Media Library

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Media Library

Browse HSP's media library to view photographs from past events and exhibits, audio and video recordings, and documents.

Recent Posts

Photographs of the William Penn statue [City Hall] (Collection 4381)
Thu, 2022-06-16 13:04

These five photographs depict various views of workers and the William Penn statue atop City Hall, circa 1920.

Echoes of baseball history from long-gone Shibe Park
Tue, 2016-04-12 16:56

A series of images from the Philadelphia Record Photograph Morgue documenting the city's baseball history through the story of Shibe Park, demol

Catholic Philadelphia
Fri, 2015-12-04 15:58

In many of Philadelphia's ethnic neighborhoods, the Catholic church has served not only as a place of worship, the institution also helped keep alive ancestral traditions and connections among newl

Exploring the Card Catalog: Getting Started
Thu, 2015-12-03 17:01

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Headlines to Bylines: Using ALL the Newspaper in Your Genealogy
2/8/17

Everyone turns to newspapers to find obituaries of their ancestors but every section and column of historic newspapers can be valuable in your genealogical search. Learn how news briefs, advertisements, even editorials and “letters to the editor” might add to your store of knowledge about your ancestors and their lives in context.

Using All the Features of FamilySearch
2/8/17

Learn the breadth and depth of the programs and features of the FamilySearch organization and website. The genealogical landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade – learn what FamilySearch has done to adapt.

Contrasting German Migrations
2/8/17

The 1700s “Pennsylvania Germans” were a different breed than the “German Americans” who immigrated in the 1800s. This presentation shows the differences in geography, economic class, religion, and aspirations of – as well as sources about – the two great waves of German immigration as well as reviewing “the basics” of German genealogy.

From Ulster to Pennsylvania
2/8/17

This session discusses the migration of the Ulster Scots from Northern Ireland to the Americas, particularly their migration into Pennsylvania and the social history, migration and background that surround their exodus from the Old to the New World.

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Voicing the Absent: Crafting History
5/12/15

In this audio recorded at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, historian Jane Kamensky, filmmaker Louis Massiah and Ain Gordon discuss the ways hsitorians try to describe past events as they really happened. They aim at faithful representation. Yet we cannot know what others feel and think, and so historians must always take license with their subjects.

The Truth Behind "Hold These Truths"
5/12/15

This is an audio recording of the event held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The program begins with a presentation by Dr. Franklin Odo, visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania. It's followed by  a sneak peak of Hold These Truths, performed by local actor Makoto Hirano, a one-man show about the real life journey of Gordon Hirabayashi, the man who famously defied forcible removal and took his case all the way to the Supreme Court... twice!  It concludes with a discussion between Dr.