The Pennsylvania Archives Turns 100! An Interview with State Archivist Frank M. Suran

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Pennsylvania Archives Turns 100! An Interview with State Archivist Frank M. Suran 2003 marks the centennial of the Pennsylvania State Archives, the oldest component of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), the Commonwealth’s official history agency, and State Archivist Frank M. Suran knows its history bet­ter than anyone else. An archivist’s responsibilities include a multitude of tasks. Suran discusses his beginnings at the State Archives,...
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One Hundredth Anniversary of Pennsylvania State Archives

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on One Hundredth Anniversary of Pennsylvania State Archives The term “archives,” derived from the Latin archivum and the Greek archeion, refers to a government house, or the place where public records or historical documents are preserved. The Pennsylvania State Archives, the unit of Pennsylvania’s government responsible for the preservation of the permanently valuable records of the Commonwealth’s local, country, and state...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Documenting Pennsylvania’s Past: The First Century of the Pennsylvania State Archives Edited by Willis L. Shirk Jr. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2003 (242 pages, paper, $32.95) A detailed and highly graphic centennial celebration in print, Documenting Pennsylvania’s Past: The First Century of the Pennsylvania State Archives offers readers a glimpse at the vast...
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Discovering the World War II Bonus Program

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Discovering the World War II Bonus Program Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that a perfunctory visit to the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg would produce one of the most poignant moments in my quest to trace my roots. As a sideline to my regular job, I write a weekly column on genealogy for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. When I have a chance to tack a couple of vacation days onto a business trip, I often use the...
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Septennial Census

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Septennial Census Pennsylvania’s consti­tution has nothing like the “actual Enumeration” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which is the basis for the once-per­-decade federal censuses that have become the sin­gle most important record group for genealogists. While the Commonwealth has never taken such an all-inclusive headcount, it did enumerate taxpayers in listings called the Septennial Census...
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Early Records of The State Museum

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Early Records of The State Museum Prior to the construction of the William Penn Memorial Museum Building in the early 1960s, The State Museum of Pennsylvania was housed in the old Executive Office Building, renamed the Speaker Mathew J. Ryan Legislative Office Building in 1998. This building was frequently called the State Library and Museum Building because it also housed the State Li­brary until the present-day Education...
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Key of the Capitol to Samuel Pennypacker (1907)

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on Key of the Capitol to Samuel Pennypacker (1907) As Pennsylvania’s State Capitol marks its one hundredth anniversary this year, institutions and individuals throughout the Commonwealth are showcasing their treasures associated with the building (see “Through the Halls of History with Ruthann Hubbert-Kemper, Keeper of the Capitol” by Michael J. O’Malley III). Collectors are seeking out early twentieth-century souvenirs...
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Library of the Founding Fathers

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on Library of the Founding Fathers Three centuries after the birth of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), the world continues to be amazed by his overwhelming contributions, from the proprietary period in the early years of Pennsylvania through the birth of the United States of America. Of his many accomplishments, Franklin’s love of the printed word seems most obvious. In 1731, he and several friends founded the first...
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Out and About

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Out and About Canis Major “I never met a pet I didn’t like,” pop icon Andy Warhol (1928–1987) — born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh — once wrote. The artist had many pets throughout his life, including his childhood dog, a lovable mutt named Lucy, more than a dozen Siamese cats, and his dachshunds Amos and Archie. His New York studio, the Silver Factory, had two resident felines, Black Lace and White Pussy, and...
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Black Settlement on Yellow Hill

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Black Settlement on Yellow Hill Anyone who has ever read about the Battle of Gettysburg or visited the historic American Civil War battlefield undoubtedly learned about the generals, the courageous soldiers who fought in the grisly three-day encounter, and the thousands that lost their lives on that hallowed ground in Adams County. The stories of the famous engagements that took place at Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, and the...
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