"Over the years Lloyd and Mabel [Heller] raised two sons of their own; in addition they adopted two children from the Lancaster Children's Bureau. They also raised four foster children and kept many other children from the Lancaster Children's Bureau for shorter periods of time ranging from six to eight months. They also kept approximately twenty children from the neighborhood for up to several months and at times as long as a year...In 1958, Mabel 'Mama' Heller was recognized by the Lancaster Children's Bureau of Lancaster County for her involvement with the Children's Bureau in the raising of forty children at the Heller farm in Narvon Pennsylvania." [from the introduction]
"A true story of the author and his family members, friends and neighbors circa 1942 to 1964. It also gives the reader a real and factual understanding of the life in that time period surrounding the area of Lancaster County called 'The Welsh Mountains'." [from the book jacket]
Introduction: Remembering -- Leavening, 1786-1819 -- Hardening, 1820-1834 -- Messing, 1834-1840 -- Wooing, 1840-1844 -- Ministering, 1844-1848 -- Running, 1848-1853 -- Presiding, 1853-1868 -- Epilogue: Preserving -- Washington residences of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (1834-1853) -- Percentage correlation of roll call votes of James Buchanan with senators of the Bachelor's Mess, 23rd to 28th Congresses (1834-1844) -- Calendar of correspondence of James Buchanan / Harriet Lane Johnston and William Rufus King / Catherine Margaret Ellis (1837-1868.
Summary
"Politicians James Buchanan (1791-1868) of Pennsylvania and William Rufus King (1786-1853) of Alabama has excited much speculation through the years. Why did they never marry? Might they have been gay, or was their relationship a nineteenth-century version of the modern-day 'bromance'? Then, as now, they have intrigued by the many mysteries surrounding them. In Bosom Friends : the Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King, Thomas Balcerski explores the lives of these two politicians and discovers one of the most significant collaborations in American political history. Unlikely companions from the start, they lived together as messmates in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse. There developed a bosom friendship that blossomed into a significant political partnership. Before the Civil War, each man was elected to high executive office, William Rufus King the vice-presidency in 1852 and James Buchanan as the nation's fifteen president in 1856. This book offers a dual biography of James Buchanan and William Rufus King. Special attention is given to their early lives prior to elected office, the circumstances of their boardinghouse friendship, and the juicy political gossip that has circulated about them ever since. In addition, the author traces their many contributions to the Jacksonian political agenda, manifest destiny, and the debates over slavery, while finding their style of politics to have been disastrous for the American nation. Ultimately, Bosom Friends demonstrates that intimate male friendships among politicians were, and continue to be, an important part of success in American politics"-- Provided by publisher.
"We want to acknowledge the help for this book which came from the Henry and Sallie Martin & Emanuel and Lizzie Martin books, compiled in part by Marlin E. Sensenig, from Philip Horst, Isaac Martin, Lizzie Nolt, and others who send information"--Introduction.
The Pennsylvania German Society, v. series 2, volume 52.
Notes
Printed endpapers.
Summary
Gustav Samuel Peters deserves recognation as the first successful color printer in America. As such, his importance can hardly be overstated, and yet he remains largly unknown. In addition, he can be honored as a pioneer in stereotype printing, a Bible publisher, an engraver and illustrator, a creater and publisher of juveniles and toy-books, as well as a popular broadside and print maker. The list could go on. The story of his life and work reveals a man of talent and innovative genius From immigrant origins he rose to singular importance as a printer and publisher in his adopted country. Throughout his 25-year career he exercised a significant influence on the intellectual and cultural life of America, especially within the Pennsylvania German community.
