Reel 26: "Slaymaker Papers "Society for Promotion of Industry & Prevention of Pauperism in Lancaster County"
Reel 27: "Splicing error at beginning. Should be at end. Ephrata Springs. S.C. Slaymaker Diaries 1831-1894. Honduras [????] Diary. Rebecca[?] Slaymaker. Normal School. House of Representatives 1856-1861"
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 contains letters written to U.S. Army Private
George L. Caley during his service in World War II. The correspondence is from his parents and siblings in Philadelphia, aunts and uncles and friends in Columbia, Lancaster County, and friends from Millersville University. Many of his friends are also in the service and write to him of their experiences. The letters contain family and local news, as well as news of friends and family in the service.
Collection of Ellmaker family papers, including original papers of the first immigrant, John Leonard Ellmaker of Germany. Papers include correspondence, genealogy charts, deeds and legal papers. newspaper clippings, photographs, articles on Jacob Eichholtz, and a diploma and teachers' certificate. There is also a blank book with paper made at Ephrata Cloister in 1796.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Box #, Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions. Please request at Reference Desk or 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.
Classification
MG0071
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Cataloged prior to 1997. Added to database 23 October 2018.
Handwritten note with information about a chest made by Jacob Weber. "This little chest was made by my great-great-great-grandfather on my mother's side, Jacob Weber (1760-1846) who lived near Fivepointville." Note possibly written by Mary Gehman.
Provenance
Photographs of various Pennsylvania German decorative arts objects taken by Richard Flanders Smith. Gift of his daughter, Cathy Rittenhouse.
Collection contains the original and typed copies of correspondence describing life in the gold fields of California in the 1850s, an account of crossing the desert on the way west, and a journal describing the sea voyage home. Also, two newspaper images relevant to the gold rush and Mr. Hackman's obituary. He sent many letters home to his family in which he related the details of his experience, hardships of finding gold, the high prices and lack of provisions, observations of life in mining towns, his health, and asked for news from home. He also wrote letters to his sweetheart, Harriet B. Miller asking her to write him back, and his uncle, regarding family financial information.
Admin/Biographical History
David Baer Hackman (1827-1896) was the second child of David Heistand Hackman and Susanna Frantz Baer. He was a third cousin, once removed, of Milton Hershey. David left Lancaster in the fall of 1849 with the hope of finding gold in California. In the spring of 1850, he went to Ohio and joined others headed west. They boarded a steamboat in Cincinnati that was bound for St. Louis and then travelled by wagon train to Sacramento City, where they arrived in September 1850. David found enough gold to buy food and supplies, and then had modest success in 1853. In 1854, he decided to return home, this time travelling by steamer and train from San Francisco to New York via Panama.
The adventure of travelling westward and his life in the gold fields of California are described in detail in David's journal and correspondence. He sent many letters home to his family in which he related the details of his experience, hardships, the prices and lack of provisions, observations of life in mining towns, and asked for news from home.
David also wrote to his sweetheart, Harriet B. Miller (1829-1870), the daughter of Adam and Rebecca Miller of Manheim. Although he did not receive any letters from her, they reunited upon his return to Lancaster in 1854 and married soon after. They had one son named Augustus, who became a minister. Harriet passed away in 1870. David later married Ella C. (1851-1907) and they had five children, Frank, Mabel, Harry, Walter, and Edith.
David's obituary shows that he was involved in the grocery, clothing, hat, and shoemaking businesses. In the 1860 Census he is listed as a hatter, and in 1880 as a saloon keeper. He was well-liked and respected in the community. David and Harriet are buried in Manheim Fairview Cemetery.
Three framed documents: 1. Return of enslaved persons - Abraham Scott, b. February 4, 1795, son of Dinah Scott, belonging to Amos Slaymaker. 2. Letter from G. Washington dated October 7, 1779. 3. Members of Presbyterian Congregation of Pequea, 1795.
Letter from James Gibbons to Christian Stauffer, charging him with making certain his swine are secured because someone's hogs have been eating Gibbons' grain and stating that if he finds the culprit, he will sue for damages.
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Gibbons Diaries, Family Papers, and Mill Records (MG0846), Object ID, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL. 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 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. 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.
Accession Number
2021.008
Other Numbers
MG-846
Other Number
MG-846, Folder 2
Classification
MG0846
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Cataloged by MB, 8 July 2021. Added to database 21 July 2021.
