Skip header and navigation

Revise Search

9 records – page 1 of 1.

Collection
Summy Family Genealogy
Title
Summy Family Genealogy
Object ID
MG0550
Date Range
1692-1997
, Martin Sumi, Hans Sumi, Peter Summey, Charles Ballard Summy, John Summy, John W. Summy, Peter Webster, Nancy �230 North President Avenue • Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603-3125 717.392.4633 • www.LancasterHistory.org Subject Headings: Genealogy Letters Search Terms: Correspondence Finding aids Genealogy
  1 document  
Collection
Summy Family Genealogy
Title
Summy Family Genealogy
Description
The Summy Family Genealogy contains two folders and four binders of published works, research notes, family history, and original documents pertaining to the Summy family (1692-1997).
Date Range
1692-1997
Year Range From
1692
Year Range To
1997
Date of Accumulation
1692-1997
Creator
Summy, John
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 12
People
Geisey, John
Heistand, Christian
Ramsauer, Deitrich
Schwar, Martin
Sumi, Hans
Sumi, Peter
Summey, Charles Ballard
Summy, John
Summy, John W.
Summy, Peter
Webster, Nancy
Subjects
Genealogy
Letters
Search Terms
Correspondence
Finding aids
Genealogy
Letters
Manuscript groups
Extent
1 box, 2 folders, 4 binders, 1 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0550
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Summy Family Genealogy (MG0550), Folder or Binder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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-550
Classification
MG0550
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by KV, 25 September 2013. Added to database 19 January 2022.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847
Date Range
1879, 2020
  1 document  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
This collection contains Frank E. Witmer's original 1879 diary, as well as a transcription and index prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace. The diary provides a detailed record of the daily activities of all members of the family. He primarily records the work involved in running a truck farm--planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops, and preparing for market. Other entries of interest include helping a neighbor move a carriage house; building a hog pen; canning; attendance at several Mennonite churches in the area; the process of moving from one house and barn to a new house and barn on the property; frequent visits between relatives and neighbors; and a few mentions of school and the leisure activities of the young men.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
Date Range
1879, 2020
Creation Date
1879, 2020
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Other Creators
Witmer, Franklin Elmer, 1855-1931
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Indexes
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Transcriptions
Indexes
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
3 items, 146 pages to scan
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0847
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use transcription and index, MG0847_F002 and MG0847_F003.
Original diary 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
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 1
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
PDFs of the transcription and index are attached to the correlating records.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Diffenderffer Family Papers
Title
Diffenderffer Family Papers
Object ID
MG0410
Date Range
1691-1963
, Pennsylvania 17603-3125 717.392.4633 • www.LancasterHistory.org Search Terms: Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) Conestoga River Correspondence Deeds Drowning Earl Twp. England Estate settlement Finding aids German Reformed Church of New Holland Haupt Elementary School Hutchings Printing House King Street
  1 document  
Collection
Diffenderffer Family Papers
Title
Diffenderffer Family Papers
Description
The Diffenderffer Family Papers collection contains items that have been passed down through generations of the Diffenderffer family. Deeds for tracts of land in New Holland date back to the creation of New Design, the village that preceded New Holland. Correspondence and some manuscripts pertain to J. P. McCaskey's life and accomplishments. F. R. Diffenderffer's manuscripts on Easter Day and Conrad Weiser are preserved with this collection, as well as poems, a program for the C. Elvin Haupt School, and a claim of F. R. Diffenderffer & Co. against the State of Texas.
Date Range
1691-1963
Year Range From
1691
Year Range To
1963
Date of Accumulation
1691-1963
Creator
Diffenderffer family
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 10
People
Brubaker, John
Brubaker, Margaret
Brubaker, Philip
Davis, Sarah
Diffenderfer, David
Diffenderfer, Elizabeth Shirk
Diffenderfer, John
Diffenderffer, Christina
Diffenderffer, David
Diffenderffer, David, Sr.
Diffenderffer, Fianna L. Lutz
Diffenderffer, Frank Ried
Diffenderffer, Harold F.
Diffenderffer, John, Jr.
Diffenderffer, John, Sr.
Diffenderffer, Margaretta Stein
Diffenderffer, Michael
Freymyer, Jacob
Grim, Henry
Haupt, Charles Elvin
Hoch, Herman E.
Holl, Wendel
Hubley, Bernard
Kennerly, John
Kinzer, John
Kinzer, Magdalena
Koch, Mary
Koch, Melchior
Law, James D.
Markley, Henry
McCaskey, Donald G.
McCaskey, John Piersol "Jack"
Nevin, Blanche
Painter, John
Penn, William
Rodman, John H.
Shirk, Henry
Smith, Oliver
Smith, William Evans
Sneider, Christian
Stone, David
Stone, George
Stone, Leonard
Stone, Mary
Sutton, Mary A. Diffenderffer
Thomson, Bill "Tommy"
Winter, John
Young, Matthias
Other Creators
Diffenderffer, Fianna L. Lutz, 1918-2009
Diffenderffer, David
Subjects
Deeds
Letters
Real property
Search Terms
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Conestoga River
Correspondence
Deeds
Drowning
Earl Twp.
England
Estate settlement
Finding aids
German Reformed Church of New Holland
Haupt Elementary School
Hutchings Printing House
King Street
Lancaster
Land drafts
Lemon Street School
Letters
Manuscript groups
Mortgages
New Design, Earl Twp.
New Holland
Newspaper clippings
Programs
Real estate
Real property surveys
Reigart's Landing
Susquehanna River
Texas
Texas Frontier Forces
Windsor Forge
Extent
1 box, 23 folders, .5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0410
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection Title (MG#), Folder #, (or Object ID), LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. URL if applicable. Date accessed (day, month, year).
Deeds in folders 1-18 were a gift of Fianna Diffenderffer and the Diffenderffer family, 4 November 2006.
Items in folders 19-23 were a gift from her nephew, David Diffenderffer, 14 August 2006.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions are noted at the item level--please use photocopies or transcriptions for those items. Other original documents may be used by researchers--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit or request at Reference Desk.
Copyright
Collection items 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 collection 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
2006.MG0410_NOV
Other Numbers
MG-410
Classification
MG0410
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Cataloged by HST, November 2008. Added to database 28 July 2021.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Wheatland Diner Records
Title
Wheatland Diner Records
Object ID
MG0549
Date Range
1955-1973
  1 document  
Collection
Wheatland Diner Records
Title
Wheatland Diner Records
Description
This collection contains records of the Wheatland Diner, including correspondence, advertising, menu, recipe cards, blueprints and documents for the sale of the property. Newspaper articles report the plan for and delivery of the diner ,fires, 1956 fatal accident, problems with teenage customers and the sale of the property.
Admin/Biographical History
Wheatland Diner is now the Columbia Diner (2011).
Date Range
1955-1973
Year Range From
1955
Year Range To
1973
Date of Accumulation
1955-9173
Creator
Wheatland Diner, Inc.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 12
People
Friend, Neal
Kusuplos, Spiros A.
Sanders, Ruth V.
Schaal, Dorothy C.
Snyder, Robert N.
Trott, M. William
Subjects
Advertising
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Diners (Restaurants)
Menus
Recipes
Search Terms
Advertising
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Diners
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Menus
Newspaper clippings
Recipes
Wheatland Diner
Extent
2 boxes, 10 folders, 3 sets of blueprints, 1.5 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0549
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
See also the Photograph Collection
Notes
Preferred Citation: Wheatland Diner Records (M0549), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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-549
Other Number
MG-549
Classification
MG0549
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by high school intern, JP, Summer 2010.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Yeates, Lancaster County Historical Society Collection
Title
Yeates, Lancaster County Historical Society Collection
Object ID
MG0205
Date Range
1699-1934
. Yeates, John, Jr. Yeates, Margaret Yeates, Mary Yeates, Sarah Zantzinger, Paul Subject Headings: Business records Deeds Family records Law libraries Letters Library catalogs Wills Search Terms: Business records Correspondence Deeds Family records Finding aids Letters Manuscript groups Wills �230 North
  1 document  
Collection
Yeates, Lancaster County Historical Society Collection
Title
Yeates, Lancaster County Historical Society Collection
Description
Yeates, Lancaster County Historical Society Collection provides insight into the Yeates family, local social history, and details of legal business from 1743-1870. These documents have been collected by the Lancaster County Historical Society over many years. Collection includes letters, receipts, articles, eviction notice, advertisement, estate inventories, wills, deeds, treaty, court transcript, drawings, photographs, copy of house plan, post road distances, daybook, letter book, catalog of books in Jasper Yeates' library, and an alphabetical catalog of law books.
Date Range
1699-1934
Year Range From
1699
Year Range To
1934
Date of Accumulation
1699-1934
Creator
LancasterHistory (Organization)
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 05
People
Atkinson, Matthew
Bausman, William
Bond, Phineas
Bowman, Valentine
Bradford, W.
Brien, Edward
Burd, Edward
Carson, John
Coates, Samuel
Conyngham, David
Conyngham, Elizabeth Yeates
Conyngham, Redmond
Dallas, George M.
Davis, Jonathan
Davison, Benjamin
Dickey, Robert
Duncannon, Thomas
Edward, Thomas
Erter, Henry
Ewing, John
Ferguson, John
Fohren, Michael
Gibson, John
Gillchrist, John
Godcharles, Frederic A.
Graff, Conrad
Gregg, Andrew
Grubb, Peter
Hamilton, Charles
Hamilton, James
Hamilton, John
Hamilton, William
Hand, Edward
Hand, Jasper
Hayes, A. L.
Henry, John
Hess, David
Jago, John
Javin, William
Keeportz, Daniel
Kittera, William
Kremer, Philip
Krug, Jacob
Kurtz, William
Lindsay, William
Loudersmith, Wendel
Lyon, Joseph Barnet
Magaw, David
Marshall, J.
McClellan, John
McKean, Thomas
Millar, John
Miller, Michael
Minich, Henry
Muhlenberg, William Augustus
Nesbitt, John
Nissley, Martin
Ord, John
Philips, David
Postlethwaite, John
Poultney, Thomas
Price, Eli K.
Probst, John
Ramsey, Robert
Rawle, William
Riegart, Adam
Rine, Widow
Ross, George
Ross, J.
Scott, James
Sergeant, Thomas
Shippen, Edward
Shippen, Evans Wallis
Shippen, Robert
Simpson, John
Smith, Charles
Smith, Mary Yeates
Stein, Charles
Steinman, Fredrick
Stevenson, Henry
Stewart, Charles
Sturmii, Johannis Christophorus
Thomas, John
Tilghman, Benjamin C.
Tilghman, E.
Tilghman, Edward
Tilghman, William
Tilghman, William B.
Towson, William
Underwood, John
Wallace, George
Wallace, William
Waln, Nicholas
Warden, J.
White, William
Wickersham, Elijah
Willson, Samuel
Yeates, Catharine
Yeates, Jasper
Yeates, Jasper, Jr.
Yeates, John, Jr.
Yeates, John, Sr.
Yeates, Margaret
Yeates, Sarah Burd "Sally"
Zantzinger, Paul
Subjects
Business records
Deeds
Family records
Law libraries
Letters
Library catalogs
Wills
Search Terms
Business records
Correspondence
Deeds
Family records
Finding aids
Letters
Manuscript groups
Wills
Extent
6 boxes, 49 folders, 13 books, 6 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0205
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Copies
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Yeates, Aungst Collection (MG0206)
Yeates, Carson Collection (MG0207)
George M. Steinman Collection (MG0184)
Jasper Yeates Colonial Law Library
Objects in the Curatorial Collection
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Yeates, Lancaster County Historical Society Collection (MG0205), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Restrictions noted at the item level. The letter copybooks in Folders 31 and 36 are restricted--please use the transcriptions available in the library.
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-205
Classification
MG0205
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Folders 1-34 and Books 1-2 were processed and finding aid prepared prior to 1997. Added to PP on 26 March 2022.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Mills and Bridges of Lancaster County, The R. Harold Barton Collection
Title
Mills and Bridges of Lancaster County
Object ID
MG0015
Date Range
1637-1916
  1 document  
Collection
Mills and Bridges of Lancaster County, The R. Harold Barton Collection
Title
Mills and Bridges of Lancaster County
Description
Collection contains the research materials of R. Harold Barton on the mills and bridges of Lancaster County. Included are field notes, working papers, photographer's negatives, and postcards. Indexes are available listing mills by name and location, and bridges by name.
Four notebooks are the finished product of the mills and bridges research of R. Harold Barton. These notebooks are in the library under Barton, R. Harold on the online catalog (LC621.85, B283, v.1-v.4). The notebooks constitute 1 cubic ft. of the collection.
The remaining six boxes are located within the manuscript collection. These boxes house working papers, field notes, worksheets, notebooks, photographs, negatives, additional albums of photographs and other miscellaneous material relating to Lancaster County bridges and mills.
Mr. Barton uses a numerical system to locate bridges and mills by township or by the names of the streams, rivers, runs and creeks. Three indexes have been prepared: one lists the bridges by name, one the location by town or townships, and one the names of the mills.
There are a few notes related to Lancaster County gunsmiths, missionaries, and Indian traders.
System of Arrangement
Collection is arranged by township, number, and index.
Date Range
1637-1916
Creation Date
1637-1916
Year Range From
1637
Year Range To
1916
Date of Accumulation
1637-1916
Creator
Barton, R. Harold
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 01
People
Barton, R. Harold
Subjects
Bridges
Covered bridges
Mills and mill-work
Research
Search Terms
Bridges
Covered bridges
Mills
Research
Manuscript groups
Finding aids
Extent
6 boxes, 2 notebooks, 33 folders, 2.4 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0015
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
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-15
Classification
MG0015
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
This collection was cataloged prior to 1997; added to database 6 March 2018.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation Collection
Title
Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation Collection
Object ID
MG0954
Date Range
2021-2022
  3 documents  
Collection
Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation Collection
Title
Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation Collection
Description
Digital copies of commemmorative documents on the development of Long's Park Amphitheater and Summer Music Series.
1961-2022.
"Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation 60th anniversary" (PowerPoint presentation and printout)
"Historical timeline, 60 years: a trip down memory lane featuring photos and stories used with permission from LNP Media Group" (PDF and printout)
Long's Park Amphitheater Original Plans, 1961 (PDF)
Date Range
2021-2022
Creation Date
2022
Year Range From
2021
Year Range To
2022
Creator
Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives North
Storage Wall
Side 12
Search Terms
Anniversaries
Finding aids
Local histories
Long's Park
Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation
Long's Park Summer Concert Series
Manuscript groups
Extent
3 digital files, 2 hardcopy files
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0954
Location of Originals
Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images. Original documents may be used by appointment--contact Research@LancasterHistory.org prior to visit.
Copyright
Researchers may access the digital files and the history of Long's Park Amphitheater and the Summer Music Series for educational and research purposes according to United States copyright law. (see below)
The reproduction, in any form, of copyrighted material is governed by the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Under certain "Fair Use" conditions specified in the law, institutions are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction, including for educational and research purposes. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a reproduction for purposes beyond "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2022.026
Other Numbers
MG-954
Classification
MG0954
Description Level
Fonds
Documents

MG0954_60th_Anniversary_PowerPoint.pdf

Read PDF Download PDF

MG0954_1961_Plans.pdf

Read PDF Download PDF

MG0954_Historical_Timeline.pdf

Read PDF Download PDF
Less detail
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847_F003
Date Range
2020/11
  2 documents  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
Index to the diary of Frank E. Witmer, 1879.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
Date Range
2020/11
Creation Date
2021
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Indexes
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Indexes
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
1 item, 10 pages
Object Name
Index
Language
English
Object ID
MG0847_F003
Location of Originals
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Related Item Notes
Original diary: MG0847_F001
Index: MG0847_F003
Access Conditions / Restrictions
A PDF has been provided for research purposes.
Copyright
A PDF has been provided for research purposes only.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847, Folder 3
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 3
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Index prepared in November 2020.
Documents
Less detail
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Transcription of the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Object ID
MG0847_F002
Date Range
2020/11
  2 documents  
Collection
Frank E. Witmer's 1879 Diary
Title
Transcription of the diary of Frank E. Witmer
Description
Transcription of the diary of Frank E. Witmer, 1879.
Admin/Biographical History
In 1879, Franklin E. Witmer (1855-1931), at age 23, was the eldest son of Aaron L. Witmer, farmer of West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Ann (Herr) Witmer. The household also included his younger brothers Abraham (Abram), 21, and Jacob Elam (Elem), 19; two school-age girls Sarah Dunlap, 13, an apprentice servant, and Hettie Fritz, 8, a ward of Mr. and Mrs. Witmer; and for part of the year a teen-age boarder-farm hand , Thaddeus (Thad) Brackbill. In Frank's diary, each person's activity was recorded daily, almost as if he had set himself a deliberate project to do so.
Mr. Witmer's truck farm embraced fields of grain (wheat, oats and rye), several acres of tobacco, a varied fruit orchard, a large truck garden, and a greenhouse for vegetables and flowering plants, a small herd of dairy cattle, some hogs and chickens; enough variety to make year-round weekly visits to market in Lancaster. During the year the family moved into a new house, raised a new barn, stables, hog-pen and chicken-house, and rented the old house and barn to a tenant farmer, Jacob Dieter.
The Witmers were Mennonites, regularly attending church in Lampeter Twp. and Strasburg, and occasionally in New Providence and Lancaster. Sarah and Hettie and briefly Elam, attended the Lampeter School. Their chief source of entertainment seems to have been visiting among their extended Witmer and Herr families and neighbors, although Abram and Elam sometimes attended "singing school" and the Lampeter Lyceum and did some "driving about" of an evening. Only Abram seems to have had a special girlfriend.
Although all the men of the family did everything in the way of farm chores, each of the boys also had a specialty. Frank, the oldest, had his own corn and tobacco patches to tend and market, Abram tended to concentrate on the greenhouse and truck-garden, and Elam helped his father provide veterinary services to other farmers in the area.
Frank Witmer married Mary Ann Herr on November 30, 1881; he continued general farming in West Lampeter Township, died there on December 10, 1931, and was buried in the Mennonite cemetery in nearby Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
This history was prepared by Dr. David H. Wallace.
Date Range
2020/11
Creation Date
2020/11
Creator
Wallace, David H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 19
People
Wallace, David Harold
Witmer, Franklin Elmer
Witmer, Aaron L.
Witmer, Mary Ann Herr
Witmer, Abraham Herr
Witmer, Jacob Elam
Dunlap, Sarah
Fritz, Hettie
Brackbill, Thaddeus
Subjects
Truck farming
Diaries
Agriculture
Search Terms
Truck farming
Diaries
Farming
Agriculture
Transcriptions
Finding aids
Manuscript groups
Extent
1 item, 60 pages
Object Name
Transcript
Object ID
MG0847_F002
Location of Originals
Original diary at LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, MG0847_F001
Related Item Notes
Index: MG0847_F003
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use the PDF.
Copyright
A PDF has been provided for research purposes only.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Accession Number
2021.011
Other Numbers
MG-847, Folder 2
Other Number
MG-847, Folder 2
Classification
MG0847
Description Level
Item
Custodial History
Transcribed in November 2020.
Documents
Less detail

9 records – page 1 of 1.