Leon Gardiner collection of American Negro Historical Society records

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Background Note

Overview of Arrangement

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Controlled Access Headings

Bibliography

Collection Inventory

I. Correspondence and Personal Papers

II. American Negro Historical Society records

III. Banneker Institute

IV. Pythian Baseball Club

V. Lebanon Cemetery

VI. Philanthropic, Civic, and Religious Organizations

VII. Portraits of Black Leaders and Abolitionists

VIII. Negro Activities: Broadsides, Printed Matter, and Miscellaneous material

IX. Volumes

Summary Information

Repository

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Creator

Gardiner, Leon, 1892-1945.

Title

Leon Gardiner collection of American Negro Historical Society records

ID

0008

Date [bulk]

Bulk, 1860-1890

Date [inclusive]

1715-1962, undated

Extent

8.9 Linear feet , 16 boxes, 35 volumes

Author

Finding aid prepared by Willhem Echevarria.

Sponsor

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Lori Cohen.

Language

English

Abstract

The American Negro Historical Society was founded in 1897 by a group of Philadelphia blacks to study and preserve materials documenting the American black experience. Among the founders and early members were Robert Adger, W.M. Dorsey and Jacob C. White, Jr., who donated materials to the society, some of which are present in the collection. The collection is composed of administrative records of the society and materials collected by some of its members, including correspondence, minutes, reports, financial documents, membership lists, records of lectures and debates, library catalogues, baseball lineup and scorecards, speeches, printed matter, and portraits of distinguished black leaders and abolitionists.

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Background Note

The American Negro Historical Society was founded in Philadelphia in 1897 by a group of upper-class African-Americans. The society’s membership was open to both men and women and its mission focused on collecting historical materials related to African-American history. Members met monthly at its headquarters in the parish house of the Church of the Crucifixion to discuss matters related to race, collection of materials, and the publishing of pamphlets and other printed material to share the history of African-Americans.

Founding members of the organization held prominent positions in Philadelphia’s society. The first president of the organization, Robert Mara Adger, was a city merchant and the son of an abolitionist; Theophilius J. Minton, who became the organization’s first vice-president, was an attorney. William Carl Bolivar, bibliophile and journalist with a particular interest in historical documentation, wrote columns for The Philadelphia Tribune. William Henry Dorsey worked as a Philadelphia municipal official, Matthew Anderson served as minister of the Berean Presbyterian Church, and Henry L. Phillips, the society’s treasurer, was the rector at the Church of the Crucifixion.

According to William C. Welburn, who studied William Carl Bolivar’s interest in preserving the history of African-Americans, the efforts of organizations like the American Negro Historical Society “formed the foundation for black collections and collecting practices today and were integral to the development of African American historical studies and African diaspora studies in general.”

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Overview of Arrangement

I. Correspondence and Personal Papers, 1812-1962, undated; 83 folders

II. American Negro Historical Society Records, 1861-1905, undated; 20 folders

III. Banneker Institute, 1790-1865, undated; 28 folders

IV. Pythian Baseball Club, 1867-1870, undated; 16 folders

V. Lebanon Cemetery, 1825-1901; 12 folders

VI. Philanthropic, Civic, and Religious Organizations, 1829-1893, undated; 38 folders

VII. Portraits of Black Leaders and Abolitionists, undated; 3 boxes

VIII. Negro Activities: Broadsides, Printed Matter, and Miscellaneous material, 1825-1904, undated; 2 boxes and 28 folders

IX. Volumes, 1715-1933, undated; 35 volumes and 5 folders

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 Historical Society of Pennsylvania 2013

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Processing Information note

A microfilm guide for this collection is available at the reference desk. Please see the Alternative Formats note in this finding aid for more information on this collection's microfilm.

Volumes 11 and 12, records concerning the Clarkson Institute, were mistakenly included in this collection when the collection was reprocessed. They have been removed from this collection to their proper collection, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society records (Collection 490). They can be accessed using the call numbers AmS .3311 and AmS .3313, respectively.

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Related Materials

Related Archival Materials

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania Abolition Society papers (Collection 490)

Pennsylvania Abolition Society records (Collection 3637)

Abolition Society of Delaware minutes (Am .421)

At other repositories:

Scorecards, 1870(ca.)-1979, New York State Historical Documents; National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National Baseball Library, Cooperstown, New York.

William Still Correspondence, 1865-1899; Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University Libraries.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• American Negro Historical Society.
• Banneker Institute.

Personal Name(s)

• Still, William, 1821-1902.
• White, Jacob C., 1837-1902.
• White, Jacob C., d. 1872

Subject(s)

• African American abolitionists.
• African American baseball players--History.
• African American churches.
• African American civic leaders--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
• African American educators.
• African American families -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
• African American Presbyterians--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
• African Americans--History--Societies--19th century.
• African Americans--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--Societies, etc.
• African Americans--Social Life and Customs--19th century.
• Baseball--History--19th century.

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Bibliography

Welburn, William C. "To "Keep the Past in Lively Memory": William Carl Bolivar's Efforts to Preserve African American Cultural Heritage." Libraries and the Cultural Record 42.2 (2007): 165-179

Gatewood, Willard B. Aristocrats of Color: the Black Elite, 1880-1920. University of Arkansas Press, 2000.

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Collection Inventory