The Adam Reigart Jr., John S. Murphy Collection contains correspondence between Adam Reigart, Jr. in Lancaster and Philip Wager in Philadelphia and their families. The letters are primarily from the early nineteenth century and provide information about family illness, travel, visits, business, and family chatter. The receipts and invoices show purchases made in Lancaster and Philadelphia, especially clothing, fabric, dry goods, and meat. The remainder of the collection is made up of newspaper articles, books, and an album of poetry and drawings. The items were housed in a gig trunk which is now in the museum collection.
Admin/Biographical History
Adam Reigart, Jr. (1765-1844) was born in Lancaster. He was the eldest son of Col. Adam Reigart, owner of the Grape Tavern which served as general headquarters during the Revolutionary War. Adam Jr. founded the Reigart Wine Store in 1785 and was in business with Philip Wager in Philadelphia and Philip's son Peter throughout his career. He was the first president of the Lancaster branch of the Bank of Pennsylvania, and was involved with the Conestoga Navigation Company and the Union Fire Company.
Adam Jr. married Mary Magdalena Wager (1772-1806) in 1791. Mary was the daughter of Philip Wager, a Philadelphia wine merchant. They had eight daughters and a son. Susan married Stephen C. Slaymaker and Margaretta married Henry Y. Slaymaker.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Adam Reigart Jr., John S. Murphy Collection (MG0331), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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.
Accession Number
2003.078
Other Numbers
MG-331
Classification
MG0331
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid created by KR. Added to database 8 March 2022.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 1 Market Houses
Description
The documents in MG0545, Series 1 represent the business of the City of Lancaster related to the market houses, primarily in the nineteenth century. Payments to Market Masters and for gas lighting, advertising and maintenance show some of the costs associated with running the market houses in the nineteenth century. Market license certificates provide the names of stand holders and their products for 1925-1926.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, MG0545
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Original documents may be used. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-545, Series 1
Other Number
MG-545, Series 1
Classification
MG0545
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
Note: These documents are mostly administrative records, not permanent records, and were likely purged by the city offices when they were no longer needed. We are fortunate that they survived as they contain details about Lancaster's past.
Organized and preserved by MM, Summer 2011. Added to database 10 May 2021.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 3 Bridges
Description
The documents in MG0545 Series 3 represent the business of the City of Lancaster related to building bridges. Petitions, proposals and reports pertain to building bridges over the railroad at the alley between Duke Street and Lime Street in 1835 and 1837. Invoices for labor, stone and posts show bridge maintenance from 1858-1887.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, MG0545
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Original documents may be used. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-545, Series 3
Other Number
MG-545, Series 3
Classification
MG0545
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
Note: These documents are mostly administrative records, not permanent records, and were likely purged by the city offices when they were no longer needed. We are fortunate that they survived as they contain details about Lancaster's past.
Organized and preserved by JP, Summer 2011. Added to database 10 May 2021.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 4 Railroads
Description
The documents in MG0545, Series 4 represent the business of the City of Lancaster related to the Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad, including correspondence, invoices and a petition.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, MG0545
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Original documents may be used. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-545, Series 4
Other Number
MG-545, Series 4
Classification
MG0545
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
Note: These documents are mostly administrative records, not permanent records, and were likely purged by the city offices when they were no longer needed. We are fortunate that they survived as they contain details about Lancaster's past.
Collection was organized and rehoused by JP, Summer 2011.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 7 Administrative Records
Description
The documents in MG0545, Series 7 are invoices pertaining to payments made by the City of Lancaster during the 19th century. The documents represent a wide cross-section of Lancaster's history and include references to City Hall, the mapping of the city, officers salaries, charity donations, printing invoices, and bills and orders for coal. By far the largest groups of documents are those which record payments made for goods and services and for general labor completed for the city. These documents highlight the growth and improvements taking place in the city during the 19th century. Businesses or individuals are named on many of the invoices.
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, MG0545
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Original documents may be used. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-545, Series 7
Other Number
MG-545, Series 7
Classification
MG0545
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
Note: These documents are mostly administrative records, not permanent records, and were likely purged by the city offices when they were no longer needed. We are fortunate that they survived as they contain details about Lancaster's past.
Organized and preserved by KH, February-March 2012. Added to database 11 May 2021.
The David B. Landis Collection consists primarily of his personal and business correspondence, as well as his poetry and writings. Of special interest are a booklet with a synopsis autobiography of his life and his picture. There are also family papers, genealogy, membership cards, and obituaries.
Admin/Biographical History
David Bachman Landis was born in Landisville, Pennsylvania on 12 February 1862, the son of Israel C. and Mary M. Landis. As a school boy, he worked in his father's dry goods store and published a paper for boys titled Keystone Amateur. He began his printing career by apprenticing at the Inquirer Printing and Publishing Company in Lancaster in 1878, and in 1883 he opened his own job printing office in Landisville where he published the Village Vigil.
Mr. Landis moved to Lancaster in 1888 and started Pluck Art Printery. He started out in Lancaster by publishing Pluck, a magazine dedicated to the fields of printing and photography, but soon devoted his business to commercial and society printing. The name was changed in 1914 to Landis Art Print.
Printing, however, was not his only passion. He was an avid bicyclist and belonged to the Lancaster Cycling Club and the League of American Wheelmen. Through these organizations, he helped to improve the condition of roads in Pennsylvania. He was active in the Lancaster County Historical Society, the Pennsylvania German Society, the Ben Franklin Club, and Grace Lutheran Church. He wrote poetry and essays, and dedicated many pieces to friends and family.
David B. Landis married Nora K. Baker of Landisville in 1885. They had four children. Nora passed away in 1910. David married his second wife, Bertha L. Cochran, in 1914.
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.
This collection contains receipts and invoices from the Pinkerton & Slaymaker business. The receipts date primarily from May 1851, with one receipt from May 1853, and are for a wide variety of items. The collection also contains letters from the Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike Company and an undated check from the National Bank of Pottstown.
Admin/Biographical History
Henry Edwin Slaymaker and William C. Pinkerton went into the hardware business as Pinkerton & Slaymaker ca. 1850. The store was located on North Queen Street in Lancaster. The business was closed out in 1857.
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 Harry Lincoln Long Collection contains documents of the Long family of Drumore Twp. Most papers pertain to property of the Long and Worrell families, and the estate of Robert H. Long. The documents include a broadside, deeds, land drafts, receipts, insurance policies, and correspondence.
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
Original documents 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.
Accession Number
2005.MG0380
Other Numbers
MG-380
Classification
MG0380
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Harry Lincoln Long was the donor's maternal grandfather; he kept these documents for the family.