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.
This collection contains ephemera related to Alice Potter Fordney, antiques dealer and rugmaker. Items in the collection include business correspondence with Armstrong, F. Schumacher & Co., and the Montclair art museum; personal correspondence with friends and family; hooked rug patterns; and antiques sale flyers from the early 20th century. Also included in the collection are newspaper clippings, including the obituary of Fordney's sister Ellen Franklin; reference material for rug making and interior design (informational sheets, books and patterns); several items related to the Yeates School, which Fordney's brother William Bush Fordney attended; several photographs of unidentified persons; and a statement related to the will of William J. Fordney, her uncle.
Admin/Biographical History
Alice Potter Fordney was born June 21, 1887 in Lancaster, the daughter of Ida Cox and Thomas Potter Fordney. A prominent antique dealer from the late 1920s to her retirement in 1965, Fordney also made and sold hooked rugs.
Fordney's family features prominently in Lancaster County history. Her maternal great-grandfather was John Michael, who owned the historic Grape Hotel from 1805-1839. Fordney's paternal great-grandfather William Jenkins built Wheatland in 1828 and later sold the property to President James Buchanan. Colonel William Bush Fordney, her paternal grandfather, was a prominent lawyer in Lancaster. He served as district attorney from 1839-1845 and negotiated for the loan that enabled Lancaster city to build the "water works" in the 1830s. Sarah Cox, her maternal grandmother, was a known philanthropist and for years helped to manage the Home for Friendless Children in Lancaster. Her sister, Ellen Fordney Franklin, was a "pioneer" in the industry of women's knit suits, opening her first shop in 1929 in Philadelphia.
Fordney never married. She kept in contact with her nieces and nephews, as evidenced by letters in the collection. According to notes provided by Wendell Zercher, Sarah Ellmaker McIlvaine Muench, her niece and the donor of the collection, recalled her as "warm and artistic," and "a character." She died April 17, 1973, at the age of 85.
Works Cited:
"Mrs. Franklin, pioneer of women's knit suits, dies." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], 10 May 1963, p. 2.
"Accident Fatal to Mrs. Sarah A. Cox." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], no date, page unknown.
"Miss Fordney, Antique Dealer, 85, Succumbs." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], 18 April 1973, p. 2.
"One of Lancaster's Most Prominent and Venerable Citizens Passes Away." Daily Intelligencer Journal [Lancaster, PA], 29 July 1889, p. 1.
3 boxes, 37 folders, 333 items, 1,015 pages to scan, 4.5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
HC0001
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Associated Material
Sarah McIlvaine Muench Family Papers, MS 44 at Archives and Special Collections, Shadek-Fackenthal Library, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA.
Related Item Notes
See photograph collection.
See curatorial collection for examples of rugs.
Fordney Family Diaries (MG0539)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Archive of Alice P. Fordney (HC0001), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
The kraft paper patterns in Folders 33-37 are restricted. Please make an appointment with the Director of Archival Services to view these items.
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
G.04.23.52
Classification
HC0001
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
From the Heritage Center of Lancaster County collection, G04.23.52.
Processed and finding aid prepared by MJ, June 2018.
This collection consists of calendars containing photographs, drawings, and prints from Lancaster County and the surrounding region. Some depict local culture, architecture, historic sites, events, or have Pennsylvania Dutch sayings. There are also backs of calendars containing information about Lancaster.
3 boxes, 14 folders, 3 oversized folders, 2 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0070
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions noted at the item level. Restricted items may be used by appointment. Please contact research@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks 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.
The Christiana Resistance, commonly referred to as the "Christiana Riot," occurred in September of 1851 in Christiana, Pennsylvania, a borough in Lancaster County. The events known as the Christiana Resistance include an attack from slaveholders in Maryland on the inhabitants and home of William Parker (1821-1891), a free Black man living in Christiana, Pennsylvania. The slaveholders crossed the state border, and attempted claim and return the Freedom Seekers as their property, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
The violent confrontation resulted in the death of Edward Gorsuch, a slaveholder, and the escape of William Parker to freedom in Canada. Edward's son, Dickinson Gorsuch, was
wounded and taken to the farm of Levi Pownall, where the Pownall family nursed him back to health. Historically, this event challenged the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and is considered a
precursor to the Civil War.
The collection contains 2 distinct series: documents and photographs, from 1803-1971. Documents include: land drafts and deeds, correspondence to and from the Pownall family regarding the incident, notes regarding kidnappings in the area from 1850-1851, photocopied pages of Dickinson Gorsuch's diary, and published accounts of the event, memorializations, announcements and a radio drama related to or inspired by the Christiana Resistance event of 1851.
Contained in the photograph series are photographs of: the event place and places related to the Christiana Resistance, the Pownall farm, event monuments, daguerreotypes of key figures and survivors of the resistance.
Moores Memorial Library (Christiana, Pa.) owns some of the most significant manuscript material relating to the Christiana Resistance. The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public.
Funds for this project were provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2001.
Admin/Biographical History
The Christiana Resistance, commonly referred to as the "Christiana Riot" occurred in September of 1851 in Christiana, Pennsylvania, a borough in Lancaster County. The events known as the Christiana Resistance include an attack from slaveholders in Maryland on the inhabitants and home of William Parker a free Black man living in Christiana, Pennsylvania. The slaveholders crossed the state border, and attempted claim and return the freedom seekers as their property, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
The violent confrontation resulted in the death of Edward Gorsuch, a slaveholder, and the escape of William Parker to freedom in Canada. Edward's son, Dickinson Gorsuch, was wounded and taken to the farm of Levi Pownall, where the Pownall family nursed him back to health. Historically, this event challenged the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and is considered a precursor to the Civil War.
System of Arrangement
Series 1 Manuscript and Printed Material, 1803-1955
The digital images of the manuscript and printed material are 300 dpi JPGs; the photographs are 600 dpi JPGs.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Location of Originals
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
Access Conditions / Restrictions
The attached images have been provided for research. The original items are restricted for preservation purposes.
Copyright
The attached images may be used for research purposes only.
Please contact Moores Memorial Library for high resolution images and permission to publish:
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
Credit
Christiana Resistance Collection, Series #, Folder #, Moores Memorial Library
Classification
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Moores Memorial Library (Christiana, Pa.) owns some of the most significant manuscript material relating to the Christiana Resistance. The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public.
The collection contains correspondence to and from the Pownall family regarding the incident, notes regarding kidnappings in the area from 1850-1851, photocopied pages of Dickinson Gorsuch's diary, and published accounts. An 1896 photograph shows Peter Woods and Samuel Hopkins, survivors of the riot. There are also photographs of the Christiana Riot House, the Pownall farm, and key figures in the riot and at the Treason Trials of 1851.
The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public. Funds for this project were provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2001.
American Revolution Bicentennial of Lancaster County Collection (MG-20)
Description
This collection gives information on the activities of the 200th celebration of the American Revolution in the Lancaster area. Folders 32 to 41 cover the celebration in Greater Lancaster. Folders 42 to 51 touch upon the activities of Lititz, Solanco, Lampeter-Strasburg, Elizabethtown, Cocalico, Columbia, New Holland, Pequea Valley, Washington Boro, Penn Manor, Millersville, and Marietta. The collection contains minutes, programs, photos, financial vouchers and newspaper clippings, audio tapes. The six volumes that make up the Bicentennial Celebration, April 1971- February 1977 scrapbooks are a compilation of published materials such as newspaper articles, magazine articles, broadsides, brochures and pamphlets. The materials relay information about the actions of the Lancaster County Bicentennial Committee including meetings, mailings and events. The committee chose the "Hands of Liberty" theme for the committee and upcoming celebration. The theme was present on every mailing sent out by the committee and can be found on most of the materials within the scrapbooks.
This collection contains a high school yearbook, high school and college diplomas, high school and college commencement programs, college pennant and Niagara Falls pennant, and a college letter of E. Oscar Sneath. There are also newspapers and a newspaper article. Photographs, including several of the Low Grade Railroad at Frey's Hollow near Highville, Pa. Also includes photograph album, corn husk doll, and Father Christmas ornament.
This collection contains information and materials relating to Milton Thomas Garvin, his department store and the Garvin Lecture Series. The scrapbooks were complied by him through the years of 1899-1936. Other items in this collection include letters to family and business partners, several pamphlets from the Garvin Lecture Series, M. T. Garvin & Co. store information, receipts, invoices, banquet programs, and a sampling of financial records from the store.
Admin/Biographical History
Milton Thomas Garvin was born in Fulton Township around 1860. In 1874, at the age of fourteen, Garvin quit school and moved to Lancaster City. He worked various odd jobs before he was hired to work as an errand boy for R. E. Fahnestock's dry goods store in December of 1874.
At the age of sixteen, Fahnestock promoted Garvin to a salesman for the store. He continued to work there through his adolescent years and was promoted to manager at the age of twenty-one, when Fahnestock was in failing health. Garvin assumed that responsibility for twelve years and then bought the store when Fahnestock was ready to retire. Garvin renamed the store M. T. Garvin & Co.
Over the next ten years, Garvin bought the rest of the building and several surrounding buildings to expand his store to a four story and three lot property. He prospered in business and was a philanthropist throughout Lancaster County.
Other than a prominent businessman, Garvin served as a board member, trustee, director or president of the following organizations: The Shippen School for Girls, Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Meadville Theological Seminary, A. Herr Smith and Mechanics' Libraries, Lancaster Charity Society, Joseph Priestly Conference, and People's Octoraro Meeting House.
Samuel E. Dyke was a noted authority on the Pennsylvania rifle and wrote on this subject. Collection consists of articles, correspondence, photographs, research notes, and working papers on firearms. Also included is information on gunsmiths, the Rockford Foundation, the Heritage Center, cabinetmakers, grandfather clocks, and the Armstrong Cork Company. 1670-1985
The Dodge Family Papers collection consists of materials related to the Dodge family and their various business and personal concerns. The contents of the collection include a variety of materials, including personal papers, historical memorabilia, objects, ledgers, albums, patents, and Safety Buggy Company records.
Box 1
Legal papers, Richard K. Dodge (1914-1996) & Nancy Howle Dodge (1918-2003)
Box 2
Papers of Byron G. Dodge
Box 3
Box 4
Papers of Byron G. Dodge & Arthur B. Dodge, Sr.
Box 5
Papers of the Dodge Cork Company
Box 6
Box 7
Objects Produced by and for the Dodge Cork Company
Box 8
Plaque and Account Books, G.W. Dodge & Sons, Byron G. Dodge
Box 9
Account Books and Ledgers: The Safety Buggy Company and Dodge Cork Company
Envelope that contained the will of Nancy Howle Dodge
Description
Envelope marked "Last Will and Testament of Nancy Howle Dodge; Appel, Ranck & Ranck, Attorneys at Law, Duke and Chestnut Streets, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17602."
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Series #, Box #, 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. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection 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 site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Series #, Box #, 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. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Collection 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 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.
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.
Lancaster County Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania
Description
This collection contains the Board Minutes for the Lancaster County Society of Farm Women from 1922 to 2004. These minutes include roll calls, treasurer reports, entertainment schedules and activity reports. Minutes from 1922 through 1971 are contained in leather bound books. The following years are in three-prong pocket folders or three-ring binders. This allowed for additional items to be put in with the minutes such as Thank-you cards, newspaper articles of events they sponsored and hand-written notes. By the 1990's the minutes are more sporadic, only a few or one from each year. There are programs from the annual convention of the County Society starting with the 13th convention in 1929 through the 60th convention in 1977. The following years are missing: 1934; 1943-1944; 1949-1954; 1957-1958; 1961-1962; 1965-1971. Some of the minutes also contain a copy of these programs. Later years and some of these missing programs may be found in the minutes themselves. There are four typed up documents that comprise the history of the Society that were drafted between 1929 through 1982. This includes a summary of the past years written in what they call a "skit." The final years also contain documentation regarding the duties of the officers of the society-elected board members.
Admin/Biographical History
The Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania was established by Flora Black from Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1914 when she invited her female neighbors to her farm for lunch. Mrs. Black began the meeting for fellowship, but she also wanted to establish a support system for women living in rural communities. It was also a goal of the society to teach women to take on leadership roles and help contribute to society. Their numbers grew rapidly making it necessary for County chapters. (Reading Eagle. 8 Oct 2014. Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania Celebrating 100th Anniversary. http://www.readingeagle.com/berks-country/article/society-of-farm-women-of-pennsylvania-celebrating-100th-anniversary) The Lancaster County Chapter was formed in January, 1917. It was very popular and eventual grew to 33 separate societies throughout Lancaster by the 1980s. They founded many successful charity drives and scholarship programs, but also provided entertainment for their members, such as bus trips and vacation tours.
This collection contains papers of Paul W. and Janet Eshelman. Paul W. Eshelman was a skilled wood turner as well as Associate Professor of Industrial Arts at Millersville State College (1947-1972). His wife, Janet Eshelman, was the crafts curator at the Landis Valley Fram Museum, specializing in weaving.
This collection contains letters, family papers, deeds, diaries, and mill records from three generations of the Gibbons family. The collection starts with documents focused on James Gibbons, then contains papers central to Daniel Gibbons, and finally end with the third generation papers surrounding Joseph Gibbons. The letters in this collection span from 1783 until 1865. The contents within the letters describe the daily happenings within the family and on their property which was located in Lampeter Township, Lancaster County. The family deeds in the collection detail the exchanging of property to and from the Gibbons family mostly within Lampeter Township and Upper Leacock Township, Lancaster County. The deeds span from 1727 to 1879. Also included are some miscellaneous family papers that span from 1799 to 1871. The content of these family papers ranges from anonymous stories about the Gibbons family, an independent order of Good Templars of Joseph Gibbons, to a land draft of James Gibbons' Land. This collection also contains diaries from various members of the Gibbons family, spanning the three generations. These diaries detail the day to day lives of the Gibbons family and also include historical anniversaries of important events or detail the passing of members within the Gibbons family and the surrounding community. The Mill Records in the collection contain information about [ ]. Overall, the Gibbons Family collection includes the regular happenings over the family's three generations in both business and secular life.
This collection contains a guest registery book along with other mementos that was created "to take due notice of visitors and other friends, and special occasions such as the Charlotte Street Soup," an annual block gathering hosted by John and Sally Jarvis from 1972-2004.
This collection contains ephemera of the Hamilton Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Admin/Biographical History
The Hamilton Club was founded in 1889 as a place for prominent citizens of the city to gather and named in honor of James Hamilton (1740-1783), a prominent lawyer and politician in colonial Pennsylvania, as well as planner of the City of Lancaster.
Manufacturers' Association of Lancaster Collection
Description
The Manufacturers' Association of Lancaster Collection contains legal documents concerning property and lease agreements for 26-28 N. Queen Street and the Woolworth Building. The material also includes a membership directory, annual reports, conference materials, and correspondence for the Manufacturers' Association of Lancaster.
Of primary interest are premium list books from the Lancaster Fair. The books contain entry categories and prizes offered for winners, general rules and regulations, many advertisements, and photographs of the fairgrounds and acts performing at some of the fairs. There are also Fair Association stock certificates and pamphlets, exhibit entry blanks, promotional fliers, and premium lists from other fairs.
Lancaster County Agricultural Fairs, 1909-1914 scrapbook contains a variety of information pertaining to the Lancaster County Agricultural Fair. There are copies of letters that I. C. Arnold typed and sent out to notify the public about the annual fair, including letters to teachers and businesses. Photographs are scattered within the book. The book is also filled with admission tickets, stand-holder tickets, and exhibitor tickets. There are several pages that show the layout of the fairgrounds and where different exhibits and rides were located. An item of interest is a facsimile of a confederate fifty-dollar bill.
Admin/Biographical History
The Lancaster County Agricultural Fair was held annually starting in 1888 and was sponsored by the Lancaster County Agricultural Fair Association. The fair lasted for one week and was open to the public for four days. For the first ten years the fair was held at McGrann's Park. In 1909, Lancaster County Agricultural Fair moved to the newly constructed Lancaster Fair Grounds. The new fair complex consisted of fifty-five acres and contained 5,500 bleacher seats, cattle sheds for over 400 exhibits, 225 stables for racing and show horses, a poultry exhibition building for 3,000 exhibits, and two exhibit buildings for the horticulture, agriculture and fancy work exhibits. The animals and exhibits were on display during the fair and there were rides, food stands and other amusements available for the public.
Fair entries were judged in one of eight fair departments: Cattle; Sheep and Swine; Horses, Ponies and Mules; Poultry, Pigeons and Pet Stock; Farm and Dairy Machinery, Implements, Carriages and Vehicles; Agriculture and Horticulture; Home and Dairy; and Ladies' Fancy Work. The Cattle Department had three different classes of dairy breeds, beef breeds and overall. The Sheep and Swine Department was split in two classes between the sheep and the swine and each class held many divisions for breed classifications. The Department of Horses, Ponies and Mules was split between show animals and work animals used for pulling carts and machinery. Poultry, Pigeons and Pet Stock were judged as one category winning gold, silver, bronze and runner up medals. Items used for farming and dairy divided the fifth department and then carriages and vehicles shared their own category.
The Department of Agriculture and Horticulture was split into many different categories including grains, seed and flour; wheat; vegetables; potatoes; tobacco; apples; pear, plums and quinces; peaches; grapes; fall strawberries; nuts; wines, cider, etc.; flowers; floral designs; and the boy's corn growing contest. The categories of the Home and Dairy Department are bread and butter; cakes and pies; preserves and pickles; confections; and soaps and hams. The final department, Ladies' Fancy Work, included craft work such as knitting, crochet work, infant's clothing, lace and tatting work, Irish crochet, embroidery, cross stitch, silk embroidery, outline embroidery, punch work, drawn work, stencil work, beadwork, raffia work and the juvenile department. The annual Lancaster County Agricultural Fair's last year was in 1933.
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-146
Other Number
MG-146
Classification
MG0146
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Collection was processed and finding aid prepared in 1998; the scrapbook was cataloged by CB, 2007-2008. Added to database 5 August 2021.
Lancaster County Agricultural Fairs scrapbook was cataloged and preserved with funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2007-2008. ME60112.
