a095-327988960330
Collection
Robert C. Price Papers
Title
Robert C. Price Papers
Object ID
MG0724
Date Range
1842-1895
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Robert C. Price Papers
Title
Robert C. Price Papers
Description
This collection contains the papers of Robert C. Price. Examples of school assignments and teaching-related ephemera include geometry, poetry, and a preamble to a teachers' society constitution. He was involved with several arbitrations with the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County. The personal and business correspondence contains political and religious references.
Admin/Biographical History
Robert C. Price taught at Millersville Normal School.
Date Range
1842-1895
Creation Date
1842-1895
Year Range From
1762
Year Range To
1855
Creator
Price, Robert C.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 15
People
Price, Robert C.
Subjects
Letters
Search Terms
Manuscript groups
Finding aids
Letters
Correspondence
Extent
1 box, 9 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0724
Location of Originals
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-724
Other Number
MG-724
Classification
MG0724
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Transferred from the Document Collection, 31 May 2014.
Processed and finding aid prepared by PH, July 2014. Added to database 26 May 2021.
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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/28701e5c-42c1-4572-88cb-512508063000
Collection
William Wright Collection
Title
William Wright Collection
Object ID
MG0056
Date Range
1729-1962
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Collection
William Wright Collection
Title
William Wright Collection
Description
The William Wright Collection contains the papers of William Wright and his descendants. The papers include wills, land drafts, inventories, releases, receipts, correspondence, genealogical information, photographs, and copies of obituaries.
Date Range
1729-1962
Year Range From
1729
Year Range To
1962
Date of Accumulation
1729-1962
Creator
Wright family
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 02
People
Bartram, Elizabeth
Bartram, John
Bartram, William
Benson, Evelyn A.
Cartlidge, John
Johnson, C. Edwin
Johnson, Frank L.
Johnston, C. Edwin
Logan, William
Postlethwaite, John Jr.
Say, Thomas
Wright, Benjamin
Wright, Elizabeth
Wright, Hannah
Wright, James
Wright, Joseph
Wright, Joseph B.
Wright, Lillian
Wright, Mary
Wright, Thomas
Wright, William
Wright, William Jr.
Wright, William Sr.
Subjects
Family records
Wills
Deeds
Letters
Genealogy
Search Terms
Conestoga Manor
Correspondence
Deeds
Family records
Genealogy
Letters
Obituaries
Receipts
Wills
Extent
1 box, 26 folders, .5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0056
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
(It appears there is a correlation between this Wright family and the John Wright who petitioned the Philadelphia courts for the formation of Lancaster County in 1729. Further research must be done on this link. There were several interesting envelopes containing documents in bad repair. These envelopes all had the return address of C. J. Rainear & Co., Inc, 210 N. 21st Street, Philadelphia 3, PA. One envelope has been retained with the collection. Further investigation is necessary to determine the relationship between this company, the donor and the Wright family.)
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org 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
William Wright Collection (MG-56), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory.org
Other Numbers
MG-56
Classification
MG0056
Description Level
Fonds
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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/e4f4e8c5-3494-49ec-9562-210099148520
Collection
Willie Siple Collection
Title
The Willie Siple Collection
Object ID
MG0006
Date Range
1935-1962
: Boxers Correspondence Letters Newspaper vendors Blind People with visual disabilities Manuscript groups Finding aids Folder 1 Photographs: Most relate to Willy and his newsstand. One is of Archie Moore, and several of Willy in his boxing stance. Photographs transferred to the Photograph Collection, 3
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Collection
Willie Siple Collection
Title
The Willie Siple Collection
Description
The Willie Siple Collection includes photographs, postcards, correspondence, and newspaper clippings about Siple and related to his business and boxing career.
Admin/Biographical History
Wilbur "Willie" Siple (1904-1966) was the operator of Siple's News Stand for many years. He was originally a professional boxer when he was younger, and he had a successful, but short, boxing career. During those six years, Willie fought in 131 exhibitions with 71 wins, 9 losses, 22 draws and 29 KO's. Willie was what was called a "flyweight," weighing only 102 pounds in his heyday. However, Willie's boxing career was cut short after a 1925 automobile accident. Although many people speculated that Willie's loss of his eyesight was because of his boxing career, Willie explained the accident to a local newspaper. According to a sports news article that can be found in the Willie Siple Collection here at LancasterHistory.org, Willie was attempting to fix a car when a car tire exploded in his face, damaging his eyesight beyond repair and blinding him.
However, despite this tragedy, Willie didn't let the accident and blindness take over his life. On September 28, 1935, during the Depression, Willie made a brave move and opened his news stand in the Lancaster City Post Office, and named it Siple's News Stand. Due to an act of Congress, the Rudolph-Sheppard Act of 1935, Willie became "one of the first blind operators to set up shop in Federal Buildings," according to an article in the Willie Siple collection. Willie's news stand featured free news and weather reports, and sold newspapers, magazines, and candy. Rare coins and stamps, a personal passion of Willie's, were also available for purchase. Willie would travel far and wide in order to acquire rare stamps to be sold to stamp collectors. Willie would travel to places like Washington, D.C. Princeton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia in order to buy what were then called "first day issues" of stamps. One newspaper article even calls him a "philatelist," or a stamp expert, much to Willie's surprise. Siple was also extremely passionate about coin collecting, and could identify and appraise coins without needing to see them. Willie also loved to travel, and had even traveled to Canada and all around Pennsylvania with the help of friends.
Willie then became a well-known public figure. He was known for his friendly, talkative personality, and his eye-catching and "loud" shirts. WDAC-FM radio, then a Christian radio station, featured an editorial on Willie, which was subtitled "the personification of good humor." In this editorial, Willie is said to have had a "flamboyant and winning personality," as well as a "belief in man's basic honesty." Despite the fact that Willie was often taken advantage of because of his blindness, and that he "was the victim of an average of $40 worth annually in pilfered stock or dishonest dealings," Willie held on to the belief in the goodness of mankind all his life. This is not to say that Willie was completely dependent on the honesty of his customers. He was able to read dollar bills with his hands, and could tell the difference between each, much to the wonder of skeptical customers, and probably to the dismay of the rare customer who would try and take advantage of him.
Willie became a well-loved figure in the community, and anyone looking through his collection will be able to see just that. Siple was a philanthropist who supported the Tuberculosis Society with the proceeds from sales of Christmas seals (or stamps) for their charity. Willie would also dress up like Santa Claus every year, and would visit infantile paralysis victims. There are also multiple thank-you notes from school classes and the local boys club for his generous gifts of candy.
Many of Willie's friends also willingly helped him with his business, helping him with bookkeeping, driving him to and from work, taking him to lunch, helping take over the stand during lunch, and much more. He called these people his "assistants," and most of them were local business men and women who would take time out of their days to help. These people were unpaid friends, just willing to give Willie a hand. Their kindness, as well as Willie's generosity, show the kinship and kindness in the community that surrounded him in Lancaster city.
written by Elizabeth McIlhenney, 2016
Date Range
1935-1962
Creation Date
1935-1962
Year Range From
1935
Year Range To
1962
Creator
Hauck, Johnny
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 01
People
Siple, Wilbur H. "Willie"
Moore, Archie
Subjects
Blind
Boxers (Sports)
Letters
Newspaper vendors
People with visual disabilities
Search Terms
Boxers (Sports)
Correspondence
Finding aids
Letters
Manuscript groups
Newspaper vendors
People with visual disabilities
Extent
1 box, 3 folders, 2 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0006
Related Item Notes
Johnny Hauck Collection, MG0063
Photograph Collection
Notes
This material was part of the Johnny Hauck Collection, MG-63. Because of the specific nature of the material, it was extracted to create a separate manuscript group.
Photographs transferred to the Photograph Collection, 3 November 2017.
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-6
Classification
MG0006
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
This material was part of the Johnny Hauck Collection, MG-63. Because of the specific nature of the material, it was extracted to create a separate manuscript group.
Cataloged prior to July 1997; added to database 8 February 2018.
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