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.
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 consists of business records for Whitson & Sproul of Christiana, Lancaster County and documents related to estate settlements. The business records include a ledger, letters and statements concerning the sale and purchase of various materials. One letter mentions the 1860 election of "Old Abe." The receipts and court documents consist primarily of receipts, releases, and sale agreements relating to the settlement of the estates of James Sproul and Moses Whitson.
The Smedley Family Papers contain an account book for Joel Smedley's mill, a daybook, and two of his diaries. An unidentified daybook appears to be from southern Lancaster County and the Smedley family.
Admin/Biographical History
Joel Smedley was a miller and retailer in Fulton Twp.
The Temperance Collection includes convention programs of the Lancaster County Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.); a history of the group from 1884-1959; Pennsylvania State W.C.T.U. function programs; and a minute book from the Bart Chapter. Included are handwritten notes on some of the conventions, pro-temperance booklets and newspapers (Moral Reformer and American Reformer), and miscellaneous addresses and articles. Of special interest is a booklet "Operation Interview" in which 36 prominent Lancastrians comment on the question, "Is social drinking necessary for success?", and a newspaper article reminiscing on the temperance movement in Columbia, Pennsylvania.
The Henry Boyd Neff Collection contains legal documents about Neff Taxi, as well as Neff Taxi service cards and correspondence. The majority of the collection consists of legal documents from the Pennsylvania Public Service Commission, which later became the Public Utility Commission. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission regulates transportation services, in addition to gas, water, electricity, and telephone services, for consumers in the state. The commission maintains licenses and fair rates and ensures proper insurance coverage for the taxicab companies.
Admin/Biographical History
Henry Boyd Neff was born in 1877, the son of Levi Neff and grandson of Samuel Neff. He started his Lancaster-based taxi business in the 1910s, although he first had a confectionary store on West James Street. Henry Neff and his wife, Emma, resided on East End Avenue (formerly Chester Avenue) in Lancaster city with their two children-Dorothy and Raymond. While their business was originally located on Penn Square, it moved to East Mifflin Street by 1950. Henry Neff ran the business until his death on May 16, 1959, at which time his daughter Dorothy took over. Dorothy Neff managed Neff Taxi through the mid-1970s, and she sold the business to Friendly Taxi in 1978.
The Conestoga Steam Mills Records contain the journal and ledger of the Conestoga Steam Cotton Mill, which detail the financial records of the company between 1845-1857.
Book 1: Minor tear inside the front cover along the spine.
Book 2: The front end paper of the Ledger is nearly torn off. There's a large split between the front cover and spine, still held together by the dust jacket. Binding coming loose.
Collection contains material pertaining to pageants, festivals, and celebrations in Lancaster County. The majority of the collection pertains to the "Pageant of Liberty," celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (1776-1926), and the "Pageant of Gratitude," commemorating the 200th anniversary of the formation of Lancaster County (1729-1929). Included are scripts, minutes, programs, invitations, correspondence, financial records, tickets, photographs, blueprints, and sheet music.
Collection includes waste books and an account book from the Salisbury Store, Justice of the Peace dockets, child's school exercise books, receipts, summons, letters, and other papers.