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Appraisal

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/015e58a3-0896-46b5-87f3-711328000112
Collection
Collateral Appraisements
Title
Collateral Appraisements
Object ID
Coll App 1912 F002 M
Date Range
1912
More detail
Collection
Collateral Appraisements
Title
Collateral Appraisements
Description
Appraisements of real estate for inheritance tax. Some personal property appraisals are also included. Appraisals include: name of decedent; location and description of real estate; description of personal property; valuation of real estate and personal property; and assessed tax. May also include names of heirs. Arranged chronologically by year, then alphabetically by first letter of decedent's last name. Handwritten; from 1886, handwritten on printed forms.
System of Arrangement
Arranged chronologically by year, then alphabetically by first letter of decedent's last name.
Date Range
1912
Date of Accumulation
1849-1913
Year
1912
Creator
Register of Wills
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives West
Storage Container
Box 0011
People
McCullaugh, P. J.
McCullagh, P. J.
Subcategory
Documentary Artifact
Search Terms
Collateral appraisement
Lancaster
Letters
Affidavits
Place
Lancaster
Extent
16 boxes (8 cubic feet)
Object Name
Appraisal
Language
English
Condition
Fair
Object ID
Coll App 1912 F002 M
Box Number
011
Additional Notes
Or McCullagh, P. J.
Included letter and affidavit.
3 items, 1 piece
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Request at research desk. Photocopy made by staff member.
Classification
RG 03-00 0312
Description Level
Item
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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/37256600-2e6b-4520-95f0-423425752838
Collection
Edward Hand Reunion and Genealogy Collection
Title
Edward Hand Reunion and Genealogy Collection
Object ID
MG0116
Date Range
1805-1984
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Edward Hand Reunion and Genealogy Collection
Title
Edward Hand Reunion and Genealogy Collection
Description
Collection consists largely of information on the descendants of Edward Hand and on the Hand Family Reunion. Contains correspondence, genealogical materials, family charts, photographs, and commemorative booklet 1912, on Lancaster County in the Revolutionary War. Also, three documents concerning the settling of the Hand estate.
Date Range
1805-1984
Year Range From
1805
Year Range To
1984
Date of Accumulation
1805-1984
Creator
Hand family
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 03
People
Hand, Edward
Lear, Robert H.
Brien, Edward
Brien, Dorothy Hand
Hand, Jasper
Subjects
Genealogy
Family records
Letters
Search Terms
Genealogy
Family records
Family reunions
Rock Ford
Correspondence
Letters
Manuscript groups
Finding aids
Extent
1 box, 27 folders, .5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0116
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
Edward Hand Reunion and Genealogy Collection (MG-116), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pa.
Other Numbers
MG-116
Classification
MG0116
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Added to database 1 May 2019.
Documents
thumbnail

Finding Aid

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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/5dbdcf43-d314-480e-8b28-984790502749
Collection
William McCaskey Civil War Papers
Title
William McCaskey Civil War Letters
Object ID
MG0355
Date Range
1862-1865
More detail
  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
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Finding Aid

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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/6697af68-5c50-4606-a98e-814511042041
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
More detail
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

Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/81fa4de3-4957-47bb-b149-040089796190
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
More detail
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

Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/d9352a5a-5267-4a3f-a0ce-401968883248
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-63 Civil War, 1863
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesD-63
Date Range
1863
More detail
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-63 Civil War, 1863
Description
The General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series D-63 is a collection of thirty-three documents, which covers the year 1863 and consists of letters and official papers related to the military activities and death of Thomas Welsh. The series continues the exchange of letters between Welsh and his family until his untimely death on August 14, 1863. Military correspondence includes Senate confirmation of Welsh's field promotion to Brigadier General on March 13, 1863 and Welsh's new command of the 1st Division of General Burnside's 9th Army Corps. Welsh participated in the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, but took ill soon after. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio. Correspondence includes condolences offered to the family of General Welsh by individuals and members of the Union Army present at his death.
Note: Original series also contained two photographs.
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
1863
Creation Date
1863
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
Telegraph
Military orders
Search Terms
Civil War
Letters
Correspondence, Personal
Telegrams
Military orders
Extent
35 folders
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Condition
Poor to excellent
Condition Date
2020-12-26
Parent Object ID
MG0828
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesD-63
Notes
Added to PP 12/26/2020 by HST
Provenance:
Most 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.
Transcription of MG0828_SeriesD-63_F15 provided by Dennis Buttacavoli via email. The original is presumably 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

Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/6daebf57-e932-4018-b9a7-382700241180
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series E Post Civil War
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesE
Date Range
1866-1925
More detail
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series E Post Civil War
Description
The General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series E is a collection of eight documents, which covers the years 1866 through 1925 and consists primarily of recollections by various family members of the life of Thomas Welsh. The series also includes a family history and poems written by Thomas Welsh and his daughter Effie Welsh.
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
1866-1925
Creation Date
1866-1925
Year Range From
1866
Year Range To
1925
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
Autobiographies
Letters
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Poetry
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Search Terms
Autobiographies
Civil War
Family history
Genealogy
Letters
Mexican War
Poetry
Extent
8 folders
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Condition
Poor to excellent
Condition Date
2020-12-29
Parent Object ID
MG0828
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesE
Notes
Added to PP 12/29/2020 by HST
Provenance: Most 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.
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
Organized by Richard C. Wiggin prior to donation.
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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/388e486a-0fbf-477a-9503-148740284918
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series F Miscellaneous Family Papers
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesF
Date Range
1815-1938
More detail
Collection
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers
Title
General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series F Miscellaneous Family Papers
Description
The General Thomas Welsh Family Papers, Series F is a collection of documents, newspapers, and newspaper clippings that covers the years 1815 through 1929, as well as genealogy and ephemera from the Welsh family Bible from 1850 through 1938. The series also includes two scrapbooks - the first contains articles from the late nineteenth century pertaining to Thomas Welsh and his family; the second contains newspaper articles and ephemera related to Thomas Welsh and his family from 1854 through 1936.
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
1815-1938
Creation Date
1815-1938
Year Range From
1815
Year Range To
1938
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
Condolence notes
Letters
Genealogy
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Search Terms
Condolence notes
Letters
Correspondence
Mexican War
Genealogy
Civil War
Extent
35 folders
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Condition
Poor to excellent
Condition Date
2020-12-29
Parent Object ID
MG0828
Object ID
MG0828_SeriesF
Notes
Added to PP 12/29/2020 by HST
Provenance: 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.
In Boxes 1 and 2
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
Folders 1-35 organized by Richard C. Wiggin prior to donation.
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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/bed7696d-1f01-4be4-8783-807289887850
Collection
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 4
Title
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 4 Railroads
Object ID
MG0545_Series04
Date Range
1833-1896
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
George and Rhonda Andreadis Collection of Lancaster City Records, Series 4
Title
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.
System of Arrangement
This collection is organized into series:
Series 1 Market Houses
Series 2 Fire Department
Series 3 Bridges
Series 4 Railroads
Series 5 Lamps and Lighting
Series 6 Relief Fund
Series 7 Administrative Records
Date Range
1833-1896
Creation Date
1833-1896
Year Range From
1833
Year Range To
1896
Creator
Lancaster (Pa.)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 11
People
Ihling, Charles C.
Flick, Henry
Zimmerman, John
Subjects
Business records
Columbia-Philadelphia Railroad
Invoices
Lancaster (Pa.)
Pennsylvania Railroad
Petitions
Railroads
Search Terms
Business records
Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad
Correspondence
Finding aids
Invoices
Lancaster
Letters
Manuscript groups
Pennsylvania Railroad
Petitions
Railroads
Extent
1 box, 4 folders, .1 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0545_Series04
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory
Related Item Notes
Lancaster City Archives
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.
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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/7dbdd094-b41c-40ef-b16d-538502636080
Collection
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Title
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Object ID
MG0736
Date Range
1814-1957
South, Side 15 Scope and Content Note: The Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records collection contains correspondence between various members of the Haldeman family—the majority of which were sent or received by Samuel Haldeman or his daughter Eliza. The first sets of letters are between Samuel’s
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  1 document  
Collection
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Title
Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records
Description
The Haldeman Family Papers and Business Records collection contains correspondence between various members of the Haldeman family-the majority of which were sent or received by Samuel Haldeman or his daughter Eliza. The first sets of letters are between Samuel's parents and other family and acquaintances, then progress to Samuel and his family. The content includes Paris Haldeman's life during the California gold rush; Eliza's studies in Philadelphia and France; the Civil War; Carsten Haldeman's severe throat illness; and Samuel's travels throughout Europe. The letters span from 1814 to 1883. Mentioned in many of the letters to and from Eliza is her friend Mary Cassatt, an American Impressionist artist. As for the letters sent by Samuel, their content tends to be extremely detailed, sending home as good a description of his travels as he could with locations ranging from Philadelphia to Pompeii. Also included in the collection are several newspaper clippings concerning the Haldeman mansion and Chickies Rock as well as a ledger from the E. Haldeman and Co. furnaces at Chickies.
Admin/Biographical History
Samuel Steman Haldeman (1812-1880) born at the mansion in Bainbridge on August 12, 1812, was the oldest of seven children of Henry Haldeman (1787-1849) and his wife Frances Steman (1794-1826). His father, who appreciated culture, endeavored to foster a love of learning in his children. His mother, an accomplished musician, died when Samuel was fourteen years of age.
Samuel was educated in the public schools, at the classical academy in Harrisburg and at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA. He found college routine irksome and left after two years at the age of eighteen saying, "I cannot learn from others, I must see for myself." Thereafter he educated himself by attending lectures, recording observations of bird habits, learning to stuff birds and mammals from a traveling Methodist minister, resulting in a large collection of specimens in natural history and also a scientific and linguistic library.
As a child Haldeman had a penchant for collecting specimens from nature and Native American stone implements found on and near the mansion site, keeping them in his own museum. His collection included skeletons of rabbits, opossums, muskrats, and field mice, which he prepared by boiling the carcasses. It also included fresh-water shells from both banks of the Susquehanna River and its islands. A letter from Samuel to a friend, dated 1844, says, "I collected shells on the banks of the Susquehanna long before I knew the meaning of genus and species." We'll see later what an influence these early shell-collecting days on the Susquehanna River had on Haldeman's scientific scholarship.
After his marriage in 1835 to Mary A. Hough of Bainbridge, he moved to a new residence at the base of Chickies Rock, Marietta. Not only did he design the stately home built by his father, he laid out the grounds with native specimens of trees and shrubs gathered from the surrounding woods, and some foreign varieties, all of which were planted with his own hands.
Not having a particular fondness for business, he continued his studies of nature, but did assist his father in a saw mill and later became a silent partner in the iron business with his brothers. He wrote articles on anthracite furnaces for Silliman's Journal, and contributed sound and practical suggestions for improvements to both the mill business and construction of the blast furnace.
At the age of twenty-three, Samuel contributed to the Lancaster Journal an article refuting Locke's "Moon Hoax". From then on, his life was devoted to science. For forty-five years he spent most of the time in his library, many times working sixteen hours a day. In 1836, Professor Haldeman became an assistant on the State geological survey of New Jersey, and was later transferred to a similar position in Pennsylvania. During extensive geological work, he discovered a new genus and species of fossil plant. Geology did not engross his whole attention, as he was now busy collecting and studying shells, and made substantial contributions in this field through an expertly illustrated massive work of copperplate engravings, drawn and colored from the original shells and living animals. This was finished in 1845.
One professional association of Samuel Haldeman during this period of 1840 to 1850 is particularly significant for his scientific development as well as for the development of American science. In 1844 he became a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fledgling organization just beginning to function. At the request of this organization, he prepared a paper entitled "Enumeration of the Recent Freshwater Mollusk Which are Common to North America and Europe, with Observations on Species and their Distribution." Fifteen years later, an obscure British scientist had the following to say about this paper, "In 1843-44 professor Haldeman (Boston Journal of Natural History, United States, Vol. IV, pg. 468) has ably given the arguments for and against the hypothesis of the development and modification of species: he seems to lean towards the side of change." This scientist was Charles Darwin and he was writing in the preface to his Origin of Species, one of the most influential and controversial science books ever published. Samuel was said to have been the only American Naturalist with whom Charles Darwin corresponded, and whose opinion Darwin regarded as authoritative."
Samuel continued to write important and prize-winning essays and articles in philology, phonography, ethnology, natural history, and archaeology. His writings in all fields of science are literally innumberable, with well over one hundred articles on such scientific subjects as conchology and crustacea (the study of mollusks and shells), entomology (the study of insects), arachnidae (the study of spiders), annelids (the study of earthworms, leeches and related animals ), geology, chemistry and archeology.
He became professor of zoology at Franklin Institute of Philadelphia in 1841; chemist and geologist of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Society in 1852; professor of natural history at the University of Pennsylvania from 1850-1853; and the same position at Delaware College at Newark, Delaware from 1855-1858; and professor of comparative philology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1876 until the time of his death. This university conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. Professor Haldeman was among the first to undertake the spelling reform of English words. He corresponded with Noah Webster, who credited him with many words and definitions in his dictionary, also contributing to Worchester's Dictionary, the National Dictionary, and Johnson's Cyclopedia. He studied the languages of our Indian tribes, and of various nations and tribes of other parts of the world. He considered his most outstanding accomplishments to have been his investigations in philology (the study of the evolution of speech sounds).
Dr. Haldeman was elected to twenty-eight honorary scientific societies, both in this country and abroad. With others, he formed the Entomological Society of Pennsylvania and was president of the American Philological Association. Letters of inquiry from all parts of the world came across his desk; publishers asking opinions of books; writers begging information; teachers with a pronunciation to be settled; naturalists forwarding packages of shells, insects, or minerals for identification; farmers and others sending clays to be analyzed; requests for lectures; requests for data from scientific newspaper articles; request for reviews from editors, and so on.
Samuel Steman Haldeman died on September 10, 1880 at the age of sixty-eight, at his study table, of heart paralysis. He left a wife, two sons, and two daughters. He is buried beside his wife in the Haldeman family plot in the Marietta Cemetery. At a meeting of scientists following his death, this remark was made of him, "He was no ordinary man whom you might compliment with a passing respectful obituary notice - in science and letters he was a great man." - HMPS Records www.haldeman-mansion.org/samuelstemanhaldeman.htm
The biographical information was provided by the Haldeman Mansion Preservation Society. www.haldeman-mansion.org
Date Range
1814-1957
Creation Date
1814-1957
Year Range From
1814
Year Range To
1957
Creator
Haldeman family
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 15
People
Haldeman, Samuel Steman
Figyelmessy, Elisa Jacobean Haldeman
Haldeman, Henry
Haldeman, Paris
Haldeman, Mary Ann Hough
Haldeman, Carsten N.
Haldeman, Victor Macholski
Haldeman, Horace
Haldeman, Preston Elder
Black, Mira H.
Black, Harry "Pep" Crawford
Figyelmessy, Loyos Philip Haldeman
Cassatt, Mary Stevenson
Solis-Cohen, Jacob da Silva
Subjects
Business records
Letters
Search Terms
Letters
Correspondence
Business records
Manuscript groups
Finding aids
Extent
1 box, 73 folders, 291 items, 1,115 pages to scan, .5 cubic foot
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0736
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Associated Material
Haldeman Mansion Preservation Society https://www.haldeman-mansion.org/
Related Item Notes
Curatorial Collection
S. S. Haldeman Papers, MG0344
Notes
The following notes, including a partial Haldeman Family tree, document only those who authored and/or received the letters:
Henry Haldeman (18 Dec 1787 - 21 Mar 1849)
m. (1) Francis Steman (1 Mar 1794 - 15 Feb 1826) on 1811
Children: Samuel Steman Haldeman; Horace Haldeman
m. (2) Margaret Armstrong (15 Aug 1804 - 17 May 1867) on 1830
Children: Paris Haldeman
Samuel Steman Haldeman (12 Aug 1812 - 10 Sep 1880)
m. Mary Ann Hough (12 Dec 1812 - 6 Jul 1883) on 1835
Children: Carsten N. Haldeman (13 Oct 1837 - 14 Apr 1892); Eliza (Itty) Jacobean Haldeman (5 Nov 1843 - 10-Dec 1910); Frances H. Haldeman (9 May 1840 - 20 Oct 1904); Victor M. Haldeman (29 Jul 1854 - 12 Aug 1924)
Horace Haldeman (14 Aug 1820 - 10 Sep 1883)
m. Annie Breneman Haines (1823 - 16 Jan 1892)
Paris Haldeman (30 Jan 1831 - 13 Aug 1893)
Preston Elder Haldeman was Eliza Haldeman's cousin
Mira/Myra H. Black (1847-1895) and her brother Harry (Pep) Crawford Black (14 Mar 1846 - 22 Mar 1921) were second cousins to Eliza Haldeman.
Loyos Philip Haldeman Figyelmessy (2 Sep 1877 - 8 Apr 1889) was Eliza Haldeman's son. Eliza was married to Col. Philip Figyelmessy (1822-1907).
Mary S. Cassatt (May 22, 1844 - June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. She was a close friend of Eliza Haldeman.
J. Solis-Cohen had a private medical practice in Philadelphia, where he concentrated on diseases of the throat and chest. www.collegeofphysicians.org
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.
Accession Number
2014.MG0736
Other Numbers
MG-736
Classification
MG0736
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The letters and record book in this collection were kept by Eliza Haldeman and later sold by her son, S. Haldeman Figyelmessy, to his cousin and the donor's father, Guy K. Haldeman.
Processed and finding aid prepared by RR and SM in Summer and Fall 2015; and SW in Spring 2016. Added to database 23 May 2021.
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