This collection contains estate papers and financial documents of Dr. Charles Herbst.
Admin/Biographical History
Charles Herbst (1782-1865) studied medicine with Dr. William Fahnestock and started his practice in 1804. The following year he was a physician at the prison. In May 1813, he served as surgeon in Major Samuel Humes' Lancaster Battalion. Dr. Herbst is buried at Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The Jacob Ream collection contains original documents pertaining to business conducted by Jacob Ream and his family of Donegal Township. Includes bonds, receipts, land agreement, mortgage, and fire insurance policy. The surname has various spellings, including Riem, Rihm, and Reeme.
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 Andrew B. Rote Collection contains the business records of C. V. Rote & Co., which later became A. B. Rote & Co., and some family records. The Lancaster company specialized in awnings and ironwork. Deeds, mortgages, and other property records are for property owned by the Rotes and used for their business. The record books of the company, 1881-1942, show accounting, clients, cash flow, bids, and inventory. A catalog of architectural bronze and iron works illustrates their products. There are also stock certificates for a number of local and regional businesses such as Farmers Trust Company, Union Trust Company, and Meadia Heights Golf Club.
Admin/Biographical History
C. V. Rote & Company was founded by Charles V. Rote, Jacob F. Bender, and John W. Holman on 3 March 1881, specifically for the manufacture of awnings. Bender and Holman provided the financing, space for the shop, the time they could commit, and the use of their horse and buggy. Rote committed his labor and time in manufacturing the awnings. Their initial success continued when they added architectural bronze and iron work. Andrew B. Rote took over the business in 1894, which was then located at 111-117 E. Chestnut Street, Lancaster.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Andrew B. Rote Collection (MG0363), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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.
The Frederick S. Brown Collection contains tax receipts, bonds, and letters belonging to Mr. Brown. Also, an agreement for the sale of land along the Susquehanna River.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Frederick S. Brown Collection (MG0085), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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.
The Alice Ferree Todd Papers collection contains 119 letters and documents created by, sent to, or kept by Alice Ferree Todd (1845-1930). The majority of the letters are from Alice Ferree Todd to her husband Moses Hampton Todd (1945-1935). The remaining are correspondences between Alice and her family (sisters and other relatives) as well as mortgages/deeds signed by James Barr Ferree, Alice's father.
Admin/Biographical History
Elizabeth, Martha, Mary, and Alice were the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. James B. Ferree, a prominent merchant in Philadelphia and a descendent of Daniel and Marie Ferree.
Herr, Neff and Kauffman Family (Manor Twp.) Papers
Description
This collection contains mostly deeds and releases for property in Manor Township between the Herr, Kauffman, and Neff families. The dates for the deeds and releases are 1791-1792, 1804-1808, and 1841-1865. It seems that there are three main properties that all of the documents are mentioning within Manor Township. There are also nine bonds between Tobias H. Herr and Henry Herr Sr. that were all made in 1864. There are two Cyrus Neff's mentioned in this collection, Cyrus Neff and Cyrus L. Neff. One of the documents is Cyrus Neff's Certificate of Election for the Lancaster County Auditor in 1887. The documents pertaining to Cyrus L. Neff are his policy with the Pennsylvania Threshermen & Farmers' Mutual Casualty Insurance Company in the early 1920's. Towards the end of the collection there are two newspapers from 1929 and 1947, pertaining to the Herr family farm and house as well as what seems to be instructions on how to make animal feed.
Admin/Biographical History
John Herr came to Pennsylvania in 1710 with four of his five sons. His oldest son, Abraham Herr came with his father in 1710, and was the only one to settle west of the Conestoga River in Manor Township.
Francis Neff came to America from Switzerland in the early 1700's. One of his sons, Henry Neff, was the first to live in Manor Township. One of Henry Neff's four sons, Henry Neff Jr., was the only child that stayed at the homestead in Manor Township. He and his wife, Susannah Neff, had a son named Benjamin Neff who, in turn, married Anna Hostetter, daughter of Ulrich Hostetter and had two sons, Cyrus and Benjamin H. Neff. Cyrus Neff attended common schools till he was 18 years old then farmed for 11 years, after which he taught in schools for three terms. He was very active in the school board for six years and then was elected as Lancaster County Auditor in 1887. He married Kate Lehman, a daughter of Reverend Benjamin Lehman, of Manor Township, and together they had eight children. Cyrus died in 1890 at the age of thirty-eight years.
The donor, Ethel Huber, is related to the Neff and the Herr families on her mother's side and may be a descendent of Abraham Herr, the brother of Christian Herr.
The Robert H. Goodell Family Papers contain documents, ephemera and family papers of Robert H. Goodell, his father, Joseph E. Goodell and their Hilliard, Sener and Zahm antecedents.
Goodell, Robert H. 1942. "The First Columbia Bridge." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 46, no. 4-5. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo2270
Goodell, Robert H. 1943. "John L. Boswell and The Columbia Spy." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 47, no. 2. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo589
Goodell, Robert H. 1943. "Matthias Zahm's Diary." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 47, no. 4. https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo616
Goodell, Robert H. 1953. "The Second Columbia Bridge." Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, v. 57, no. 1.
Photograph of H. S. Wolfe and Robert Hilliard Goodell (3-18-01-02)
Photographs of Goodell family members (2-16-11-09)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level.
For original items that may be used by researchers, contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection items may be photographed. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at Research@LancasterHistory.org. Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this collection must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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.
The McCaa Collection contains the papers of and collected by the family of James McCaa in northeastern Lancaster County. Among the items are account and ledger books, a physician's visiting book, legal papers, deeds, certificates for commissions, receipts, letters, and estate papers.