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Collection
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Title
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Object ID
HC0001
Date Range
1905-1974
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
  1 document  
Collection
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Title
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Description
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.
Date Range
1905-1974
Year Range From
1905
Year Range To
1974
Date of Accumulation
1905-1974
Creator
Fordney, Alice Potter, 1887-1973
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives North
Storage Wall
Side 28
People
Appel, Charles Rengier
Bohlen, Sidney Franklin
Bowman, Mrs. Edward J.
Boyer, R. J.
Brenneman, Mary Rue Bard
Brown, Hazel Dell
Chiarell, Fred P.
Clark, George W.
Daugherty, Harvey P.
Demuth, Charles
Dodge, Arthur B.
Embsweiler, Ruth
Erb, Edna
Fordney, Alice Potter
Fordney, William Bush Jr.
Fordney, William Jenkins
Franklin, Ellen Julia Fordney
Gibbons, Alice McIlvaine
Gilbert, L. J.
Gingrich, Milton E.
Graybill, John M.
Griest, Charles J.
Higby, Everett
Hostetter, A. K.
Howe, John
Irvine, Blanche
Kent, William Winthrop
Knodle, Edward
Krone, Herbert B.
Lindenmuth, J. D.
Long, Yvonne
Maclay, Helen Hurley
Malone, Clarence
Morris, Charles R.
Morris, Grace M.
Nauman, Gertrude Colson
Orr, Barclay
Pennypacker, Charles A.
Pennypacker, James G.
Randall, Meda
Rannels, Paul
Stokes, Agnes M.
Strickler, Belle
Wolf, Emily
Other Creators
Muench, Sarah Ellmaker McIlvaine, d. 2006
Subjects
American newspapers--Sections, columns, etc.--Women
Antique dealers
Armstrong Cork Company
Armstrong World Industries
F. Schumacher & Co.
Farm Journal Media
House & Garden
Interior decoration
Letters
Montclair Art Museum
Patterns for crafts
Rugs
Rugs, Hooked
Student newspapers and periodicals
Woman's world magazine
Search Terms
Albert Steiger Company
Antique dealers
Antique sales
Armstrong Cork Company
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
Berlinwork patterns
Blue and Brown (Yeates School)
Cheney Silks
Cheney Weaves
Christmas
Correspondence
Cricket Club
Dickinson Presbyterian Church
Estate sales
F. Schumacher and Company
Farm Journal Media
Fiber arts
Finding aids
Gilbert's store
Griest Homestead
Guernsey Sales Pavilion
Hager's Department Store
Hershey Fire Hall
Hooked rugs
House & Garden
Interior decoration
Kleinfelter's auction rooms
Letters
Manuscript groups
Montclair Art Museum
Odd Fellows Hall
Olson Rugs
Patterns for crafts
Rossmere Hotel
Rug patterns
Rugs
State Armory Hall
V-mail
Woman's World Magazine
Yeates School
Extent
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.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
David B. Landis Collection
Title
David B. Landis Collection
Object ID
MG0158
Date Range
1812-1954
October 1877. Note regarding delay in work and responding to Landis’ wish to end correspondence. Waterloo, Iowa. 29 October 1878. Note regarding printing jobs. September 19. Insert 3 Postcards from Donald Kramer, Mount Joy Note regarding payment. 24 May 1881. Note regarding payment for cards. 27 May 1881
  1 document  
Collection
David B. Landis Collection
Title
David B. Landis Collection
Description
The David B. Landis Collection consists primarily of his personal and business correspondence, as well as his poetry and writings. Of special interest are a booklet with a synopsis autobiography of his life and his picture. There are also family papers, genealogy, membership cards, and obituaries.
Admin/Biographical History
David Bachman Landis was born in Landisville, Pennsylvania on 12 February 1862, the son of Israel C. and Mary M. Landis. As a school boy, he worked in his father's dry goods store and published a paper for boys titled Keystone Amateur. He began his printing career by apprenticing at the Inquirer Printing and Publishing Company in Lancaster in 1878, and in 1883 he opened his own job printing office in Landisville where he published the Village Vigil.
Mr. Landis moved to Lancaster in 1888 and started Pluck Art Printery. He started out in Lancaster by publishing Pluck, a magazine dedicated to the fields of printing and photography, but soon devoted his business to commercial and society printing. The name was changed in 1914 to Landis Art Print.
Printing, however, was not his only passion. He was an avid bicyclist and belonged to the Lancaster Cycling Club and the League of American Wheelmen. Through these organizations, he helped to improve the condition of roads in Pennsylvania. He was active in the Lancaster County Historical Society, the Pennsylvania German Society, the Ben Franklin Club, and Grace Lutheran Church. He wrote poetry and essays, and dedicated many pieces to friends and family.
David B. Landis married Nora K. Baker of Landisville in 1885. They had four children. Nora passed away in 1910. David married his second wife, Bertha L. Cochran, in 1914.
Date Range
1812-1954
Year Range From
1812
Year Range To
1954
Date of Accumulation
1812-1954
Creator
Landis, David Bachman, 1862-1940
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 04
People
Baer, Frank
Baker, Catherine
Baker, Emma W.
Baker, P. W.
Barrett, W. W.
Benner, Henry
Brown G. W.
Camp, Edward N.
Carr, George M.
Chamberlain, Frank N.
Cochran, Ada
Cole, Will T.
Conyngham, Redmond
Denlinger, D.
Diehl, H.
Diffenderffer, Frank Ried
Diller, S.
Donaldson, W. M.
Dunbar, William H.
Ely, Alfred
Forshey, E. L.
Frederick, George W.
Garretson, G. R.
Gay, Ed. C.
Grout, J. W.
Gould, J. J.
Greider, Mary Carolyn
Greider, Joseph Landis
Griest, William Walton
Hains, Wilson R.
Haldeman, Victor Macholski
Haldy Gertrude Hensel
Hardy, E. W.
Heister, A. V.
Hershey, Harvey S.
Hershey, J. B.
Hess, Barbara K.
Holbach, George H.
Hood, Jesse A.
Hostetter A. K.
Hostetter Albert K.
Jackson, A. C., Jr.
Johnston, R. A.
Kramer, Donald
Keen, Robert H.
Kreider, A. B.
Krick, William T.
Landis, Benjamin
Landis, Bertha L. Cochran
Landis, Christian
Landis, D. M., Dr.
Landis, David Bachman
Landis, Elvin G.
Landis, Felix
Landis, Florence D.
Landis, Frances
Landis, Henry G.
Landis, Irene Janet
Landis, Israel Christian
Landis, James B.
Landis, Johannes
Landis, John
Landis, John C.
Landis, Mary M. Musselman
Landis, Michael Bachman
Landis, Nora K.
Landis, Priscilla R.
Lehman, Eliza Ann
Lehman, Emma Bachman
Lincoln, Abraham
Marrow, Paul Harding
McBride, Sarah C.
McClain, Frank B.
McGinnis, J.
Merrill, W. J.
Missemer, J. R.
Morrison, Neale
Moyer, Albert,
Moxley, C. A.
Musselman, David
Musselman, Edward M.
Musselman, Sarah
Myrtle, M.
Neale, Fred
Neale, John C.
Nissley, H. L.
Reynolds, Howard
Rial, Abram S.
Rial, S.
Rial, Susan Ann
Shields, R. I.
Shirk, John Kohr
Simon, Daniel B.
Smith, Edwin Hadley
Stein, George
Stephen, Samuel
Taft, William Howard
Thompson, C.
Trout, J. H.
Wager, D. Y.
Walsh, M.
Walsh, Thomas
Washington, George
Weber, Otto E.
Weidel, Melba Landis
Weidman, Joel
Wenaugh, W. L.
Wickersham, J. Harold
Wolf, B.
Wolf, D. Dorsey
Wolf, Edna Kempton
Other Creators
Landis, Bertha L. Cochran, d. 1959
Subjects
Genealogy
Letters
Poetry
Search Terms
Advertising
Ben Franklin Club
Correspondence
Family reunions
Finding aids
Franklin Institute
Genealogy
Invitations
Invoices
Lancaster Board of Trade
Lancaster Chamber of Commerce
Lancaster County Agricultural Society
Lancaster County Historical Society
Lancaster Cycling Club
Landis Art Press
League of American Wheelmen
Letters
Manuscript groups
Pageant of Liberty
Pennsylvania German Society
Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society
Pluck Art Printery
Poetry
Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology
Sonnets
Street and Road Committee, Lancaster Cycling Club
Unitarian Laymen's League
Village Vigil
Wickersham Printing Company
YMCA
Young Men's Christian Association
Extent
1 box, 26 folders, .5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0158
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
Preferred Citation: David B. Landis Collection (MG0158), Folder #, Insert #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use photocopies 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.
Accession Number
1957.MG0158
Other Numbers
MG-158
Classification
MG0158
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Cataloged by DT, JM, and HST, 1998-2008. Added to database 29 July 2021.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Papers of Josiah F. Passmore
Title
Papers of Josiah F. Passmore
Object ID
MG0859
Date Range
1856-1858, 1863, 1893
Collection
Papers of Josiah F. Passmore
Title
Papers of Josiah F. Passmore
Description
Teacher's book of Josiah F. Passmore, Union High School for Girls and Boys, New Providence, Providence Twp., Lancaster County, 1856-1858, 1893
Scanned copy of letter from Josiah F. Passmore to his sister. Written in Falmouth, VA. 12 April 1863. (sent with Deed of Gift)
Date Range
1856-1858, 1863, 1893
Year Range From
1856
Year Range To
1893
Date of Accumulation
1856-1858, 1863, 1893
Creator
Shoffner, Shirey M.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Passmore, Josiah F.
Subjects
Letters
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Search Terms
Civil War
Correspondence
Finding aids
Letters
Manuscript groups
New Providence, Providence Twp.
Union High School for Girls and Boys
Extent
2 items
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0859
Associated Material
More information about the Passmore family at Chester County History Center. http://www.chestercohistorical.org/online-catalog-0
Notes
Given in memory of Shirley M. Shoffner.
Not fully cataloged
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.037
Other Numbers
MG-859
Other Number
MG-859
Classification
MG0859
Description Level
Fonds
Less detail
Collection
Watt & Shand Collection
Title
Watt & Shand Collection
Object ID
MG0237
Date Range
1880-2003
Street from Jacob M. Long, trustee to Gabriel Hirsh. Jacob M. Long was to receive $200 for the extinguishment and would receive rent from Gabriel Hirsh which was set at forty-five shillings. Attached to the document is a note by Jacob M. Long to Gabriel Hirsh noting that Long had received Hirsh’s payment
  1 document  
Collection
Watt & Shand Collection
Title
Watt & Shand Collection
Description
The Watt & Shand Collection contains materials related to the Watt & Shand Department Store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Series 1 includes employee handbooks, job description, beauty salon price list, bridal registry information, a history of the store, a Christmas catalog, a Historic Preservation Trust calendar, and children's books.
Series 2 is a record of the property at the downtown location and at Park City Mall beginning in 1880 with deeds, legal agreements, a building inspector's permit, and insurance policies.
Admin/Biographical History
On 22 February 1878, Peter Watt, James Shand and Gilbert Thompson advertised the opening of a new store, The New York Store, featuring new lines of foreign and domestic dry goods as well as fancy goods and notions. The New York Store opened on 9 March 1878 and was an immediate success focusing on customer service. The owners had an unwritten policy stating that they remained open until the last customer left. During that first year, partner Gilbert Thompson died. Watt and Shand purchased a building located at 8-10 East King Street and changed their name from The New York Store to Watt, Shand and Company. Then during 1885, the store name was shortened to Watt & Shand even though the business was expanding to acquire 6 East King Street. The Ladies' Ready-To-Wear Department was added in 1889 which included coats, suits, dresses, and underwear. The owners proceeded to expand the business over several decades and procured Appel & Weber jewelry store and Hager's Department Store during the 1950s and 1960s. The branch store opened in 1970 at Park City Mall. The Bon-Ton Stores purchased Watt & Shand in 1992 and the store officially closed in March of 1995
System of Arrangement
This collection is arranged by series.
Series 1 Items collected by LancasterHistory
Series 2 Gift of Penn Square Partners
Date Range
1880-2003
Year Range From
1880
Year Range To
2003
Date of Accumulation
1880-2003
Creator
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 06
People
Ammon, Cora Mae Fox
Ammon, John M.
Appel, Eva Rengier
Appel, Percy L.
Baker, Miriam Rengier
Bell, Louise Price
Berger, R. R.
Blatchley, Charles A.
Breyers, C. J.
Buchanan, James
Drukenbrod, Lee Roy
Fehl, J. Herbert
Frantz, I. E.
Fritz, C. C.
Goodhart, E. C.
Groff, Alpheaus S.
Groff, Ella L.
Hermansader, T. F.
Hirsh, Bertha
Hirsh, Gabriel
Hostetter, D. B.
Lively, Henry
Long, Jacob M.
Loss, Natalie M.
Loss, Nathan
Marshall, Elizabeth H. W.
Marshall, Elizabeth Weber
Marshall, George A.
Marshall, George W.
Marshall, Maria L. Good
May, Jennie H.
Miller, E. N.
Myers, Harry
Myers, Maria
Myers, Patricia Marshall
Myrtetus, George B.
Noonan, Ella O.
Noonan, Raymond Smith
Prangley, James
Reed, George R.
Reichley, Jacob Christian
Reifsnyder, Arden P.
Reifsnyder, Christine Kauffman
Rengier, Charles F.
Rengier, John S.
Rohrer, Adelaide C. Crohen
Rohrer, George Redsecker
Rohrer, Jeremiah
Rohrer, Mary Ann Redsecker
Roth, George R.
Rupert, L. H.
Schaller, Kimberly
Shand, James
Shand, Thomas Marshall
Sherrill, Anita B.
Sherrill, S. Edward
Short, Edwin P.
Skyllas, Drossos A.
Slaymaker, Peter J. Eckert
Stiles, H. A.
Stirk, Isaac
Stirk, Sarah C.
Swarr, Donald
Urban, Cassius Emlen
Watt, Laura Louise Geiger
Watt, Peter T.
Weber, May H.
Wisegarver, Harry P.
Witmer, Albert F.
Other Creators
Watt & Shand Department Store (Pa.)
Subjects
Advertising
Architectural drawings
Blueprints
Building leases
Calendars
Catalogs
Deeds
Department stores
Historical markers
Insurance policies
Letters
Menus
Newsletters
Penn Square (Lancaster, Pa.)
Scrapbooks
Stores, Retail
Search Terms
A and S Realty and Investment Corporation
A. B. Rote & Co.
Advertising
Agreements
Air conditioning
American Blower Corporation
Appel & Weber
Architectural plans
Automatic Sprinkler Corporation of America
Awards
Blueprints
Bon-Ton
Bon-Ton Beauty Salon
Booklets
C. J. Breyer and Associates, Inc.
Calendars
Catalogs
Central Automatic Sprinkler Company
Certificates
Columbia
Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company
Commonwealth Title Company of Philadelphia
Correspondence
Deeds
Department stores
DUSCO Property Management, Inc.
East Hempfield Twp.
Employee handbooks
Employees
Ephemera
Escalators
Finding aids
Fire sprinklers
Floorplans
Gatter and Diehl Consulting Engineers
Gift certificates
Ground-rent
Hager and Bro., Inc.
Hager Realty Corporation
Heating and ventilation systems
Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County
Historical markers
Insurance policies
Job descriptions
Kroll Electric Company, Inc.
Lancaster
Lancaster Parking Authority
Lancaster Trust Company
Leases
Letters
Manuscript groups
Menus
Mortgages
Newsletters
Oblender's Furnishing, Inc.
Park City Mall
Penn Square
Pennsylvania Company for Insurance on Lives and Granting Annuities
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania Power and Light Company
Permits
Poetry
PPL
Price lists
Principal Mutual Life Insurance Company
Reynolds and Reynolds Company
Scrapbooks
Stores, Retail
Total Energy Leasing Corporation
Trion, Inc.
Watt and Shand
Workers' Compensation Act
York Corporation
Extent
4 boxes, 59 folders, 1 scrapbook, 2 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0237
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
Preferred citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Series #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Folder 2 contains restricted items. With the exception of Folder 2, the items in this collection may be used by researchers--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.
Other Numbers
MG-237
Classification
MG0237
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Scrapbook cataloged by CB, 2008. Series 2, Folder 1-48 cataloged by ML, Summer 2014. Added to database 13 January 2022.
The Watt & Shand Department Store scrapbook was cataloged and preserved with funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. ME60112.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Russian War Relief Program
Title
Russian War Relief Program
Object ID
MG0336
Date Range
1942-1945
: This collection documents Lancaster County’s support of Russian War Relief, Inc. during World War II. The organization was incorporated in New York City one month after Germany attacked the Soviet Union, in order to provide humanitarian support for Soviet citizens and war orphans who were living in
  1 document  
Collection
Russian War Relief Program
Title
Russian War Relief Program
Description
This collection documents Lancaster County's support of Russian War Relief, Inc. during World War II. The organization was incorporated in New York City one month after Germany attacked the Soviet Union, in order to provide humanitarian support for Soviet citizens and war orphans who were living in devastated villages with near-famine conditions. Russian War Relief, Inc. worked with local War Chests, Community Chests and the National War Fund in order to raise money for the campaign. Clothing, food and Christmas gifts for children were also collected. F. Lyman Windolph, a Lancaster lawyer, worked with a few others in the community to collect contributions from 1942-1944. The collection contains a publicity portfolio for Russian War Relief, Inc. and correspondence between Mr. Windolph and members of the organization from 1942-1945.
Date Range
1942-1945
Year Range From
1942
Year Range To
1945
Date of Accumulation
1942-1945
Creator
Windolph, Francis Lyman, 1889-1978
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 08
People
Alboum, Emanuel
Alexander, Ralph V.
Allen, Leo
Canter, Simon Allen
Carey, Dale E.
Carter, Edward C.
Charles, Andrew G.
Demmy, Aurora C. Phalm
Demmy, Maurice Charles
Pfau, Ralph
Fassnacht, Evelyn
Feller, Charles
Goldsborough, Anna
Green, Herman
Hampton, O. L.
Herr, Elizabeth Irwin
Hershey, Vernon
Humphreys, Harry S.
Hurshman, Sylvia H.
Kane, Betty
Keller, William Huestis
Kimmel, Harry
Krane, S.
Lewis, Morris
Lockwood, Florence
Mandel, Arch
Mangold, Helen
Marley, Leo Charles
Means, E.
Meloy, Jane
Miller, Walter O.
Morris, Mrs. Samuel M.
Myers, Fred
Newcomer, L. W.
Robbie, James C.
Runk, Raymond Arnold
Shields, Milton
Sloat, Mrs. H. S.
Smith, Harvey Arthur
Warburton, Gertrude
Windolph, Francis Lyman
Subjects
Humanitarian assistance
International relief
Letters
Russian War Relief, Inc
Search Terms
Advertising
American Legion Auxiliary
American Red Cross
American Society for Russian Relief
Arrow Shoe Stores Company
Clothing
Columbia Knitting Mills
Columbia Sports Wear Mills
Committees
Correspondence
Donations
Einson-Freeman Company, Inc.
Finding aids
Forms
Fundraising
Hager and Bro., Inc.
Hoffman Delivery Company, Inc.
Humanitarian assistance
International relief
Kits
Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society
Lancaster
Lancaster and New York Motor Freight Service
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Lancaster Transportation Company
Letters
Little Prince Company
Manuscript groups
Maps
Memorandums
Minneapolis War Fund
National Sewing Project
National War Fund
Oblender's Furnishing, Inc.
Ottenstein Coats, Inc.
Patterns, Sewing
Press releases
Publicity
Russian War Relief, Inc.
Shirk's Motor Express Corporation
Standard Garment Company
Stevens House
Tidy Products Corporation
United War Chest
Watt and Shand
Wise Jewelry Company
YMCA
Young Men's Christian Association
Extent
1 box, 8 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0336
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Original documents may be used by researchers--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 collection 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
2003.MG0336
Other Numbers
MG-336
Classification
MG0336
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Collection processed by DS; finding aid typed by HST, March 2012. Added to database 9 March 2022.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Object ID
MG0828
Date Range
1839-1932
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Description
The General Thomas Welsh Family Papers is a collection of original correspondence, official documents, and ephemera. Many of the papers were created by or directed to Thomas Welsh between approximately 1843 and his death in 1863. They provide glimpses into his youth, his experiences in the Mexican War, his life in Columbia between the wars, and his rise in rank to Brigadier General during the Civil War.
The collection contains correspondence with his wife and family from 1861-1863. There are also official correspondence and documents related to Welsh's military service, autobiographical pieces, correspondence following his death, obituaries, and family papers into the early twentieth century. Other items in the collection include genealogy pages from the family bible, photographic images of Thomas Welsh and family members, two scrapbooks, newspaper issues and newspaper clippings, written notes from recollections of one of Welsh's daughter, and a biographical sketch of Welsh written by his son.
Admin/Biographical History
Thomas Welsh (1824-1863) was a Lancaster County native (born and raised in Columbia), who rose from hardscrabble origins to local fame, first as a Mexican War hero, and then as a brigadier general during the Civil War. He was well known and well respected as a no nonsense officer, for his leadership and gallantry in battle, for his dedication to the service of his country, and for his concern for the welfare of his men.
Welsh lost his father at the age of 2, and went to work to support his family at age 8. He had very little formal schooling, and was largely self-educated. In 1843, at age 19, he left Lancaster County for Washington City, then went west as an itinerant carpenter/laborer to Cincinnati, Little Rock, and Fort Smith.
When the Mexican War broke out in 1846, he enlisted in a Kentucky regiment, and was severely wounded at the battle of Buena Vista (1847) from which he never fully recovered. Returning home to Columbia, he re-enlisted as a second lieutenant, assigned to the 11th U.S. infantry regiment in Mexico City. Within days of his arrival in Mexico City, he was declared unfit for service on account of his battle wound, and sent home again.
Back in Columbia as a civilian, he dabbled in politics, and received a patronage job in the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works (the rail and canal system connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). After several years, he opened up a grocery and dry goods store in Columbia's canal basin. He also became an insurance agent. In 1857, he was elected Justice of the Peace, and his reputation grew as a community leader. By 1860, he was president of the Borough Council, a founding member of the Columbia Board of Trade, Vice President of the Columbia Cricket Club, and a canal boat operator, in addition to a dry goods merchant, insurance agent, and Justice of the Peace. He had a wife, 5 surviving children, and legal guardianship of his sister's 4 children.
When Confederate forces shelled Fort Sumter, marking the beginning of the Civil War, Thomas Welsh raised and organized the first company of volunteers from Lancaster County, and took them into the field as their Captain. Within days, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment, which served out its 90-day enlistment in the Shenandoah Valley.
Returning to Harrisburg, he was appointed Commandant of Camp Curtin, the problem-plagued processing center for new recruits. In short order, Welsh cleaned up the camp's poor sanitary conditions, improved the health of the camp, and implemented soldierly discipline and training.
In October 1861, he resigned from his camp duties, and as Colonel of the 45th Pennsylvania, led his regiment into the field. After brief service outside of Washington, they were sent to South Carolina in December, where they were posted to Otter Island. After the battle of James Island, they were recalled to Newport News, in July 1862, then sent to guard Aquia Creek.
In September, now in brigade command in Burnsides' 9th Corps, Welsh chased Lee's Confederate army west into central Maryland. His brigade broke the enemy line in Fox's Gap, on Sept. 14, then 3 days later achieved the furthest Union advance at Antietam, reaching the edge of Sharpsburg, and nearly cutting off Lee's only avenue of escape. Welsh's gallantry earned him a field promotion to brigadier general, which Congress confirmed on March 13, 1863.
The 9th Corps (Welsh now in command of the 1st Division) was sent west in the spring of 1863, then dispatched south to support Grant's investment of Vicksburg. After Vicksburg fell, they turned east and defeated Confederate General Johnston at the Battle of Jackson. Welsh contracted malaria in the southern swamps, and died in Cincinnati upon their return north. One of his men later recalled, "Had he lived, Welsh would undoubtedly have attained a much higher command. 1
1. Beauge, Eugene, in Albert, Allen D., Ed., History of the Forty-Fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865, Williamsport, PA: Grit Publ. Co, 1912, p. 79.
System of Arrangement
The collection is arranged in series:
Series A Thomas Welsh before the Mexican War
Series B Mexican War, 1846-1848
Series C Between the Mexican War and the Civil War, 1848-1861
Series D Civil War
Series E Post-Civil War
Series F Miscellaneous Family Papers
Series G Papers from the families of Gen. Thomas Welsh and Blanton C. Welsh
Date Range
1839-1932
Year Range From
1839
Year Range To
1932
Creator
Wiggin, Richard C.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Welsh, Thomas
Welsh, Annie Eunice Young
Welsh, Blanton Charles
Welsh, Effie
Welsh, Lilian
Welsh, Mary Young "Mazie"
Buchanan, James
Subjects
Letters
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Military orders
Military promotions
Personal correspondence
Political campaigns
Presidents--Election
Speeches, addresses, etc.
United States. Army--Military life
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Search Terms
Civil War
Correspondence, Personal
Letters
Mexican War
Military life
Military orders
Military promotions
Political campaigns
Presidential elections
Speeches
United States Army
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Condition
Fair to good
Condition Date
2020-12-18
Condition Notes
Items are in fair to good condition.
Object ID
MG0828
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact archives@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. Some items are photocopies from other collections--researchers must obtain permission for reproduction and publication from the owner of the original material.
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, Pa.
Classification
MG0828
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Almost all of the papers have been passed down through successive generations of Welsh's descendants, from Thomas Welsh's wife and children to his granddaughter, Emilie Benson (Welsh) Wiggin, to her daughter Nancy Jane (Wiggin) Townsend. After Nancy Townsend's death, her son Charles Townsend passed them on to his cousin, Richard Wiggin (grandson of Emilie Benson Wiggin) in 2015.
A few papers passed out of the family's possession and found their way into other collections. Richard Abel of Columbia, PA began collecting Welsh papers and artifacts some years ago, and subsequently transferred this collection of Welsh materials to Richard Wiggin in 2012.
Less detail
Collection
Lancaster City and County Government Collection
Title
Lancaster City and County Government Collection
Object ID
MG0079
Collection
Lancaster City and County Government Collection
Title
Lancaster City and County Government Collection
Description
This collection contains documents, plans, programs, and surveys related to and from the government offices of Lancaster City and Lancaster County.
System of Arrangement
A. Lancaster City
B. Lancaster County
Creator
Lancaster County Historical Society (Pa.)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 03
People
Baum, H. J.
Black, Russell VanNest
Conrad, Charles S., Jr.
Foster, C. Bickley
Gotch, Albert W.
Hartzog, Justin R.
Klein, H. M. J.
Malone, James J.
Miller, Paul F.
Nolen, John
Smeltz, E. S.
Walker, Hale J.
Subjects
Municipal government
Programs (Publications)
Urban renewal
Zoning
Search Terms
Fulton Opera House
Hale J. Walker-Justin R. Hartzog Associates
Lancaster City Council
Lancaster City Planning Commission
Lancaster City Water Filtration Plant
Lancaster County Commissioners
Lancaster County Planning Commission
Letters
Maps
Municipal government
Pennsylvania Economy League, Inc.
Programs
Reports
Urban renewal
Zoning
Extent
1 box, 18 folders, .5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0079
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Associated Material
Lancaster County Archives
Related Item Notes
Lancaster City Archives Collection
Lancaster County Government Records
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
Lancaster City and County Government Collection (MG-79), Folder #, LancasterHistory.org
Classification
MG0079
Description Level
Fonds
Less detail

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