| | 1 | Author: | Hewson family. | Add | | | Title: | Hewson family papers, 1767-1836
| | | | Dates: | 1767-1836 | | | | Abstract: | The Hewson's were close to the Franklin family. Mary Stevenson Hewson was Franklin's landlady when he was in London, and they maintained a correspondence throughout their lives. This collection contains some of the family correspondence. Most are not originals, which are in private hands. The original manuscripts are primarily letters to and from Mary Stevenson Hewson. Of note is a poem/prayer written by Mary Stevenson Hewson. The MOLE record is very detailed, but the record does not mention records of a controversy Benjamin Franklin had with Dr. William Hunter that are part of this collection.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.H492.h, .br, .b1, .b | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Marriage and Family Life | Social Life and Custom | Women's History | | | | Genre: | General Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Medicine. | |
| 3 | Author: | Kane, Elisha Kent, 1820-1857 | Add | | | Title: | Elisha Kent Kane Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1810-1953 | | | | Abstract: | This large collection contains the papers of Elisha Kent Kane, a prominent Philadelphian who led the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.K132 | | | | Extent: | 6.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Exploration. | International Travel | Marriage and Family Life | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Africa | Arctic Indians | Arctic regions-Pictorial works | China -- Foreign relations -- United States | Colonization, repatriation | Exploration | Explorers -- United States | Geometry -- Study and teaching | Grinnell Expedition, 1st, 1850-1851 | Grinnell Expedition, 2d, 1853-1855 | Hospitals -- Pennsylvania | Indians of North America -- Nunavut | Inuit -- Canada | Inuit -- Greenland | Inuit -- Nunavut -- Baffin Island | Medicine -- Practice -- Pennsylvania | Medicine -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania | Meteorology -- Arctic Regions | Mineralogy -- Study and teaching | Northwest Passage | Obstetrics | Plantations | Slave trade -- Africa | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | United States -- Foreign relations -- China | United States. Navy | |
| 7 | Author: | Lesley, J. P. (J. Peter), 1819-1903 | Add | | | Title: | J.P. Lesley Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1826-1898 | | | | Abstract: | J.P. Lesley was a prominent Pennsylvanian who became a leading geologist. This collection contains a range of materials that relate to his life. The content of the correspondence is not just scientific. Instead, subjects span a wide-range of topics, including European travel, the Civil War, politics, art, literature, personal affairs, and family matters. The papers also reflect Lesley wide-ranging scientific interests. Although a geologist, Lesley also dabbled in demographic studies, religion, and philology. A fair amount of the collection is from the 1850s and beyond. Much of this early correspondence is among family members, but some letters are from prominent reformers, such as Lydia Maria Child. Among the Lesley papers are poems, journals, and notebooks. Two boxes date from 1841 to 1851, which, notably, deal with the period before Lesley became a full-time geologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.L56 | | | | Extent: | 7.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | International Travel | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Literature | Scientific Data | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Avesta | Cartography. | Charities -- United States. | Education -- United States | Egyptian language -- Writing, Hieroglyphic | France -- Description and travel | Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Egypt | Geological Survey of Pennsylvania | Geology -- Maps | Geology -- Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Geology -- Pennsylvania | Germany -- Description and travel | Hawaiian language | Javanese language | Nova Scotia -- Surveys | Obelisks | Paleontology -- Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania -- Surveys | Philology | Poems | Slavery -- United States. | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Switzerland -- Description and travel | Transcendentalism | Unitarianism | |
| 8 | Author: | Bache family | Add | | | Title: | Bache family papers, 1770-1890 (bulk), 1770-1923 (inclusive)
| | | | Dates: | 1770-1923 (Bulk 1770-1890) | | | | Abstract: | The Bache Family collection contains a range of letters from members of the extended Franklin-Bache family, descendants of Benjamin Franklin. Although the vast majority are from the early republic, there are some papers from the twentieth century that involve Franklin's legacy (the collection appears to have been acquired by the APS in 1938). Among the correspondence included are letters to and from Benjamin Franklin Bache, William Temple Franklin, Sarah Franklin Bache, Richard Bache, William Bache and Catherine Wistar Bache.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B121 | | | | Extent: | 50 item(s) | | | | Topics: | Law | Marriage and Family Life | Printing and Publishing | Women's History | | | | Genre: | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Legal Records | Miscellaneous | |
| 9 | Author: | Bancker, James A. | Add | | | Title: | James A. Bancker papers, 1842-1849
| | | | Dates: | 1842-1849 | | | | Abstract: | This collection of letters (40+) consists primarily of James Bancker writing to his family from Asia in the 1840s. The collection offers a vivid depiction of an American's life abroad in the nineteenth century. The letters convey quotidian information, such as the type of food he is eating, to more remarkable events, such as witnessing a comet. Bancker also witnessed a number of significant political events while in China, including the acquisition of Hong Kong by Great Britain and resistance to this takeover from the Hong Kong residents (1842-1843). These events, the rioting in particular, are recounted in his often long and detailed correspondence to his Philadelphia-based family. Bancker spent much of his time in Canton, but he also described visits to the Philippines and voyage to and from China. Combined, the collection provides a lens in the experiences of a wealthy American traveling abroad in the midst of the nineteenth century.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.B22 | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | Americans Abroad | Beyond Early America | Business and Skilled Trades | International Trade. | International Travel | Marriage and Family Life | Trade | Travel | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Americans -- China -- Social life and customs. | British -- China -- Social life and customs -- 1644-1912. | Voyages and travels. | |
| 13 | Author: | Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823 | Add | | | Title: | William Temple Franklin Papers
| | | | Dates: | 1775-1819 | | | | Abstract: | This is a large collection of William Temple Franklin papers, most of which were written while he was serving alongside his grandfather in France as the secretary of the American mission there. The bulk of the collection is correspondence written to William Temple Franklin during the American Revolution. Franklin had a wide network of friends and associates, and this correspondence captures the range of dealings Franklin had in France. As secretary, he received intelligence, requests, reports of military actions, especially those pertaining to naval actions in the Atlantic, and various other communications. As a private individual, Franklin had relations with many merchants, traders, and land speculators and continued to cultivate these relationships while in Europe. The Collection also includes a diary kept in an almanac for much of 1785, catalogued separately in MOLE.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F86 | | | | Extent: | 4.75 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Political Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Balloons -- Early works to 1800 | Mesmerism | |
| 14 | Author: | Vaux, George, V, 1721-1803 | Add | | | Title: | Vaux Family Papers, 1690-1996
| | | | Dates: | 1690-1996 | | | | Abstract: | The George Vaux Papers is a massive collection which is focused on the business and financial interests of a prominent Philadelphia family. What follows is a list of some of the more notable parts of this expansive collection:
- Correspondence: There is a massive amount of correspondence, much of which is personal and familial in nature. Nonetheless, the letters often discuss politics, current affairs, and society. The earliest records date to 1701, although the great bulk are focused on the revolutionary era to the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
- Almanacs, 1790-1870: The collection contains a large collection of small pocket almanacs from Philadelphia. Some of the earliest ones contain records of financial transactions and diaries.
- Charles Thomson Correspondence: The collection has a series of letters from Charles Thomson, the Secretary of the Continental Congress. These letters are from the 1780s, after Thomson had largely retired from the political arena.
- Legal and Estate Documents: This portion of the collection is extensive and difficult to summarize. The family owned a huge amount of property throughout the state. These papers contain deeds, information on rents, surveys of land, and other transactions. Moreover, the Vaux family had ties through marriage and friendship to other prominent families, and some of their estate business is included in this collection. Among the notable papers are documents pertaining to John and Sally Norris Dickinson's properties and the estates of the Emlens and the Sansoms. One document complements the Jane Aitken Collection, as it has an accounting of the Bible that she printed.
- Travel Accounts: Most notably, George Vaux VII made a trip to "Indian Country" in 1802-1803. He wrote numerous letters home and kept a small and incomplete travel journal.
- Philadelphia City Affairs: The Vaux were active in civic life. The collection contains information on city improvements, with specific letters and records relating to the water supply. The collection has letters that discuss building the Water Works, records of a Committee on the Sewers, and an agreement between the city and Peale's Museum.
- Business Affairs: The record of the Vaux's diverse business interests is contained in this collection. In addition to their land holdings, the Vaux's were very active in internal improvements, with records from numerous navigation companies held in the collection. The Vaux's were also involved in mining and mineralogy, including Pennsylvania's oil lands, which is also reflected in the content of this collection. Finally, there are partial records of some prominent Philadelphia institutions, such as the Bank of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Contributorship.
- Native American Documents - In addition to George Vaux's travels into Indian Country, there are extracts from Indian Treaties and some records of the Friendly Association in this collection.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.Ms.Coll.73 | | | | Extent: | 150 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | African American | American Revolution | Antebellum Politics | Early National Politics | Marriage and Family Life | Native America | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | Surveying and Maps | Travel | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Institutional Records | Legal Records | Maps and Surveys | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Genealogy. | Land speculation | Mineralogy. | Quaker businesspeople | Quakers -- Missions. | Seneca Indians | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Yellow fever. | |
| 15 | Author: | Wistar family. | Add | | | Title: | Eastwick Collection, 1746-1929
| | | | Dates: | 1746-1929 | | | | Abstract: | This large and rich collection contains a range of documents including travel journals, diaries, business records, and personal correspondence. The largest portion of the collection is of correspondence among members of the extended Wister family and their network of friends in the early nineteenth century, which provides insight into early nineteenth century Germantown and Philadelphia culture and society. These often long letters lend insight into all aspect of nineteenth century life, including politics, courtship, friendship, family, and manners. Poetry of Elizabeth, Sarah, and Charles Wister is included, as are daybooks and journals of Sarah.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.974.811.Ea7 | | | | Extent: | 3.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Business and Skilled Trades | Land and Speculation | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | Social Life and Custom | Surveying and Maps | Women's History | | | | Genre: | Diaries | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Literature | Maps and Surveys | Travel Narratives and Journals | | | | Subjects: | Agriculture -- United States. | Bees. | Gardening -- United States. | |
| 19 | Author: | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 | Add | | | Title: | Benjamin Franklin Papers, 1642-1841
| | | | Dates: | 1642-1841 | | | | Abstract: | The Papers of Benjamin Franklin are a rich source as varied and expansive as Dr. Franklin's storied life. The Collection has been calendared, catalogued, and much of it is transcribed in printed volumes and online at www.franklinpapers.org.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F85 | | | | Extent: | 85.5 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | Government Affairs | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | Pennsylvania History | Printing and Publishing | Social Life and Custom | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Manuscript Essays | Political Correspondence | Printed Material | Scientific Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Abolition, emancipation, freedom | Electricity -- Early works to 1800 | Postal service -- United States | Printers -- Pennsylvania | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | |
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