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The Agentur Records Collection consists of 72 volumes of handwritten ledgers, indexes, logs, reports, and letter books spanning the years 1847 to 1947, recording the efforts more of the German Society of Pennsylvania’s Agency to help needy German immigrants and Philadelphia residents of German origin. The collection contains valuable biographical information for local history, social history, labor history, immigration research, and genealogy. less

Johann Heinrich Keppele was born in 1716 in the village of Treschklingen, in what is today's German state of Baden-Württemberg. In 1738, at the age of more 22, Keppele emigrated to America, arriving in Philadelphia, where he settled, and after beginning as an innkeeper, became a prosperous merchant and importer. In 1741 he married Anna Catharina Barbara Bauer (1725-1774), who was born in the village of Meckesheim, in Baden. They had 15 children, of whom 5 daughters and 4 sons survived into adulthood. Henry Keppele was a successful and well-known butcher, innkeeper, merchant, ship owner, and real estate entrepreneur. Keppele was also a one-term member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, and an active member of St. Michael's and Zion Lutheran Church. On 26 December 1764 he was one of the co-founders of the German Society of Pennsylvania, dedicated to helping German immigrants; and he served as its first president, from 1765 to 1781. Keppele died in Philadelphia on June 1, 1797. The Henry Keppele family record book, written in Keppele's own hand, contains biographical information about himself and his family, including a list of his children, with their birth, death, and marriage dates. This is followed by copies of 8 poems in English, in a different hand, copied ca. 1839-1843. The book contains many blank leaves at the back. The Henry Keppele Geburtsregister is approximately 100 pages long. It begins by recording family information similar to what is contained in the Keppele family record book. The remainder and bulk of the book contains prayers and poems written by Keppele. The last entry is from November. 10, 1794, 3 ½ years before his death in June 1797. less

Miscellaneous papers of Lutheran clergyman Henry Melchior Muhlenberg from his later years, including two versions of a memorandum in his hand concerning St. Peter's Lutheran Church more in Barren Hill, Pa. (1774-1783), three letters addressed to him (1782-1786), and a copy of a marriage certificate signed by him (1771). less

This Civil War Journal of General John F. Ballier records the battlefield activity of the 98th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, which Ballier led, between May 4-July more 2, 1864. less

This collection consists of the daily German language newspaper "Der Demokrat". Variant titles are: Philadelphia Demokrat, Philadelphia Demokrat und Anzeiger der Deutschen, and Philadelphier Demokrat. It more merged with the Morgen Gazette to form the Gazette-Demokrat. This collection includes issues for 1838-1876 with some missing years and issues. The years 1877-1907 were digitized separately and can be viewed at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102409452/Home less

This newspaper was edited & published by Hermann Burckhardt & Georg Rottenstein, May 1838-?, then by Georg Rottenstein alone. Not to be confused with Der Demokrat, more 1839-1918. less

This collection contains items from the German Society of Pennsylvania's archival holdings related to Philadelphia-based German-American singing societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Items more include: souvenir programs, recordings, correspondence and sheet music. less

Since its founding in 1764, the German Society provided charitable assistance to German-speaking immigrants in the community. The Women’s Auxiliary of the German Society of Pennsylvania more was founded in 1900 to serve as an additional charitable arm of the Society, with particular emphasis on charity for families in distress in the Philadelphia area. The collection includes annual reports, meeting minutes, correspondence, photographs and ephemera. less