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Collection
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Title
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Object ID
HC0001
Date Range
1905-1974
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
  1 document  
Collection
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Title
Archive of Alice P. Fordney
Description
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.
Date Range
1905-1974
Year Range From
1905
Year Range To
1974
Date of Accumulation
1905-1974
Creator
Fordney, Alice Potter, 1887-1973
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives North
Storage Wall
Side 28
People
Appel, Charles Rengier
Bohlen, Sidney Franklin
Bowman, Mrs. Edward J.
Boyer, R. J.
Brenneman, Mary Rue Bard
Brown, Hazel Dell
Chiarell, Fred P.
Clark, George W.
Daugherty, Harvey P.
Demuth, Charles
Dodge, Arthur B.
Embsweiler, Ruth
Erb, Edna
Fordney, Alice Potter
Fordney, William Bush Jr.
Fordney, William Jenkins
Franklin, Ellen Julia Fordney
Gibbons, Alice McIlvaine
Gilbert, L. J.
Gingrich, Milton E.
Graybill, John M.
Griest, Charles J.
Higby, Everett
Hostetter, A. K.
Howe, John
Irvine, Blanche
Kent, William Winthrop
Knodle, Edward
Krone, Herbert B.
Lindenmuth, J. D.
Long, Yvonne
Maclay, Helen Hurley
Malone, Clarence
Morris, Charles R.
Morris, Grace M.
Nauman, Gertrude Colson
Orr, Barclay
Pennypacker, Charles A.
Pennypacker, James G.
Randall, Meda
Rannels, Paul
Stokes, Agnes M.
Strickler, Belle
Wolf, Emily
Other Creators
Muench, Sarah Ellmaker McIlvaine, d. 2006
Subjects
American newspapers--Sections, columns, etc.--Women
Antique dealers
Armstrong Cork Company
Armstrong World Industries
F. Schumacher & Co.
Farm Journal Media
House & Garden
Interior decoration
Letters
Montclair Art Museum
Patterns for crafts
Rugs
Rugs, Hooked
Student newspapers and periodicals
Woman's world magazine
Search Terms
Albert Steiger Company
Antique dealers
Antique sales
Armstrong Cork Company
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
Berlinwork patterns
Blue and Brown (Yeates School)
Cheney Silks
Cheney Weaves
Christmas
Correspondence
Cricket Club
Dickinson Presbyterian Church
Estate sales
F. Schumacher and Company
Farm Journal Media
Fiber arts
Finding aids
Gilbert's store
Griest Homestead
Guernsey Sales Pavilion
Hager's Department Store
Hershey Fire Hall
Hooked rugs
House & Garden
Interior decoration
Kleinfelter's auction rooms
Letters
Manuscript groups
Montclair Art Museum
Odd Fellows Hall
Olson Rugs
Patterns for crafts
Rossmere Hotel
Rug patterns
Rugs
State Armory Hall
V-mail
Woman's World Magazine
Yeates School
Extent
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.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
William Jenkins Fordney Papers
Title
William Jenkins Fordney Papers
Object ID
MG0743
Date Range
1874-1889
  1 document  
Collection
William Jenkins Fordney Papers
Title
William Jenkins Fordney Papers
Description
This collection contains a fold-out map detailing the travels of William Fordney. On the back of the map, Fordney has recorded the stops from three trip to the western United States in 1874, 1877, and 1889, as well as stops from his year-long trip around the world from 1881-1882. Along with city and country names, Fordney also includes distance traveled between stops and the mode of transportation. On the map itself, Fordney's 1881 trip is outlined.
Admin/Biographical History
William Jenkins Fordney was born in 1844, and was the brother-in-law of Ida Mary Cox Fordney. William was a Lancaster, Pennsylvania native who traveled around the world from 1881-1882 and took multiple trips to the western United States.
Date Range
1874-1889
Creation Date
1874-1889
Year Range From
1874
Year Range To
1889
Creator
Fordney, William J. (William Jenkins), 1844-1926
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 15
People
Fordney, William Jenkins
Subjects
World travel
World maps
Mercator projection (Cartography)
Search Terms
World travel
World maps
Mercator projection (Cartography)
Manuscript groups
Finding aids
Extent
1 box, 1 folder, .1 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0743
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Associated Material
Archives and Special Collections, Martin Library of the Sciences, Franklin and Marshall College, Sarah McIlvaine Muench Family Papers- MS44 http://library.fandm.edu/archives/mscoll/muench.pdf
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, William J. Fordney lantern slides and negatives, circa 1900-1910s http://www.worldcat.org/title/william-j-fordney-lantern-slides-and-negatives-circa-1900-1910s/oclc/123235440
Related Item Notes
Archives, LancasterHistory, Fordney Family Diaries 1904-1927, MG0539
Notes
Gift of Louise Ghormley Lamb, Anne Ghormley Kramer and Nancy Ghormley Hunkeler, in memory of Commander Robert Lee and Nancy Ghormley.
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.
Other Numbers
MG-743
Other Number
MG-743
Classification
MG0743
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Collection processed and finding aid by RA, April 2015. Added to database 20 May 2021.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Wheatland
Object ID
W.2004.002.001a-b
  1 image  
Collection
Wheatland
Description
American Sheraton bookcase has a flat overhanging molded cornice. Upper cabinet enclosed by a pair of glazed doors, each with six oblong panes set in straight molded mullions. Doors flanked at sides and center by narrow plain stiles, hung with butt hinges. The lower cabinet has two raised panel doors flanked at sides and center by narrow plain stiles and hung with butt hinges. The lower cabinet has two center swing raised panel doors that surmounts four bracket feet at the corners.
Provenance
William Jenkins
Year Range From
1810
Year Range To
1820
Last Owner
Jenkins, William
Storage Location
Wheatland, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Second Floor Hall
Storage Wall
South Wall
People
William Jenkins
Object Name
Bookcase
Material
Wood, Glass
Height (cm)
154.94
Height (ft)
5.0833333333
Height (in)
61
Width (cm)
141.605
Width (ft)
4.6458333333
Width (in)
55.75
Depth (cm)
29.21
Depth (ft)
0.9583333333
Depth (in)
11.5
Dimension Details
Above dimensions are for top case.
Dimensions for bottom case:
Height: 34"
Width: 57"
Depth: 14"
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-07-13
Condition Notes
Exterior surface of bookcase has been stripped. Interior paint is unusual and out of context with the time period the bookcase originated.
Object ID
W.2004.002.001a-b
Accession Number
W.2004.002
Images
Less detail
Collection
Wheatland
Object ID
W.2004.002.002
  1 image  
Collection
Wheatland
Description
An ornamental branched candlestick resembling a small chandelier. The figure on this girandole is a helmeted Roman soldier in front of a post with three leaf covered branches for holding candles each one enhanced by 12 crystal 2-part prisms.
Provenance
William Jenkins
Sarah Muench
James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland
LancasterHistory
Year Range From
1810
Year Range To
1830
Last Owner
Jenkins, William
Storage Location
Wheatland, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
North Broad Hall
Storage Wall
South Wall
Storage Cabinet
Sideboard
Storage Shelf
East Pedestal
People
William Jenkins
Object Name
Girandole
Material
Bronze, marble, glass
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-01-07
Object ID
W.2004.002.002
Accession Number
W.2004.002
Images
Less detail
Collection
Wheatland
Object ID
W.2004.002.003
Collection
Wheatland
Description
An ornamental branched candlestick resembling a small chandelier. The figure on this girandole is a helmeted Roman soldier in front of a post with three leaf covered branches for holding candles each one enhanced by 12 crystal 2-part prisms.
Provenance
William Jenkins
Sarah Muench
James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland
LancasterHistory
Year Range From
1810
Year Range To
1830
Last Owner
Jenkins, William
Storage Location
Wheatland, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
North Broad Hall
Storage Wall
South Wall
Storage Cabinet
Sideboard
Storage Shelf
West Pedestal
People
William Jenkins
Object Name
Girandole
Material
Bronze, marble, glass
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-01-07
Object ID
W.2004.002.003
Accession Number
W.2004.002
Less detail