This collection contains the papers of Lloyd Mifflin, including diaries, his poetry, typescripts, galleys with marginal notes, Mifflin family material, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings. Lloyd Mifflin was a poet and painter from Columbia, Pa. He is best known as a writer of sonnets, publishing over 500.
Admin/Biographical History
Lloyd Mifflin (1846-1921), artist of landscape and portraiture, was also "America's greatest sonneteer." He was born and lived much of his life in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where he was free to wander the banks of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries.
His father, J. Houston Mifflin, of English Quaker descent, was Lloyd's first teacher in drawing and sketching. His mother, Elizabeth A. Heise, came from German heritage. She was born in Columbia and died when Lloyd was very young. His father, a kind and patient man, noted that Lloyd was a rather weak child and provided equestrian and water sports to improve his health.
Lloyd was taught in the public schools in Columbia, including the Washington Classical Institute. The Mifflin family supported local education by bequeathing two houses from their estate, the cottage known as "Norwood" and the grand house, "Cloverton," as well as the estate itself. The school district annually planted a flower on his birthday, September 15, and read one of his sonnets, "A Picture of My Mother."
At the age of 14, Lloyd undertook drawing and sketching with his father. He also had Thomas Moran as an instructor in painting and worked with Isaac Williams of Philadelphia for a short time. In 1869, he traveled to Europe where he studied with Henry Herzog at Dusseldorf, Germany. His adventures also took him to Italy, France, England, and Scotland. He returned to Columbia from Europe and continued painting scenes from along the Susquehanna-from Cooperstown, NY to the Chesapeake Bay. As did most other painters of the time, he earned money from portraiture.
In his paintings, he captured the natural with refined color and light, which yielded firm and balanced forms. He preferred to capture the peacefulness of a woodland path or other quiet spots, rather than the noise of an industrial area. Later in his life he liked seasonal paintings, since they gave him a chance to probe deeper into a philosophical spirit.
Mifflin turned to poetry at the age of 51. According to what he wrote in The Hills, his first volume of poetry (1896), he claimed that the fumes of the paint made him sick. In his lifetime he filled twelve books of verse with two hundred poems and more than six hundred sonnets. He wrote more sonnets than William Shakespeare, John Milton, and William Wordworth. John Keats, however, was his favorite. He preferred Keats for his expression regarding the love of beauty, both real and ideal; his forms were always poised and dignified. During this time he also taught himself the art of etching, using this technique to illustrate The Hills.
Mifflin stressed a strong love of beauty in his poetry as he did in his painting. His imagination and beautiful sense of harmony characterize his verse. The main source of his ambition, inspiration and consolation are clearly seen in The Invocation.
He devoted his greatest efforts to the category of the sonnet, considering it the most distinguished and exalted of all forms of English poetry. He enjoyed the structure, the metrical and rhythmic beauty, the plan of metrical rhyme and diction. Mifflin found it much like a musical composition.
Sonnets bipartite in structure usually have a combination of eight lines followed by six. The rhyme schemes and diction include many metaphors and an extensive vocabulary. His one hundred and fifty nature sonnets emphasize the descriptive, not the intuitional. To sample his poetic styles, one should turn to his three hundred and fifty collected sonnets, published in 1905 with a second edition in 1907. A large number came from earlier books.
As a poet, Mifflin was an idealist and respected the ideal of Greek mythological beauty. In the Echoes of the Greek Idylls and Slopes of Helicon, we find no roughness of spirit. There was a conscience of a spiritual presence. His religious sonnets were grounded in the faith of a personal God which related more to his aesthetic feelings than to traditional Christianity. Themes of life and death occur in many sonnets. His poetry inspired faith, hope and deep emotion. These sonnets were more descriptive than philosophical.
Mifflin's personal ambition was to excel; he wanted to write the perfect sonnet. Like the classical Greeks, he hoped his poetry would obtain an immortality. Mifflin thought the world had largely ignored him, even though his poetry received high praise. At his life's end he changed his opinion and credited his readers with more accolades than he had earlier thought. Perhaps he was too hard on himself. Lloyd Mifflin carried the name "Hermit of the hills" who walked the 'world as one entranced' and 'in life's turbid wave', dropped ' the crown-jewel of his melody.'"
E. Hershey Sneath. America's Greatest Sonneteer. The Clover Press (Geo. D. Hall): Columbia, PA.,1928.
This collection contains the legal and personal papers of Judge Henry G. Long. The first ten boxes contain notes of argument and notes of testimony for civil and criminal cases. The remaining papers include receipts for local businesses and services, accounts, documents relating to turnpikes, speeches, stock certificates, deeds, correspondence, and petitions.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Judge Henry G. Long Collection (MG0283), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Folders 1-120, gift of The Long Home, 19 January 2001. Folders 121-126, purchased from dealer, October 2013. Folder 127 purchased from The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., August 2014.
The items in Folders 121-126 were originally part of the collection at The Long Home, but were separated from the rest of the collection and purchased at auction by the dealer who sold them to LancasterHistory.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level.
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-283
Other Number
MG-283
Classification
MG0283
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Boxes 1-15 processed by JM, finding aid prepared by HST. Added to database 7 November 2017.
The Frank R. Diffenderffer Collection contains documents collected by Mr. Diffenderffer. These documents are primarily from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and include letters, legal and court papers, indentures, receipts, property and probate records, and financial and military papers. The people and businesses represented include George Ross, Jasper Yeates, A. Herr Smith, Timothy Matlack, Mount Hope Furnace, and the Lancaster, Elizabethtown & Middletown Turnpike Road Company.
The Columbia Bridge Company Collection is a valuable source of information concerning construction of bridges in the early 1800s. Documents concern the building of the first two bridges across the Susquehanna River in 1814 and 1832. Items in the collection include minutes, form for stock certificate, invoices, legal papers, proposals, receipts, stockholders, promissory notes, by-laws, settlement of stage tolls with Samuel Slaymaker 1813, salary receipts, circulars and announcements, bridge tolls, orders for payment, correspondence, and a stock certificate from 1842
Admin/Biographical History
First Bridge
Construction of the first Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge was begun in 1812 and completed December 5, 1814, by J. Wolcott, H. Slaymaker, S. Slaymaker at a total cost of $231,771, which was underwritten by the newly formed Columbia Bank and Bridge Company. The bridge was 5,690 feet (1,730 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and had 54 piers and twin carriageways. Constructed of wood and stone, the covered bridge also included a wooden roof, a whitewashed interior and openings in its wooden sides to view the river and surrounding areas. It was considered the longest covered bridge in the world at the time. The bridge accommodated east-west traffic across the Susquehanna River for 14 years before being destroyed by ice, high water and severe weather on February 5, 1832.
Second bridge
Construction of the second Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, also covered, started mid-1832 and was completed in 1834 (opening on July 8, 1834) by James Moore and John Evans at a cost of $157,300. It was 5,620 feet (1,710 m) long and 28 feet (8.5 m) wide and also enjoyed the distinction of being the world's longest covered bridge. The wood and stone structure had 27 piers, a carriageway, walkway, and two towpaths to guide canal traffic across the river. Much of the mostly oak timber used in its construction was salvaged from the previous bridge. Its roof was covered with shingles, its sides with weatherboard, and its interior was whitewashed. The structure was modified in 1840 by the Canal Company at a cost of $40,000 concurrent with the construction of the Wrightsville Dam. Towpaths of different levels and with sidewalls were added to prevent horses from falling into river, as happened several times when the river flooded. The roof of the lower path formed the floor of upper path. In this way, canal boats were towed across the river from the Pennsylvania Canal on the Columbia side to the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal at Wrightsville. Sometime after 1846, a double-track railway was added, linking the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad to the Northern Central Railway. Due to fear of fire caused by locomotives, rail cars were pulled across the bridge by teams of mules or horses.
Information from "Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia%E2%80%93Wrightsville_Bridge. Accessed 3 February 2020.
System of Arrangement
The papers of the First Columbia Bridge built in 1814 are filed in folders #1 to 157. The papers of the Second Columbia Bridge built in 1832 are filed in folders #158 to 181.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available. The original items in Folder 69 may not be used due to their fragile condition. All other original documents may be used by researchers--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection may be photographed. Images have been provided for research purposes only. Please contact Research@LancasterHistory.org with questions or 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.
Preferred citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
This collection has not been cataloged. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit. 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.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Bonds posted by constables, showing names of constable and surety; date and amount of bond; conditions of obligation; signatures of constable, surety, and witnesses; and date filed. Arr. chron. by date filed. No index. Hdw. and typed on ptd. fm.
Admin/Biographical History
The County of Lancaster has given LancasterHistory.org custodial responsibility of this collection.
System of Arrangement
Arranged by year; alphabetical by surname with in year.
Bonds posted by constables, showing names of constable and surety; date and amount of bond; conditions of obligation; signatures of constable, surety, and witnesses; and date filed. Arr. chron. by date filed. No index. Hdw. and typed on ptd. fm.
Admin/Biographical History
The County of Lancaster has given LancasterHistory.org custodial responsibility of this collection.
System of Arrangement
Arranged by year; alphabetical by surname with in year.
Bonds posted by constables, showing names of constable and surety; date and amount of bond; conditions of obligation; signatures of constable, surety, and witnesses; and date filed. Arr. chron. by date filed. No index. Hdw. and typed on ptd. fm.
Admin/Biographical History
The County of Lancaster has given LancasterHistory.org custodial responsibility of this collection.
System of Arrangement
Arranged by year; alphabetical by surname with in year.
Bonds posted by constables, showing names of constable and surety; date and amount of bond; conditions of obligation; signatures of constable, surety, and witnesses; and date filed. Arr. chron. by date filed. No index. Hdw. and typed on ptd. fm.
Admin/Biographical History
The County of Lancaster has given LancasterHistory.org custodial responsibility of this collection.
System of Arrangement
Arranged by year; alphabetical by surname with in year.
Bonds posted by constables, showing names of constable and surety; date and amount of bond; conditions of obligation; signatures of constable, surety, and witnesses; and date filed. Arr. chron. by date filed. No index. Hdw. and typed on ptd. fm.
Admin/Biographical History
The County of Lancaster has given LancasterHistory.org custodial responsibility of this collection.
System of Arrangement
Arranged by year; alphabetical by surname with in year.