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Sharpe, Weiss and Company Papers

Creator:
Sharpe, Weiss and Company  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this
Extent:
4.75 Cubic feet (13 boxes, 1 map folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Microfilms
Account books
Letters (correspondence)
Invoices
Date:
1856-1889
Scope and Contents:
Invoices and letters from merchants and manufacturers with whom Sharpe, Weiss and Company, and their successors, did business; and two reels of microfilm of Sharpe and Weiss's account books.
Arrangement:
This collection is divided into seven series.

Series 1: Invoices to Sharpe, Weiss & Company, 1872-1874

Series 2: Invoices to Mr. H. C. Miler, 1884-1889

Series 3: Transportation Records for Sharpe, Weiss & Company, 1856-1859

Series 4: Receipts and correspondence for Sharpe, Weiss & Company, 1863-1889

Series 5: Summaries of Coal Shipments 1856-1874

Series 6: Other company's documents including Lehigh Coal Mine Company, Breaver Meadow, Lehigh Valley and Lehigh Cumberland Broadtop, 1792-1869 (not inclusive)

Series 7:Two rolls of microfilm containing company account books 1847-1874
Biographical / Historical:
Sharpe, Leisenring and Company was formed in 1854 as a partnership of Richard Sharpe, John Leisenring, Asa Lansford Foster, George Belford, Francis Weiss and Williams Reed. Most of the partners had been associated with the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LC&N). Weiss was the grandson of Jacob Weiss, founder of the predecessor Lehigh Coal Mine Company in 1792. Foster was a contemporary of John Leisenring, Sr., who had been brought to Mauch Chunk to run the LC&N's first company store. He founded the town's first newspaper in 1829. Most of the men had been partners in Belford, Sharpe & Company or Daniel Bertsch & Company, contract operators of the LC&N's mines at Summit Hill and Ashton (now Lansford) in the late 1840s and 1850s.

John Leisenring moved from Ashton to Eckley in 1854 and remained in charge of operations there until he was appointed Chief Engineer and Superintendent of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company in July 1860. As one of the conditions, he was required to devote full time to the LC&N's affairs, and he returned to Mauch Chunk. The firm was then reconstituted as Sharpe, Weiss & Company, which it remained until the end of 1874, when Richard Sharpe surrendered the lease and moved to Wilkes Barre. William Reed had sold out his interest in 1867, Foster had died early in the following year, and George Belford died in 1873.

At this point John Leisenring, now operating at Upper Lehigh, took over. The new firm of John Leisenring & Co. was formed on January 1, 1875, the other partners being Dr. John S. Wentz, Samuel B. Price and Daniel Bertsch, Jr. In later years, the firm appears to have been limited to John Leisenring, his sons Edward B. and John, Jr. and his sons-in-law J. S. Wentz and M.S. Kemmerer. Dr. Wentz was sent to Eckley as Superintendent. The firm was continued after John Leisenring's death until the end of 1885, when E. B. Coxe terminated the lease and assumed the operations of the mines himself. During the tenure of John Leisenring and Company the town of Eckley reached its maximum size with a population of 1500.

No records of John Leisenring & Company have survived. The Sharpe, Weiss & Company records from 1850 to 1874 were given to the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, and the village of Eckley has been restored as part of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Museum Complex.

Source

From Eleuthuerian Mills Historical Library, Wilmington, Delaware
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Merchants -- 19th century  Search this
Anthracite coal industry  Search this
Genre/Form:
Business records -- 19th century
Microfilms
Account books -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- 19th century
Invoices
Citation:
Sharpe, Weiss and Company Papers, 1856-1889, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0399
See more items in:
Sharpe, Weiss and Company Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8aca1f3dc-aad4-4814-a6d6-5f371926354d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0399

Lehigh Valley Coal Company Records

Collector:
Lehigh Valley Coal Company  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Agriculture  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this
Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Drawings
Specifications
Date:
1864-1865, and undated.
Scope and Contents:
Company records, including specifications, drawings and plans, photographs, and other miscellaneous archival material.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Mining company, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Provenance:
Collected for the National Museum of American History.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Coal -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Coal mines and mining -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Mining equipment  Search this
Anthracite coal industry  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 19th century
Drawings -- 19th century
Specifications
Citation:
Lehigh Valley Coal Company Records, 1864-1865, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1106
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8afa54fb5-cde7-424e-b29f-54e81299c8c4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1106

Swatara Railroad Papers

Author:
Swatara Railroad Company  Search this
Donaldson, William  Search this
Swatara and Good Spring Railroad  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Agriculture  Search this
Names:
Good Spring Railroad  Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (3 vertical boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Financial statements
Receipts
Correspondence
Place:
Pennsylvania -- 19th century
Date:
1805-1894.
Scope and Contents:
Documents relating to the business of the Swatara Railroad Company of Danville, Pennsylvania and particularly of its president, "Judge" William Donaldson. Includes receipts, bills, contracts, operating statistics, financial statements and correspondence, filed chronologically by year.
Biographical / Historical:
The Swatara and Good Spring Railroad was incorporated in 1831 with Judge William Donaldson as president. Renamed the Swatara Railroad in 1841, it was one of several lines connecting the First Pennsylvania anthracite coal field via waterways to the East Coast. Until 1848 it was powered by horses and was extended and rebuilt periodically. In 1863, Donaldson sold his interest in the Swatara to the Philadelphia & Reading Co., which renamed it the Good Spring Railroad.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Coal mines and mining -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Railroads -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Anthracite coal industry -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Genre/Form:
Financial statements -- 19th century
Receipts -- 19th century
Correspondence -- 19th century
Citation:
Swatara Railroad Papers, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0272
See more items in:
Swatara Railroad Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86c1015d7-f9b0-41f2-b431-b8a64b8dcc14
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0272
Online Media:

Tragedy at Avondale : the causes, consequences, and legacy of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Industry's most deadly mining disaster, September 6, 1869 / Robert P. Wolensky, Joseph M. Keating

Author:
Wolensky, Robert P  Search this
Keating, Joseph M  Search this
Physical description:
xvi, 191 p. : ill., maps ; 25 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
Pennsylvania
Avondale
Avondale (Pa.)
Date:
2008
C2008
19th century
Topic:
Avondale Mine Disaster, Avondale, Pa., 1869  Search this
Coal mine accidents--History  Search this
Anthracite coal industry--History  Search this
Coal miners--History  Search this
Disasters--History  Search this
History  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_903442

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