First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry: America’s Oldest Active Service Unit

Posted by on Aug 13, 2026 in | Comments Off on First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry: America’s Oldest Active Service Unit On November 17, 1774, three members of Philadelphia’s Committee of Safety met with 28 citizens at Carpenters’ Hall to discuss forming a volunteer troop amid rising tensions with Great Britain. From that meeting emerged the Philadelphia Light Horse, later known as the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (FTPCC), or simply the “First Troop.” Its founders pledged to equip and support themselves...
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Sarah Mary Benjamin, Heroine of Yorktown

Posted by on Apr 17, 2026 in | Comments Off on Sarah Mary Benjamin, Heroine of Yorktown Histories of the American Revolution have traditionally focused on famous leaders and soldiers. Far less has been said about the everyday people, especially women, whose lives and labor shaped the struggle for independence. One such woman was Sarah Mary (Mathews Osborn) Benjamin. Sometimes compared to “Molly Pitcher,” Sarah left vivid accounts of her time accompanying her husband, Aaron Osborn,...
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Haym Salomon, Financier Who Helped Fund a Revolution

Posted by on Jan 14, 2026 in | Comments Off on Haym Salomon, Financier Who Helped Fund a Revolution The story of Haym Salomon (1740–85) is both inspiring and deeply bittersweet. One of the most successful financiers of the American Revolution, he directly supported the final victories of the Continental Army, yet he died in poverty. Born in Leszno, Poland–Lithuania, to a Jewish family, Salomon traveled across Western Europe in his early adulthood, learning multiple languages and acquiring...
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Tun Tavern, Birthplace of the U.S. Marines

Posted by on Dec 1, 2025 in | Comments Off on Tun Tavern, Birthplace of the U.S. Marines The Tun Tavern in Philadelphia is best known as the birthplace of the United States Marine Corps, but its legacy extends far beyond military history. In its prime, the tavern served as a social and political hub, hosting early meetings of several prominent organizations that still exist today. Its influence on civic and fraternal life in Colonial America is a reminder of how essential taverns...
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Caroline Burnham Kilgore, Legal Crusader

Posted by on Aug 29, 2025 in | Comments Off on Caroline Burnham Kilgore, Legal Crusader Caroline “Carrie” Burnham Kilgore (1838–1909) was a trailblazer in the fight for women’s rights in the legal profession, but she was not alone. Many women in Pennsylvania faced the same barriers she did, struggling for decades against systemic exclusion from law schools and the bar. Kilgore’s success in 1885, when she became the first woman admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania, was part of a...
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Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, Famed Orator of the Civil War Era

Posted by on Jun 11, 2025 in | Comments Off on Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, Famed Orator of the Civil War Era In the annals of 19th-century America, few figures burned as brightly — and as briefly — as Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (1842–1932). She was born into a Quaker family in Philadelphia, a background that shaped her deep commitment to abolitionism and women’s rights. Raised in a household that mingled with leading abolitionists, Dickinson became an activist at an early age. When she was just 13, she...
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Allan Jaffe, the Man Who Saved New Orleans Jazz

Posted by on Feb 24, 2025 in | Comments Off on Allan Jaffe, the Man Who Saved New Orleans Jazz Allan P. Jaffe (1935–1987) was a pivotal figure in preserving and popularizing New Orleans jazz. Born and raised in Pottsville in Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill County, he was influenced by his father, Harry Jaffe, who played mandolin and taught music before running a wallpaper and paint store. “Pottsville was home to many immigrants who came to work in the anthracite mines, resulting in an...
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The York Imperial Apple

Posted by on Oct 21, 2024 in | Comments Off on The York Imperial Apple Apple picking is a popular fall activity across Pennsylvania, as many orchards offer customers the chance to pluck the fresh fruit directly from their trees. Pennsylvania ranks fourth among states in apple production, growing 400 million to 500 million pounds a year. Fruit production — especially apples — has been a strong agricultural staple in the Keystone State since the late 18th century,...
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Little Lithuania USA

Posted by on Aug 9, 2024 in | Comments Off on Little Lithuania USA Shenandoah is a prime example of a “coal rush” boomtown where immigrants flocked in the second half of the 19th century to find jobs and a better way of life. The first wave of immgrants in this Schuylkill County borough were mostly Welsh, Irish, Scottish and German. They were soon followed by Eastern and Southern Europeans, including a large influx of Lithuanians. The first wave of Lithuanian...
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Dr. Anna E. Broomall: Advancing Care and Careers for Women

Posted by on Mar 27, 2024 in | Comments Off on Dr. Anna E. Broomall: Advancing Care and Careers for Women In 1869 a group of students from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) in Philadelphia attended a clinical lecture at the Pennsylvania Hospital. This marked the first time at the hospital that women were permitted to attend such a lecture alongside male medical students. Unfortunately, the women were unable to finish the first lecture as they were chased out of the amphitheater with...
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