Resources in Early American History
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Results:  8 Items   Page: 1
1Author:  Vaughan, Benjamin, 1751-1835Requires cookie*
 Title:  Benjamin Vaughan Papers     
 Dates:  1746-1900 
 Abstract:  The Benjamin Vaughan Papers contain an extensive amount of correspondence and other documents. MOLE contains a detailed inventory of its holdings. Vaughan was a prominent figure in the revolutionary Atlantic. This large collection captures the complex and high profile life Benjamin led. He was born in the Caribbean but grew up in London. He became a friend of Franklin and his circle in London in the 1770s. During the War for Independence, he served as an emissary to the peace negotiations between the U.S. and British. He then spent a few years in Switzerland before emigrating to the United States with his wife. They settled in Maine, where Vaughan dabbled in speculation, farming, and other pursuits. His brother John became active in the American Philosophical Society.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.V46p 
 Extent:  13.25 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  American Revolution | Beyond Early America | Colonial Politics | Diplomatic History | Early National Politics | Land and Speculation | Science and technology 
 Genre:  Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | General Correspondence | Maps and Surveys 
 Subjects:  Agriculture | Animal magnetism. | Architecture | Astronomy | Bowdoin College | Breeding. | Diplomacy. | Diseases | Dueling. | Electricity | Genealogies | Hallowell (Me.) | Manufactures | Medicine | Mesmerism | Meteorology | Notes | Plantations | Punctuation | Religion | Silk industry. | Slaves, slavery, slave trade | Taxation | Unitarianism | United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 
2Author:  Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823Requires 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 
3Author:  Smith FamilyRequires cookie*
 Title:  Smith-Houston-Morris-Ogden Family papers, 1659-1985     
 Dates:  1659-1985 
 Abstract:  The Smith-Houston-Morris-Ogden Collection is the APS's largest collection. It has a vast array of materials from early America. The APS has on file a 303-page survey of the collection that scholars may want to consult before beginning their research. In general, the collection contains information on business, politics, family and social life, Philadelphia history, land expansion, and estates. A good part Morris portion of the collection comes from Governeur Morris and his wife. The bulk of this material begins with his time as an emissary to France during the early republic and continues to his death. There is also a fairly extensive collection of his wife's correspondence, most of which follows Governeur's death. Her letters touch on issues relating to his estate and to other affairs. It includes discussions of slavery in Virginia and contains correspondence from memebers of the extended Jefferson family. The Ogden's were surveyors and land speculators in the late colonial and early national period. This portion of the collection contains discussion of land, business, politics, and family matters. A significant amount of these papers focus on the operations of a grist mill in New York. There are papers from numerous other prominent families, such as the Clemsons, Morgans, and Lewises, who were related through marriage.

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 Call #:  Mss.Ms.Coll.76 
 Extent:  350 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Business and Skilled Trades | Colony and State Specific History | Diplomatic History | Early National Politics | International Affairs | Land and Speculation | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History | Surveying and Maps | Trade 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Diplomatic Material | Family Correspondence | Miscellaneous | Political Correspondence 
 Subjects:  Land speculation 
4Author:  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. 
5Author:  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 
6Author:  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 
7Author:  Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790Requires 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 
8Author:  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.