Numbered "11", this item contains notes on lands owned and sold; notes on leases of Philadelphia houses; accounts with Daphne Peterson ("a free black woman"), Mary Spence ("of Dunfermline, Scotland"), and Baynard Hall; a list of books lent; a list of those receiving copies of Rush's publications, 1805-1806 (among whom was Thomas Jefferson); and an "account of property belonging to the estate."

These volumes are lists of quit rents due in Philadelphia County, 1 March 1688/9, and in Philadelphia and Lancaster Counties, 1788-1793.

This copy of John Watson Sr.'s narrative of the 1737 Walking Purchase, written in 1815, was made by Watson's son in 1822. The elder Watson's narrative was printed with corrections and additions by the son in the Pennsylvania Correspondent, Doylestown. The volume includes the younger Watson's report of the recollections of Moses Bartram, his own commentary on the Walking Purchase, and a letter (1822) about this manuscript.

This volume contains copies of records of early settlements on the Delaware River in English archives (1664-1682), and Dutch archives (1630-1656), copied from documents in the office of the Secretary of State at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

After William Temple Franklin returned to Europe in 1792, he left oversight of his financial interests in America in the hands of his intimate friend and fellow land speculator, George Fox. A physician and member of the American Philosophical Society, Fox also took possession of the remainder of Benjamin Franklin's papers, which eventually passed through his son, Charles Pemberton Fox, to the APS. The Franklin-Fox Collection contains 98 items, consisting mostly of letters from William Temple Franklin to George Fox regarding land holdings and finances, and retained copies of Fox's letters to Franklin. The correspondence is fairly relentlessly focused on business matters and rarely contains personal comments, however there are occasional requests for books and two reference to the yellow fever epidemic of 1798 and the death of Benjamin Franklin Bache.

This is a miscellaneous collection of deeds, indentures, and land surveys. Many names are represented, including James Claypole, Joseph Harrison, John Penn, Richard Penn, Thomas Penn, Zachariah Poulson, and William Shippen, Jr.

This volume contains approximately 175 letters written by Thomas Penn and Richard Penn on public business. A few are copies of letters by James Hamilton, a member of the Provincial Council and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, and by or to Abraham Taylor.

The collection contains information on Fox family speculation in western lands, two manuscript maps from the 1790's and 1830's depicting the family's holdings in northwestern Pennsylvania, and a photograph album from the 1890's documenting Chestnutwold, the Fox estate adjacent to Andalusia. Chief correspondents are Samuel and George Fox.

The Smith-Houston-Morris-Ogden Family Papers document the history of the Houston, Smith, Ogden, Morris and allied families, beginning in the late 17th century, and continuing through to near the end of the 20th. Among the many treasures in this vast collection are the papers of Pennsylvania Railroad executive Henry Howard Houston (1820-1895), his son, Samuel Frederick Houston (1866-1952), and of Pennsylvania attorney and treasury official, William Meredith (1752-1816). Although the collection contains a great deal of interest with respect to land speculation, commerce, and trade emanating from Philadelphia, the bulk of the Smith Family Papers consists of personal and family correspondence and other papers. Among the largest and most interesting bodies of papers are those of L.M.C. Smith and Eleanor Houston Smith, daughter of Samuel F. Smith. These document the family's progressive attitudes regarding and resource conservation, historic preservation, and their social activism. This very large collection includes much material that is not itemized below.

James Burd (1726-1793) was well-known in colonial Pennsylvania through his role in the French and Indian War, as well as his connections to many of the colony's leading families (most notably the Shippen family). Initially starting out as a merchant in Philadelphia, Burd became increasingly involved with colonial affairs after moving to Lancaster County with his family in 1752. It would be on the frontier where Burd would make his mark first as a soldier, and later as a magistrate. The Burd-Shippen Papers consist mainly of letters and business documents sent to James Burd, with the bulk of the collection relating to the French and Indian War, 1754-1763, in which Burd served as an officer commanding troops at Fort Augusta and elsewhere. The collection reflects all aspects of Burd's life in Pennsylvania as a merchant, soldier, and magistrate; as well as his involvement with the Shippen family professionally and personally. Intermixed with items sent to Burd are receipts to his wife Sarah Shippen Burd, and correspondence between Edward Shippen and James Hamilton regarding land matters and Indian affairs in Lancaster.

The Calendar of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin prepared by Isaac Minis Hays for the bicentennial of Franklin's birth in 1906 provides access to the largest portion of the Franklin Papers at the APS. The items were originally bound into volumes in roughly chronological order, with letters to Franklin preceding those from Franklin and at the end of the collection, Franklin's letters owned by the University of Pennsylvania. Each manuscript is still identified by Hays' reference numbers, which include a roman numeral refering to the original volume followed by an arabic number to identify the folio. The electronic version of the finding aid replicates Hays' calendar, including the introductory material and item-level descriptions. It has been updated to reflect corrections in the metadata, corrections of personal names, dates, and description.

In addition to family and business correspondence, the Charles Nicoll Bancker Family Papers contains various documents, such as a furniture inventory volume (30pp.); a Daybook, 1795-1800 (120pp.); and a very interesting journal (unidentified, but by one of the Banckers, and filed under "Description of a trip..."), from New York to Albany and back, between July 20-Aug. 15, 1793 (1 vol., 31 pp.). It contains detailed observations of the Hudson River and the towns along the way. Bancker was involved in business and trade prior to 1826, and in insurance after that date, so there is material relating to those topics in this collection. He owned a substantial library of the period, which was used by Charles Wilkes's Expedition after 1837 (see Reynell Coates to Bancker). This library, along with Bancker's notable scientific instrument collection, was sold after his death and there are published auction catalogues in the collection. There is much family correspondence from: Anne E. Bancker, Charles Gerard Bancker, Evert Bancker, Sarah U. Bancker, Violetta Bancker Talbot, Elizabeth Bancker Teackle, and John Teackle.

A collection of business and personal papers of three generations of the prominent Philadelphia Jewish family from 1750-1974. Business records include trade and land transactions (some in Yiddish) of the Gratz brothers, Barnard and Michael (1750-1804) with the business continued by Michael's sons: Simon, Hyman, Joseph, Jacob, and Benjamin (1791-1861). Personal correspondence are primarily letters to Rebecca Gratz from her sisters Rachel and Sarah (1795-1867) with later correspondence to Rachel's children: Horace and Sara Moses (1832-1879). Contains a small group of French letters related to Napoleon III, collected by family member Miriam Fox, and some heirloom artifacts.