| | 1 | Author: | Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | William Temple Franklin appointment books: diaries, 1785-1803
| | | | Dates: | 1785-1803 | | | | Abstract: | This collection of William Temple Franklin material contains copies, often typescript, of Benjamin Franklin's grandson, who also served as his secretary in France. Some but not all of the originals are housed in the APS already. These documents contain annotations of Claude-Anne Lopes, the former editor of the Benjamin Franklin Papers.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.F86d.tr | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Diplomatic History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Diaries | |
| 4 | Author: | Breck, Samuel, 1771-1862 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Recollections of my acquaintance with deceased members of the American Philosophical Society, 1862
| | | | Dates: | 1862 | | | | Abstract: | The Samuel Breck Collection consists of two separately-cataloged, bound volumes. The first, "Historical Sketch of the Continental Bills of Credit, from 1775 to 1781, with Specimens thereof" (332.5 B74h), is a long manuscript essay on Continental Bills of credit from 1775 – 1781, which reflects Breck's interest in historical matters. The second volume is a handwritten account of Breck at 92 years old reminiscing on prominent APS members he had met.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.920.B74 | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Business and Skilled Trades | Philadelphia History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Manuscript Essays | |
| 6 | Author: | Rittenhouse, David, 1732-1796 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | David Rittenhouse receipt book, 1779-1785
| | | | Dates: | 1779-1785 | | | | Abstract: | This small volume records the various payments David Rittenhouse, as state treasurer, received from John Hart, the treasurer for Bucks County, for the years 1779-1785. The accounts do not contain much detail aside from the amount of funds Hart received for fines, taxes, and other fees that he then transferred to the state treasury. The data may complement some of the lieutenant and treasury data contained in the Pennsylvania Archives, however.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.R51r | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Government Affairs | Pennsylvania History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Official Government Documents and Records | | | | Subjects: | Taxation -- Pennsylvania -- Bucks County. | |
| 7 | Author: | Society of Free Quakers. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Religious Society of Free Quakers records, 1781-1975
| | | | Dates: | 1781-1975 | | | | Abstract: | This large collection contains a wealth of information on the Free Quakers, founded in 1781 in Philadelphia. The collection contains records up to the 1970s. The early American materials include minutes, legal documents, receipts, information on burial plots, and membership rolls. There are many documents that date to the Society's founding, including minutes, but there are many more for the early nineteenth century. Many of the most prominent members of the Society are mentioned, such as Owen Biddle, Bartram Moses, Samuel Wetherhill, Benjamin Say, and John and Elizabeth Claypoole (Betsy Ross). The earliest minutes contain information on the Free Quakers expulsion from the main Quaker meeting (they record being asked to "walk out") and their formation, which began at the house of Samuel Wetherhill. A letter authored by the women of the Free Society of Friends that contains Elizabeth Calypoole's name is included in the earliest minutes and what appears to be her signature is part of the Membership Book for 1785. John Calypoole is listed as a regular recipient of Society funds. The financial records contain various donations made by members and the expenditures of the meeting, particularly on the upkeep of their meetinghouse. In addition to the records directly relating to the Society, the collection also has a large collection of currency from the revolutionary era.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.289.6.So22p | | | | Extent: | 3 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Philadelphia History | Religion | Women's History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | Miscellaneous | | | | Subjects: | Cemeteries -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. | Quaker church buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. | Quakers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. | Religious institutions -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. | Sepulchral monuments -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. | Society of Friends -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. | |
| 8 | Author: | Hall, David, 1714-1772 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | David Hall papers, 1745-1822
| | | | Dates: | 1745-1822 | | | | Abstract: | This collection consists of a range of materials related to the business history of David Hall, printer. The collection contains four outgoing letter books of David Hall to business correspondents (Xeroxed from a private collection), account books for the shop (Xeroxed from a private collection), and incoming correspondence, primarily from William Strahan (mostly originals). Hall's letter and account books provide a clear record of the print shop's business. The correspondence of William Strahan, which is the only original manuscript portion of the collection at the APS, is often long and detailed. The letters from Strahan touch on matters relating to family and friends, business, and politics. Strahan's letters occasionally discuss his business dealings in other colonies, and mention other printers such as James Rivington. Strahan almost always ends by giving Hall accounts of politics in London, which may have been used to disseminate news in the PA Gazette. These accounts also provide insight into the perceptions and beliefs of a prominent Londoner during the imperial crisis.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.B.H142.1-3 | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Business and Skilled Trades | International Affairs | Printing and Publishing | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | General Correspondence | | | | Subjects: | Papermaking -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- 18th century. | Printing industry -- Accounting -- United States -- 18th century. | |
| 12 | Author: | Dawes, Elizabeth F.,collector. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Dawes Collection of Documents on American History
| | | | Dates: | 1681-1921 | | | | Abstract: | This is a collection of miscellaneous documents from early America. The earliest documents come from the early 18th century and the latest from the Civil War era. The collection contains a few documents from the revolutionary period, most of which are official governments documents or deal with business transactions. There is one long letter from Robert McPherson, a member of the Pennsylvania Flying Camp, that describes his experience. Perhaps reflecting her ancestral home, the collection contains a small but notable collection of materials from South Carolina, including a very early letter from Francis Le Jau and letters from the Marquis de Lafayette about an expected trip to South Carolina. There are a significant number of documents from Pennsylvania, especially legal documents, from the early republic. The letters from Clement Biddle, a former revolutionary war soldier, also provide insight on early national Indian relations Finally, there are also some significant autographs collected, including a Massachusetts legal form with the signature of John Adams, a letter from James Madison to the Mississippi Territory around the time of the Louisiana Purchase, and letters from Civil War era figures like John Calhoun (a rich letter in which Calhoun discusses his views on tariffs and nullification), James Buchanan, and William Seward.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.973.D32 | | | | Extent: | 0.25 Linear Feet | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Colony and State Specific History | Early National Politics | Native America | Pennsylvania History | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | General Correspondence | Miscellaneous | Official Government Documents and Records | | | | Subjects: | Publishers and publishing. | |
| 13 | Author: | Penn, Thomas, 1702-1775 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Thomas Penn correspondence, 1747-1771, with James Hamilton
| | | | Dates: | 1747-1771 | | | | Abstract: | This Thomas and Richard Penn Collection contains a range of correspondence from the proprietors of Pennsylvania, Thomas and Richard Penn (especially Thomas, the chief proprietor), to their agents in Pennsylvania, especially James Hamilton, who served as governor in the 1750s. The Collection begins in the 1740s, spans the Seven Years' War, and ends in the midst of the imperial crisis. Because of the time period covered, the letters touch on many important matters regarding the militarization of Pennsylvania, political battles within the colony, and the crisis brought about by imperial consolidation in the 1760s.
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| | | | Call #: | Mss.974.8.P36c | | | | Extent: | 1 volume(s) | | | | Topics: | American Revolution | Colonial Politics | Government Affairs | Land and Speculation | Military History | Pennsylvania History | Seven Years' War | | | | Genre: | Business Records and Accounts | General Correspondence | Official Government Documents and Records | Political Correspondence | |
| 14 | Author: | Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823 | Requires cookie* | | | 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 | |
| 16 | Author: | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 | Requires cookie* | | | 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 | |
| 17 | Author: | Vaux, George, V, 1721-1803 | Requires cookie* | | | 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. | |
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