The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Simpson, Jeffrey.       

Title:               Family papers

Dates:             1772-circa 1996

Call No.:         Col. 997

Acc. No.:        2018x77

Quantity:        7 boxes

Location:        16 L 1-2

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Jeffrey Simpson was a social historian and writer about decorative arts.  He graduated from Amherst College and received a master’s degree from the University of Michigan.  He was a writer and editor for Architectural Digest, wrote articles for various magazines, wrote ten books, and was active in the Victorian Society in America.  Every summer, he spent time at Chautauqua, New York; he served as a trustee of the Chautauqua Institution, and one of his books was about Chautauqua. 

 

One of Simpson’s books was American Elegy, which was about his family.  Simpson was descended from early settlers of Parnassus, Pennsylvania, (later absorbed into the town of New Kensington) and Simpson spent his boyhood there.  He was born in 1945, the son of Margaret Ruth Anderson (1907-2001) and Clyde Simpson.  He died on August 24, 2018.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

A collection of family letters, documents, genealogical notes, and many photographs, relating to the ancestors of Jeffrey Simpson.  These families lived in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh.  The earliest materials pertain to the Stewart family, Irish emigrants who settled in the area in the 1770s.  Other families represented are Alter, Anderson, Best, Bollinger, Hankey, Ludwick, and Simpson. 

 

The Stewart family papers include letters between the Irish and Pennsylvania branches of the family; James Stewart’s oath of allegiance to Pennsylvania (1777); receipts pertaining to the settling of estate of Samuel Stewart (born 1786, died 1846); and specifications for building a church.  The Bollinger family is represented by the 1830 inventory of the estate of Abraham Bollinger and the results of the vendue (sale) of his estate.  Sometime in the first half of the 19th century, someone recorded a list of the children of Elisabeth McClelland and David Dickey.  A cyphering book was compiled by father and son George (1786-1863) and Jacob (1821-1914) Ludwick.  It is a home-made volume, with a fabric cover.  In addition to this home-made album, the collection includes a printed arithmetic book from 1860 and two McGuffey’s Readers.  A psalter printed in German in Philadelphia in 1808 is also found.

 

Most of the material pertaining to the other families represented is from the 20th century, with scattered documents from the 19th century.  There are, however, a number of photographs from the 19th century, some identified, some not.  Interestingly, a daguerreotype case from the 1850s/1860s was repurposed and a photo from 1913 was placed in it.  The case is impressed with the image of a monument in Havana, Cuba.  Several tintypes are included.  Most of the photos are 20th century, and include early 20th century group shots of school children in Parnassus, Pennsylvania.  Jeffrey Simpson is represented by his childhood photo albums and notes for some of the books he wrote. 

  

           

ORGANIZATION

 

The papers are roughly arranged by family, although because of marriages, it was often difficult to separate items definitely into one family or another.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Gift of estate of Jeffrey Simpson.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

            People:

                        Stewart, Samuel, 1786-1846.

Alter family.

Anderson family.

                        Bollinger family.

                        Dickey family.

                        Hankey family.

                        Ludwig family.

                        Simpson family.

Stuart family.

           

Topics:

            Arithmetic - Problems, exercises, etc.

Arithmetic - Study and teaching.

            Auctions - Pennsylvania.

            Automobile travel.

            Betrothal.

            Church buildings - Specifications.

            Decedents’ estates - Pennsylvania.

            Family - Correspondence.

            Football players - Photographs.

            High school athletes - Photographs.

            Inventories of decedents’ estates - Pennsylvania.

            Loyalty oaths.

            Sale of decedents’ estates - Pennsylvania.

            School children - Photographs.

            Schools - Pennsylvania - Westmoreland County.

            Weddings.

            Parnassus (Pa.)

            Pennsylvania - Genealogy.

            Westmoreland County (Pa.) - Genealogy.

 

Photographs.

Receipts.

            Tintypes.

           

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 16 L 1-2

 

 

Box 1:

 

Folder 1:          Alter family papers (descendants of Margaret Landis and Jacob Alter)

                                    Includes letters (20th century); genealogy; teacher’s certificate for Sadie R. Alter (1873); paper written by Myra S. Alter, etc.

 

Folder 2:          Alter and Stewart family photographs, mostly 19th century                                      

                                    Includes photo of 2 men wearing aprons and washing dishes

 

Folder 3:          Anderson family papers, especially Earl L. Anderson [grandfather of Jeffrey Simpson]

                                    Includes letters from World War I; calling cards; U.S. Army discharge papers for Robert Anderson (1865); income tax returns (1920s); family stories, etc.

 

Folder 4:          letters from Earl and Ethel Anderson to grandson Jeffrey Simpson, 1960s-1970s

                                    [Earl L. Anderson married twice; first wife Ruth was the mother of his daughter Margaret, and Ethel was his second wife]

 

Folder 5:          Earl Ludwick Anderson and family: photographs

                                    Includes two larger versions of the photo in folder 6; school group; family group

 

Folder 6:          Earl and Ruth Anderson, with daughter Margaret Ruth, 1913, but in a photo case from circa 1850s (information about the case is also in the file)

 

Folder 7:          wedding card booklet of Earl Anderson and Ethel Lugh, married late 1926 (cards with congratulatory messages, tied together with ribbons);

The Scribble-in Book: Diary and expense records of trips taken by Ethel and Earl Anderson, 1934-1967;

Better Say: A book of Helpful Suggestions for the Correct Use of English Words and Phrases, compiled by James C. Fernald, owned by Earl L. Anderson;

                       

 

Box 2:

 

Folder 1:          Earl and Ethel Anderson: photos and postcards, 1926-1974 (so the envelope was labeled, but the photos are really circa 1910-1960; some of the photos predate their wedding);

                                    Includes two postcards dated 1918, sent to Earl Anderson by his friend Earl Stewart, who was serving in France

 

Folder 2:          Matilda Ludwick Anderson and family: photographs, including tintypes

                                    [Matilda Ludwick married Robert Anderson; they were parents of Earl Ludwick Anderson]

 

Folder 3:          Anderson family: photos (not Earl) (includes a tintype);

                                    One photo of children sitting at desks in classroom, with slates on their desks

 

Folder 4:          loose photos, found laid into (not mounted in) an album, probably all Anderson;

                                    Includes a school girl sitting at her desk, and two photos of school children standing outside their school; an African American girl appears in one of the school groups

 

Folder 5:          Best papers: descendants of Michael Best and Martha Schaeffer (1765-1860)

                                    [one Best married a Ludwick; another married a Hankey]

 

Folder 6:          Bollinger family: Franklin township, [no county given], 1830

                                    Abraham Bolanger [sic]: inventory taken April 12, 1830, after his death; includes cooper and other tools, farming utensils, Bible in German, and household goods;

                                    Elisabeth Bollinger: account of vendue, April 27, 1830: lists names of buyers, what purchased, and price; clearly selling what was listed in Abraham’s inventory, but the vendue accounts are more detailed

 

Folder 7:          Hankey family papers, and a photograph, chiefly 20th century letters and genealogical materials; photo of Uncle Jonas Hankey taken in last quarter of 19th century.

 

Folder 8:          cyphering book of George Ludwick and Jacob Ludwick; no date for George’s portion, but Jacob wrote the year 1839 on the page beginning Compound Interest;         Samuel Bollinger wrote his name in the volume on Jan. 18, 1834; other names are also found

                                    [George Ludwick (1786-1863) had a son Jacob (1821-1914), and the cyphering book was created by these two people.]

                                    The volume has home-made cloth covers, stitched to several thicknesses of paper.

 

Folder 9:          Ludwick family papers and photographs:

                                    Includes indenture/deed between George and Susannah Ludwick of Franklin township of one part to Jacob Ludwick of Washington township of the second part, all of Westmoreland County, Penn., for land in Washington township, 1859; also includes copies of other family documents, such as will of Conrad Ludwick and records from family Bible

           

Folder 10:        McGahan, Robert: letter from him to mother Sarah A. Alter, 1854; and a long letter about him and his death, written by C. Corson to his mother, 1855; also typescripts of letters, and a photo of him

                                    [Sarah A. Dickey married twice: first to Robert McGahan, and then to John Alter.]

 

Folder 11:        Simpson, Hazel: “Ledger Book,” with hand-written notices about Parnassus events, 1910-1922;

                                    The volume came with the attribution to Hazel Simpson, and her name is written inside the back cover (as Hazel Simpson Clawson); however, the name Mildred Clawson is written inside the front cover.

 

Folder 12:        Simpson, Nina Viola: letters to nephew Jeffrey Simpson, 1966-1972

 

Folder 13:        Simpson, Nina Viola: memorial book from her funeral, June 17, 1872

 

 

Box 3:

 

Folder 1:          Simpson family: papers: chiefly family letters, 20th century

 

Folder 2:          Simpson family: photographs, before 1912, many identified;

                                    Includes photo from Parnassus School, 1911, steps 9 and 10 [i.e. 9 and 10 year olds?, definitely not 9th and 10th grade], class included two African American boys

 

Folder 3:          Simpson family: photographs, 1912-1939, not identified;

 

Folder 4:          Simpson family: photographs, 19th and 20th centuries, a few identified;

                                    Includes a tintype of 3 men, and a postcard photo of Clyde in his high school football uniform, probably 20th century [either Clyde Simpson, father of Jeffrey Simpson, or Clyde Clawson, who married Hazel Simpson]

 

Folder 5:          Simpson, Jeffrey: letters, business cards, a booklet his mother made for him in 1973, and a paper for a college history class based on Stewart family letters

 

Folder 6:          Simpson, Jeffrey: notes for a book, probably American Elegy

 

Folder 7:          Simpson, Jeffrey: notes for a book on Chautauqua Institution

 

Folder 8:          Simpson, Jeffrey: notes for a book on the Hudson River

 

 

Box 4:

 

Folders 1-2:     Simpson, Jeffrey: notes for a book on West Point (United States Military Academy)

 

Folder 3:          Simpson, Jeffrey: photo album number 2

                                    Note: a number of the photos were loose, no longer attached to a page, so the acidic pages were discarded and only the photos were kept;

                                    [album number 1 is in oversize box 7]

 

Folder 4:          Stewart family letters, 1785-1809, 1823-1842;

                                    Includes letters from family in Ireland;

NOTE: the 18th century letters are in distressed condition and must be used with great care (copies of many, if not all of them, are in folder 6)

 

Folder 5:          Stewart family documents and receipts, and scraps from letters and documents, 1772-1791, 1846, and no date;

                                    Includes a statement from an official in Ireland about the character of James Stewart (dated 1772); a deed for land purchased by John Stuart (1776); a certificate that James Stuard [sic] took the oath of allegiance to Pennsylvania (1777); an agreement between Samuel Paul and William McNees for McNees to improve a certain tract of land, including specifying building house and barn, clearing land, and setting out apple trees (1791); a bill for textiles purchased from Thomas Cumpston of Philadelphia (1789, on printed billhead); a receipt for payment for a coffin for David McKees (1791); a doctor’s bill for Capt. Samuel Stewart (1846); and specifications for a church to be built at Mrs. McLaughlin’s (undated);

                                    Typescripts of some of the documents are found in folder 6

 

Folder 6:          Stewart family letters and genealogy:

typescripts of some of the letters in folder 4 and some of the documents in folder 5, and some genealogy notes

 

Folder 7:          Stewart family receipts: from the leather wallet, 1816 (although the date printed on the receipt is 1616), 1838-1864;

many of the receipts document the settling of the estate of Samuel Stewart [1786-1846; married to Elizabeth McLaughlin, Westmoreland County, Penn.]

 

 

Box 5:

 

Folder 1:          Stewart family: photographs, chiefly late 19th century to circa 1905, all identified

 

Folder 2:          unidentified photos from folder labeled Ludwick and Stewart photos;

                                    Includes carte-de-visite of a Union soldier

 

Folder 3:          miscellaneous genealogy:

                                    Includes list of people Hankey and Best families; information about Hugh McClelland’s Revolutionary War service; a list of the children of Elisabeth McClelland and David Dickey (1784-1831); John McCreight’s family record, and information about other families and people

 

Folder 4:          miscellaneous items [see also items in oversize box and in Box 6];

                                    Includes recipes, directions for car care, a piece of printed scrap, a reward of merit card (with name of Clara E. Shoop), etc.

 

Folder 5:          photographs: loose, identified, 20th century;

                                    Includes a 20th century tintype from the Edison Institute

 

Folder 6:          photographs: loose, unidentified, chiefly 20th century;

                                    The large photo is probably a high school graduation photo; includes photos of the March 1936 flood that ravaged the Pittsburgh area

 

Folder 7:          photographs: unidentified, chiefly 20th century, but includes a tintype of two men

 

Folder 8:          Parnassus Presbyterian Church, 1906-1967: weekly bulletins, history, yearbooks, photos

 

Folder 8:          school publications and letters: Parnassus High School (1925 yearbook); Washington Township High School (dedication program, 1953); letters about a school musical (1933)

 

Folder 9:          town-related materials: Parnassus and Fort Crawford

 

 

Box 6:

 

Folder 1:          McGuffey’s Third and Fourth Readers

                                    Third: revised stereotype edition (1853 or later): belonged to Matilda Ludwick (born 1851);

                                    Fourth: 1853, belonged to William F. McGahan [brother of Robert McGahan]

 

Folder 2:          Arithmetic book and psalter:

                                    Dean, Philotus.  The Primary Arithmetic …. (Pittsburgh: A.H. English & Co., 1860).  Belonged to Susan Ludwick, who wrote her name in twice, and also drew a bird under one of her signatures; written in back of book: Susie Ludwick, 1871;

                                    Der Psalter des Konigs und Propheten Davids Verteutschet von Dr. Martin Luther …. (Philadelphia: J. Adams, fur Jacob Johnson, 1808).  The name written inside the front cover appears to be Michael Hean.  Front board cover is detached.

 

Folder 3:          Simpson, Jeffrey.  American Elegy: A Family Memoir (New York: Dutton, 1996)

 

Folder 4:          Indian head cent collection (see folder for the cents included)

 

Folder 5:          genealogical information from ancestry.com, added to the collection, not part of the gift

 

 

Box 7: oversize box

 

Folder 1:          The Parnassus Reporter, Jan. 1874, with article on second page about the tin wedding celebration of Dr. and Mrs. D. Alter

 

Folder 2:          two photographs of groups of young women, presumably high school class groups, 1920s, neither identified, but the photographer of one was based in Indiana, Penn.

 

Folder 3:          Official Program: Solders’, Sailors’ and Marines’ Home Coming Celebration, New Kensington, Parnassus, Arnold and Westmoreland District No. 3, August 28-29-30, 1919

 

Folder 4:          Simpson, Jeffrey: photo album number 1

 

Folder 5:          tea towel embroidered for engagement party for parents

                                    [whose parents was not identified, but presumably the parents of Jeffrey Simpson: Margaret Ruth Anderson and Clyde Simpson]

 

Folder 6:          piece of needlepoint with heavy fringe attached; unclear what this was supposed to be as it is too thick to be a book mark

 

Folder 7:          Parnassus pennant: deep red letters on gray stripe on deep red background

 

Folder 8:          Parnassus pennant: red letters on taupe background

 

Folder 9:          Simpson, Jeffrey: eyeglasses