German Society of Pennsylvania Agentur records, 1847-1947.

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German Society of Pennsylvania Agentur records, 1847-1947.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/645255687

72 volumes of handwritten ledgers, indexes, logs, reports, and letter books, recording the efforts of the German Society of Pennsylvania's Agentur (agency) to help newly arrived German immigrants in Philadelphia, as well as established residents of German origin, from 1847 to 1947. The bulk of the records is concentrated in the period from 1854 to 1938. The Agentur kept daily logs of individuals who applied for help, recording biographical information, including address, place of origin, how long in the country, occupation, and the reason for the application (sickness, unemployment, poverty); and often marital status, information about children, and other details. These logs, or Applicants' Ledgers, also record whether the applicant was assisted or rejected; and, where applicable, what type of aid was given, including monetary amount if it was in the form of cash. Extant Applicants' Ledgers date from 1869 to 1938. In the period from 1854 to 1869, some information about applicants can be discerned from an extant index and cash book. No details about the applicants survive from the earliest period, prior to 1854. The records for a separate employment office run by the Agentur between 1885 and 1900 include documentation of German-American businesses in Philadelphia that sought workers through that office. Among the agents with the longest tenures were: William Robert Ackermann (1873-1884), O. Richard Naumann (1885-1892), Joseph Bernt (1896-1916), and Henry Hoffmann (1923-1947); all were members of the Society. The records of the Agentur are potential sources for local Philadelphia history; social history; labor history; immigration research; and genealogy.

52 boxes (10 linear feet)

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German Society of Pennsylvania, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7914858

German Society of Pennsylvania, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

Bernt, Joseph, 1841-1916.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zp6x19 (person)

Naumann, O. Richard.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nw26pw (person)

German Society of Pennsylvania

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66726zw (corporateBody)

Members of the German Society of Pennsylvania constituted the Executive Committee in charge of the arrangements for the Humboldt birthday centennial celebration in Philadelphia: William J. Horstmann (chair); C.M. Baumann; Julius Hein; Lorenz Herbert; Emil Herwig; Paul Jagode; Rudolphi Koradi; Josef Kinike; Oswald Seidensticker; and F.W. Thomas. From the description of Humboldt-Sàˆcular-Feier, 1869. (German Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 646218809 The German So...

Hoffmann, Henry.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jh692v (person)

Ackermann, William Robert, 1823-1885.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tn024f (person)