Agreement between F. Benedict of Bedford Township (seller) and John M. Cooper of Lancaster (buyer) to purchase property located in Bedford Township, PA.
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries,
https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Family Papers
MG-96 James Buchanan Collection
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph collections
Curatorial collections
Wheatland Mansion
Notes
May 2020 PastPerfect Conversion
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, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
JBMS1995.429
Other Number
JBFP Part 8, Series 2, Subseries 3, Folder 10
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
Articles of agreement between Thaddeus Stevens and John F. Caven
Description
Articles of agreement between Thaddeus Stevens and John F. Caven. Stevens agrees to sell land in Luzerne County to Caven, and Caven agrees to sell Stevens stock in the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company in Kansas.
Transcription of the 17 July 1862 articles of agreement between Thaddeus Stevens and John F. Caven. Stevens agrees to sell land in Luzerne County to Caven, and Caven agrees to sell Stevens stock in the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company in Kansas. No date for the transcription.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Thaddeus Stevens Collection (MG0115), Part 1, Folder # or Object ID, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact Research@LancasterHistory.org 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
1973.MG0115F25
Other Numbers
MG-115
Other Number
MG-115, Part 1, Folder 25, Insert 5
Classification
MG0115
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Added to database 22 September 2022.
Digitization of this document was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 202010016624, 2020-2023.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Papers of Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
Description
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 2 contains the financial and legal documents of Harriet Lane Johnston. The series is divided into three subseries.
Subseries 1 contains lists, bills, receipts, ledgers, and accounts. Subseries 2 contains legal papers concerning stock in the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-Road Company, as well as an acknowledgement of George B. Willson's purchase of Wheatland.
Subseries 3 contains the last will and testament and codicils of Harriet Lane Johnston and a broadside advertising of the 340 items from Wheatland to be auctioned by Davis & Harvey Auctioneers in 1884.
Admin/Biographical History
Born on May 9, 1830, Harriet Lane was the youngest surviving child of Elliot Toll Lane and Jane Buchanan Lane. When both of her parents died of consumption, now known as tuberculosis, Harriet went on to be her Uncle James Buchanan's ward in 1841. A well-educated lady, Harriet attended several boarding schools before graduating from the Georgetown Academy of Visitation Convent at the age of 18. When James Buchanan served as the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, Harriet Lane joined him for a time and served as a hostess. During her time in England, which she noted as "the realization of a beautiful dream," she befriended none other than Queen Victoria. When her Uncle assumed the presidency, Harriet Lane assumed her role as hostess. She is considered the first First Lady, as the title had initially been given to the president's hostess during Harriet's time in Washington.
After Buchanan's presidency, Harriet Lane married Henry Elliot Johnston, a banker from Baltimore, on January 11, 1866. She was 35 years old. The couple went on to have two sons, both of whom would pass away from rheumatic fever in their early teenage years. Two years after losing her youngest son, Harriet lost her husband to pneumonia. By 1884, Harriet was a childless widow. She would go on to leave a legacy for generations to come, including establishing a children's hospital in Baltimore called The Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children (today the Harriet Lane Clinic at the John's Hopkins Children's Hospital), preserving her Uncle's letters and manuscripts, bestowing her art collection to the Corcoran Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and constructing the St. Alban's School, a school for choir boys. She died on July 3, 1903. [https://www.lancasterhistory.org/about-wheatland/, accessed 10/24/2019]
System of Arrangement
JBFP Part 2 Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
James Buchanan Papers, Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections http://archives.dickinson.edu/collection-descriptions/james-buchanan-papers
James Buchanan and Harriet Lane Johnston Papers, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-buchanan-and-harriet-lane-johnston-papers/
James Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/b/Buchanan0091.html
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries, https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Family Papers
James Buchanan Collection, MG0096
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph collections
Curatorial collections
Wheatland Mansion
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.
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.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Papers of Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 3 Ephemera
Description
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 3 contains ephemera. This small collection of ephemera contains invitations both to and from Harriet Lane, her calling cards, a blank invitation, envelopes, and an acceptance of an invitation from Harriet Lane to Sir Edmund [Prideaux].
Admin/Biographical History
Born on May 9, 1830, Harriet Lane was the youngest surviving child of Elliot Toll Lane and Jane Buchanan Lane. When both of her parents died of consumption, now known as tuberculosis, Harriet went on to be her Uncle James Buchanan's ward in 1841. A well-educated lady, Harriet attended several boarding schools before graduating from the Georgetown Academy of Visitation Convent at the age of 18. When James Buchanan served as the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, Harriet Lane joined him for a time and served as a hostess. During her time in England, which she noted as "the realization of a beautiful dream," she befriended none other than Queen Victoria. When her Uncle assumed the presidency, Harriet Lane assumed her role as hostess. She is considered the first First Lady, as the title had initially been given to the president's hostess during Harriet's time in Washington.
After Buchanan's presidency, Harriet Lane married Henry Elliot Johnston, a banker from Baltimore, on January 11, 1866. She was 35 years old. The couple went on to have two sons, both of whom would pass away from rheumatic fever in their early teenage years. Two years after losing her youngest son, Harriet lost her husband to pneumonia. By 1884, Harriet was a childless widow. She would go on to leave a legacy for generations to come, including establishing a children's hospital in Baltimore called The Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children (today the Harriet Lane Clinic at the John's Hopkins Children's Hospital), preserving her Uncle's letters and manuscripts, bestowing her art collection to the Corcoran Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and constructing the St. Alban's School, a school for choir boys. She died on July 3, 1903. [https://www.lancasterhistory.org/about-wheatland/, accessed 10/24/2019]
James Buchanan Papers, Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections http://archives.dickinson.edu/collection-descriptions/james-buchanan-papers
James Buchanan and Harriet Lane Johnston Papers, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-buchanan-and-harriet-lane-johnston-papers/
James Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/b/Buchanan0091.html
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries, https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Family Papers
James Buchanan Collection, MG0096
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph collections
Curatorial collections
Wheatland Mansion
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.
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.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 5 Papers of Other Members of the Buchanan Family, Series 2 Financial, Legal and Family Documents
Description
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 5 Papers of Other Members of the Buchanan Family, Series 2 Financial, Legal and Family Documents contains papers from members of the Buchanan Family, excluding James Buchanan, Harriet Lane Johnston, James Buchanan Henry and Edward Young Buchanan. Series 2 is divided into four subseries: Subseries 1 has bills, receipts, ledgers and accounts; Subseries 2 has speeches, certificates, and diplomas; Subseries 3 has legal papers; and Subseries 4 has estate and family records. The items span from the 1830s to 1900.
The series includes pages from family Bibles and a transcript from a family Bible that records the births and deaths of the family, from 1853 and 1997. There are also numerous items that do not have dates or the date has faded to a point of illegibility. There are a couple of diplomas for James (Jacobium) Buchanan, Edward Young Buchanan's son, and Gulielum (William) Buchanan, most likely William Speer Buchanan, James' younger brother, from Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut and New Ceasar College. The remaining items are school certificates to Maskell Ewing, Jr., Edward Y. Buchanan's grandson, and Andrew Jackson nomination and appointment of George W. Buchanan as the United States Attorney.
Admin/Biographical History
Many additional members of James Buchanan's family are included in this part of the collection. Including the following relations: William Speer Buchanan (1805-1826), James' brother; George W. Buchanan (1808-1832), James' brother; James Buchanan (1834-1871), Edward Young Buchanan's son; James Buchanan Lane (1814-1863), Harriet's older brother, and his wife, Martha Armor Jenkins Lane and their children; James Buchanan Lane, Jr. (1854-1906), James and Martha Lane's fourth son, and his wife, Thomasine Thomas, and their children; John Newton Lane (1852-1929), James and Martha Lane's third son, and his wife, Louise K. Sands Lane and their children. James Buchanan (1834-1871) attended Trinity College in Hartford, graduating in 1853. He also wrote one of the school songs "Good Old Trinity"1
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.
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.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 8 Papers of Others (Not Part of the Family), Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
Description
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 8 Papers of Others (Not Part of the Family), Series 2 contains financial and legal documents. Series 2 includes financial and legal documents within three subseries. Subseries 1 has bills, receipts, ledgers and accounts. Subseries 2 has deeds and land records. Subseries 3 has legal papers.
The financial and legal documents are arranged chronologically, spanning almost 100 years, from 1770 through 1866. The bulk of the items, dated between 1784 and 1790, are promissory notes, receipts of payment and rental slips. There is a large gap between 1790 and 1849. The items from the 1800s include bills of sale, accounts and receipts. The deeds and land records include one hand-drawn survey for an unknown location (1858) and a title report for property in Warren County, New York (1865). The legal papers include documents filed with the courts, transcriptions of a legislative act from Maryland, notes, purchase contract, as well as two foreign documents, possibly a German enlistment record and a Swedish passport, both for Eugene Francois Theodore de la Croix.
Admin/Biographical History
The origination of many of the items contained in this part of the collection are unknown. It is also unclear of the relationship they have with James Buchanan. In the first subseries, there are two names that reappear often from 1770 to 1790, Daniel McCausland and James Crawford. All of these items are either promissory notes, receipts of payment of loans or letters from Daniel to James requesting that he pay a certain sum to the bearer of the note and the reverse would show the receipt of payment of that loan. There is some mention of a Revolutionary War Colonel James Crawford from Lancaster and Daniel addresses one of the notes to "Col. Crawford" so this may be the same individual. (See 8.2.1.001) There is a gap in the receipts and promissory notes from 1790 to 1849. This is also where we see the money on the documents change from pounds and shillings to dollars and cents. There is a bill of sale of the Lancaster Intelligencer newspaper from Edwin W. Hutter by a S. Boyd Hamilton in July 1849, as well as some follow up correspondence regarding that sale. However, in an article published in the Intelligencer on August 7, 1849, Mr. Hutter states that his successor is Captain George Sanderson of Carlisle, Pennsylvania (Lancaster Intelligencer, August 7, 1849, p. 2), which is confirmed in the December 4, 1849 edition which names the editor as "Geo. Sanderson (Lancaster Intelligencer, December 4, 1849, p. 1). The name McCausland reappears in the next subseries for legal papers, however, it is not a William McCausland, Jr. This is in reference to a law suit he filed against James Crawford and William McCausland for money due to him in outstanding rents and profits. There is a deposition notice addressed to "Col. Crawford" so it is likely to be the same James Crawford who had business dealings with Daniel McCausland.
An interesting piece in this subseries is a large transcript of the Court Papers filed in the action by the stockholders of the Marietta & Susquehanna Trading Company against five of their Trustees. The Trustees were entrusted to resolve the company and collect all outstanding debts. However due to a robbery at the bank wherein all of the notes were stolen, they were unable to collect any of the debts. The background of this case is illustrated in Francis Lyman's A Mysterious Bank Robbery (LCHSR 905.748 HSP v. 94, p. 384-385), where it is alleged that one of the Trustees/Defendants, Jacob Grosh, committed the crime. The remaining items are random and vague in the origination and contextual relationship.
1 Ellis, F & Evans, S. (1883). History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Everetts & Peck. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=WsQxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA52&dq=%22James+Crawford%22+Lancaster,+PA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBWoVChMIhPb155rHyAIVAV0eCh2FDgt6#v=onepage&q=%22James%20Crawford%22%20Lancaster%2C%20PA&f=false
System of Arrangement
JBFP Part 8 Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
Charles S. Foltz, Surgeon of the Seas: The Adventurous Life of Surgeon General Jonathan M. Foltz In the Days of Wooden Ships, Told from His Notes of the Moment. Indianapolis, IN: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1931. Call # 923.5 F671f
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.
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.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 8 Papers of Others (Not Part of the Family), Series 3 Invitations, Broadsides, Visiting Cards
Description
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 8 Papers of Others (Not Part of the Family), Series 3 contains ephemera, including invitations, broadsides, calling cards, and poems. There are several tickets to various democratic conventions and rallies, calling cards, business cards, invitations to homes as well as to parties and balls, two poems, a World War I speech and a railroad scrip ticket book. The majority of the tickets in this series are for political conventions during the 1860s and 1870s from Baltimore, New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, as well as a few with no date or location. Invitations range from business sized cards requesting the recipient's company to printed cards for a ball and New Year's Eve Gala.
Admin/Biographical History
The majority of the items in this series are missing context and relationship with the other items in the collection. There is no clear connection with the items and who they belonged to or how they ended up in the collection. There are a few items that can be examined further, such as a ticket to the Eulogy on John Sergeant by Hon. William M. Meredith at the Musical Fund Hall on April 22, 1853. This eulogy was published as Eulogium on the Character and Services of the Late John Sergeant. The convention ticket in folder 1 labeled "L. Vallandingham" may refer to Louise Vallandingham the wife of Clement Vallandingham who was a states' rights advocate and an outspoken opponent to Abraham Lincoln.
James Buchanan Papers, Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections http://archives.dickinson.edu/collection-descriptions/james-buchanan-papers
James Buchanan and Harriet Lane Johnston Papers, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-buchanan-and-harriet-lane-johnston-papers/
James Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/b/Buchanan0091.html
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries, https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Family Papers
James Buchanan Collection, MG0096
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph collections
Curatorial collections
Wheatland Mansion
Charles S. Foltz, Surgeon of the Seas: The Adventurous Life of Surgeon General Jonathan M. Foltz In the Days of Wooden Ships, Told from His Notes of the Moment. Indianapolis, IN: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1931. Call # 923.5 F671f
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.
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.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
This collection consists of calendars containing photographs, drawings, and prints from Lancaster County and the surrounding region. Some depict local culture, architecture, historic sites, events, or have Pennsylvania Dutch sayings. There are also backs of calendars containing information about Lancaster.
3 boxes, 14 folders, 3 oversized folders, 2 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0070
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions noted at the item level. Restricted items may be used by appointment. 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.
Collection contains the original and typed copies of correspondence describing life in the gold fields of California in the 1850s, an account of crossing the desert on the way west, and a journal describing the sea voyage home. Also, two newspaper images relevant to the gold rush and Mr. Hackman's obituary. He sent many letters home to his family in which he related the details of his experience, hardships of finding gold, the high prices and lack of provisions, observations of life in mining towns, his health, and asked for news from home. He also wrote letters to his sweetheart, Harriet B. Miller asking her to write him back, and his uncle, regarding family financial information.
Admin/Biographical History
David Baer Hackman (1827-1896) was the second child of David Heistand Hackman and Susanna Frantz Baer. He was a third cousin, once removed, of Milton Hershey. David left Lancaster in the fall of 1849 with the hope of finding gold in California. In the spring of 1850, he went to Ohio and joined others headed west. They boarded a steamboat in Cincinnati that was bound for St. Louis and then travelled by wagon train to Sacramento City, where they arrived in September 1850. David found enough gold to buy food and supplies, and then had modest success in 1853. In 1854, he decided to return home, this time travelling by steamer and train from San Francisco to New York via Panama.
The adventure of travelling westward and his life in the gold fields of California are described in detail in David's journal and correspondence. He sent many letters home to his family in which he related the details of his experience, hardships, the prices and lack of provisions, observations of life in mining towns, and asked for news from home.
David also wrote to his sweetheart, Harriet B. Miller (1829-1870), the daughter of Adam and Rebecca Miller of Manheim. Although he did not receive any letters from her, they reunited upon his return to Lancaster in 1854 and married soon after. They had one son named Augustus, who became a minister. Harriet passed away in 1870. David later married Ella C. (1851-1907) and they had five children, Frank, Mabel, Harry, Walter, and Edith.
David's obituary shows that he was involved in the grocery, clothing, hat, and shoemaking businesses. In the 1860 Census he is listed as a hatter, and in 1880 as a saloon keeper. He was well-liked and respected in the community. David and Harriet are buried in Manheim Fairview Cemetery.
The William McCaskey Civil War Papers contain letters written by William Spencer McCaskey to his brother, Jack and sister-in-law, Ellen during his service in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. In most letters, he writes about politics, life in camp, members of his unit, their brothers, and the campaigns in Georgia and South Carolina with General Sherman. Related biographical data and images are among the contents of this collection.
Admin/Biographical History
William Spencer McCaskey was born near Paradise, Lancaster County, in 1843. The family moved to Lancaster in 1855, where William received his education in public schools. And in 1859, he began an apprenticeship at the printing office of the Examiner, where he worked until the outbreak of the Civil War.
Just days after Fort Sumter was fired upon in April 1861, William joined the army and served with Company F of the 1st Pennsylvania Infantry until he mustered out in July. He joined Company B of the 79th Pennsylvania Regiment as 1st Sergeant in September of that year; this company of Lancastrians served under Col. Henry A. Hambright and Lt. Col. David Miles. They engaged in battles in Kentucky and Tennessee before they returned to Lancaster in 1864 and re-enlisted. Company B joined Gen. Sherman's army in May 1864. As they moved through Georgia and South Carolina in Sherman's March to the Sea, William wrote about the campaign, the residents, and affects that the Union Army's actions had on the South.
Capt. McCaskey mustered out in July 1865, and in spite of the many objections he had voiced about army life, he re-enlisted in 1866 after receiving a recommendation of the commission of second lieutenant from Thaddeus Stevens. William commanded troops throughout his career on the frontiers of Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Texas, and Missouri and also during the Spanish-American War in Cuba and the Philippines. He retired at the rank of Major General in October 1907.
John Piersol "Jack" McCaskey is better known to Lancastrians as J. P. McCaskey, a teacher and publisher. He began teaching at the Boys' High School in Lancaster in 1855, accepted the position of principal in 1865, and later became superintendent. Jack married Ellen Margaret Chase in 1860.
