Resources in Early American History
General exactCorrespondence in genre [X]
Travel Narratives and Journals in genre [X]
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Results:  17 Items   Page: 1
1Author:  Humboldt, Alexander von, 1769-1859Requires cookie*
 Title:  Alexander von Humboldt papers, 1801-1859     
 Dates:  1793-1859 
 Abstract:  This collection of Humboldt's correspondence touches on his travels throughout the Americas. Of note are his letters with prominent Americans--namely Thomas Jefferson, Rembrandt Peale, and Peter Du Ponceau--about his observations. Many letters are in French. Some have translations.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.H88 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Science and technology | Travel 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Natural history. | Science publishing. | Scientific expeditions. 
3Author:  Morton, Samuel George, 1799-1851Requires cookie*
 Title:  Samuel George Morton Papers     
 Dates:  1819-1850 
 Abstract:  The Samuel George Morton Collection provides a window into the life of this nineteenth century scientist, explorer, and natural historian. The collection holds a wide-range of materials, and the correspondence touches on many different subjects. The entry in MOLE contains an item level accounting of the collection and its contents. The collection begins in the 1820s, when Morton is just beginning his career and continues through to the 1840s. Letters touch on topics, such as the treatment of Native Americans, Indian burial grounds, discoveries of fossilized remains, and medical education. Material on the Wilkes Expedition and especially on Morton's early medical career is covered in depth. One letter contains a request from General Lafayette for a skull of an Indian for his own scientific collection. Most of the letters are to Morton and contain results of experiments or observations from travel and exploration. Additionally, the Diary to the West Indies form 1834 offers insight into the culture of the islands. Morton's own involvement in the scientific racism is prominent in much of his later writing. Included in the collection are sketches of his "craniometrical drawings," which were used by pro-slavery advocates.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.M843 
 Extent:  2.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  African American | Exploration. | International Travel | Travel 
 Genre:  General Correspondence | Scientific Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Archaeology | Aymara Indians | Botany | Craniology. | Craniometry | Education | Egyptology. | Geology | Indians of North America -- Kentucky | Indians of North America -- Massachusetts | Indians of North America -- Mississippi | Indians of North America -- Ohio | Indians of North America -- Physical characteristics | Indians of North America -- Rhode Island | Indians of North America -- Tennessee | Indians of South America -- Peru | Indians of South America -- Physical characteristics | Medicine | Mineralogy | Miscegenation | Natural history | Naumkeag Indians | Ornithology | Paleontology | Pentland, Joseph Barclay | Phrenology | Race | Race, race relations, racism | Science and technology | Skull. | Slavery -- Barbados | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842) 
4Author:  Edwards, BenjaminRequires cookie*
 Title:  Benjamin Edwards Papers     
 Dates:  1819-1827 
 Abstract:  Benjamin Edwards was a member of Major Stephen H. Long's "Yellowstone Expedition," also known as the Rocky Mountain Expedition, in 1819-1820. The expedition completed the first ascent of the Missouri River. This collection consists of one letter Edwards wrote to his father while on the expedition and a series (approximately 5) letters Edwards wrote to his father after leaving the expedition. These later letters primarily discuss issues surrounding winding down the expedition, including Edwards' attempt to receive wages due him. After the expedition, Edwards bounced around the Mississippi River. At one time, he worked as an overseer of slaves at a sawmill near New Orleans, which he briefly describes in one of his letters.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.Ed9 
 Extent:  0.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  African American | Exploration. | Travel 
 Genre:  Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Exploration | Stephen H. Long Expedition to the Rocky Mountains (1819-1820) | West (U.S.)-Description and travel 
5Author:  Lesley, J. P. (J. Peter), 1819-1903Requires cookie*
 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 
6Author:  unknownRequires cookie*
 Title:  John Pershouse correspondence and papers, 1749-1899     
 Dates:  1749-1899 
 Abstract:  This collection contains five volumes of data relating to John Pershouse and his family. The collection contains two volumes of genealogical data from the later eighteenth century; the remaining three volumes all date to the early republic and consist of a travel journal and two letter books thought to belong to his nephew Henry. Of particular interest are the letters from Pershouse in Philadelphia to his brother in England. His letters often discuss many of the major political and social events happening in the early republic. He discusses immigration, Jefferson's administration, and the culture of Philadelphia during this period.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.P43 
 Extent:  5 volumes;_62_items. 
 Topics:  Diplomatic History | Early National Politics | International Travel | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | Travel 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Political Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals 
7Author:  Muhlenberg family.Requires cookie*
 Title:  Muhlenberg family papers, 1769-1866     
 Dates:  1769-1866 
 Abstract:  The collection contains miscellaneous papers from this prominent Pennsylvania family. Some of the material is in German. Included in the collection are diplomas and various certificates of family members, including Peter Muhlenberg's original certificate of membership in the Society of the Cincinnati. There is a significant amount of correspondence from Christian Dencke to the Muhlenbergs in 1798-1799, a period when he was setting up a mission to Indians in Ontario. The letters, in German and Latin, seem to discuss natural history.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.M891 
 Extent:  4.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  American Revolution | Military History | Native America | Natural history | Pennsylvania History | Religion 
 Genre:  Family Correspondence | Foreign Language | General Correspondence | Military Records | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Agriculture -- United States. | Barns. | Botany | Delaware Indians | Fungi. | Grasses. | Herbaria. | Lichens. | Lutheran Church -- Clergy. | Meteorology - Observations | Natural history. | Plants. | Shrubs. | Trees. | Zoology -- Vermont. 
8Author:  unknownRequires cookie*
 Title:  Robert M. (Robert Maskell) Patterson papers, 1775-1853     
 Dates:  1775-1853 
 Abstract:  The Robert Patterson Collection contains a range of documents that touch on many different topics, although most have to do with science and engineering. The earliest documents relate to the Leiper Canal, including Rittenhouse's appraisal of it, and official documents relating to its creation. The largest portion of the documents is scientific correspondence to Robert Patterson, a member of the American Philosophical Society. Much of this correspondence is done under the cover of official APS business. Of particular note are a series of letters relating to nautical calculations that include complex equations used to determine longitude and latitude for nautical almanacs. There are also various lecture notes on natural philosophy, death, mathematics, engineering, and other subjects.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.P274 
 Extent:  0.5 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Americans Abroad | Early National Politics | Education | Military History | Native America | Science and technology | War of 1812 
 Genre:  Educational Material | General Correspondence | Institutional Records | Notebooks | Political Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Algebra. | Annuities. | Astronomy. | Canals. | Clocks and watches. | Coal. | Electricity. | Magnetism. | Mathematics. | Meteorology -- Observations. | Navigation (Astronautics) | Optics. | Physics. | Quarries and quarrying -- Pennsylvania. | Sound. | Time clocks. 
9Author:  Wistar family.Requires cookie*
 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. 
10Author:  Shippen, EdwardRequires cookie*
 Title:  Edward Shippen letters and papers, 1727-1781     
 Dates:  1727-1781 
 Abstract:  The Edward Shippen Collection is composed of two discrete sections: two boxes of manuscripts and ten letter books. What follows is an overview of some of the most notable documents and themes in the correspondence.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.Sh62 
 Extent:  10 volume(s) 
 Topics:  American Revolution | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Colonial Politics | Education | International Travel | Marriage and Family Life | Military History | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Seven Years' War | Social Life and Custom | Surveying and Maps | Trade | Travel 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Maps and Surveys | Military Records | Political Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Business and politics -- Pennsylvania. | Military supplies. | Real property -- Pennsylvania. 
11Author:  Bancker familyRequires cookie*
 Title:  Charles Nicoll Bancker family papers, 1733-1894     
 Dates:  1733-1894 
 Abstract:  This extensive collection (13 boxes) contains a range of correspondence, although the bulk of it relates to Charles Nicoll Bancker, a prominent Philadelphia businessman in the 1800s. The letters provide a picture of the family life and business career of Bancker from his earliest beginnings to his success later in life. Aside from the Charles Bancker portion of the collection, the holdings contain a wide variety of other documents, ranging from colonial era documents written in Dutch in Albany to letters from James Madison to Thomas Jefferson from the nineteenth century on religious education.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.B22.c 
 Extent:  3.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  American Revolution | Antebellum Politics | Business and Skilled Trades | Colonial Politics | Colony and State Specific History | Early National Politics | Education | Land and Speculation | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | Trade | Travel | Women's History 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Literature | Manuscript Essays | Political Correspondence | Sketchbooks | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Insurance agents -- United States. 
12Author:  Barton, Benjamin Smith, 1766-1815Requires cookie*
 Title:  Violetta Delafield-Benjamin Smith Barton Collection     
 Dates:  1783-1817 
 Abstract:  The extensive Benjamin Smith Barton collection contains six sections: Correspondence, Bound Volumes (including notebooks), Subject Files, and Graphic Materials. The material includes numerous images, sketches, notes, printed material, and other correspondence. The collection also has numerous copper plates that were used to print images drawn by Barton. Although a collection this large touches on a variety of interesting and important subjects, the collection's strength is its wealth of data on nineteenth century medical, botanical, and Native American studies.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.B284d 
 Extent:  10 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Business and Skilled Trades | Education | Language and Linguistics | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Medicine | Native America | Natural history | Printing and Publishing | Science and technology | Travel 
 Genre:  Art | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Language Material | Notebooks | Political Correspondence | Sketchbooks | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Bartram's Garden (Philadelphia, Pa.) | Botanists | Botany -- Study and teaching -- 19th century | Botany -- Virginia | Chemistry -- 18th century | Cherokee Indians | Cherokee language | Choctaw Indians | Dysentery. | Electricity -- 18th century | Ethnobotany | Geology -- 18th century | Gout | Indians of North America | Indians of North America -- Agriculture | Indians of North America -- Languages | Kaigana Indians | Kaskaskia Indians | Mammals -- Classification | Mandan Indians | Mastodons | Materia medica | Medicine -- Practice -- 18th century | Medicine -- Study and teaching -- 18th century | Meteorology -- United States -- 18th century | Meteors | Mineralogy | Natural history -- 18th century | Natural history -- 19th century | Osage language | Physicians -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Physics | Rittenhouse, David, 1732-1796 | Seminole Indians | Seneca Indians | Tuscarora Indians | University of Pennsylvania -- Faculty | Venereal disease | Yellow fever | Yellow fever -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- 1793 | Zoology -- 18th century 
13Author:  Fisher family.Requires cookie*
 Title:  Fisher family papers, 1797-1825     
 Dates:  1797-1825 
 Abstract:  This collection houses an assortment of papers relating to the Fisher family of Philadelphia. Miers Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia lawyer. Assorted papers of his two sons are also included. Samuel Fisher was a merchant in Philadelphia and his brother, Miers Jr., was a merchant in Russia. This collection captures the breadth of this prominent family's social and economic connections.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.F530-F532 
 Extent:  1 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Diplomatic History | International Affairs | International Trade. | Marriage and Family Life | Pennsylvania History | Social Life and Custom | Travel 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Meteorological Data | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Meteorology -- Observations -- Europe. 
14Author:  Fox familyRequires cookie*
 Title:  Fox Family papers, ca. 1690-1915     
 Dates:  1690-1915 
 Abstract:  This collection contains information on the prominent Philadelphian Fox family with a large portion of the collection focusing on the family's land holdings and business dealings. George Fox was a close friend of William Temple Franklin, who bequeathed to Fox his grandfather's papers. George Fox was a doctor educated at the University of Pennsylvania. His brother Samuel was a businessman. Samuel's son Charles became a doctor. The collection reflects various papers relating to the lives and careers of these three men.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.F832f 
 Extent:  2 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Education | International Travel | Land and Speculation | Law | Literature, Arts, and Culture | Marriage and Family Life | Medicine | Pennsylvania History | Social Life and Custom | Surveying and Maps 
 Genre:  Commonplace Book | Diaries | Educational Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Maps and Surveys | Travel Narratives and Journals 
15Author:  Hare, Robert, 1781-1858Requires cookie*
 Title:  Robert Hare papers, 1764-1858     
 Dates:  1764-1858 
 Abstract:  The Robert Hare collection is a large, diverse, and rich collection. The collection contains essays, lectures, and letters to and from Robert Hare, the preeminent chemist in the United States during much of the nineteenth century. But as this collection shows, Hare was far more than a chemist. His essays and lectures touch on an array of topics, including discussions of democracy, currency, history, slavery, among others. The APS collection captures the sophistication of Hare's thought.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.H22 
 Extent:  3 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  African American | Antebellum Politics | Business and Skilled Trades | Early National Politics | Education | Literature, Arts, and Culture 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Educational Material | General Correspondence | Literature | Manuscript Essays | Scientific Data | Sketchbooks | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Abolition, emancipation, freedom | American Philosophical Society | Antislavery movements -- Pennsylvania | Banks and banking -- United States. | Blasting, Submarine | Blowpipe. | Capital punishment. | Chemical apparatus | Chemistry | Chemists -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Cyclones. | Electricity -- 19th century | Epidemics -- United States | Federalist Party -- Pennsylvania | Fire extinction | Guano | Mesmerism | Money | Paper money -- United States -- 19th century | Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Politics and government -- 19th century | Race, race relations, racism | Railroads | Religion | Rome (Italy) -- Antiquities | Science and technology | Slaughtering and slaughter-houses -- United States -- 19th century | Slavery -- Pennsylvania. | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Smithsonian Institution | Spiritualism -- Pennsylvania | Storms | Tornadoes | United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century 
16Author:  Hare-Willing family.Requires cookie*
 Title:  Hare-Willing Family Papers     
 Dates:  1724-1965 
 Abstract:  This is a large and wide ranging collection on materials. The collection contains over 1300 individual items along with 53 bound volumes, which range from letter books to records of the First Colored Wesley Methodist Church. Letters to and from the various members of the extended Hare-Willing family compose the bulk of the loose correspondence.

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 Call #:  Mss.Ms.Coll.104 
 Extent:  52 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  African American | Americans Abroad | Business and Skilled Trades | Early National Politics | Education | International Travel | Law | Natural history | Philadelphia History | Religion | Science and technology | Travel | Women's History 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Educational Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Institutional Records | Legal Records | Miscellaneous | Notebooks | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  African American churches -- United States | Banks and banking -- United States -- History -- 19th century. | Religion, religious organizations | Science -- United States -- 19th century. | Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform | Steam-engines. | Titantic (Steamship) | World War I | World War II 
17Author:  Burd, James, 1726-1793Requires cookie*
 Title:  Burd-Shippen Papers     
 Dates:  1708-1792 
 Abstract:  This collection is one of the largest early American collections the APS holds. Its breadth of sources provides insight into colonial Pennsylvania history, especially that of Lancaster County. Although largely material composed of material from James Burd, there are also significant documents relating to the Shippen family. Documents touch on matters financial, political, and social. While the collection is of wide ranging material, its strength lies in three main parts: the Seven Years' War and Pontiac's Rebellion in Pennsylvania, Burd's business records, and life in Lancaster County from 1754-1776.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.B892 
 Extent:  6.5 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Business and Skilled Trades | Colonial Politics | Government Affairs | Land and Speculation | Military History | Native America | Pennsylvania History | Seven Years' War | Surveying and Maps | Trade 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Diaries | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Miscellaneous | Official Government Documents and Records | Political Correspondence | Travel Narratives and Journals 
 Subjects:  Court calendars -- Pennsylvania. | Fort Augusta (Pa.) | Fort Duquesne | Fort Granville (Pa.) | Fort Hunter | Fort Pitt (Pa.) | Fort William Henry (N.Y.) | Fortification -- Pennsylvania. | Iroquois Indians | Lancaster County (Pa.) -- History | Meteorology -- Pennsylvania -- Observations | Military supplies. | Pennsylvania -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 | Pennsylvania -- History -- French and Indian War, 1755-1763 | Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Commerce | Shippenburg Library Company | United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1755-1763 | United States. Army. Supplies and stores