Archival Adventures in Small Repositories
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Archival Adventures in Small Repositories
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Sellersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania is named for one of its prominent citizens, Samuel Sellers. In the 18th century, Sellers built and operated Sellers’ Tavern on the main road in town and also served in the Pennsylvania legislature and as a sheriff for Bucks County. The tavern built by Sellers was a focal point around which the rest of the community grew, and it even served as the town’s post office for many years.
Abraham Fetters met a tragic end, dead by his own hand at the age of 65 in 1893. However, he left a long and dispersed legacy, living in the hearts of over 1,800 pupils he taught in four decades as an educator, and recorded in the documents that are now gathered in the archival collections of the Upper Uwchlan Township Historic Commission (Chester County, Pennsylvania).
Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005, the Mill at Anselma has a history spanning over 250 years. Some of its original mechanisms are still in place along with other equipment used from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. As a result, you can see some of the progression of the milling industry in the mill’s moving parts. The best part is that the mill still functions today!
Nicholas Biddle (1786-1844), best known for serving as Director of the Second National Bank of the United States, acquired the Bucks County (Pa.) property "Andalusia" from his parents-in-law 200 years ago, in 1814. Today, the house museum is open for tours and also serves as the repository for about 70 linear feet of Biddle family papers. If you are researching the Biddles or any of the innumerable arenas with which their lives intersected, you can bank on finding the archival resources you need there.
When it comes to archival records and manuscripts, the Radnor Historical Society in Delaware County, Pennsylvania has a little bit of everything. Its collections include business records, school records, family papers, subject files, glass plate negatives, maps, and the records of a variety of local clubs and associations.
When researching family history, there are a variety of resources through which genealogists can discover information. Some of the most popular materials used include vital records, census records, and ship passenger lists. Another information resource, which many would not initially think to use, is school records.
Since the 44th celebration of Earth Day is just around the corner (April 22), it is fitting that this week’s blog post is all about Tyler Arboretum in Media, Pennsylvania! In addition to preserving 650 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and meadows, Tyler uses its living collections, which contain several rare plants and trees, to educate the public about the natural world.
150 years ago this month, the "Ringgold Regiment," also known as Bucks County's Own Regiment, was camped on Morris Island near Charleston, South Carolina. The high tides were rising steadily from when the regiment first landed on the island the previous summer, but the men moved their tents upshore to weather the winter. Using scavenged pieces of boards and parts of cracker boxes, many were able to raise their tents above the sand or dig wind-protected "basements" below. On April 20th, 1864, the soldiers would tear down these tents to move to Hilton Head.*
The first African American Presbyterian congregation in the United States, appropriately named First African Presbyterian Church, was founded right here in Philadelphia over 200 years ago. A roster of figures notable in Presbyterianism and the African American community in Philadelphia served in the church's ministry, beginning with John Gloucester (1776-1822), a former slave who established the congregation. Since 1910, the John Gloucester Memorial and Historical Society has been dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of Gloucester and of First African Presbyterian Church.
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