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Work began recently on the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s new Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR). Commonly referred to around HSP as the “small repositories project,” its goal is to make better known and more accessible the important but often hidden archival collections held by the many small, primarily volunteer-run historical organizations in the Philadelphia area, including local historical societies, museums, historic sites, and other institutions.

Archival Adventures in Small Repositories
10/14/11
Comments: 2
Conjoined Twins in Philadelphia History
This appeared in the August HSP email publication, History Hits: Collecting & sharing the stories of Pennsylvania.
Hidden Histories
8/8/11
'John Brown's Body,' 1859: Philadelphia's Medical Schools Rebellion Against Its Presence in the City.
As most people realize, the execution of the famous abolitionist, John Brown, on December 2nd, 1859, by the state of Virginia for 'treason, and for conspiring and advising with slaves and other rebels, and murder in the first degree," prompted a wave of anti-Southern feeling within the Northern states, where he was perceived as a 'martyr for freedom,' although some Northernors believed Brown to have been quite insane at the time.
Hidden Histories
7/18/11
Executions in Revolutionary War Philadelphia
This appeared in July's HSP email publication, History Hits: Collecting & sharing the stories of Pennsylvania.
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Hidden Histories
7/11/11
Comments: 2
The Bizarre, Sad, and Regrettable: Selections of Deaths from the 'Federal Mortality Schedules'
Between 1850 and 1880, an often under utilized historical resource was kept by the Federal government, a 'record group' commonly referred to simply as, the 'Mortality Schedules' or the Non-Population Census Schedules: 1850-1880, composed for all the states within the Union. It is particularly a great supplement for family 'vital records' research, a valuable compilation available not only at the various 'Regional Libraries of the National Archives,' but also at such popular genealogical web sites as http://www.ancestry.com/, wh
Hidden Histories
6/20/11
A Jewish Merchant, Western American Indian Massacres, and their 'Philadelphia Connection' in the 19th Century'
Years ago, the prolific writer of Western fiction, the late Louis L'Amour, remarked how he was often asked where he obtained ideas for his numerous publications. He replied they "are out there by the thousands, wonderful stories...Many have never gotten into the histories...but one has only to listen, to look, and to live with awareness...Ours is a rich and wonderful world, and there are stories everywhere. Nobody should ever try to second-guess history, the facts are fantastic enough." (Education of a Wandering Man, NY: Bantam Books, 1989: pp's.29, 141).
Hidden Histories
6/13/11
The Crash of the Hindenburg
 ***This article appeared in the May 2011, HSP monthly email publication, "History Hits: Collecting & sharing the stories of Pennsylvania." For a free subscription, simply click here
Hidden Histories
6/3/11
Coincidences or Acts of Divine Intervention? Accounts of the Bible Saving Soldiers on the Battlefield
Miraculous things have happened over time, in regard to individuals surviving catastrophic weather events, automobile accidents, ship-wrecks, or horrendous conditions on a battlefield. Some term these occurences simply as coincidences, or the result of luck, while other individuals sincerely believe that the 'Hand of Providence,' or some Heavenly power, literally reached out and 'snatched' them from the proverbial 'jaws of death,' when they should have died or been killed like many others.
Hidden Histories
5/11/11
Philadelphia's First Civil War Casualty
***This article appeared in the April, 2011, HSP monthly email publication, "History Hits: Collecting & sharing the stories of Pennsylvania." For a free subscription, simply click here to enter your email address.*** 
Hidden Histories
4/20/11
CBSPhilly.com Covers HSP Civil War Display
Pa. Historical Society Displays Civil War Items On 150th Anniversary Of War’s Start
April 12, 2011 1:35 PM
(Photos by John Ostapkovich)
(Photos by John Ostapkovich)
Hidden Histories
4/13/11
Comments: 1