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Collection
James Buchanan Collection
Title
James Buchanan Collection
Object ID
MG0096
Date Range
1816-present
  1 document  
Collection
James Buchanan Collection
Title
James Buchanan Collection
Description
The James Buchanan Collection, 1816-present, contains material that pertains to the life and legacy of James Buchanan and his Lancaster home, Wheatland. The collection includes correspondence of James Buchanan and letters written by his niece, Harriet Lane Johnston. Newspaper articles discuss Buchanan's life and Wheatland, tell the story of Buchanan's romance with Ann Coleman, and report on commemorative events. Legal and personal business are represented by deeds, financial matters, and Buchanan's probate records.
Political papers include the Presidential appointment of Buchanan as Minister to Russia, certification to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate, and a series of letters regarding the Atlantic slave trade in 1819 and Liberia in 1858. In letters, Buchanan outlined his reasons for not wanting to run for Governor, wrote about the confidence bestowed on him by the Democratic Party, and established a fund for the city of Lancaster to purchase wood and coal for poor women during the winter. After the Crimean War, Buchanan wrote to the ambassador to the United Kingdom and observed that Russia seemed to be intent on recovering its military prestige and had made vast naval preparations.
There is an assortment of ephemera, such as programs for memorial celebrations, material related to John Updike's play Buchanan Dying, commemorative stamps, sheet music, and invitations. Souvenir pamphlets from Wheatland provide history about Buchanan's home and the museum. Speeches range from those given by Buchanan to several that honor his life and Presidency. A scrapbook describes the establishment of Wheatland as a museum and contains newspaper articles about archaeology on the site in 1948.
Admin/Biographical History
James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791 to James Buchanan and Elizabeth Speer. He was the second child born out of ten children, and he would go on to outlive all but one of his siblings. Most popularly remembered as Pennsylvania's only President and as a lifelong bachelor, Buchanan committed a lifetime to politics. In 1821, he left his law practice and embarked on his political career after having been voted into the U.S. House of Representatives. He would remain in the House for five consecutive terms before serving as the U.S. Minister to Russia, a Senator in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, and finally, the 15th President of the United States. He died in his bedchamber at Wheatland at 8:30 AM on June 1, 1868. He was 77 years old.
Date Range
1816-present
Creation Date
1816-present
Year Range From
1816
Creator
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 03
People
Buchanan, James
Johnston, Harriet Lane
Other Creators
Buchanan, James (1791-1868)
Subjects
Ambassadors
Historic houses
Legal documents
Legislators--United States
Letters
Memorials
Monuments
Personal correspondence
Presidents--United States
Russia
Slavery
Statues
Wheatland (Lancaster, Pa.)
Search Terms
Ambassadors
Buchanan Collections
Historic houses
James Buchanan
James Buchanan Presidential Library
Legal documents
Letters
Memorials
Monuments
Correspondence, Personal
Presidents
Russia
Senators, United States
Slavery
Statues
Wheatland
Extent
2 boxes, 80 folders, 1 scrapbook, 1 oversized item, 4 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0096
Location of Originals
Location of originals is noted when known.
Newspaper articles were preserved as photocopies.
Associated Material
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 (JBFP)
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm in the LancasterHistory Research Library
LancasterHistory Library collection
Photograph collection
Curatorial collection
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.
To make a request, please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Classification
MG0096
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Digitization of the James Buchanan Collection was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
James Buchanan and Wheatland Scrapbook, February 1936-May
1948 was cataloged as part of a project funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, ME60112, 2007-2008.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Revolutionary War Collection
Title
Revolutionary War Collection
Object ID
MG0098
Date Range
1776-1976
  2 documents  
Collection
Revolutionary War Collection
Title
Revolutionary War Collection
Description
The Revolutionary War Collection contains a variety of materials from and about the Revolutionary War in Lancaster County and Pennsylvania. The original records include correspondence, military pay certificates, court records, and an orderly book kept by Lt. Col. Adam Hubley, Jr. during the Sullivan Campaign of 1779. There are also research notes and secondary sources, including a list of prisoners of war, a list of males in Lancaster County in 1776, Continental Hospital Returns 1777-1780, articles, information on soldiers buried in Lancaster County, and an article about John Paul Jones.
Date Range
1776-1976
Creation Date
1776-1976
Year Range From
1776
Year Range To
1976
Creator
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 03
People
Beddulph, Robert
Boyd, John
Burd, James Edward
Chambers, Stephen
Coedans, James
Cooke, William
Ferree, John
Getty, Christian
Gurney, Francis
Hubley, Adam
Jolly, James A. "Jim"
Joy, Daniel
Kieffer, Henry Martyn
Moore, William
Neal, James
Patterson, Alex
Porter, Thomas
Ramsay, David
Rapp, Brandon
Reid, George W.
Worner, William Frederic
Zellty, John A.
Subjects
Cemeteries
Letters
Military history
Military regulations
Newtown, Battle of, Newtown, N.Y., 1779
Prisoners of war
Soldiers
Stony Point, Battle of, Stony Point, N.Y., 1779
Sullivan's Indian Campaign, 1779
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Campaigns
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Prisoners and prisons
Search Terms
Battle of Newtown
Battle of Stony Point
Cemeteries
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Finding aids
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Letters
Manuscript groups
Military history
Military records
Military regulations
Prisoners of war
Receipts
Revolutionary War
Soldiers
Sullivan Campaign, 1779
Extent
3 boxes, 40 folders, 1.25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0098
Notes
Harmful Language Warning: LancasterHistory is committed to preserving and providing access to materials chronicling Lancaster County's heritage. As a historical resource, this orderly book reflects the racial prejudices of the era and the violence perpetrated against the Haudenosaunee Confederacy during the American War of Independence. In order to maintain the historical integrity and context of collection items, LancasterHistory does not censor historical documents or edit language, titles, or organization names when transcribing original content. This volume contains language that is offensive, oppressive, graphic, and may cause distress. LancasterHistory does not condone the use of this language.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please use digital images and transcriptions when available.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.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. 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
Revolutionary War Collection (MG-98), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pa.
Other Numbers
MG-98
Other Number
MG-98
Classification
MG0098
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Cataloged prior to 1997. Items have been added and the finding aid has been updated since 1997.
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
James Buchanan Family Papers
Title
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 8 Papers of Others (Not Part of the Family), Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
Object ID
JBFP Part 8 Series 2
  1 document  
Collection
James Buchanan Family Papers
Title
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
Subseries 1 Bills, Receipts, Ledgers, Accounts
Subseries 2 Deeds and Land Records
Subseries 3 Legal Papers
Year Range From
1770
Year Range To
1866
Creator
James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland (Lancaster, Pa.)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
People
Buchanan, James
Cameron, Simon
Curtis, George Ticknor
Drayton, John Grimke
Foltz, Jonathan Messersmith
Foster, Stephen Collins
Foster, Morrison
Johnston, Harriet Lane
Muhlenberg, Henry Augustus
Subjects
Letters
Wheatland (Lancaster, Pa.)
Personal correspondence
Search Terms
Correspondence, Personal
Letters
Wheatland
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Buchanan Collections
James Buchanan Presidential Library
Extent
1 box, 36 folders, 39 items, .5 cubic feet
Object Name
Archive
Language
English, German, Swedish
Object ID
JBFP Part 8 Series 2
Associated Material
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
Archives of Maryland Online. Session Laws 1862. (Vol 532. Pg. 267). Retrieved from: http://aomol.msa.maryland.gov/000001/000532/html/am532--267.html
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.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
M. T. Garvin Papers
Title
M. T. Garvin Papers (MG-34)
Object ID
MG0034
Date Range
1899-1988
  1 document  
Collection
M. T. Garvin Papers
Title
M. T. Garvin Papers (MG-34)
Description
This collection contains information and materials relating to Milton Thomas Garvin, his department store and the Garvin Lecture Series. The scrapbooks were complied by him through the years of 1899-1936. Other items in this collection include letters to family and business partners, several pamphlets from the Garvin Lecture Series, M. T. Garvin & Co. store information, receipts, invoices, banquet programs, and a sampling of financial records from the store.
Admin/Biographical History
Milton Thomas Garvin was born in Fulton Township around 1860. In 1874, at the age of fourteen, Garvin quit school and moved to Lancaster City. He worked various odd jobs before he was hired to work as an errand boy for R. E. Fahnestock's dry goods store in December of 1874.
At the age of sixteen, Fahnestock promoted Garvin to a salesman for the store. He continued to work there through his adolescent years and was promoted to manager at the age of twenty-one, when Fahnestock was in failing health. Garvin assumed that responsibility for twelve years and then bought the store when Fahnestock was ready to retire. Garvin renamed the store M. T. Garvin & Co.
Over the next ten years, Garvin bought the rest of the building and several surrounding buildings to expand his store to a four story and three lot property. He prospered in business and was a philanthropist throughout Lancaster County.
Other than a prominent businessman, Garvin served as a board member, trustee, director or president of the following organizations: The Shippen School for Girls, Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Meadville Theological Seminary, A. Herr Smith and Mechanics' Libraries, Lancaster Charity Society, Joseph Priestly Conference, and People's Octoraro Meeting House.
Milton Thomas Garvin died on 18 August 1936.
Date Range
1899-1988
Year Range From
1899
Year Range To
1988
Date of Accumulation
1899-1988
Creator
Garvin, Milton Thomas, 1860-1936
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 01
People
Bechtold, Walter
Bixler, Julius Seelye
Cayce, Hugh Lynn
Chaisson, Eric J.
Compton, Arthur H.
Cousins, Norman
Fitch, S. W.
Fosdick, Harry Emerson
Garvin, Milton Thomas
Hart, Hornell
Hocking, William Ernest
Hopf, Richard
Hupper, Jacob
Kennedy, Gerald
Kiehl, J. P.
Kring, Walter Donald
Lamont, Corliss
Maritain, Jacques
McMurrin, Sterling M.
Niebuhr, Reinhold
Northop, F.S.C.
Noss, John B.
Park, Charles E.
Ross, James H.
Rossner, John
Royden, Maude
Ruether, Rosemary Radford
Smith, Andrew
Sperry, Willard L.
Taylor, Jeremy
Thurman, Howard
Tillich, Paul
Other Creators
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Subjects
Business records
Civic leaders
Department stores
Scrapbooks
Search Terms
Civic leaders
Correspondence
Department stores
Elks (Fraternal order)
Hotel Brunswick
Lancaster Elks Lodge, No. 134
Letters
M. T. Garvin and Co.
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Stevens House Hotel
Williamson Park
Wills
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
5 boxes,12 folders, 13 scrapbooks, 4.5 cubic ft
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0034
Related Item Notes
See also the Photograph and Curatorial Collections.
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-34
Classification
MG0034
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by TH, April 2014. Added to database 10 May 2018.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Title
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Object ID
HC0001
Date Range
1905-1974
. Flyer for the sale of the Unangst Collection, held at Odd Fellow’s Hall, 213 West Chestnut St., Lancaster, PA. 4 pages. 2,3 September 1937. Flyer for the sale of the private collection of Meda Randall and Blanche Irvine, held at Randall’s Old Barn, Lincoln Highway, near Coatesville, PA. 2 pages. 7
  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
Pvt. George L. Caley Collection
Title
Pvt. George L. Caley Collection
Object ID
MG0047
Date Range
1943-1945
  1 document  
Collection
Pvt. George L. Caley Collection
Title
Pvt. George L. Caley Collection
Description
This collection contains letters written to U.S. Army Private
George L. Caley during his service in World War II. The correspondence is from his parents and siblings in Philadelphia, aunts and uncles and friends in Columbia, Lancaster County, and friends from Millersville University. Many of his friends are also in the service and write to him of their experiences. The letters contain family and local news, as well as news of friends and family in the service.
Date Range
1943-1945
Year Range From
1943
Year Range To
1945
Creator
Caley, George L.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 02
People
Acker, Jim
Acker, Kathleen Altwegg
Albright, Gladys
Albright, Stanley
Allabach, Bill
Allwigg, Kathleen
Arnold, Emma
Arnold, Flora
Arnold, Lloyd
Arnold, Mrs. Lloyd
Arnold, Stanley
Arnold, Wayne
Bard, Pat
Bartch, Eddie
Bartch, G. M.
Bartch, Virginia
Barthwick, Dorothy
Bassler, Harry
Baufort, Mrs.
Bauman, Robert
Beckmyer, G. F.
Behney, H. J.
Bennett, Carrie P.
Beryn, John L.
Biemesderfer, D. Luke
Biemsderfer, Jeanne
Biffart, Max
Billet, Miriam
Blatton, Lena
Bloom, Dorothy
Bomberger, Ruth A.
Borden, Caroline
Boyl, Harry
Bratton, Lena
Brenner, George
Brenner, Wilson
Brommer, Charles
Broome, A. E.
Broome, Bessie
Broome, Bob
Broome, Christ
Broome, Dorothy
Broome, Mrs. A. E.
Broome, Paul
Brosey, Jacob
Brummer, Charles
Bucher, Bud
Bucher, Helen
Burris, Audree
Burris, Homer E.
Butler, Otis E.
Byrd, Juanita
Caley, Bill
Caley, Doris
Caley, Emma
Caley, Ethel
Caley, G. H.
Caley, George L.
Caley, John
Caley, John C.
Caley, John G.
Caley, Josephine
Caley, Josie
Caley, Mrs. John G.
Caley, Mrs. Tom
Caley, Sarah
Caley, T. E.
Caley, T. G.
Caley, Tom
Carnahan, Agnes
Carter, Alice
Clark, Mary
Cleland, Jessie M.
Clelaud, Jenie M.
Clime, Nancy Ann
Coleman, Laura
Contreras, Ralph
Cooper, Bettie
Cornell, Katharine
Corrigan, Chet
Courtney, Mrs.
Cover, Clyde
Crist, Jean Kepper
Crist, Ned
Curry, Mrs. Elmer E.
Daniels, Lawrence A.
Daum, Jean
De Grange, Jane
De Grange, John
Deacon, Deborah
Deitz, Mrs.
Deitzel, Bessie
Dellinger, Dan
Dellinger, Mrs. Dan
Dennison, Blanche
Dennison, Virginia
Detweiler, Effie
Detweiler, Gerry
Diehl, Roy
Diemer, Miss
Dinkel, Billy
Dively, Bob
Dombach, Earl
Dombach, Mrs. Earl
Taylor, Gardiner P.
Draude, Harry
Drew, Edward
Duncan, David
Duncan, Mrs. David
Dunn, Dean
Eastwood, Raymond "Red"
Ehrlager, Clair L.
Ehrlager, Dora
Eisenberger, Abram
Elexander, Miss
Elsboyer, Clair
Elslager, Arlene
Elslager, Clair
Engle, Edison G.
Eshelman, Bob
Eshleman, Laura
Eshleman, Lorna
Eshleman, Lorna Jean
Eshleman, Sara
Eshlemen, Alldice
Feinald, Natalie Richmond
Fidler, Dorothy
Fidler, Martin
Flynn, Mercedes
Folch, Kathleen Johanna
Forbert, Jean
Forrey, Edna
Frank, George A.
Freeland, Mabel l.
Frey, Amelia Ann
Frey, Anna S.
Frey, Carl
Frey, Gay
Friend, Cora
Fry, Anna S.
Fry, Charles
Fuller, John
Furnwal, Doris Lillian
Gable, Charlie
Gable, Pete
Gambler, Jim
Garber, Roy
Gasway, Billie
Montgomery, General
Gerfin, Nancy
Gerlden, Harry
Gibson, Margaret
Gickel, Nancy
Gnilyk, Betty
Gnilyk, Walter W.
Gottschalk, Catherine G.
Gramm, George
Gray, Jean
Greeley, Betty
Greeley, Walter Jr.
Greenawalt, Mrs.
Greenleaf, Doris
Greenly, Doris
Greider, Ed
Griffin, Martha
Grimm, Clark
Grimm, Mrs.
Groom, Mrs. W. R.
Groom, Stella
Groom, W. R.
Groome, George "Red" H.
Groome, Gordon "Buck"
Groome, Mrs.
Grooms, Ruth
Grueling, Betty
Gufin, Nancy
Habbell, Jane
Hable, Kline
Hable, Thelma J. McCombs
Halde, Diane Marie
Harig, Ren
Harting, George
Hartman, Lou
Harvey, Elmer
Harvey, Lewis
Harvey, Lewis M.
Haug, Ken
Hemphill, Louise
Hendrickson, Clara Jane
Herbert, Mary A.
Herr, Miss
Hess, Marian
Hill, Verna
Himes, Ray
Hobbell, Jane
Hoble, Kline
Hogentogler, Sonny
Hollingsworth, Lee
Hoover, Maurice
Horn, Florence
Hougendoubler, Janet
Hubbard, Raymond
Hubbell, Jane
Hubbely, Jane
Huston, Isabelle B.
Jackson, H. S.
Jackson, Harry
Jackson, Henry
Jackson, Marguarette
Jackson, Mrs. H. S.
Jackson, Ray
Kammerer, John
Kauffman, Harold
Kauffman, Thera
Keefer, Minerva
Keeley, Dorothy
Keesey, Jim
Keesey, Mildred
Keller, Dick
Keller, Dorothy
Keller, Richard C.
Kelley, Dorothy Mae
Kelley, Luther
Kelley, Nancy
Kelly, Dorothy
Kemble, Bill
Kemble, Helen
Kepper, Jean
Kiefer, Mrs.
Kilgore, Virginia
Kilgove, Alice
Kimball, Beverly
Kirchner, Charles
Kirstein, Freddie
Klinestever, Miss
Knighton, Clarence
Knipe, James L.
Knipe, Lillian
Knipe, Lillie M.
Kochler, Anna Mae
Kohler, Arabella
Kohler, Billie
Kraft, Billy
Kraft, Bob
Kroff, Bob
Kurtz, Lillian
Layne, Martha
Leahman, Charles
Lefever, Gertrude M.
Lenhardt, Esther E.
Lenhardt, Jack
Lenhardt, Mary
Libed, Mamie
Lindy, Annie
Linhardt, Esther
Lockard, Joe
Lockard, Mrs. Joseph
Lockard, Richard
Logan, Bernard St. Clair
Logan, Eleanor Martha Nolte
Long, Alice Carter
Long, Betty
Long, Bill
Longenecker, David R. Jr.
Louis, Joe
Lutz, Bette
Lutz, Betty
Lutz, George
Lutz, Lou
Lutz, Louise M.
Lutz, Mrs.
Lutz, William
Lyle, Johnny
Lyle, Miss
Madly, Mary Louise
Mahoney, Bill
Mahoney, Flynn
Mahoney, John
Mahoney, Mercedes Flynn
Malone, Ted
Mann, Walt
Markel, Jack
Marley, Alice Kilgove
Marley, Jake
Marley, Mary Louise
Marley, Tom
McCarty, Charles
McCombs, Gwen
McCombs, Thelma J.
McComsey, Mrs.
McComsey, Mrs. Sanders P.
McComsey, Sanders P.
McCoy, H. L.
McGraw, Harvey D.
McKnight, Carroll
McManus, Dennis
McManus, Doris
Metzger, Donald
Metzger, John
Metzler, Paul
Michael, Donald
Michael, Mrs. C. A.
Michaels, Mrs.
Miller, Clara
Miller, Doris Lillian Furnwal
Miller, Kenneth Wickersham
Miller, Mrs. K. W.
Moore, Charley
Moore, Lee
Morris, Walt
Morrow, Carl F. Jr.
Morrow, Carol F.
Mowrey, Charlie
Mowrey, Virginia Bartch
Mueller, Walter
Mumma, Mrs.
Mummau, Guy
Murray, Donald
Musser, Geraldine
Musser, Jerry
Musser, Mary B.
Musser, Mrs.
Musser, Mrs. Jerry
Nau, Ernie
Nikolaus, Fred
Nikolaus, Mrs. Fred
Nollie, Eleanor
Nollis, Eleanor
Nolte, Eleanor Martha
Null, Adelaide
Oberholtzer, Joe
Olemy, Mrs.
Olewine, Eleanor Vogt
Olewine, Larry
O'Neal, Gladys Jean
O'Neal, Jay
O'Neill, James
Painter, Bill
Peters, Carrie
Peters, Catherine
Peters, H. M.
Peters, Hubert
Peters, Louise M.
Peters, Mrs. W. T.
Peters, Pooch
Pickel, Nancy M.
Pickelti, Lenorita Nawcita
Porter, Melyer R.
Potter, Jeannette
Preston, Billy
Price, George
Punlop, Mary Margaret
Pyle, Ernie
Quinn, Jimmy
Quinn, Ruth
Rambo, Margie
Rank, Jack
Reisinger, M.
Renner, Robert
Richards, Betty
Richards, Glady Albright
Richardson, Hattie
Richardson, Hettie
Riegle, Bill
Rill, "Buffalo"
Rill, Bob
Rill, R. W. "Giff"
Rineer, Charlie
Roll, Bob
Ross, Bob
Roye, Laura
Roye, Nancy
Rupp, Barney
Ryfsnyder, Dutch
Scheaffer, Marie Courtney
Schlotthauer, Jim
Schmidt, Beatrice
Schmidt, Bob
Schotthauer, J. L.
Schuler, Harry
Seifred, Ethel
Seigfred, Elsie
Sellers, Bertha
Senneson, Virginia
Sforsa, Count
Shank, Nancy
Sharpless, Laura Lee
Shaw, Linda
Shaw, Sara
Shearer, Pat
Sheckard, Mary
Sheckard, Mrs. Raymond Sr.
Sheckard, Raymond
Sheckard, Raymond Sr.
Shepard, Raymond
Shertzer, G.
Shertzer, Mae
Shertzer, Mrs.
Shockard, Mary Ellen
Sieple, Ben
Smith, Catherine
Smith, John H.
Smith, Lillian
Smith, Mrs. John H.
Smoker, Buddy
Smoker, Howard G.
Snyder, Emily Harriet
Sousbees, P. G.
Spencer, Marion
Staab, Bernice
Staab, Bob
Staab, Doris
Staab, Josie
Staab, Laura
Staab, Mrs.
Staab, Mrs. J. A.
Staabs, Bob
Staabs, O. S.
Staats, Mrs. J. A.
Stauffer, Margaret
Stegel, William
Stevens, Billy
Stoltz, Mrs.
Stoner, E.
Stoner, Mary
Stotz, Catherine B.
Stotz, Mia
Stotz, Mrs.
Strawbridge, Jim
Strawbridge, J.
Street, Mrs.
Strickland Gillilan
Studenroth, Kathryn
Switzer, Art
Tessier, L. H. Tessier
Thompson, Bill
Torbert, Dottie
Torbert, Jean
Trimble, Helen
Trull, B. H.
Trull, Mrs. B. H.
Trull, Virginia
Truman, President
Urban, Sarah
Utz, Betty
Vidler, Dorothy
Vidler, Martin
Vogt, Eleanor
Wagner, Annie
Walsh, Jean
Warfel, Dick
Warfel, Ruth
Weaver, Anna Mae
Weaver, Frank
Weaver, Taylor
Webster, Mary Jane
Webster, Virginia
Weigle, G. E.
Weigle, Mrs. G. E.
Weisser, Gladie
Welsh, Arlene
Welsh, William
Wike, Jeanette
Witchel, John
Wolf, Ann
Yentzer, Janet
Young, Alma
Young, Arnold
Young, Don
Zaks, Jim
Ziegler, Ana
Subjects
World War, 1939-1945
United States. Army
Letters
Columbia (Pa.)
Search Terms
Armstrong Cork Company
Columbia Daily News
Columbia High School
Finding aids
Fulton Opera House
Hamilton Watch Company
Hostetter's Play Barn
Lancaster County Hospital
Long's Park
Manuscript groups
Millersville State College
Millersville University
Mount Bethel Cemetery
Mount Gretna, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Rocky Springs
Salome United Brethren Church
St. Anne's Retirement Community
Standard Garment Company
Steelton High School
Tidy Products
United Brethren in Christ Church
Extent
8 boxes, 97 folders, 4 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0047
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-47
Classification
MG0047
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed by KR and SB, 2006-2009; Finding aid typed by DC, KR and CF, 2009-2010. Added to database 31 July 2018.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
William McCaskey Civil War Papers
Title
William McCaskey Civil War Letters
Object ID
MG0355
Date Range
1862-1865
  1 document  
Collection
William McCaskey Civil War Papers
Title
William McCaskey Civil War Letters
Description
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.
Date Range
1862-1865
Year Range From
1862
Year Range To
1865
Date of Accumulation
1862-1865
Creator
McCaskey, William Spencer, 1843-1914
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 09
People
Brown, Daniel
Brown, Mrs.
Hambright, Henry Augustus
Johnston, Joseph E.
Kaufman, Innis
Locher, Michael H.
McBride, John S.
McCaskey, Cyrus Davis "Cye"
McCaskey, Ellen Margaret Chase "Ellie"
McCaskey, John
McCaskey, John Piersol "Jack"
McCaskey, Joseph
McCaskey, Walter
McCaskey, William Spencer
Miles, David
Riley, George
Riley, George, Mrs.
Sherman, William Tecumseh
Stevens, Thaddeus
Subjects
Letters
Personal correspondence
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
United States. Army. Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 79th (1861-1865). Company B
Wounds and injuries
Search Terms
Alexandria, Virginia
Atlanta, Georgia
Camp McCloud, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Civil War
Correspondence
Correspondence, Personal
Finding aids
Goldsboro, North Carolina
Letters
Louisville, Kentucky
Manuscript groups
Martha's Vineyard, North Carolina
Milledgeville, Georgia
Moorsville, North Carolina
Nashville, Tennessee
Richmond, Virginia
Savannah, Georgia
Washington, DC
Extent
1 box, 6 folders, .25 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0355
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available.
The original letters in Folders 2 and 3 may not be used. Transcriptions have been provided in Folder 1 for patron use.
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-355
Classification
MG0355
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Added to database 14 January 2021.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-61 Civil War, 1861
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesD-61
Date Range
1861
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-61 Civil War, 1861
Description
The General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-61 contains fifteen documents from 1861. The series consists of letters written by Thomas Welsh to his wife and children describing his experiences as an officer in the Union Army. The series also includes letters written by Welsh's wife and children describing events at home in Columbia. The letters show Welsh to be a devoted husband and father and his family to miss him very much. Welsh raised and organized the first company of volunteers from Lancaster County. The regiment served most of its 90-day enlistment in the Shenandoah Valley from where many of the letters were written. The series also includes a pass for Camp Curtin, Dauphin County where Welsh served as Commandant and a letter from Otter Island, South Carolina where Welsh later served as a Colonel in the 45th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
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
1861
Creation Date
1861
Creator
Wiggin, Richard C.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
Storage Container
Box 0001
People
Welsh, Thomas
Subjects
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Letters
Personal correspondence
Search Terms
Civil War
Letters
Correspondence, Personal
Extent
16 folders
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Condition
Fair to good
Parent Object ID
MG0828
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesD-61
Notes
Added to PP 12/23/2020 by HST
Provenance:
Most passed down through the family, Blanton Charles Welsh to Emilie Benson (Welsh) Wiggin to Nancy Jane (Wiggin) Townsend. Acquired from: Chuck Townsend, Knoxville, Tennessee, 2016/05/15.
MG0828_SeriesD-61_F15 is a transcription provided by Dennis Buttacavoli via email. The original is presumed by donor to be in his possession.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. 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.
Classification
MG0828
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
Cataloged by Richard C. Wiggin prior to donation.
Less detail
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-62 Civil War, 1862
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesD-62
Date Range
1862
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-62 Civil War, 1862
Description
The General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-62 contains twenty-two documents from 1862. The series consists of letters and official papers related to the military activities of Thomas Welsh, in command of the 2nd Brigade of General Orlando Willcox's 1st Division, General Burnside's 9th Army Corps, command consisting of Regiments 45th and 100th Pennsylvania, 46th New York, and 8th Michigan. The series includes letters written by Welsh to his family and letters from his family written to him. Welsh's command participated in several battles during the year including South Mountain and Antietam. Official correspondence includes reports by General Willcox and others as well as Willcox's recommendation that Welsh be promoted to Brigadier General for his bravery and conduct in battle.
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
1862
Creation Date
1862
Creator
Wiggin, Richard C.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
Storage Container
Box 0001
People
Welsh, Thomas
Subjects
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Letters
Personal correspondence
Search Terms
Civil War
Letters
Correspondence, Personal
After action reports
Extent
22 folders
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Condition
Fair to excellent
Parent Object ID
MG0828
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesD-62
Location of Originals
The original of MG0828_SeriesD-62_F20 is in the Antietam National Battlefield Library, 45th Pennsylvania Regimental File.
Transcription of MG0828_SeriesD-62_F21 is in the Antietam National Battlefield Library, 45th Pennsylvania Regimental File. Original claimed to be in the collection of Dennis Buttacavoli.
Notes
Added to PP 12/26/2020 by HST
Provenance:
Some items: Passed down through the family, Blanton Charles Welsh to Emilie Benson (Welsh) Wiggin to Nancy Jane (Wiggin) Townsend. Acquired from: Chuck Townsend, Knoxville, Tennessee, 2016/05/15.
Some items: Transcription and photocopy acquired from Antietam National Battlefield Library, 45th Pennsylvania Regimental File.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. 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.
Classification
MG0828
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
Cataloged by Richard C. Wiggin prior to donation.
Less detail

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