Dick, Brisbane, and Harris families papers
Collection 4059
1803-1978, undated (bulk 1820-1866)(2.2 Linear feet ; 3 boxes, 5 volumes)
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
- Title
- Dick, Brisbane, and Harris families papers
- ID
- 4059
- Date
- 1803-1978, undated (bulk 1820-1866)
- Extent
- 2.2 Linear feet ; 3 boxes, 5 volumes
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Susan M. Kearney.
- Language
- English
Preferred citation
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Dick, Brisbane, and Harris families papers (Collection 4059), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Scope and Contents note
In 1813, William Dick (1778-1831) of Scotland settled with his family in Philadelphia. He found a job as a janitor in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania and worked there until his death. He married Margaret Brisbane (1775-1852), who also was from Scotland. Their daughter, Sarah McAllister Dick (1816-1901), married Enon Harris (died 1839) in 1836, and thheir short marriage produced a son named Enon H. Harris (1839-1908) who served during the Civil War with Southard's Independent Company, Pennsylvania Infantry. After the assassination of President Lincoln, Major Enon H. Harris stood guard over Lincoln's body when it lay in state in Philadelphia. Major Harris had a son named Enon Harris (born 1866) and a grandson also named Enon Harris (born 1887).
This collection contains a variety of photographs, from daguerreotypes to cabinet cards in albums. There is an original family photograph album containing images of Civil War soldiers and family members. One image is labeled as the first wife of Major Enon H. Harris and indicates she had two sons; the wife and sons are noted as deceased from tuberculosis before the Civil War began. While some of the images are identified, most are not, making it difficult to ascertain those directly connected to family members.
There are also family history notes, letters, receipts, calling cards,ephemera, and a few small artifacts. The genealogical notes cover the Dick, Brisbane, and Harris families, as well as two other related families: the McAllisters and the Lawrences. The bulk of the collection is from or related to Dr. George Spackman (died 1861), a Philadelphia physician educated at the University of Pennsylvania who married Sarah McAllister Dick (1816-1901), the daughter of William and Margaret Brisbane Dick. Sarah Spackman organized the first corps of army nurses in Pennsylvania during the Civil War. She was previously married to Enon Harris, who died in 1839.
Copies of two interesting newspaper clippings generated some of the material in this collection. One article notes that there is a large fortune waiting for anyone who can prove he or she is descended from Thomas Lucas Wheeler, a native of Shropshire England and a former captain of the 100th Regiment stationed in India. The other states that the Gibbs fortune in England ($8 million) would be inherited by Benjamin Gibbs Mitchell, formerly of Baltimore, then residing in Bermuda. Papers related to proving lineage in these cases are interesting but do not provide clues to how these two cases are connected to family names in this collection: Dick, Brisbane, Harris, Lawrence, McAllister, or Spackman.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2018.
1300 Locust StreetPhiladelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200
Access restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Gift of Patrick Wing, 2016. Accession number 2016.075.
Gift of Christina D. Bowman, 2016. Accession number 2016.076.
Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
- Letters.
- Photographs.
Personal Name(s)
- Bowman, Christina D.
- Wing, Patrick.
Subject(s)
- Genealogical correspondence.
- Genealogy & local history.
- Genealogy.
- Medicine.
- Pennsylvania--Genealogy.
Collection Inventory
| Box | Folder | |||
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Genealogical notes on births, marriages, and deaths undated |
1 | 1 | ||
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Genealogical notes undated |
1 | 2 | ||
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Dick family: Miscellaneous 1820-1914, undated |
1 | 3 | ||
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Lawrence family: Genealogical notes undated |
1 | 4 | ||
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McAllister family: Genealogical notes 1860-1905, undated |
1 | 5 | ||
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Letters by Major Enon M. Harris 1865-1866 |
1 | 6 | ||
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Letter from Ewing Jordan to Margaret B. Harris 22 October 1914 |
1 | 7 | ||
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Harris family: Miscellaneous 1854-1907, undated |
1 | 8 | ||
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Copy of Will: Margaret B. Harris December 1943 |
1 | 9 | ||
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Estate papers: James M. Harris 1942-1943 |
1 | 10 | ||
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Margaret B. Harris: Teacher Certificate 11 June 1898 |
1 | 11 | ||
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George Spackman MD: Lecture notes 1820s, undated |
1 | 12 | ||
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George Spackman MD: School papers 1820s |
1 | 13 | ||
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George Spackman MD: Cards of Admission to Courses and Lectures 1824-1831 |
1 | 14 | ||
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Letters to George Spackman 1821-1822 |
1 | 15 | ||
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Letters to George Spackman 1823-1825 |
1 | 16 | ||
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Letters to George Spackman 1827-1830 |
1 | 17 | ||
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Letters to George Spackman 1833-1843 |
1 | 18 | ||
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| Box | Box | |||
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Letters to George Spackman 1846-1866 |
1 | 19 | ||
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| Box | Folder | |||
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Letters to George Spackman undated |
1 | 20 | ||
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Reference for Dr. George Spackman from Joseph Parrish August 1828 |
1 | 21 | ||
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George Spackman MD: Estate Papers about 1862 |
1 | 22 | ||
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Medical Address, possibly by Dr. George Spackman undated |
1 | 23 | ||
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Medical Addresses by James Harris 9 June 1846, undated |
1 | 24 | ||
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Family photograph undated |
2 | 1 | ||
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| Volume | ||||
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Photograph album undated |
1 | |||
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Photograph album undated |
2 | |||
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Photograph album undated |
3 | |||
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Photograph album undated |
4 | |||
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Photograph album undated |
5 | |||
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| Box | ||||
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Photograph of Mrs. Enon Major Harris before 1861 |
3 | |||
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Eight Miniature Portraits undated |
3 | |||
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Worchester's Dictionary 1872 |
3 | |||
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Miscellaneous pins undated |
3 | |||
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| Box | Folder | |||
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Copy of Photograph album, Volume 1 undated |
2 | 2-6 | ||
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Wheeler Case: Copy of Will of Thomas Lucas Wheeler, Canterbury, England [July 1792] undated |
2 | 7 | ||
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Wheeler Case: Genealogical notes undated |
2 | 8 | ||
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Wheeler Case: Wheeler/Hurst indenture, Hartford County, Maryland 1815 |
2 | 9 | ||
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Wheeler Case: Notes and Miscellaneous 1803-1849, undated |
2 | 10 | ||
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Wheeler Case: Correspondence 1848-1851, undated |
2 | 11 | ||
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Gibbs fortune: Newspaper clipping and correspondence 1848-1851 |
2 | 12 | ||
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Postcards by Flynn's Printing: Scenes of Delaware County, PA 1890-1903 |
2 | 13 | ||
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Pamphlet: "The Theological Seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church," Philadelphia May 1978 |
2 | 14 | ||
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Souvenir Guide Book: Mauch Chunk undated |
2 | 15 | ||
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War Service Register: Artillery Corps Washington Grays of the City of Philadelphia, 1861-1865 1861-1865 |
2 | 16 | ||
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Papers removed from War Service Register 1922-1954, undated |
2 | 17 | ||
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The Church Standard: George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate 16 October 1897 |
2 | 18 | ||
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"The Naval Reserve," Volume 1, Number 11 30 June 1918 |
2 | 19 | ||
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"The Golden Jubilee Number of The Record of St. Mary's," Philadelphia May 1894 |
2 | 20 | ||
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"A Book About Them," (Mothers, Daughters, Wives), The Women's Hospital of Pennsylvania undated |
2 | 21 | ||
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Pamplet: "Mount Pleasant" 1927 |
2 | 22 | ||
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Postcards with Sketches of Gettysburg, PA undated |
2 | 23 | ||
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Miscellaneous 1850-1924, undated |
2 | 24 | ||
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