Search Results

Collection Author:

Railway Express Agency.  Search this

Collection Donor:

Karl, Roger F. R.  Search this

Collection Collector:

Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of  Search this

Container:

Map-folder 4

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1900

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Railway Express Agency Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Railway Express Agency Records

Railway Express Agency Records / Series 9: Drawings

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0260-ref642

Collection Author:

Railway Express Agency.  Search this

Collection Donor:

Karl, Roger F. R.  Search this

Collection Collector:

Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of  Search this

Container:

Map-folder 4

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1922-06-06

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Railway Express Agency Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Railway Express Agency Records

Railway Express Agency Records / Series 9: Drawings

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0260-ref643

Collection Author:

Railway Express Agency.  Search this

Collection Donor:

Karl, Roger F. R.  Search this

Collection Collector:

Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of  Search this

Container:

Map-folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1917-09-25

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Railway Express Agency Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Railway Express Agency Records

Railway Express Agency Records / Series 9: Drawings

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0260-ref693

Creator:

New York Central Railroad/Penn Central Railroad Companies  Search this

Names:

Grand Central Terminal.  Search this

Extent:

8 Cubic feet (6 boxes, 10 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Drawings

Place:

New York (N.Y.)

Date:

1831-1978

bulk 1903-1933

Summary:

Collection documents the history of the demolition and construction of Grand Central Terminal with a focus on the period 1903 to 1913.

Scope and Contents:

The Grand Central Terminal Collection documents the history and construction of Grand Central Terminal and the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad terminal in Manhattan. The collection covers a wide range of activities with the bulk of the material dating from 1900 through the 1920s. Some of the more notable materials include bound volumes of blue-line photographs documenting the construction progress of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Terminal.

The collection contains several black-and-white photographs, the most remarkable of which are four undated photographs depicting large crowds of New York Central Railroad employees at a celebration in Victory Way featuring towering pyramids of captured German helmets. The collection also contains several drawings previously held by Donald H. Morrsion, a terminal engineer and the collection's donor. The plans for a proposed 55-story office building to be erected above Grand Central Terminal are accompanied by Morrison's notes.

Perhaps the most important drawings are the shaded elevations of the building's exterior where bronze grill work is set off in color. Detailed drawings of the entablature sculptures document changes that took place as the design evolved. Other topics include floor plans for rental space, track plans, details of structural steel work, utility diagrams, and the new power house. Several newspaper clippings detail the public debate over the conservation and preservation of the historic site. The conflict over the historic status of the terminal ended in a Supreme Court decision (Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 1978), upholding the terminal's historic landmark status, thus barring construction. Numerous blueprints of the main station and the station building (1907-1920) are part of the collection.

Series 1, Historical Background, 1850-1961, contains materials on the history of Grand Central Station and its construction. It is divided into five subseries: Subseries 1, Histories, 1850-1961; Subseries 2, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1904-1920; Subseries 3, Donald H. Morrison Materials, 1910-1978; Subseries 4, Miscellaneous, 1831-1920; and Subseries 5, Booklets and Pamphlets, 1851-1935

Subseries 1, Histories, 1850-1961, consists of a partially handwritten and typed draft of Grand Central History, dividend certificates, a 1961 thesis for Cornell University entitled "The Harlem Railroad Improvements in Manhattan," handwritten notes on the history of the construction of Grand Central, and correspondence from the Chief Engineer of Crugers Station (a station on the Hudson Line of the Metro-North Railroad which served the residents of the hamlet of Crugers, New York until its closure in 1995) pertaining mostly to maintenance and improvements.

Subseries 2, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1904-1920, contains several magazine articles and newspaper clippings, including several from Engineering News, as well as an October 1912 issue of Scribner's Magazine entitled "The Modern Terminal."

Subseries 3, Donald H. Morrison Materials, 1910-1978, includes the collected materials of Donald H. Morrison, terminal engineer for the New York Central Railroad/Penn Central Railroad. The subseries contains typed notes with corresponding drawings and photographs and various magazine and newspaper clippings. Also included are several drawings of the originally planned hotel/office space to be built above Grand Central Station (175 Park Avenue) as well as correspondence from Coverdale and Colpitts, consulting engineers for the proposed building.

Subseries 4, Miscellaneous, 1831-1920, is comprised of several hand-written minute books, memos, data sheets, and memoranda as well as laws and ordinances. Also included are several letters from the Chief Engineer and a typed draft of The Grand Central Terminal New York City: History of Its Development and Construction. Subseries 5, Booklets and Pamphlets, 1851-1935, provides a wide array of booklets and pamphlets published for or by Grand Central and New York Central/Hudson Railroad, including An Act to Regulate, Improve, and Enlarge Park Avenue Above 106th Street, published in 1898.

Series 2, Construction Materials/Reports, 1897-1933, consists of various materials pertaining to the construction of Grand Central including Construction Committee Minutes, Engineer's Notebooks, and Correspondence. The series is divided into eight subseries: Subseries 1, Annual Reports, 1913; Subseries 2, Minutes 1915-1916; Subseries 3, Notebooks, 1903-1914; Subseries 4, Correspondence, 1897-1929; Subseries 5, Reports, 1905-1916; Subseries 6, Financial Expenditures, 1903-1933; Subseries 7, Agreements, 1899-1912; and Subseries 8, Specifications, 1906-1919.

Subseries 1, Annual Reports, 1913, is a bound volume of the Annual Reports for several railroad companies and their leased and controlled lines together with additional statistical, financial, and corporate information for the use of their officers" published by Grand Central Terminal in 1913. The volume contains annual reports for: New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company; Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company; Michigan Central Railroad Company; Lake Erie and Western Railroad Company; Chicago, Indiana and Southern Railroad Company; Toledo and Ohio Central Railway Company; Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Company; Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railroad Company; Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company.

Subseries 2, Minutes 1915-1916, includes a previously bound, set of typed Construction Committee Minutes for the Electric Traction Zone from December 28, 1915 through December 20, 1916.

Subseries 3, Notebooks, 1903-1914, contains a collection of the Construction Engineer's Notebooks organized chronologically. The books consist of mostly handwritten notes as well as copies of various estimates, a minimal number of blueprints, daily material records, and copies of work progress reports.

Subseries 4, Correspondence, 1897-1929, documents correspondence regarding the Park Avenue Viaduct between the Chief Engineer(s) (H. Fernstrom and his successor G.W. Kittredge) and various other engineers, the fifth vice president of New York and Hudson Railroad Company, and Ira McCormack, the manager of Grand Central Station. The correspondence is divided into two parts and organized chronologically. Also included are various correspondences dealing with vibration tests and reports as well as Electric Division files.

Subseries 5, Reports, 1905-1916, details the progress of the New York Central Railroad in 1914 through a series of daily reports. Also included are the daily reports of the pyle driver from April to July of 1911 and the Contractor's daily reports from 1914-1916.

Subseries 6, Financial Expenditures, 1903-1933, includes estimates for the Grand Central Terminal improvements in 1906 and various hand-written financial documents detailing quarterly expenditures.

Subseries 7, Agreements, 1899-1912, contains the construction grant and agreements between the city of New York and New York Central, Harlem, and Central Hudson Railroads for the years 1905-1912 as well as a 1915 "Agreement, Deed, Specifications and Modifying Agreement" between Now York State Realty and Terminal Company, New York Central Railroad Company, and the New York, New Haven, and New Hartford Railroad Company with the city of New York.

Subseries 8, Specifications, 1906-1919, is comprised of several undated construction specifications for the improvement of the Grand Central Terminal as well as various memorandum and monthly progress statements pertaining to the improvements. It also includes an undated chart of the number of passengers in and out of the Grand Central Terminal based on ticket sales, traffic records, and a report of data concerning American Railroad Terminals written in 1914.

Series 3, Photographs, 1880s-1929, documents the progress of the construction and various later improvements of Grand Central. The majority of the photographs are blue-line photos to detailing Grand Central yard improvements. Also included are various black-and-white photographs. The series is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, Progress Photographs (by volume), 1903-1921 and Subseries 2, Miscellaneous Photographs, 1880s-1929, undated.

Subseries 1, Progress Photographs (by volume), 1903-1921, includes several previously bound volumes of blue-line photographs documenting the progress of Grand Central yard improvements. There are seven volumes (1-6, 11) with photos are numbered chronologically. Also included are progress photographs for construction and improvements of Grand Central Terminal in 1914 and progress photographs for the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad for 1903, 1917, and 1920.

Subseries 2, Miscellaneous Photographs, 1880s-1929, undated, contains previously bound blue-line progress photographs of Grand Central Terminal from 1912-1913 and black-and-white photos of the terminal, railways, and various tunnels as well as demolition photos. Undated photos of employees of NY Central Railroad assembled in Victory Way with a view of a pyramid of captured German helmets and Grand Central Terminal are also included.

Series 4, Drawings, 1884-1969 (bulk 1902-1913), constitutes the largest series in the collection and consist of flat and rolled drawings. There is a bound volume of contract drawings and drawn monthly progress sheets for the Grand Central yard improvements. The series primarily contains hundreds of individual drawings/sheets. Included are maps, charts, plans, sectionals, details, and elevations for almost every aspect of the terminal.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1, Historical Background, 1850-1961

Subseries 1, Histories, 1850-1961

Subseries 2, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1904-1920

Subseries 3, Donald H. Morrison Materials, 1910-1978

Subseries 4, Miscellaneous, 1831-1920

Subseries 5, Booklets and Pamphlets, 1851-1935

Series 2, Construction Materials, 1897-1933

Subseries 1, Annual Reports, 1913

Subseries 2, Minutes, 1915-1916

Subseries 3, Notebooks, 1903-1914

Subseries 4, Correspondence, 1897-1929

Subseries 5, Reports, 1905-1916

Subseries 6, Financial Expenditures, 1903-1933

Subseries 7, Agreements, 1899-1912

Subseries 8, Specifications, 1906-1919

Series 3, Photographs, 1880s-1929

Subseries 1, Progress Photographs (by volume), 1903-1921

Subseries 2, Miscellaneous Photographs, 1880s-1929, undated

Series 4, Drawings, 1884-1969 (bulk 1902-1913)

Biographical / Historical:

New York City's Grand Central Terminal was constructed between 1903 and 1913 to replace an earlier and smaller depot at the same location. The earlier structure was completed in 1871 and by the end of the 1890s it was badly in need of remodeling. This, however, was only a stop-gap measure as it would not provide a solution to many of the problems the railroad faced. The building could not provide the office space needed by the growing railroad, trains still traveled to the station in an open cut, and trackage at the terminal was simply inadequate to handle the ever-increasing number of departures and arrivals. Simply building a new station, however, would not necessarily solve the problem.

Other improvements were needed, and these were made possible by the use of electric traction. With the elimination of steam powered equipment, it was possible to construct and operate an extensive system of tracks completely underground and erect buildings over them. This scheme meant that the new terminal could be designed with any amount of office space, and by constructing the tracks at different levels, a greater number could be accommodated than would be possible by building them all at the same grade. Although the terminal project was awarded to architects Charles A. Reed and Alien H. Stem, they were soon joined by the firm of Whitney Warren and Charles Wetmore. A number of drawings in the collection reflect this union. The history of the station has been documented by several authors. Grand Central Terminal (San Marino, 1977) by William D. Middleton and Grand Central (New York, 1946) by David Marshall.

Related Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian

Division of Work & Industry

The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Records, circa 1886-1912, 1968

Materials at Other Organizations

Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library Columbia

Warren & Wetmore Drawings & Archives

New York Public Library

Penn Central Transportation Company Records

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Division of Engineering and Industry (now known as the Division of Work & Industry), National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, by Donald H. Morrison in June, 1990.

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:

Transportation -- New York (N.Y.)  Search this

Engineers  Search this

Railroads -- 20th century  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1900-1920

Drawings -- 20th century

Citation:

Grand Central Terminal Collection, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1071

See more items in:

Grand Central Terminal Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1071

Creator:

Perkins, James Secor  Search this

Gilbreth, Frank Bunker, 1868-1924  Search this

Gilbreth, Lillian Moller, 1878-1972  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (19 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Videotapes

Betacam sp (videotape format)

Motion pictures (visual works)

Date:

1907-2000

bulk 1911-1924

Summary:

The collection consists primarily of glass plate slides (negative and positive), photo prints, and stereographs documenting the work undertaken by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Also included are slides dcoumenting the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends. The collection also contains the film "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way," 1968 by James S. Perkins.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists primarily of glass plate slides (negative and positive), photo prints, and stereographs documenting the work undertaken by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. As scientific managers, the Gilbreth's introduced new techniques to analyze work, the workplace, and work practices with the goal of eliminating waste to maximize productivity. The collection illustrates these new techniques and their application to a wide variety of studies. The collection is diverse and provides insight into understanding how Gilbreth approached his studies. Also included are slides documenting the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends. The collection also contains the film "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way," 1968 by James S. Perkins.

Series 1, Background Information, 1892-1997, includes biographical materials about Frank B. Gilbreth; copies of some of Frank Gilbreth's patents, 1892-1916; and printed materials, 1907-1997, that contain articles, newspaper and magazine clippings about Frank and Lillian Gilbreth and time and motion study generally. Black-and-white photo prints of Gilbreth or work Gilbreth documented from collections held at Purdue University and Ohio State University are included.

Series 2, Glass plate stereo slides, 1910-1924, consists of approximately 2,250 glass stereo slides photographed by Frank B. Gilbreth and others and intended for viewing through an optical viewing machine. Some are positive black and white, positive color, and negative black and white. The subject matter of the slides covers the work undertaken by Frank Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Many of the images serve as documentation for the studies the couple performed as they were hired by firms in an attempt to provide solutions to the problems of inefficiency. Also included are the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends.

The slides are numbered sequentially. For example, a glass plate slide numbered 318949.001 will have a corresponding photoprint 318949.001 in Series 3, Photoprints of glass plate slides. Note: not all glass plate slides have corresponding photoprints. Additionally, there are Office of Photographics Services, Smithsonian Institution negative numbers assigned to many of the photo prints.

Some subject categories include:

Frank B. Gilbreth: working in motion laboratories, on factory inspections, seated in offices, with family and friends, in World War I uniform, watching and monitoring shop operations.

Lillian M. Gilbreth: with family, during university graduation ceremonies, traveling and working with Frank and observing office workers.

Gilbreth Family: family on the road in an automobile, at home seated around the dinner table, in the parlor, in the garden, and with friends and relatives.

Gilbreth ship travel: contains views on steamer voyages to Europe, deck scenes, arrivals, departures, ship officers and crew, and other passengers.

Automobile assembly study: internal and external views of a warehouse/factory, including large piles or rows of metal car frames and other parts.

Benchwork study: images of a male worker standing or sitting in a chair while filing an object secured in a vice at a workbench.

Betterment: images of efforts whcih contributed to industrial betterment (the Gilbreth chair, employee library, and the home reading box).

Bricklaying study: view of men wearing overalls and caps, shoveling, and men laying bicks.

Business and apparatus of motion study: views of lectures, meetings, film showings, demonstrations, charts, drawings, motion models, charts amd some equipment.

Disabled study: views of partially blind World War I veterans, amputees using special tytpewriter, assembling machinery, use of cructhes, and a one armed dentist.

Factory bench work: table-top machines assembly operations, hand tools, orderly arrangement of parts prior to and during assembly and a variety of bench vises.

Factory documentation: various images of the interior and edterior of factories including heavy machinery.

Golfing study: various cyclegraphs of a man swinging a golf club.

Grid boards: back drops used by Gikbreth to isolate and measure worker motions. This includes walls, floors, desktops, and drop cloths divided into grids of various densities and scales.

Handwriting and cyclegraphs: finger lights moving in patterns of script.

Ladders: include step ladders and painters' ladders shown in use near shelving.

Light assembly study: wide variety of images ranging from cyclegraphs of women working, to the factory floor as well as tools and machinery.

Materials handling study: different angles of an empty cart, a cart oiled high with boxes, and a man pushing a cart illustrating different body positions.

Military study: illustrate work on the Army foot meausring machine, gun parts, men holding a rifle.

Motion models: images of simple wire motionmodels.

Needle trade study: views of textile machinery and workers.

Office study: various shots inside of an office with tables, desks, drawers, files, and typewriters. Some of the images are cyclegraphs of femal and male workers performing tasks, such as writing, both tin the context of an office as well as in front of a grdidded background. There are several close-ups of an organizer containing penciles, paperclips, pins and rubberbands.

Packing: methods of placing and arranging goods in boxes, such as soap packing.

Panama-Pacific Exposition 1915: contains views of statuary, fountains, and architecture of the exposition held in San Francisco.

Pure light cyclegraphs: no workers or grids visible only finger lights in motion.

Rubber stamping study: hand movements and access to ink pads and stamps.

Scenic views: views of buildings, landscapes, street scenes, and fountains from around the world documenting Gilbreth's travels.

Shoe making study: laboratory studies of shoe assembly operations with an emphasis on workers access to component pieces.

Shop machinery: various shots of machines and workers working with machines.

Signage: include organizational flow charts, shop floor plans, route maps, office layouts, numbering systems, exhibit display boards illustrating Frank Gilbreth's efficiency studies and techniques.

Stacking: views of the art and science of stacking boxes, clothing, equipment, containers, and vertical storage without shelves.

Stock bins: consists of storage pips, paper, other raw materials, shelves, and corridoe shots.

Storage: images illustrate contrast between old techniques and new.

Surgical and dental studies: thester views of surgeons, assistants, nurses, hand motions in grasping, placing surgical instruments, dental work and self inspection of teeth.

Tool cribs: storage of hand tools in shops with an emphasis on easy access and easy inventorying.

Typing study: various views of femaile s under observation using Remington typewriters.

Series 3, Photoprints of glass plate slides, 1910-1924, consist of black and white photoprints of the glass plate slides depicting the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Also included are the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends.

Series 5, Stereographs,1911-1914,

Series 6, Audio Visual Materials, 1968, 2000, and undated, is divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, Audio visual documentation, 1968 and undated; Subseries 2, Moving Images, 1968 and undated; and Subseries 3, Audio Recordings, 1980, 1990,. 2000 and undated. The series contains several formats: 7" open reel-to-reel audio tape, 1/2" VHS, Beta Cam SP, DVD, audio cassette, one inch audio tape, and 16 mm film.

Subseries 1, Audio visual documentation, 1967-1968 and undated, consists of supplemental documentation for the film, "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way." Specifically, there are brochures and other printed materials detailing what the film is about and how copies may be obtained. This subseries also contains a copy of the book Cheaper by the Dozen, 1948. The book was written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and tells the biographical story of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and their twelve children. The book was adapted to film by Twentieth Century Fox in 1950.

Subseries 2, Moving Images, 1967, consists of one title, "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way." The film materials consist of the film's production elements: 16 mm black and white negative A-roll; 16mm black-and-white negative B-roll; and the optical track negative. Each is 800 feet in length.

The film presents a summary of work analysis films which were taken by Frank B. Gilbreth between 1919 and 1924 showing a number of industrial operations from which the motion study was developed. Demonstrates motion and fatigue study, skill study, plant layout and material handling, inventory control, production control, business procedures, safety methods, developing occupations for the handicapped, athletic training and skills, military training, and surgical operations as researched and developed by Gilbreth. Points out that Gilbreth created entirely new techniques on how to improve industrial efficiency, while at the same time significantly improving conditions for the workers. The film was produced by James S. Perkins in collaboration with Dr. Ralph M. Barnes and with commentary by Liilian M. Gilbreth and James S. Perkins. The film was presented on December 3, 1968 at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Annual Meeting in New York. The formats for this title include: 16 mm, Beta Cam SP, and DVD. Additionally, there is a one inch audio tape recording for the film.

Subseries 3, Audio Recordings, 1980, 1990, 2000 and undated consist of a Smithsonian radio program titled "Inside the Smithsonian, Cheaper by The Dozen," from 1980 and an recording of Ernestine Gilbreth Casey discussing Gilbreth Family photographs from 2000. Hosted by [Ann Carroll?], "Inside the Smithsonian, Cheaper by The Dozen," featured Fred and Bill Gilbreth discussing their parents Frank and Lillian, Gilbreth, and the book Cheaper by the Dozen. The radio program coincided with the 100th Anniversary of the American Society of Mechancial Engineers (founded 1880)of which Lillian Gilbreth was the Society's first female member and showcased a single case exhibition at the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) titled "Frank and Lillian Gilbreth: Motion Engineers." Inside Smithosnian Radio was a weekly program produced by the Office of Telecommunications. The recording of Ernestine Gilbreth Carey was recorded on July 9, 2000 and documents Ms. Carey's identification and discussion of Gilbreth Family photographs. David Ferguson assisted in the discussion. A hard copy index to the photographs Ms. Carey discusses is available.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Background Materials, 1892-1997

Subseries 1.1: Frank B. Gilbreth, undated

Subseries 1.2: Frank B. Gilbreth patents, 1892-1916

Subseries 1.3: Printed Materials, 1907-1997

Series 2: Glass Stereo Slides (Positive), 1910-1924 and undated

Series 3: Photo prints of glass stereo slides, 1910-1924 and undated

Subseries 3.1: Photo Print Books, 1-9, undated

Subseries 3.2: Photo prints (duplicates), undated

Series 4: Stereo Autochromes, undated

Series 5: Stereograph Cards, 1911-1914

Series 6: Audio Visual Materials, 1968, 1990, 2000 and undated

Subseries 6.1, Audio visual documentation, 1968 and undated

Subseries 6.2: Moving images, 1968 and undated

Subseries 6.3: Audio recordings, 1980, 1990, 2000, and undated

Biographical / Historical:

Frank Gilbreth is best known for his work on the efficiency of motion. Working with his wife and professional partner Lillian Moller Gilbreth, he applied modern psychology to his work with management. His innovative motion studies were used on factory workers, typists and the disabled. Gilbreth established the link between psychology and education to be succesful management.

Frank Gilbreth was born in Fairfield, Maine on July 7, 1868. His parents, John and Martha Bunker Gilbreth were New Englanders. John Gilbreth ran a hardware business, but died when Frank was only three. Bearing the responsibilty of raising her children alone, Martha moved the family twice in search of quality education for her children. Ultimately she decided to school the children herself. In 1885, Frank graduated from English High School in Boston. Despite gaining admission into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank opted to enter the work world immediately as a bricklayer's apprentice with Whidden and Company, building contractors in Boston.

Smart and skilled, Gilbreth worked his way up in the company. He learned the trade quickly and soon was promoted to supervisor, foreman, and finally to the position of superintendent. To further his edcuation, he went to night school to study mechanical drawing.

At the age of 27, Gilbreth embarked upon his first business venture. He started his own contracting firm. His firm developed a fine reputation for quality work at a very rapid pace. He invented tools, scaffolding, and other contraptions to make the job easier. His company goals included the elimination of waste, the conservation of energy, and the reduction of cost. His work included canals, factories, houses, and dams. His clients came from all parts of the United States, and he performed some work in England.

In 1903, Frank Gilbreth met Lillian Moller (1903-1972) and married her on October 19, 1904. Lillian graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA (1900) and MA (1902). She later earned a Ph.D from Brown University (1915), earning a dissertation titled The Psychology of Management. Lillian's academic work, large family and integral role in Frank's consulting business kept her busy. Her contributions to the business led to a greater understanding of an individual's welfare in the work world. This becamme a key idea to increasing productivity through scientific management techniques.

Working together, the couple became leaders in the new field of scientific management. They published books, gave lectures, and raised tweleve children together: Anne, Mary (1906--912), Ernestine, Martha, Frank Jr., William, Lillian, Frederick, Daniel, John, Robert and Jane. Some of Gilbreth's books include Fields System (1908); Concrete System (1908); Bricklaying System (1909; Motion Study (1911); and Primer of Scientific Management (1911). Gilbreth co-authored with Lillian: Time Study (1916); Fatigue Study (1916); Applied Motion Study (1917); and Motion Study for the Handicapped (1919).

It wasn't long before Gilbreth moved away from construction. Together with his wife, they focused on the link between psychology and motion. With her strong psychological background, and his interest in efficiency, the Gilbreth's opened the School of Scientific Management in 1913. The school was in session for four years. Numerous professional attended the school, and soon the Gilbreth's had established a reputation as consultant's to the new field of scientific management.

In 1912, Frank won a contract with the New England Butt Company in Providence, Rhode Island. There he installed his system of scientific management in a factory setting for the first time. Contracts with the Hermann-Aukam handkerchief manufacturing company in New Jersey and the Auergessellschaft Company in Germany followed. Using motion study, Gilbreth studied and reoganized the factories, attempting to find "the one best way" to do work.

Gilbreth traveled to Germany to continue his work was a scientific manager. He visited factories and hospitals, working to improve procedures and eliminate waste. Using micro-motion study and the chronocyclegraph procedure, he analyzed and dissected motion, discovering therblings, the seventeen fundamental units of any motion. World War I slowed Gilbreth's progress abroad, so he focused his consulting business on firms n the United States.

After World War I, Gilbreth's business thrived. in 1920, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers instituted its Management Division, something Gilbreth had been demanding for years. He was now a famous American engineer, gaining financial rewards as as professional honors.

Frank Gilbreth died suddenly of a heart attack on June 14, 1924, still in the middle of three contracts. He was honored after his death in 1944 by the American Society of Engineers and the American Management Association with the Gant Gold Medal. After Frank's death, Lillian moved the family to California where she continued to work on efficiency and health in industry issues. She was a respected buiness woman and was hired by several companies to train employees, study working conditions, and reduce fatigue. She lectured at several universities (Newark College of Engineering and the University of Wisconsin), and joined the faculty at Purdue University in 1935 as the first woman professor in the engineering school.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth often used their large family (and Frank himself) as guinea pigs in experiments. Their family exploits are lovingly detailed in the 1948 book Cheaper by the Dozen, written by Frank Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

Related Materials:

Material in Other Institutions

Purdue University, Archives and Special Collections

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth papers, 1869-2000

The Gilbreth Papers documents the professional and personal lives of Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Gilbreth. The collection consists of personal papers, letters, correspondence, photographs, and other memorabilia that Lillian Gilbreth collected during her life regarding her youth, marriage, family, and career.

Collection of materials related to Lillian Gilbreth, 1964-2006

One folder of items relating to the life of Lillian Gilbreth, and her family, collected by her granddaughter, Lillian (Jill) Barley and Nancy Weston. Materials include clippings relating to the Lillian Gilbreth postage stamp (1984); obituaries and memorial programs for Peter Barney, Ernestine Carey, Lillian Gilbreth, Anne Gilbreth Barney, Charles Carey, and Frank Gilbreth Jr.; programs and photographs relating to Lillian Gilbreth's visit to Athens in 1964; and biographical information on Lillian Gilbreth.

Cornell University, Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives

Frank Gilbreth Papers on Microfilm, Collection Number: 5424 mf

Selected papers pertaining to industrial engineering. Original materials are held by Purdue University. Microfilm copied purchased from Purdue University in April 1968.

Provenance:

The collection materials were donated by several individuals: New Jersey Institute of Technology (1975); Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., (1980); Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (1995); Daniel B. Gilbreth (1998); and James Secor Perkins in 2001.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but the films are 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:

Motion study  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Machine shops  Search this

Industrial management  Search this

Industrial films  Search this

Industrial engineering  Search this

Genre/Form:

Videotapes

BetaCam SP (videotape format)

Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1930-1950

Citation:

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0803

See more items in:

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0803

Author:

Schuettpelz, Eric  Search this

Davila, Alex  Search this

Prado, Jefferson  Search this

Yatskievych, George  Search this

Hirai, Regina Y.  Search this

Object Type:

Smithsonian staff publication

Electronic document

Year:

2014

Topic:

Natural History  Search this

Botany  Search this

Plants  Search this

See others in:

Botany

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILSRO_121323

Collection Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences  Search this

Collection Author:

Parke, Davis Company  Search this

Container:

Box 1 (Addenda), Folder 34

Type:

Archival materials

Collection 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.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records / Series 13: Addenda

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0001-ref7040

Collection Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences  Search this

Collection Author:

Parke, Davis Company  Search this

Container:

Box 1 (Addenda), Folder 42

Type:

Archival materials

Collection 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.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records / Series 13: Addenda

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0001-ref7048

Collection Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences  Search this

Collection Author:

Parke, Davis Company  Search this

Container:

Box 2 (Addenda), Folder 10

Type:

Archival materials

Collection 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.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records / Series 13: Addenda

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0001-ref7058

Creator:

United Telegraph Workers.  Search this

Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this

Extent:

452 Cubic feet (871 boxes and 23 map folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Administrative records

Articles

Books

Clippings

Contracts

Drawings

Photographs

Patents

Newsletters

Photograph albums

Scrapbooks

Specifications

Technical documents

Date:

circa 1820-1995

Summary:

The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.

Scope and Contents:

The collection is divided into twenty-six (26) series and consists of approximately 400 cubic feet. The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into twenty-seven series.

Series 1: Historical and Background Information, 1851-1994

Series 2: Subsidiaries of Western Union, 1844-1986

Series 3: Executive Records, 1848-1987

Series 4: Presidential Letterbooks and Writings, 1865-1911

Series 5: Correspondence, 1837-1985

Series 6: Cyrus W. Field Papers, 1840-1892

Series 7: Secretary's Files, 1844-1987

Series 8: Financial Records, 1859-1995

Series 9: Legal Records, 1867-1968

Series 10: Railroad Records, 1854-1945

Series 11: Law Department Records, 1868-1979

Series 12: Patent Materials, 1840-1970

Series 13: Operating Records, 1868-1970s

Series 14: Westar VI-S, 1974, 1983-1986

Series 15: Engineering Department Records, 1874-1970

Series 16: Plant Department Records, 1867-1937, 1963

Series 17: Superintendent of Supplies Records, 1888-1948

Series 18: Employee/Personnel Records 1852-1985

Series 19: Public Relations Department Records, 1858-1980

Series 20: Western Union Museum, 1913-1971

Series 21: Maps, 1820-1964

Series 22: Telegrams, 1852-1960s

Series 23: Photographs, circa 1870-1980

Series 24: Scrapbooks, 1835-1956

Series 25: Notebooks, 1880-1942

Series 26: Audio Visual Materials, 1925-1994

Series 27: Addenda

Biographical / Historical:

In 1832 Samuel F. B. Morse, assisted by Alfred Vail, conceived of the idea for an electromechanical telegraph, which he called the "Recording Telegraph." This commercial application of electricity was made tangible by their construction of a crude working model in 1835-36. This instrument probably was never used outside of Professor Morse's rooms where it was, however, operated in a number of demonstrations. This original telegraph instrument was in the hands of the Western Union Telegraph Company and had been kept carefully over the years in a glass case. It was moved several times in New York as the Western Union headquarters building changed location over the years. The company presented it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1950.

The telegraph was further refined by Morse, Vail, and a colleague, Leonard Gale, into working mechanical form in 1837. In this year Morse filed a caveat for it at the U.S. Patent Office. Electricity, provided by Joseph Henry's 1836 "intensity batteries", was sent over a wire. The flow of electricity through the wire was interrupted for shorter or longer periods by holding down the key of the device. The resulting dots or dashes were recorded on a printer or could be interpreted orally. In 1838 Morse perfected his sending and receiving code and organized a corporation, making Vail and Gale his partners.

In 1843 Morse received funds from Congress to set-up a demonstration line between Washington and Baltimore. Unfortunately, Morse was not an astute businessman and had no practical plan for constructing a line. After an unsuccessful attempt at laying underground cables with Ezra Cornell, the inventor of a trench digger, Morse switched to the erection of telegraph poles and was more successful. On May 24, 1844, Morse, in the U.S. Supreme Court Chambers in Washington, sent by telegraph the oft-quoted message to his colleague Vail in Baltimore, "What hath God wrought!"

In 1845 Morse hired Andrew Jackson's former postmaster general, Amos Kendall, as his agent in locating potential buyers of the telegraph. Kendall realized the value of the device, and had little trouble convincing others of its potential for profit. By the spring he had attracted a small group of investors. They subscribed $15,000 and formed the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Many new telegraph companies were formed as Morse sold licenses wherever he could.

The first commercial telegraph line was completed between Washington, D.C., and New York City in the spring of 1846 by the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Shortly thereafter, F. O. J. Smith, one of the patent owners, built a line between New York City and Boston. Most of these early companies were licensed by owners of Samuel Morse patents. The Morse messages were sent and received in a code of dots and dashes.

At this time other telegraph systems based on rival technologies were being built. Some companies used the printing telegraph, a device invented by a Vermonter, Royal E. House, whose messages were printed on paper or tape in Roman letters. In 1848 a Scotch scientist, Alexander Bain, received his patents on a telegraph. These were but two of many competing and incompatible technologies that had developed. The result was confusion, inefficiency, and a rash of suits and counter suits.

By 1851 there were over fifty separate telegraph companies operating in the United States. This corporate cornucopia developed because the owners of the telegraph patents had been unsuccessful in convincing the United States and other governments of the invention's potential usefulness. In the private sector, the owners had difficulty convincing capitalists of the commercial value of the invention. This led to the owners' willingness to sell licenses to many purchasers who organized separate companies and then built independent telegraph lines in various sections of the country.

Hiram Sibley moved to Rochester, New York, in 1838 to pursue banking and real estate. Later he was elected sheriff of Monroe County. In Rochester he was introduced to Judge Samuel L. Selden who held the House Telegraph patent rights. In 1849 Selden and Sibley organized the New York State Printing Telegraph Company, but they found it hard to compete with the existing New York, Albany, and Buffalo Telegraph Company.

After this experience Selden suggested that instead of creating a new line, the two should try to acquire all the companies west of Buffalo and unite them into a single unified system. Selden secured an agency for the extension throughout the United States of the House system. In an effort to expand this line west, Judge Selden called on friends and the people in Rochester. This led, in April 1851, to the organization of a company and the filing in Albany of the Articles of Association for the "New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company" (NYMVPTC), a company which later evolved into the Western Union Telegraph Company.

In 1854 there were two rival systems of the NYMVPTC in the West. These two systems consisted of thirteen separate companies. All the companies were using Morse patents in the five states north of the Ohio River. This created a struggle between three separate entities, leading to an unreliable and inefficient telegraph service. The owners of these rival companies eventually decided to invest their money elsewhere and arrangements were made for the NYMVPTC to purchase their interests.

Hiram Sibley recapitalized the company in 1854 under the same name and began a program of construction and acquisition. The most important takeover was carried out by Sibley when he negotiated the purchase of the Morse patent rights for the Midwest for $50,000 from Jeptha H. Wade and John J. Speed, without the knowledge of Ezra Cornell, their partner in the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company (EMTC). With this acquisition Sibley proceeded to switch to the superior Morse system. He also hired Wade, a very capable manager, who became his protege and later his successor. After a bitter struggle Morse and Wade obtained the EMTC from Cornell in 1855, thus assuring dominance by the NYMVPTC in the Midwest. In 1856 the company name was changed to the "Western Union Telegraph Company," indicating the union of the Western lines into one compact system. In December, 1857, the Company paid stockholders their first dividend.

Between 1857 and 1861 similar consolidations of telegraph companies took place in other areas of the country so that most of the telegraph interests of the United States had merged into six systems. These were the American Telegraph Company (covering the Atlantic and some Gulf states), The Western Union Telegraph Company (covering states North of the Ohio River and parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota), the New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company (covering New York State), the Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph Company (covering Pennsylvania), the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company (covering sections of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois), and the New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company (covering the southern Mississippi Valley and the Southwest). All these companies worked together in a mutually friendly alliance, and other small companies cooperated with the six systems, particularly some on the West Coast.

By the time of the Civil War, there was a strong commercial incentive to construct a telegraph line across the western plains to link the two coasts of America. Many companies, however, believed the line would be impossible to build and maintain.

In 1860 Congress passed, and President James Buchanan signed, the Pacific Telegraph Act, which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to seek bids for a project to construct a transcontinental line. When two bidders dropped out, Hiram Sibley, representing Western Union, was the only bidder left. By default Sibley won the contract. The Pacific Telegraph Company was organized for the purpose of building the eastern section of the line. Sibley sent Wade to California, where he consolidated the small local companies into the California State Telegraph Company. This entity then organized the Overland Telegraph Company, which handled construction eastward from Carson City, Nevada, joining the existing California lines, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Sibley's Pacific Telegraph Company built westward from Omaha, Nebraska. Sibley put most of his resources into the venture. The line was completed in October, 1861. Both companies were soon merged into Western Union. This accomplishment made Hiram Sibley leader of the telegraph industry.

Further consolidations took place over the next several years. Many companies merged into the American Telegraph Company. With the expiration of the Morse patents, several organizations were combined in 1864 under the name of "The U.S. Telegraph Company." In 1866 the final consolidation took place, with Western Union exchanging stock for the stock of the other two organizations. The general office of Western Union moved at this time from Rochester to 145 Broadway, New York City. In 1875 the main office moved to 195 Broadway, where it remained until 1930 when it relocated to 60 Hudson Street.

In 1873 Western Union purchased a majority of shares in the International Ocean Telegraph Company. This was an important move because it marked Western Union's entry into the foreign telegraph market. Having previously worked with foreign companies, Western Union now began competing for overseas business.

In the late 1870s Western Union, led by William H. Vanderbilt, attempted to wrest control of the major telephone patents, and the new telephone industry, away from the Bell Telephone Company. But due to new Bell leadership and a subsequent hostile takeover attempt of Western Union by Jay Gould, Western Union discontinued its fight and Bell Telephone prevailed.

Despite these corporate calisthenics, Western Union remained in the public eye. The sight of a uniformed Western Union messenger boy was familiar in small towns and big cities all over the country for many years. Some of Western Union's top officials in fact began their careers as messenger boys.

Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century the telegraph became one of the most important factors in the development of social and commercial life of America. In spite of improvements to the telegraph, however, two new inventions--the telephone (nineteenth century) and the radio (twentieth century)--eventually replaced the telegraph as the leaders of the communication revolution for most Americans.

At the turn of the century, Bell abandoned its struggles to maintain a monopoly through patent suits, and entered into direct competition with the many independent telephone companies. Around this time, the company adopted its new name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

In 1908 AT&T gained control of Western Union. This proved beneficial to Western Union, because the companies were able to share lines when needed, and it became possible to order telegrams by telephone. However, it was only possible to order Western Union telegrams, and this hurt the business of Western Union's main competitor, the Postal Telegraph Company. In 1913, however, as part of a move to prevent the government from invoking antitrust laws, AT&T completely separated itself from Western Union.

Western Union continued to prosper and it received commendations from the U.S. armed forces for service during both world wars. In 1945 Western Union finally merged with its longtime rival, the Postal Telegraph Company. As part of that merger, Western Union agreed to separate domestic and foreign business. In 1963 Western Union International Incorporated, a private company completely separate from the Western Union Telegraph Company, was formed and an agreement with the Postal Telegraph Company was completed. In 1994, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. was acquired by First Financial Management Corporation. In 1995, First Financial Management Corporation merged with First Data Corporation making Western Union a First Data subsidiary.

Many technological advancements followed the telegraph's development. The following are among the more important:

The first advancement of the telegraph occurred around 1850 when operators realized that the clicks of the recording instrument portrayed a sound pattern, understandable by the operators as dots and dashes. This allowed the operator to hear the message by ear and simultaneously write it down. This ability transformed the telegraph into a versatile and speedy system.

Duplex Telegraphy, 1871-72, was invented by the president of the Franklin Telegraph Company. Unable to sell his invention to his own company, he found a willing buyer in Western Union. Utilizing this invention, two messages were sent over the wire simultaneously, one in each direction.

As business blossomed and demand surged, new devices appeared. Thomas Edison's Quadruplex allowed four messages to be sent over the same wire simultaneously, two in one direction and two in the other.

An English automatic signaling arrangement, Wheatstone's Automatic Telegraph, 1883, allowed larger numbers of words to be transmitted over a wire at once. It could only be used advantageously, however, on circuits where there was a heavy volume of business.

Buckingham's Machine Telegraph was an improvement on the House system. It printed received messages in plain Roman letters quickly and legibly on a message blank, ready for delivery.

Vibroplex, c. 1890, a semi-automatic key sometimes called a "bug key," made the dots automatically. This relieved the operator of much physical strain.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Additional moving image about Western Union Telegraph Company can be found in the Industry on Parade Collection (AC0507). This includes Cable to Cuba! by Bell Laboratory, AT & T, featuring the cable ship, the C.S. Lord Kelvin, and Communications Centennial! by the Western Union Company.

Materials at Other Organizations

Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware.

Western Union International Records form part of the MCI International, Inc. Records at the First Data Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Records of First Data Corporation and its predecessors, including Western Union, First Financial Management Corporation (Atlanta) and First Data Resources (Omaha). Western Union collection supports research of telegraphy and related technologies, and includes company records, annual reports, photographs, print and broadcast advertising, telegraph equipment, and messenger uniforms.

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1867

This collection includes correspondence, mostly to Spencer F. Baird, from members of the Scientific Corps of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, including Kennicott, Dall, Bannister, and Elliott; copies of reports submitted to divisional chiefs from expedition staff members; newspaper clippings concerning the expedition; copies of notes on natural history taken by Robert Kennicott; and a journal containing meteorological data recorded by Henry M. Bannister from March to August, 1866.

Separated Materials:

Artifacts (apparatus and equipment) were donated to the Division of Information Technology and Society, now known as the Division of Work & Industry, National Museum of American History.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Western Union in September of 1971.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. 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:

Communications equipment  Search this

Communication -- International cooperation  Search this

Electric engineering  Search this

Electric engineers  Search this

Electrical equipment  Search this

Electrical science and technology  Search this

Telegraphers  Search this

Telegraph  Search this

Genre/Form:

Administrative records

Articles

Books

Clippings

Contracts

Drawings

Photographs -- 19th century

Patents

Photographs -- 20th century

Newsletters

Photograph albums

Scrapbooks -- 19th century

Scrapbooks -- 20th century

Specifications

Technical documents

Citation:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0205

See more items in:

Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0205

Published by:

New Age Publishers, American  Search this

Written by:

Claudia Jones, American, 1915 - 1964  Search this

Subject of:

Joe Louis, American, 1914 - 1981  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W: 7 11/16 x 5 5/16 in. (19.5 x 13.5 cm)

Type:

pamphlets

Date:

1942

Topic:

African American  Search this

Mass media  Search this

Military  Search this

Politics  Search this

Race relations  Search this

U.S. History, 1933-1945  Search this

World War II  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the family of Dr. Maurice Jackson and Laura Ginsburg

Object number:

2010.55.7

Restrictions & Rights:

No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Memorabilia and Ephemera-Political and Activist Ephemera

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5b64ccab3-0a90-4ab3-8679-6e9fb151a251

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2010.55.7

Creator:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-01-13T00:50:00.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, Asian  Search this

See more by:

FreerSackler

Data Source:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

YouTube Channel:

FreerSackler

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_o5-F2FGy1mQ

Published by:

Oklahoma Impact Magazine, American  Search this

Edited by:

Don Ross, American, born 1941  Search this

Written by:

Ed Wheeler  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W (Closed): 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)

H x W (Open Flat): 11 × 17 1/16 in. (27.9 × 43.3 cm)

Type:

publications

Place depicted:

Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1971

Topic:

African American  Search this

American South  Search this

American West  Search this

Race relations  Search this

Race riots  Search this

Tulsa Race Massacre  Search this

U.S. History, 1919-1933  Search this

Violence  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Families of Anita Williams Christopher and David Owen Williams

Object number:

2011.60.18

Restrictions & Rights:

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c4e68a22-f245-434c-875e-dd67f57af608

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2011.60.18

Author:

Shaffer, Earl V., 1918-2002  Search this

Extent:

16 Cubic feet (50 boxes, 15 map folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Place:

Appalachian Trail

West Virginia -- Trails and roads

Tennessee

Maryland

Geography -- Maine

Pennsylvania

Virginia

Date:

bulk 1803 - 2007, undated

Summary:

This collection contains the trail diaries, papers, photographs and slides, and writings of Earl V. Shaffer, the man credited with being the first person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT). His complete trail hikes took place in 1948, 1965, and 1998. He was also a hiking and nature enthusiast and advocate.

Scope and Contents:

The collection contains correspondence, trail diaries (including those from Shaffer's 1948, 1965 and 1998 hikes of the Appalachian Trail), maps and trail guides, writings (most notably drafts of Walking With Spring), galley proofs from his final book Calling Me Back to the Hills, and printed material from hiking and environmental organizations. The collection contains items relating to Shaffer's early life and education, such as diplomas, a baptismal certificate, papers from his years in elementary school, and materials relating to his Army service. One extremely important item found in Series 5 is an article by Benton MacKaye (founder of the AT) that is inscribed to Earl from the author. The bulk of the collection spans the years 1903-2002. There is one item from 1803 (a land deed) and one item each, compact discs, from 2004 and 2007. The collection is divided into five series. Addendums were donated in 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2012 consisting of additional letters and poetry, and a book of poetry entitled South of the Sunset.

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into five series.

Series 1: Biographical information, 1803-2006

Subseries 1.1: Shaffer Family Papers, 1873-1998

Subseries 1.2: Education, 1918-1980, undated

Subseries 1.3: Army, 1940-1948, undated

Subseries 1.4: Personal Documents, 1803-2006, undated

Subseries 1.5: Correspondence, 1945-2005, undated

Series 2: Materials Related to Hiking, 1935-2002

Subseries 2.1: Trail Notes, Diaries and General Information, 1935-1998, undated

Subseries 2.2: Photographs and Slides, 1940-2001, undated

Subseries 2.3: Maps and Plats, 1936-1998, undated

Series 3: Writing and Related Materials, 1910-2007, undated

Series 4: Hiking Associations and Clubs, 1937-2002, undated

Series 5: Collected Publications, 1910-1999, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Earl Victor Shaffer (1918-2002) is credited as the first person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) from Georgia to Maine. Shaffer was born on November 8th, 1918 in York, Pennsylvania to Daniel and Frances Gallagher Shaffer. One of his most influential childhood friends was Walter Winemiller. Shaffer termed Winemiller, ". . . the most capable outdoorsman I had ever known." They grew up together in and around York. When WWII broke out Shaffer joined the Army and Winemiller joined the Marines. Shaffer served in the Army Signal Corps from April 15, 1941 to September 17, 1945. Three years and three months of his service was in the Pacific Theatre based in Hawaii but for a good amount of time on detached service on various outposts and combat islands. Winemiller died in the assault on Iwo Jima and Shaffer's decision to hike the AT in 1948 was in his own words a testament to his friend and ". . . to eradicate as much as possible the lingering effects of that wartime service in the tropics." He wrote that when he was in the army the three books he had with him were the Bible, an Oxford English Dictionary and a volume of Rudyard Kipling's poems. It was during his time in the army that his love of writing poetry manifested itself.

Shaffer hiked the entire AT for the first time in 1948 traveling south to north. This trek is detailed in his book Walking With Spring. For the rest of his life Shaffer was a trail enthusiast and participated in local and national hiking clubs and events. In 1951 Shaffer was named corresponding secretary for the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC). Shaffer hiked the AT north to south in 1965. Shaffer lived his entire life in and around York, Pennsylvania. He wanted to purchase property for a permanent home near the Appalachian Trail. This dream almost became a reality in the 1980s when Shaffer purchased a small parcel of land near the trail. With the ramifications of the 1968 National Trails System Act and the land purchasing policies of the National Park Service conflicting with his desires Shaffer sold his land near the trail to the National Park Service and broke ties with the ATC over their handling of the affair.

Shaffer continued writing poetry throughout his life. He wrote prose almost always centered on his experiences in the army or while hiking. He self published Walking With Spring in 1981. In 1983, the ATC published the work with Shaffer donating his share of the proceeds to the ATC. In 1998, Shaffer decided to undertake a 50th Anniversary hike commemorating his 1948 hike of the entire AT. He was seventy-nine years old. He completed the hike in October 1998 and gained much national notoriety for it. Shaffer was a carpenter and beekeeper. He also refinished and repaired furniture. Shaffer never married but maintained ties to a large, extended, and supportive family. Shaffer's health gradually deteriorated after his last AT hike and he died on May 5, 2002. The Earl Shaffer Foundation was founded in his honor and is based in York, Pennsylvania.

Separated Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) contain the following:

Accession#: 2002.0195

Kodak camera used by Earl Shaffer on his first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 1948 and the flannel shirt, cotton trousers, leather hiking books, knit cap, and canvas backpack he used for his 1998 hike.

Accession#: 1999.0189

Backpack, boots, pith helmet, head net, poncho, and a cook-set, all used by Earl Shaffer on two of his hikes of the Appalachian Trail, 1948 and 1965.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian in April 2003 by John Shaffer, Earl V. Shaffer's brother.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Use reference copies of diaries.

Rights:

Copyrights to all donated materials, both printed and photographic, are retained exclusively by the Earl Shaffer Foundation.

Topic:

Sports  Search this

Trails  Search this

Citation:

Earl Shaffer Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0828

See more items in:

Earl Shaffer Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0828

Collection Author:

Shaffer, Earl V., 1918-2002  Search this

Container:

Box 7, Folder 11

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1992-1998, undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Use reference copies of diaries.

Collection Rights:

Copyrights to all donated materials, both printed and photographic, are retained exclusively by the Earl Shaffer Foundation.

Collection Citation:

Earl Shaffer Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Earl Shaffer Papers

Earl Shaffer Papers / Series 2: Materials Related to Hiking / 2.1: Trail Notes Diaries and General Information

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0828-ref122

Collection Author:

Shaffer, Earl V., 1918-2002  Search this

Container:

Map-folder 8

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1979-1993

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Use reference copies of diaries.

Collection Rights:

Copyrights to all donated materials, both printed and photographic, are retained exclusively by the Earl Shaffer Foundation.

Collection Citation:

Earl Shaffer Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Earl Shaffer Papers

Earl Shaffer Papers / Series 2: Materials Related to Hiking / 2.3: Maps and Plats

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0828-ref174

Collection Author:

Shaffer, Earl V., 1918-2002  Search this

Container:

Box 37, Folder 9

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1935

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Use reference copies of diaries.

Collection Rights:

Copyrights to all donated materials, both printed and photographic, are retained exclusively by the Earl Shaffer Foundation.

Collection Citation:

Earl Shaffer Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Earl Shaffer Papers

Earl Shaffer Papers / Series 2: Materials Related to Hiking / 2.3: Maps and Plats

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0828-ref195

Collection Author:

Shaffer, Earl V., 1918-2002  Search this

Container:

Box 31, Folder 23

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1949

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Use reference copies of diaries.

Collection Rights:

Copyrights to all donated materials, both printed and photographic, are retained exclusively by the Earl Shaffer Foundation.

Collection Citation:

Earl Shaffer Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Earl Shaffer Papers

Earl Shaffer Papers / Series 5: Collected Publications

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0828-ref405

Collector:

Robinson, Franklin A., Jr., 1959- (actor)  Search this

Names:

Capital Transit Company (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Serenity Farm, Inc.  Search this

Howes, Grace Bourne, ?-1976  Search this

Robinson, Adina Theresa, 1963-  Search this

Robinson, Amanda Baden, 1849-1940  Search this

Robinson, Elizabeth Bourne, 1892-1976  Search this

Robinson, Frank A., 1883-1970  Search this

Robinson, Franklin A., 1841-1905  Search this

Robinson, Franklin A., Sr., 1932-  Search this

Robinson, Martha Walls, 1807-1897  Search this

Robinson, Robert David, 1962-  Search this

Robinson, Robert Henry, 1851-1937  Search this

Robinson, Thomas Wells, 1803-1869  Search this

Townshend, Martha Robinson, 1880-1961  Search this

Via, Adina Mae, 1937-1966  Search this

Via, Robert Delano, 1933-  Search this

Via, Robert Milton, 1906-1983  Search this

Creator:

Conner, Mary Robinson, 1930-2009  Search this

Via, Ida Virginia Woods, 1914-2010 -- 20th century  Search this

Extent:

23.1 Cubic feet (71 boxes, 3 map-size folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion pictures (visual works)

Correspondence

Photographs

Postcards

Baby books

Phonograph records

Postcard albums

Ephemera

School yearbooks

Diaries

Albums

Housebooks

Snapshots

Home movies

Family papers

Scrapbooks

Funeral registers

Cookbooks

Architectural drawings

Place:

Maryland -- Family farms

Washington (D.C.)

Prince George's County (Md.)

Arizona -- Motion pictures

Benedict (Md.)

Charles County (Md.) -- Family farms

Calvert County (Md.) -- Family farms

California -- Motion pictures

Bahamas -- Motion pictures

Yosemite National Park (Calif.)

Puerto Rico -- Motion pictures

Washington -- motion pictures

Oregon -- Motion pictures

Disneyland (California)

Brandywine (Md.)

St. Thomas, V.I. -- Motion pictures

Florida -- Motion pictures

United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Westminster

United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Marston

United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- New Windsor

Date:

1838-2017, undated

bulk 1872-1985

Summary:

Papers documenting the farming and family life of the Robinson family of Prince George's County and after 1975, Charles County, Maryland. Papers documenting the farming and family of the Via family of Greene County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Prince George's and Calvert Counties, Maryland, by 1949.

Scope and Contents:

An extensive and comprehensive collection of papers relating to family, farming, and the Southern Maryland tobacco culture, the Robinson and Via Family Papers cover many aspects of family and farm life. The papers are particularly important in regard to the tobacco culture that defined Southern Maryland for generations. The papers concern two distinct family groups, the Robinson and Via families who are connected through the marriage of Franklin A. Robinson and Adina Mae Via. The papers consist of material generated by the Robinson and Via families in their personal and working lives and as farm owners and operators.

The papers are especially strong in 20th century material. They consist of various types of farm records: account books, bills, receipts, tenant farming agreements, ephemera, land rental and purchase agreements, insurance policies, photographs and 8mm and 16mm films of farming practices and procedures, equipment and landscapes, related to the farming of tobacco, small grains, and livestock. The personal records include diaries, letters both personal and business, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, high school yearbooks, baby books, house plans, recipe books, photographs and 8mm films of birthdays, holidays, weddings, baptisms, family occasions, and family travel, oral histories, and funeral ephemera including photographs, and transcription discs. Of particular interest are the "Serenity Farm Tobacco Production Photographs" documenting the crop year 1999-2000 and the films detailing agricultural practices. There is a memorandum book for Black Walnut Thicket, 1885-1901, the Baden farm in Baden, Prince George's County.

This collection includes a comprehensive range of 8mm and 16mm films and photographs documenting farming practices and landscapes as well as family gatherings, birthdays, holidays, and vacations. The researcher is alerted to the fact that in some cases with the memorandum and account books, books printed for a given year were often saved and used for subsequent years, some were dated, some were not.

The collection is divided into seven series arranged by subject and most often chronologically at folder level within each series.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into seven series:

Series 1: Ferndale Farm (Potomac Landing), Prince George's County, Maryland, 1861-1973, undated

Subseries 1.1: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, and publications, 1861-1973, undated

Subseries 1.2: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, 1945-1960, undated

Subseries 1.3: Farm papers, bills, and receipts, 1960-1965, undated

Series 2: Robinson Family, 1845-2017, undated

Subseries 2.1: Family Papers and Publications, 1845-1993, undated

Subseries 2.2: Townshend, Martha Robinson, 1896-1961, undated

Subseries 2.3: Robinson, Frank A., 1899-1970, undated

Subseries 2.4: Robinson, Elizabeth Bourne, 1841-1976, undated

Subseries 2.5: Conner, Mary Robinson, 1938-1985, undated

Subseries 2.6: Robinson, Franklin A., 1932-1997, undated

Subseries 2.6.1: Farming, 1948-1976, undated

Subseries 2.6.2: Financial, 1948-1988, undated

Subseries 2.6.3: 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA), 1945-1954, undated

Subseries 2.6.4: Travel, 1959-1970, undated

Subseries 2.7: Robinson, Jr., Franklin A., 1959-2001, undated

Series 3: Serenity Farm, Charles County, Maryland, 1962-2000, undated

Series 4: Via Farm, Calvert County, Maryland, 1954-1987, undated

Series 5: Via Family, 1932-2010, undated

Subseries 5.1: Family papers, 1941-1983, undated

Subseries 5.2: Via, Robert M., 1933-1987, undated

Subseries 5.3: Via, Ida Virginia, 1928-2010, undated

Subseries 5.4: Via, Robert D., 1933-1988, undated

Subseries 5.5: Robinson, Adina Via, 1937-1966, undated

Series 6: Photographs, Photographic Slides, and Photographic Negatives, 1860-2000, undated

Subseries 6.1: Photographs, 1872-2000, undated

Subseries 6.2: Photographic negatives, 1927--2000, undated

Subseries 6.3: Photographic Slides, 1955-1979, undated

Series 7: AudioVisual, 1943-1988

Biographical / Historical:

Robinson Family

The Robinson family is thought to be of Scottish origin and appear in the records of Prince George's County, Maryland by the early 18th century. The line has been definitively traced to James Robinson (?-1849). James' father was probably Benjamin Robinson (?-1810), of Prince George's County, Maryland. (Will Book TT1, pg. 15, Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Maryland State Archives (MSA))

James Robinson and Sarah Wynn were issued a marriage license on February 28, 1802 in Prince George's County, Maryland. (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland) Eleven children lived to maturity (not listed in birth order); Thomas Wells (1803-1869), Ann, Priscilla, James Monroe, Benjamin (1813-1882), John C. (1819-1895), Mary Sophia, Thomas Stanley (1800-1874), Alfred, Sarah Ann, Matilda, and Rebecca Maria.

James worked as overseer for Benjamin Oden on Oden's estate Bellefields near Upper Marlborough, Prince George's County. (Oden Papers, Maryland Historical Society) The Robinsons and their children, moved to Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia) on April 18, 1818 where James acted as Oden's land agent (Deed Book 6, pg. 123, Land Records of Wood County, West Virginia). They brought with them three slaves described in the above reference as, "Kate a woman 45 years of age very black; Colonel a boy aged 8 years yellow complexion: and George a boy aged six years of a dark brown complexion." They settled on part of what was known as the "Burnt Mill" tract in the general area where the Hughes River meets the Little Kanawha River. (Deed Book 9, pg. 110 and Deed Book 14, pg. 40, Land Records of Wood County)

Thomas Wells Robinson may not have accompanied his family to Virginia as he has a presence in Prince George's County prior to 1822 and was employed as overseer for Benjamin Oden at least until 1832. He married Elizabeth I. Richards on December 15, 1829 (Robinson Family Bible). They had nine children; Richard Thomas (1831 1906), Rebecca Maria (1832-1895), Mary Wynn (1834-1916), James George (1835-1883), Virlinda Victoria (1837-1838), Elizabeth Ann (1839-1916), Sarah Ann Sophia (1840-1874), Franklin Alexander (1841-1905) and John Alfred (1843); seven lived to maturity. (Robinson Family Bible) Elizabeth died on August 17, 1843 from complications in childbirth. She was buried in the churchyard of Page's Chapel (later known as St. Thomas Episcopal Church), Croom, Prince George's County. In 1843, Thomas purchased the plantation of Dr. Benjamin B. Hodges for $10,000 or approximately $15 an acre. Hodges was a brother-in-law of Benjamin Oden. The deed dated September 7, 1843 describes the parcel as containing, "Six hundred and twenty nine acres of land more or less and constitute that plantation or Estate of the said Benjamin Oden heretofore commonly called "Brown's Quarter Place" being the Land tracts and parcels of land sold by the said Benjamin Oden to the said Benjamin B. Hodges and by deed bearing date the tenth day of December eighteen hundred and thirty five and recorded in Liber AB no. 10 folio 162 also one of the land Records of the County aforesaid". (JBB no. 3 pgs. 312 314, Land Records of Prince George's County) The land was level to rolling bordered on the north by a tributary of Piscataway Creek and generally termed "white oak land". Underlying the whole property was a large strata of gravel and sand. The entire parcel went by the name, Potomac Landing.

Thomas supplemented his land holdings with later purchases. With the exception of twenty acres purchased from Sarah Talbert in 1844, (JBB no. 3 pg. 475, Land Records of Prince George's County) and the purchase of lot #3 consisting of 195 acres, part of the estate of John Townshend in 1856, these purchases were not contiguous to Potomac Landing. By the time of his death in 1869 these non-contiguous parcels had been sold. Thomas sold eighty-six acres of Potomac Landing and Jeffries to Edward Eversfield in October of 1843. (JBB no. 3, pg. 198, Land Records of Prince George's County) On January 13, 1846 Thomas married the widow Martha Ann Walls, daughter of George and Martha Naylor Walls. They had two sons; Benjamin Wells (1848-1849) and Robert Henry (1851-1937).

In addition to his sons, Thomas owned slaves. The number varied from six in 1849 (JBB 6, folio 186, Land Records of Prince Georges' County) to eleven as noted in the census for 1850, and finally six as noted in the census of 1860. The 1867 Maryland Slave Statistics noted that, "at the time of the adoption of the Constitution of Maryland, in the year 1864, . . ." Thomas owned six slaves, their names and ages being; Isaac Franklin age 31, Alfred West age 19, Susan West age 17, Margaret Franklin age 14, Fannie Franklin age 12, and Peter Franklin age 9. All were noted as being in good physical condition. (Prince Georges' County Slave Statistics 1867 1869, C 1307 1, MdHR:6198, page 185, MSA)

In April 11, 1855 Thomas excuted a deed of trust to J.W. & E. Reynolds of Baltimore for securing a loan. At that time the farm was described as, "about five hundred and seventy acres . . . also the following personal property to wit Eight head of horses, nine cows, two mules, twelve work oxen, twenty Eight Sheep, one bull, two colts and all other stock of every description now on the aforesaid land, also the farming utensils and the following named Slaves, Stephen aged Sixty three years, Isaac aged twenty six years, Elvia aged twenty Eight years Alfred aged twelve years, Hanson aged ten years, Henrietta aged twelve years Susanna aged eight years, and Margaret aged three years. Together with the crop of Tobacco now in the house and the crop of wheat now growing." (EWB 1 pages 155 156, Land Records of Prince Georges' County)

Thomas's financial problems began in the mid-1800s when Deeds of Trust appear in the county records securing outstanding loans. In 1856 and 1857 Thomas joined with others as bondsman for his son, Richard who was serving as "Collector of the State and County Taxes" for the 4th collection district, making he and the other signatories liable for any uncollected taxes. This, coupled with poor investments, led to his almost being "sold out" in 1859-1860 by J.W. & E. Reynolds of Baltimore to pay his debts. He executed three drafts on Penn & Mitchell, also of Baltimore, to pay off J.W. & E. Reynolds. (Equity Case #597, Prince Georges' County) Thomas was in poor health and his son James managed the plantation in 1857 and 1858, and again from 1861 to October of 1862 (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County)

In October of 1862 Thomas' two sons, James and Franklin, traveled to Richmond to join the Confederate States Army. James enrolled in the 5th Battalion, Local Defense Arsenal and Franklin enrolled in the 5th Virginia Infantry, the Stonewall Brigade. (CSA Military Records, National Archives) James visited home frequently but was captured by the Union Army in St. Mary's County, Maryland on May 15, 1864 and spent the remainder of the war in Point Lookout Prison Camp. He was released on May 14, 1865. Franklin was not able to visit home at all during the war but survived to return home in 1865. In 1865, Thomas surveyed a parcel of 172 acres for his daughter Rebecca Maria. Rebecca had married her second cousin, William B. Robertson, on November 18, 1855. He made a gift of fifty acres, and Rebecca agreed to purchase the remainder. The Robertsons named this parcel Holly Grove. In Equity Case #849 (1872) filed after Thomas' death, his widow Martha and Samuel H. Berry, as executrix and executor, sought to recover payment for this land. At that time, William B. Robertson described this 172 acres of Potomac Landing: "There was no fences on the line which separated this land from the old gentleman's land, but he was to put a fence on it which he agreed to do before we agreed to come there. The land was thin, unimproved, with gullies and scrubby pine. If witness had been a judge of land he would not have given five dollars for it. All the improvements were one comfortable quarter the other indifferent with a poor oak shingle roof, worn out which made it not tenantable." Further along in his testimony, William gave an account of a conversation, "In a few days my father in law Thos. W. Robinson came to Washington and told me there his children had returned from the South, his two sons, that his debts were small and he was a happy man." Rebecca and William built a house on the property, a side-hall, double parlor plan that most likely her brother James was builder. They also built accompanying farm structures. (Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Equity Case #849, MSA)

Thomas' son, Franklin, managed the farm after the War. In December 1868 Thomas entered into a sharecropping agreement with Edward Hanson, an African-American. After about a year-long illness, on May 16, 1869, Thomas died, deeply in debt. He was buried beside Elizabeth in the graveyard at St. Thomas' Church. He named as executrix his wife, Martha, and his friend and lawyer, Samuel H. Berry, as executor. His will divided the farm into thirds, one third going to his wife and their son Robert Henry, one third to his son James, and one third to his son Franklin. The land was surveyed according to the will. His personal property was sold but not enough profit was realized to pay off his creditors. The Commissioners of Prince George's County sued the estate on behalf of Thomas' creditors. The outcome was that in 1876 the property was sold at public auction. The Notice of Sale dated September 1, 1876 in the local county newspaper, The Prince Georgian, describes the farm as, "containing 514 2/3 acres More or less. The Improvements consist of a SMALL DWELLING, Three Barns, Stabling, and other necessary outbuildings. It is well wooded and watered, and the soil of fair quality. It has recently been divided into three lots and will be offered in lots, a description of which will be given at the time of sale." The sale was held on September 27, 1876, Lot No. 1 was purchased by Robert for $6.00 an acre, Lot #2 was purchased by Franklin for $5.00 an acre and Lot #3 was purchased by James for $4.00 per acre. Robert and Franklin eventually paid off their mortgage, but James defaulted on his purchase and later moved to St. Mary's County, Maryland. His portion later came to be owned by the Hawkins family, some members who had worked on the Robinson farm. (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County, MSA)

Lot #1, purchased by Robert from his fathers' estate, consisted of 177-1/3 acres, including the dwelling and farm buildings. On July 24, 1872, he married Amanda Malvina Baden (1849-1940), daughter of Robert W. G. and Margaret Caroline Early Baden. The Baden and Early families were both prominent south county families. Robert and Amanda had eight children; Caroline Early (1873 1967), Lucy Tennent (1875 1958), Albert Henry (1878 1914), Martha Perry (1880 1961), Robert Gover (1882 1882), Frank Alexander (1883 1970), Margaret Baden (1886 1956) and Grace Malvina (1889 1965).

By 1880 Robert had paid off his debt on the property and was fully engaged in farming. Unlike his father, or perhaps because of his father, Robert did not add to his land holdings, choosing to remain relatively debt free for his lifetime. The only land transactions he participated in were the sales of 79-3/4 acres in 1921 of Amanda's inheritance from her father and her interest in two smaller parcels of her father's land sold in 1894 and 1928 respectively. In 1928 he transferred 3.09 acres to his son Frank.

As late as the Federal census of 1880, Franklin was living with Robert and his household, both men engaged in farming. Sometime after 1880, Franklin took up residence on his part of Potomac Landing. His brother James most likely built the side-hall double parlor house that copied the main house at Potomac Landing. On February 18, 1897, Martha Robinson, died at the age of ninety. She was buried in the graveyyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden, Prince George's County. Robert continued cultivation of tobacco and small grains as his father before him. The first reference to the farm being named Ferndale is found in the "Communion Record" of Robert's daughter, Martha Perry "Pattie", dated 1896. (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The exact origin or reason for this new name is lost but perhaps the name Potomac Landing held such bitter memories of debt and hardship that, as a symbolic break with the past, a new name was found. It also may have simply been a way to distinguish this portion of Potomac Landing from the others. The farm continued to be listed on tax bills as Potomac Landing well into the 20th century, but was known to the general public and businesses as the Ferndale Farm. (Robinson and Via Family Papers)

Robert served as deputy inspector at the State Tobacco Warehouse in Baltimore for eight years under W.B. Bowie. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Brandywine. In July of 1905, Franklin died, a bachelor farmer. He was buried facing south in the graveyard of the Church of the Atonement, Cheltenham, (a chapel in St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish) where he had served as vestryman, treasurer, and cemetery custodian. Franklin died intestate and a lengthy process of dividing his estate began. This resulted in the sale of his part of Potomac Landing (Lot #2) in July 1908 to William E. Boswell. The court declared Robert ineligible for any inheritance due to his being " . . . a brother of the half blood." The Boswell family later sold the property to the Billingsley family of St. Mary's County. (Equity Case 3209, Prince George's County)

In 1910, after living in the farm's original home for approximately sixty seven years, the Robinson family built a new home. It was described in a 1956 insurance policy as, "2 story, frame, metal roof, 16x43, wing 14x28, 9 rooms." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The house design was a simple Victorian with plastered walls, and lit by carbide gas. Electrical lighting was installed in 1951. The house was built with monies from Robert and Amanda, and their son Frank, who served as builder and contractor.

On Tuesday March 9, 1937, "During a celebration in honor of his wifes birthday anniversary, Mr. Robinson collapsed at the table and died immediately without a word or a sigh." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) Robert was buried beside his mother in the cemetery at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden.

At Robert's death, Ferndale Farm was valued at $30.00 an acre, the total acreage, 174 acres, being valued in the whole at $5,220.00. Robert died intestate, again the fate of the land was in question. He left eight heirs, his widow, Amanda, six of his children and his son Albert Henry's only surviving child, R. Henry Robinson. Rather than have the farm sold and his mother's life disrupted, Frank purchased the estate and personal property from the heirs. Before this could take place, a deed had to be granted the heirs for the property since one had never been recorded after the 1876 sale. Equity case 873 was reopened sixty-two years after its supposed resolution. Frank testified, "over a period of about thirty years I would on a number of occasions, talk about the fact that he had purchased and paid for this property and that a deed had never been executed to him and [he] kept saying he was going to have someone straighten this matter out for him." It was discovered that Robert had fully paid for his part of Potomac Landing. On February 14, 1938 the farm was deeded from Amanda along with Robert''s heirs to Frank. (Book 499, page 334, Land Records of Prince George's County) According to the deed and a 1937 fire insurance policy the farm consisted of 177 1/3 acres, "1 two story dwelling, one tenant house, 1 barrack, 1 tobacco barn, 1 corn house & cow stable, 1 Stable, and 1 Granary & Stable." (Robinson and Via Family Papers)

Frank A. Robinson, now the sole owner of Ferndale Farm, was born August 17, 1883. He learned farming and in addition took up the trade of builder and contractor. As a young man, he worked in the general store of his uncle Robert Baden. He was the contractor for the first Bank of Brandywine and many homes in and around the town of Brandywine, including the home of his cousin Robert E. Baden, DDS. He was secretary of the Building Committee for construction of the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, a mission chapel for St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish. His success in the building trade gave him disposable income that he invested in land. His first purchase was in August, 1915 of a 2-9/100 acre of land in Brandywine that was being sold by the Board of County School Commissioners; the purchase price was $300. In March 1916 he purchased 38.09 acres of his Uncle Franklin's farm. This property adjoined Ferndale Farm. Over the next fifty-four years of his life, Frank bought and sold many pieces of real estate. Perhaps his most significant purchases were: 18-1/3 acres purchased from The German American Colonization Land Company of Maryland in October 1915 (Book 115, pg. 140, Land Records of Prince George's County); 147.99 acres purchased from August and Wilhelmina Noltensmeir in December 1917 (Book 129, pg. 263, Land Records of Prince George's County) and 320 acres called the Vineyard purchased from William M. Wilson in March 1928. Frank used these three parcels as collateral for other purchases. Never once did he mortgage Ferndale Farm, insuring that no matter what financial stormy seas might blow, his home was secure. Over the course of his life, especially in the case of the Noltensmeir farm, when cash was needed a parcel of land would be surveyed off and sold. He inherited his grandfather Thomas' love of land but had fortunately developed a shrewd business sense to go along with it.

On November 20, 1929, he married Elizabeth Freeland Bourne, daughter of Joseph Blake and Maria Gantt Bourne of Calvert County, Maryland. They had three children: Mary Elizabeth (1930-2009), Franklin Alexander (1932), and Robert Lee (1935-1997). In addition to his construction business he continued farming, raising tobacco, hay, and small grains. He engaged in sharecropping with tenants on his various properties. He was active in community affairs serving on the Board of The Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Vestry of St. Thomas Parish, and as sheriff of Brandywine. On January 9, 1940 Amanda Baden Robinson died. She was buried next to her husband at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden. In February 1958, Frank and Elizabeth conveyed 1.57 acres of Ferndale Farm to son Franklin where he and his fiancée, Adina M. Via, were building their new home prior to their marriage in July of that same year.

The booming economy and suburbanization of the Washington metropolitan area in the early 1960's led to the high quality gravel lying beneath Ferndale into becoming a valuable commodity. In October 1962, Franklin and his parents granted a three-year lease to William C. Nolte for mining sand and gravel on the Ferndale Farm at .174 per yard. (Book 2747, pg. 11, Land Records of Prince George's County) From now until 1975 when the property was sold, gravel would be mined from under the farm by various companies. In November 1962, Elizabeth and Frank transferred to Franklin the 38.09 acres Frank had purchased from Fitzhugh Billingsley in 1916. (Book 2754, pg. 99, Land Records of Prince George's County) That same year they transferred 6.754 acres, part of the Vineyard, to son Robert and his wife Lois, (Book 2765, pg. 201, Land Records of Prince George's County)

On December 28, 1965, Frank and Elizabeth participated in a land exchange/purchase of the farm of Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown located along the Patuxent River in Benedict, Charles County, Maryland. Franklin had rented this farm the year before and was impressed enough by its location and arability to work out a purchase. Frank and Elizabeth traded 65.9920 acres that would eventually become Franklin's under Frank's will. On February 21, 1966 they deeded the Charles County farm to Franklin and Adina. Adina named this property Serenity Farm. The property consisted of 480.66 acres. (Liber 179, page 708 etc., Land Records of Charles County)

On February 5, 1970, after a short illness, Frank died at Cafritz Memorial Hospital. He was buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church near his parents. In his will, probated March 4, 1970 he left thirty acres of the property purchased from the German American Land Company and A. Noltensmeir to Elizabeth. He willed forty acres of the same parcel to daughter Mary Robinson Conner. The remainder of Ferndale Farm was willed to Franklin and the remaining acreage of the Vineyard was left to Robert Lee. Franklin Alexander Robinson was born August 13, 1932 at the Garfield Hospital in Washington, D.C.. He received his schooling in the public school system of Prince George's County, graduating from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. He was a charter member of Gwynn Park's chapter of The Future Farmers of America. He was extremely active in FFA, achieving the Degree of Maryland Farmer in 1950 and their highest award, the Degree of American Farmer at their convention in Kansas City, Missouri in October 1953. He obtained his private pilots license in 1954. He entered the United States Army in February 1955 and went through basic training at Camp Gordon, Augusta, Georgia. After basic training he was transferred to Camp Hanford, Washington State. There he worked part time on the farm of Dick and Theresa Laurent during his off duty hours and began a lifelong friendship with them. He returned home to farming on an agricultural discharge in October of 1956. On July 27, 1958 he married his high school sweetheart, Adina Mae Via, daughter of Robert Milton and Virginia Woods Via. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962), and Adina Theresa (1963).

Franklin continued expanding and improving the farming operation by modern methods and means. At times, he farmed over one thousand acres, both owned and rented. On February 21, 1966, his parents deeded their purchase of the Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown farm in Benedict to he and Adina, later known as Serenity Farm Franklin and Adina engaged an architect to draft house plans for an anticipated new residence. A small A frame vacation home was built on the property so the family could spend weekends there.

On December 14, 1966, after a long illness, Adina died from complications associated with Hodgkin's Disease. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Waldorf, Charles County. Franklin married Margaret Walker Lennox (nee Tallen, known as Rita) on August 21, 1970 (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland). This marriage ended in divorce in 1977. There were no children from this marriage.

On July 14, 1975 the Robinson family, Franklin, his second wife, Margaret, her daughter Margaret W. Lennox, Franklin, Jr., R. David, A. Theresa and Elizabeth B. Robinson, moved to Serenity Farm. On July 17, 1975 Franklin and Elizabeth sold the remaining acreage of Ferndale Farm to Brandywine Sand and Gravel, thus ending 131 years of ownership by the Robinson family. Elizabeth Bourne Robinson died on July 15, 1976 and was buried beside her husband at St. Paul's Church, Baden. Franklin married Hiltrud (Ceddie) Harris (nee Sedlacek) on July 15, 1978. (Robinson Family Bible) This marriage ended in divorce in 1986. There were no children from this marriage. Franklin married Diedre Gale Merhiage on April 19, 1989; this marriage ended in divorce in 1997. There were no children from this marriage. He married Remelda Henega Buenavista on January 13, 2007.

The Robinson family continue day-to-day operations of Serenity Farm. The land is well suited to the growing of tobacco and small grains, which crops, (with the exception of tobacco) along with a flock of sheep, are cultivated there to the present time. After the crop year 2001 the Robinson family took the tobacco buyout program offered by the state of Maryland and ceased growing tobacco. Franklin is active in farming and community affairs having served on the vestry of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish, the Board of Directors of MTGA, the Board of the Production Credit Association, the Boards of three schools, Holy Trinity Day School, Queen Anne School, and Calverton School, and numerous other organizations. Currently the farm consists of approximately 275 acres. In 1981 a state agricultural land preservation district of 222.755 acres was created. This was the first such district in Charles County and one of the first in the state of Maryland.

In 1985, R. David began a greenhouse business for the sale of spring flowering bedding plants and hanging baskets but currently works in conjunction with Farming 4 Hunger to grow produce for local area foodbanks. A. Theresa is involved in the daily running of the farm along with Franklin. Franklin, Jr., obtained a BFA degree in Drama from The Catholic University of America in 1981 and an MA from The American University in Film and Video Production in 1988. He was a civilian employee of the United States Air Force (USAF) from November 1981 to January 1986. He pursued a full time career as a professional actor from 1986-2007 and is a published author and produced playwright. The three siblings have been involved in community affairs, with R. David sitting on the Charles County Agricultural Preservation Board, A. Theresa having served on the vestry of Trinity Episcopal Parish, Charles County, and Franklin, Jr. having served on the vestries of both Trinity Parish and St. Thomas Episcopal Parish, the Board of the Washington Literacy Council, a choir member of the choir at St. Thomas Church, among other church related posts and as chair of the Charles County Historic Preservation Commission.

Via Family

The Via family traces its origins to the colony of Virginia, where the probable progenitor of the line, Amer Via, a French Huguenot, settled in Manakin Town, Albemarle County between 1670-1700. It is impossible to trace the Via line definitively due to the loss of Virginia county records during the Civil War.

The Via family line covered in this collection can be definitively traced to William Via of Fredericksville Parish, Louisa (later Albemarle) County, Virginia. The William Via family lived west of the present day town of Whitehall at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an area commonly known as Sugar Hollow. William Via III served in the Virginia Line during the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Craig, daughter of Thomas Craig and Jane Jameson, on March 17, 1784. William died on June 27, 1836, in Albemarle County (Rev. War Pension Appl. 6363, National Archives). His son Thomas married Sally, widow Griffin, on January 1, 1811 (Albemarle County Marriage Records). Their son, Hiram Karl Via (1812-1893), married Harriet Ardenia Naylor by license dated March 7, 1836 (Albemarle County Marriage Records).

Hiram and Harriet's son, Robert St. Clair Via (1844-1925), served as a private in Company I, 7th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate States Army (CSA Military Service Records, National Archives). After the war he married his first cousin, Mary Frances Naylor, daughter of Samuel Chapman Naylor and Eliza Jane Gardner, on April 3, 1866 in Rockingham County (Rockingham County, Virginia, Marriage Records). Sometime between 1870 and 1872, they moved to Linn County, Missouri, and settled about seven miles from the town of Bucklin. Their son, Hiram Chapman Via (1872-1933), was born there. In 1893, the family returned to Virginia, and settled on a farm in Greene County near the town of Stanardsville.

Hiram Chapman Via operated a mill as well as a farm. On March 15, 1899, he married Adina Eleanor Eusebia Runkle, daughter of Milton D. L. Runkle and Roberta A. Beadles (Greene County, Virginia, Marriage Records). They had three children: Bernice Olive (1902-1999), Robert Milton (1906-1983), and Deward Daniel (1909-1977).

Robert moved to Washington, D.C.. In December 1927 he began employment with the Capitol Traction Company as a streetcar conductor (Robinson and Via Family Papers). During the early 1930s, Robert rented a townhouse at 715 A St., SE, where he lived with his sister Bernice V. McMullan and her son, William C. McMullan; his brother and sister in law, and his parents. Next door, at 717, lived the Moses Albright family, including Moses's stepdaughter Ida Virginia Woods (1914-2010), daughter of Jesse Lee Woods (1894-1918) and Donna Mae Barker (1896-1928) of Frederick County, Maryland. Robert and Virginia began a courtship and on September 3, 1932 were married in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland (Frederick County, Maryland, Marriage Records).

After their marriage, Robert and Virginia lived in various locations in the Washington metropolitan area. Their first child, Robert Delano, was born on March 24, 1933, and their second child, Adina Mae, was born on April 12, 1937. Virginia was employed outside the home while her children were in school. Her first job before her marriage had been with Woolworth's in Martinsburg, WV working the candy counter and then before the birth of her son at The Hecht Company on F St. in Washington, D.C.. After her marriage she worked briefly for the United States Postal Service in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Beginning in the 1950s, she worked for Charles of the Ritz as a receptionist in their beauty salon located in Woodward & Lothrop's F Street store in Washington, D.C.. She also worked as salon manager at the Charles of the Ritz salons in the Woodward & Lothrop stores in Seven Corners, Virginia, and Chevy Chase, Maryland. She retired due to health reasons in 1973.

On September 10, 1941, Robert and Virginia purchased Lot #43 in Woodlane subdivision in Prince George's County. (Book 619, pg. 12, Land Records of Prince George's County) A house was designed for them for this lot by Clyde E. Phillips. They did not construct a home on this property due to the outbreak of World War II. Robert, due to his employment in public transportation, did not serve with the Armed Services in World War II. On October 18, 1946, they purchased approximately thirty acres bordering on Burch's Creek near the towns of Clinton, also know as Surrattsville, and T.B. in Prince George's County from Joseph H. and M. Pauline Blandford. (Book 873, pg. 483, Land Records of Prince George's County) Over the next three years, hiring private contractors, doing work themselves, and with the help of Robert's brother Deward, they built the two story house designed by Phillips in 1941. They moved to the farm from Capitol Heights in 1949. Robert raised hogs, small grains and a crop of tobacco yearly on this farm and also maintained his job with Capitol Transit (formerly Capitol Traction). In 1954, Robert and Virginia purchased a farm of approximately 150 acres in Island Creek, Calvert County, Maryland. The intention was for Robert and his son to enter into a full time farming operation on expanded acreage. Robert D. Via, known as Delano, graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. Delano was a part-time farmer and pursued a career as a country and western singer with Bashful Bob and the Rhythm Rangers, he being Bashful Bob. He was employed in various jobs, and began a tour in the Army in 1953. By the time the Via family moved to Calvert County in 1956, he decided to pursue careers other than farming. He eventually traveled and worked in various parts of the United States. He married first Delores Cooper, second Gloria J. Irick, and finally Candice Marinelli in December 1974, they had two children, Robert Marin (1975) and Kirstin Marin (1976).

On June 1, 1956 Robert resigned from his position at Capitol Transit due to health reasons. He and his family moved to the farm in Island Creek, Calvert County where he began full time farming. He and Virginia sold the thirty-acre farm in Prince George's County on June 21, 1956 to Melvin C. and Geraldine H. Rardia. (Book 2003, pg. 564, Land Records of Prince George's County) Virginia continued her employment with Charles of the Ritz. Adina, now a graduate of Gwynn Park High School, was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland. They both commuted daily from Calvert County to their places of employment.

Robert farmed in Calvert County, raising hogs, cattle, small grains and tobacco. Over the course of the next twenty-seven years, Robert and Virginia sold smaller parcels off the farm. In 1974, Robert and Virginia built a small retirement home designed for them by Calvert Masonry Contractors. Robert died on December 22, 1983. He was buried beside his daughter Adina in Trinity Memorial Gardens. At the time of Robert's death, the farm consisted of 28.694 acres. In 1998, Virginia deeded the remainder of the farm, then less than six acres, to her grandson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. who sold all but a one-acre lot in April 1999.

Virginia continued to live on the farm in Calvert County, maintaining a small herd of cattle. In the fall of 1989 Franklin, Jr. went to live with her. In 1993, the onset of Alzheimer's Disease required her to move to Serenity Farm and take up residence with her granddaughter A. Theresa. Virginia participated in various studies on Alzheimer's Disease conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland beginning in 1992. She was profiled in the September 1997 issue of Washingtonian Magazine. In October of 1998 she moved to All American Senior Care in Brandywine, Maryland and in 1999 she moved to Morningside, an elderly care facility in Waldorf, Maryland. In 2002, she moved to St. Mary's Nursing Center in Leonardtown, Maryland. The remainder of the farm was sold in 1999 and 2002. She died January 14, 2010 and was buried at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf.

Adina Mae Via was born April 12, 1937 at the Homeopathic Hospital in Washington, D.C.. Adina grew up in Washington, D.C. attending public schools. She moved with her family to the Burch's Creek farm, Prince George's County, in 1949. She enrolled in the Prince George's County school system, and graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June of 1955. After graduation, she was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs.

In July of 1956, she moved with her family to the Via farm in Island Creek, Calvert County. On July 27, 1958 she married Franklin A. Robinson at the Chapel of the Incarnation. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962) and Adina Theresa (1963). In the fall of 1958, she and Franklin took up residence in the home they had built on Ferndale Farm. She resigned from her position with the USAF in 1959.

On December 14, 1966, at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC, Adina died from complications due to Hodgkin's Disease. She had been battling this disease for many years prior to her death. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Charles County.

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

The Maryland Historical Society holds items (costume, farming related implements) related to the Robinson and Via families.

Separated Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry (Agriculture Collection) holds agricultural implements and artifacts associated with both the Robinson farms and the Via farm; the Division of Home and Community Life holds clothing, textiles (crib quilt), jewelry, cosmetics and Adina M. Robinson's sewing box and dress patterns; (Costume and Textiles Collection). See accession numbers: 1989.0688, 1990.0394, 1991.0010; 1991.0722, 1992.0184, 1992.0283, 1992.0321, 1992.0474, 1992.3106, 1994.0064, 1994.0304, 1997.0327, 1998.0038, 1998.0129, 2001.0196, 2002.0087, 2003.0015, 2005.0009.

Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Olitical and Military History, National Numismatics Collection) holds the Robert M. Via Trolley Token Collection.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center, by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., in November 1993.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Farms -- Maryland  Search this

Holidays  Search this

Amusement parks -- California  Search this

Children's parties  Search this

Rural women  Search this

Sheep ranches  Search this

Parks -- California  Search this

Rural families  Search this

Tobacco -- Harvesting  Search this

Tobacco -- Storage  Search this

Street-railroads  Search this

Street-railroads -- Employees  Search this

Travel  Search this

Urban transportation  Search this

Work and family  Search this

Tobacco curing  Search this

Women in agriculture  Search this

Farm equipment  Search this

Farm buildings  Search this

Family recreation  Search this

Family festivals  Search this

Farm ownership  Search this

Farm life -- 20th century  Search this

Farm management  Search this

Illiterate persons  Search this

Christmas  Search this

Soldiers  Search this

Students  Search this

Family -- 20th century  Search this

Family farms  Search this

Easter  Search this

Electric railroads  Search this

Acting -- 1980-2000  Search this

Amateur films  Search this

Agricultural machinery  Search this

Agriculture -- 20th century -- Maryland  Search this

Tobacco farmers  Search this

Housewives -- United States  Search this

Weddings  Search this

Farmers  Search this

Dairy farms  Search this

Genre/Form:

Motion pictures (visual works)

Correspondence -- 1930-1950

Photographs -- 20th century

Postcards

Baby books

Phonograph records

Postcard albums

Ephemera

School yearbooks

Diaries

Albums

Housebooks

Photographs -- 19th century

Snapshots

Home movies

Family papers

Scrapbooks

Funeral registers

Cookbooks

Architectural drawings

Citation:

The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Preservation of the 8mm films in this collection was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Film Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0475

See more items in:

Robinson and Via Family Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0475

Collection Collector:

Robinson, Franklin A., Jr., 1959- (actor)  Search this

Container:

Box 10, Folder 4

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1944

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Preservation of the 8mm films in this collection was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Film Preservation Fund.

See more items in:

Robinson and Via Family Papers

Robinson and Via Family Papers / Series 2: Robinson Family / 2.6: Robinson, Franklin A.

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0475-ref166