Webguide to Collections

American Association of University Women, Erie Branch Collection

This comprehensive collection documents the activities of this group of college-educated women on educational, civic and social problems of the community, along with activities on a state, regional and national level. The collection contains by-laws and the constitution, Erie Board minutes (1932-1965) and Erie Branch minutes (1902-1986), membership records (1902-1984), policies, publications, correspondence, invitations, Educational Foundation activity, convention information, legislative committee guidelines and reports, legislative amendments and bills, including the Equal Rights Amendment, Holly Trail and Heritage Trail programs, surveys, questionnaires and study groups, committees, Green Circle Program, other programs, events, presentations, publicity, the Erie AAUW newsletter publication Erie Pressible span dates: 1945-1987, and the Keystoner, the Pennsylvania Division of AAUW publication, 1959-1980, 1982-1987; yearbooks, 1946-47, 1954-1990; membership publications, Women’s History Week activities, photos, 1960-1981, 1984; scrapbooks, span dates: 1941-1988; financial records, information on the publication Erie History: The Women’s Story; correspondence, publications, relating statewide AAUW issues. Collection span dates: 1902-1988. Donated by Mercyhurst College Archives and AAUW, Erie Branch. (MCA) 41h, scrapbooks, print boxes. ECHS 198. GUIDE FILE available.

Harry Thacker Burleigh Collection

Mr. Harry [Henry] T. Burleigh (1866-1949) was born in Erie, PA. He became a well known singer and composer of Negro spirituals. Mr. Burleigh learned to write arrangements for the plantation songs his grandfather Hamilton Waters taught him when philanthropist and political activist Isador Sobel funded his trip to New York City’s National Conservatory of Music. This collection includes Hamilton Waters’ certificate of freedom; Burleigh and Waters family genealogies; sheet music, programs and personal papers of Harry Burleigh; letters to and correspondence between Norman Sobel (son of Isador) and author Anne Simpson re: research on H.T. Burleigh; and articles on Burleigh and other black musicians by Sobel and Simpson. A bank book, European trip itinerary, high school papers, and subscriber’s list to send Burleigh to National Conservatory of Music complete the collection. Span dates: 1832, 1892-1994. Donated by Norman T. Sobel, Mrs. Ted Buczek and Harry Burleigh, II. 5h. ECHS 3. GUIDE FILE available.

John S. Chaffee Collection

John S. Chaffee, M.D. (1914-2000) was born in Erie to Dr. Orel N. and Eliza Baldwin Chaffee. He was a surgeon at Hamot Medical Center and in 1991 he wrote and published the book Reflections on Erie County Physicians. This collection includes notes, photographs and xeroxes of photos which represent his memoirs, A Trilogy from the Memoirs of John S. Chaffee, M.D.; Norton-Chaffee-Hatch family genealogy; Central and Strong Vincent yearbooks, class reunion photographs and program. The collection also includes papers found in a G.E. Co. building by Warren C. Langdon: newspapers, letters, photos, a Brighton Institute Journal, 1840-41, a prayer book c.1836; and a Times-News article about Mr. Langdon and his collection. span dates: 1836-1994. Donated by John S. Chaffee. ECHS 156. 4h. GUIDE FILE available.

Henry Alden Clark Collection

Henry Alden Clark (1850-1944), born in Harborcreek, PA, was a well-known lawyer and politician in Erie. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1884. He practiced law with D.B. McCreary. Mr. Clark owned the Erie Gazette (1890-1892) and was appointed Judge of Erie’s Orphan’s Court (1921-1925), trustee of the Erie Academy, director of the Art Club, and president of the University Club. Mr. Clark was elected chairman of the Erie City and County Republican Committees in 1890 and was delegate to state conventions, a member of the Common Council (1888), city solicitor (1896-1899), State Senator (1910-1916), and a member of the House of Representatives (1916-1920). This collection includes Erie County Republican Committee papers (1888-1948), broadsides for Republican Committee rallies, tickets, press releases, campaign advertisements, programs, (1872-1961), and correspondence of Henry A. Clark. A letter to Gideon Ball (1854), newspaper clippings, invitations, programs and an Algeria Farm Stud Book, 1889, complete the collection. span dates: 1854, 1872-1962. Donated by Stephen E. Karsh. 1h. ECHS 140. GUIDE FILE available.

Dickson (John) Family Collection

The collection consists of letters about the Dickson family and its business. There is a letter from Susan Dickson concerning a widow’s pension for officers of the War of 1812 (1859). A second letter is from attorneys Wm. Van Marter & Co. regarding a bounty land warrant (1868). A third letter, to John Dickson, from “Aunt Jane” concerns her thoughts on Lincoln’s assassination and Booth’s punishment (1864). There is a photo of Jane Dickson, the family matriarch, and a document pertaining to the military academy in Erie (1840). John Dickson’s account book records the poor tax assessment for 1826 and home medical remedies. span dates: 1821-1868. Donated by Spafford Becker. 1 h. MC 2.

Erie Brewing Company, Inc. Collection

Koehler Brewery/Erie Brewing Company, Inc. Collection. This extensive collection includes thorough documentation of the business and corporation. By-laws, Board meeting minutes, Stockholders’ certificates and meeting minutes, advertising including clippings, public service announcements, correspondence from ad agencies, and scrapbooks; prohibition era regarding Erie Dry Ice Company, and brownie soda production; community activities including Koehler Polar Bears at the Erie Zoo, scholarships, workers’ newsletter “Koehler Comments”, production records, recipes, beer surveys, and studies, correspondence regarding the merger with Schmidt, liquidation correspondence and appraisals, legal papers including leases, trademark correspondence, chain of title for land, financial reports, cashbooks and correspondence, photographs of all aspects of the business, distribution information, 1978-81, company stock certificates, span dates: 1958-1978. Trademark registrations for Koehler labels and beers, and listing of the Erie Brewing Company assets, deeds, leases, property descriptions, litigation, C. Schmidt & Son charter and by-laws. span dates: 1949-1978; a list of job injuries at the Erie Brewing Company, 1967-1978. Documents from related companies Imperial Petroleum Products Corp. and Clover Leaf Mining Co. are included. Donated by J. Martin Magenau, Jr. 9h 24H 30 vol. ECHS 56.

Erie Club Collection

Originally located in the former residence of Hon. John H. Walker on 7th St., the Erie Club was incorporated Jan. 10, 1882 and moved to its present location in the Charles M. Reed mansion, 6th & Peach St. in 1904. The collection consists of Erie Club charters, by-laws, lists of officers and committees 1929, 1964, and a membership list dated Jan. 1965. Personal information gathered about city council and school board members furnishes details about occupation, nationality, religion, land assessment, political leanings and social economic notability, 1900-1967. Census statistics gathered (1880-1967) provide details about Erie’s population compared to Erie in previous years and other cities. There are also death certificates 1911-1963 (copied 1968); lists of social-economic notables in Erie; an assessment roll of taxable properties 1936-1939 (1937); PA Industrial Directory of Products of Erie County 1968; and a bibliography of sources. span dates: 1900-1968. Donated by Dr. William Garvey. 1h. MC97. GUIDE FILE available.

Erie Yacht Club Collection

This extensive collection includes the Club’s constitution and by-laws; minute books; annual reports; house and grounds budgets; annual statements; correspondence; scrapbooks; Women’s Auxiliary minutes, clippings, financial records; Junior Sailing; deeds and documents; information on Erie community relationships; subject information on house renovations and additions, flags and locations, sailing regattas, Avalon Yacht Club, Commodore’s Ball, and other parties; Centennial celebration, including the time capsule; publications including the Pilot, Flashlight, Rudder and The Log, span dates: 1896-1987; photograph albums; 35mm. slides; film reels and framed items. Donated by the Erie Yacht Club. 25h+ ECHS 202. GUIDE FILE available. A companion collection of the Erie Yacht Club, documenting the history and activities of the club, span dates: 1885-1972 and including copies of their publication The Log, span dates: 1972-1975, appear on microfilm. MC44. Microfilm.

Daniel B. Foote Collection

This collection includes 106 original letters and transcriptions c.1986 and outline of their content. The letters were written by D. B. Foote (1841-1911) to his parents David and Rhoda Foote, his siblings, his grandfather Jabez, and various friends; letters to him from his parents, his brother George and his cousin Hattie. Early letters illuminate his time at Waterford Academy and life in the oil industry at Oil City and Petroleum City, 1853-1860. Many of the letters relate to his service in the 83rd Regiment of the PA Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, 1861-1865. Topics of interest include: enlistment, Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan as presidential candidates and the election of 1864, Mr. Foote’s opinion of the war, rumors about the rebel cause, Lincoln’s assassination and the closing of the War. span dates: 1858-1865. 1 flat h., 1 binder. Donated in memory of Walter Nielsen by Esther Nielsen. Original letters are in poor condition due to fire damage. Due to the fragile condition of the original letters, extensive transcriptions are available. ECHS 242.

General Electric Company, Inc. Collection

General Electric Company Collection. The first building of GE’s Erie plant was built in 1910. Ever since that time it has been an important part of Erie’s business community and economy. This collection provides insight into life at GE through company newsletters. It includes both individual issues and 47 bound volumes of General Electric Co. newsletters 1916-1988: The Coupler, 1916-July 1925; GE Work News, Aug. 1925-1970; This Week, 1971, 1980-1982; and The News, 1982-1985, 1988. Local #618 statement of intention to strike, 1983; GE advertisements; and information on its Learning and Communication Center complete the collection. 5H, 47 vol. ECHS 57. GUIDE FILE available.

Grubb Family Collection

John Grubb (1767 -1845) was one of the members of the militia who guarded Andrew Ellicott and his surveying party when they arrived in the Erie region in 1795. This extensive collection of family papers includes records which document John Grubb’s military career (Captain in 3rd Co., 7th Battalion in Lancaster, PA) 1792, an Orders book kept during the Whiskey Rebellion, 1794-1795 (28 p.). There is a Justice Docket, Erie Township, Allegheny County, 1797-1803 recording legal transactions and lands sold by the Pennsylvania Population Company in the Erie area to John Grubb, span dates:1795-1802 and a commission on becoming Justice of the Peace in 1801. There are cyphering books of Alicia Cooper (1770-1849), wife of John Grubb. Diaries and journals of daughters Delia (1806-1872) and Armfield Grubb (1801 -1867) reveal details of daily life in Millcreek township during the first half of the 19th century. Many other types of documents including financial and legal records, court dockets, and examinations of title, farm records, correspondence, books of poetry, genealogy charts and manuscripts appear in this comprehensive collection of an Erie County pioneer family. Donated by John C. Reed, Michael Reed and others. 8h. GUIDE FILE available. ECHS 20.

Hammermill Paper Company, Inc. Collection

Collection includes information on the watermark process developed by E. Behrend, patent searches and copies, correspondence, agreements, and detectives’ reports, span dates: 1901-1922. There is an extensive segment of photographs of logging operations in Matane, Ontario. Seven bound volumes contain 156 newsletters of Hammermill Paper Co., Hammermill Bond, from1917-1930. There is a collection of German language technical journals on papermaking; Wahrspruche von Moritz Behrend (Wise Words of Moritz Behrend); account book of Hammermill Paper Company, Dec. 1913-Dec. 1916; yearly balance sheets, June 1900-Dec. 1912. The balance of the collection consists of bound volumes of correspondence, 1900-1911; information on stocks, 1899-1922; financial records, 1898-1951; sales, 1911-1912; production orders inventories and payroll, 1923-1945; and scrapbooks, including information on mill expansion, workers’ wages, proposed mergers, and conservation, 1948-1967; annual reports, stockholder notices, and financial reviews, span dates: c. 1960-1985.Donated by Hammermill Paper Co., Inc. 8h, 5H, flat stored volumes. ECHS Coll. 58. GUIDE FILE available.

David B. McCreary Collection

Mr. McCreary (1826-1906) was a lawyer in Erie, PA who served in the Wayne Guard, Erie Regiment and the 145^th Regiment during the Civil War. There is personal material and records of Mr. McCreary’s legal, military and political careers. His law career, including his partnerships with J.B. Johnson (1853-1857) and Jonas Gunnison (1857-1861), and his military career, including participation in the Wayne Guard, Erie Regiment and 145th Regiment during the Civil War are covered in depth. Records from his service as school director in Erie (1860-1862), member of the Erie County Republican Committee (1870-1871), member of the PA House of Representatives (1865-1867, 1870-1871), as PA Adjutant General (1867-1870) and as PA Senator (c.1888-1892) appear in the collection. Financial records highlight his actions as treasurer of Park Presbyterian Church and Marine Hospital as well as guardian of Donald McCarty’s children (1853-1866). Personal papers and family correspondence complete the collection. span dates: 1826, 1837-1845. Donated by Helen Rilling Andrews. 13h. ECHS 62. GUIDE FILE available.

Nagle Steam Engine & Boiler Works Collection

The engine works companies of T.M. Nagle (1840-1916) span 1879-1942. This extensive collection includes 356 bound volumes of journals, financial records, price lists, customer lists, contracts, orders, shipping information, a ledger, receipts, machine records, time books and pay rolls. Correspondence regarding orders and quotes (1912-1935), telegrams (1925-1938), financial papers (1912-1941, n. d.), T.M. Nagle’s estate papers, catalog sheets, printing plates, casting numbers, and plans blueprints, and drawings for engines and parts are also included in the collection. Records prior to 1879 may be those of Erie City Iron Works. span dates:1853-1943, n.d. Donated by Tom Schiewe and Erie Castings. (ECHS). 46H and 365 bound volumes 2 bank boxes. ECHS 55. FINDING AID available.

Oren Reed Family Papers

This collection documents the lives of four generations of the Reed family of McKean Township, Erie Co., PA. The family farm was located 3 miles southeast of Middleboro in McKean Township. Oren Reed taught school and farmed. He was County Auditor in 1852-55 and 1863-65. He was town Assessor in 1873-74. Known as a progressive farmer, Oren Reed was responsible for bringing Morgan horses to McKean Township. Otis Reed, his son, also was a teacher and farmer who taught school from 1858-1870. He was Clerk of McKean 1862-75. In 1880 he was a census enumerator, Tax Auditor 1878-81 and Assistant Assessor in 1882. A majority of the papers document the activities of Oren Reed (1808-1893), Otis Reed (1838-1920) and Oren Reed (1894-1985), son of Otis Reed. A few early documents provide a glimpse of the lives of Shubael Reed (1771-1844) and his wife Mehitable Hale Reed (1775-1834). Thirty letters document the activities and thoughts of women in the family, including a letter from Martha Campbell, letters to Julia M. Nye Reed (Mrs. Otis) (1859-1914), and letters to Sophia Reed, daughter of Julia Nye Reed from other women in the family, span dates: 1870-1924. Other records in the collection include farm accounts, broadsides, tax records, church records, school records, wills and other genealogy information on the family. Purchase. 6h. GUIDE FILE available. ECHS Coll. 6.

Sanford-Spencer Papers

The Sanford-Spencer Papers consist of two combined collections with three major collectors including Giles Sanford (1783-1866), Laura Sanford (1819-1907) and Frances L. Spencer (1838-1924). Giles Sanford was a merchant in business with Rufus S. Reed, owner of the Erie Canal Co., 1814-1824. Giles Sanford was a delegate to the Canal Convention in Harrisburg, PA which supported development of transportation routes in Pennsylvania. Frances L. Spencer was the daughter of Judah Colt Spencer (nephew of Judah Colt) and Livinia Stanley Sanford (1817-1886). Judah Colt, head agent of the Pennsylvania Population Company from 1792 through 1815, is well represented in the collection. Laura Sanford and her father, Giles Sanford collected primary documents on many important topics to support her research on the first substantial history of Erie County, PA, published in 1862. Eventually more source material was gathered, including interviews with nationally significant historians who sought Laura Sanford’s opinion of their research. George Bancroft, author of HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES and Henry Schoolcraft, author of INDIAN TRIBES sent her letters. A revised edition of the HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY was published in 1894 by Laura Sanford. span dates: c. 1780-1906. Donated by Henry A. Clark, Atty. and J. C. Spencer, Executor. 41h, 60 vol. ECHS 315. Extensive FINDING AID available.

United Oil Company Collection

Gustave J. Gebhardt (1857-1943) founded the United Oil Company in 1908. Located on 14th and Walnut St., the company continued to be a family owned and operated manufacturer of oils, lubricants and gasoline throughout the 20th century. The collection encompasses administrative papers, company and industry histories, and industry reference books. Business records include financial records, correspondence, minute books, sales records, advertising materials and laboratory test books. A large number of photographs and negatives complete the collection. Images of employees, delivery trucks, bulk plants, service stations and pump locations, Gustave J. Gebhardt’s Coal & Coke Company and Gebhardt family members may be found in the collection. span dates: 1838, 1863-2000. Donated by Gordon J. Gebhardt. 16h, 4 flat h, 1 square h, 1 oversize volume. ECHS 193. Extensive FINDING AID available.

J.A. Zurn Manufacturing Co./Zurn Industies, Inc. and Hays Manufacturing Co..Coll.

This collection focuses on Zurn Industries Inc., businesses bought by Zurn Inc., and the career of the company founder, John A. Zurn (1874-1957). Forty-six scrapbooks record the history of Zurn Industries Inc. Much of the remaining collection records John Zurn’s activities in the business and the Erie community. Correspondence on John Zurn’s service as school director (1923), member of the German Baptist seminary financial committee (1927-1939), member of the YMCA board of directors (1928-1956), superintendent, vice president and president of the City Mission Board (1932-1956), member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board (1939-1956), member of the general council for the North American Baptist Seminary (1946-1950), associate and advisory board member of Behrend College (1948-1956), and jury commissioner (1953) is available for research. Business records, correspondence, literature, photographs and audio/visual media are divided into the following series: Zurn Media (1905-1964), J.A. Zurn Manufacturing Co. (19111-1956), Zurn Industries Inc. (1962-1971), Zurn photographs (1921-1967), clipping files (1928-1968), J.A. Zurn insurance, financial, religious, humanitarian, personal and real-estate papers (1920-1956), Zurn audio/visual (n.d.), and the Pat Liebel files (1967-1969). The collection also contains Hays Manufacturing Co. records including account books (1883-1922), photographs, prints, price information (1891-1920), catalogs, booklets, newsletters, and two scrapbooks (c. 1900-1905, 1967-1975). span dates: 1883-1971. Donated by: James A. Zurn. 7h, 1fl h, 10H, 3 o-s ff, 47 vol. scrapbooks, 1 vol. account book. ECHS 125. Extensive GUIDE FILE available.