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Petitions for nomination of Communist Party candidates for state and federal political office and as presidential electors. Information given is name of candidate, occupation, place of more nomination, and office for which nominated. Also present are names of committee members authorized to fill any vacancies and the signatures, addresses, occupations, and dates of signing for all electors. Records are arranged chronologically by year. The Department of State is headed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, whose office was established under the Constitution of 1776. Duties of the Department of State include oversight of the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation which is responsible for issuing commissions to all state appointed and elected officials, maintaining election returns, and recording and filing legislation enacted by the General Assembly. less

Nomination petitions and accompanying affidavits in support of nominations of communist party candidates for election to state offices. Information given includes date of petition, names of more candidates, their occupations, places of residence, and offices for which they were candidates. Also present are names of committee members authorized to fill any vacancies and the signatures, addresses, occupations, and dates of signing for all electors. Records are grouped alphabetically by county. The Department of State is headed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, whose office was established under the Constitution of 1776. Duties of the Department of State include oversight of the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation which is responsible for issuing commissions to all state appointed and elected officials, maintaining election returns, and recording and filing legislation enacted by the General Assembly. less

This collection, arranged chronologically, contains Baldric purchase reports for clan supplies, as well as bills, checks, and receipts for food and uniforms. Details of members' financial more accounts also provided, as well as scratch paper used for accounting purposes. Disclaimer: The Pennsylvania State Archives provides digital access to a wide range of historical documents, some of which may be considered offensive by today’s standards. The Archives does not endorse views expressed in these historical collections but presents these collections to aid in scholarly research. less

This collection, arranged chronologically, contains official documents, such as Imperial Kligrapp appointments, applications for reinstatement of former Klansmen, as well as appeals for admission, are provided more in this series. Numerous handwritten general interest letters from the public are also included. Official decrees for those Klansmen who had been banished are given, as well as obituaries for prominent members of the KKK. A large portion of the correspondence concerns the Grand Dragon, Samuel G. Stouch, and his letters concerning the establishment of Klan contacts in neighboring states. Kligrapp quarterly reports and requests for the establishment of Klan chapters are also given. Disclaimer: The Pennsylvania State Archives provides digital access to a wide range of historical documents, some of which may be considered offensive by today’s standards. The Archives does not endorse views expressed in these historical collections but presents these collections to aid in scholarly research. less

This collection contains series grouped by subject and then chronologically, of various papers, election returns, rosters, publications, and applications detailing Klan operations. The rosters and election more returns were sent to the headquarters in Philadelphia, listing new Klan personnel and elected leaders. Each quarterly roster (present for the years 1933-1938) details the number of new members received, those suspended or deceased, the total number of members, losses and/or gains, as well as the province number, Klan number, and official Klan name and address. Election returns, or 'Report of Officers Elect,' provide names, numbers, location of Klan, date of klonklave and location of klavern in question. The names of the various officer positions up for election included: Exalted Cyclops, Klaliff, Klokard, Kludd, Kligrapp, Klabee, Klad, Klarogo, Klexter, Nighthawk, Klikann Chief, and Klokan numbers 1 and 2. Among the various papers are counter signs giving code and password cyphers once a Klan met necessary requirements and all memberships were paid up. National and Imperial countersigns were given and consisted primarily of state names. All were signed by Stouch, the Imperial authority of the KKK in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The bottom half of the counter sign sheet consisted of a pledge of undertaking the proper instructions for guarding the passwords. The enlistment papers, 1924-1926, provide information relative to new Klan recruits. Data such as the company, troop number, rank, serial number, name, address (street, city, county), enlistment period, age, height, weight, complexion, eye color, hair color, distinguishing marks, marital status, military service, education, qualifications, character, occupation, enlistment date, and signature of the recruit is provided. Enlistment papers are only available for the following counties: Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Carbon, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Northumberland, Venango, Washington, and Westmoreland. An information file regarding the acquisition of the KKK records is present, attributing the 'find' to Private R. Roth, Pennsylvania State Police 4th Squadron Intelligence, on 3 June 1940. Mailing lists, 1924-1938, give province number, county seat, population, square mileage, name, street address, city, and county. There is a list for the Women of Unity Klan #17, New Jersey. Official Bulletins, 1936-1937, declare provincial tax reports, Imperial Klonvocations, lunch committees, presidential elections, Halloween parties, and Ham and Egg suppers. Publications which belonged to Samuel Stouch are present, including Facts in Review, published by the German Library of Information in NYC (which listed daily news broadcasts from Berlin) and a book written by fifty-four leading American writers, We Hold These Truths, which provides statements on anti-Semitism and contains lists of anti-Semitic publishers, organizations, and individuals in America. Quarterly reports list all members in good standing, the number of members naturalized, those reinstated and transferred, those died, banished, or suspended. Disclaimer: The Pennsylvania State Archives provides digital access to a wide range of historical documents, some of which may be considered offensive by today’s standards. The Archives does not endorse views expressed in these historical collections but presents these collections to aid in scholarly research. less

This collection, arranged chronologically, contains reports listing Kleagle robes ordered, address, date, location of Klan, quantity of Klansman's and Terror's robes and helmets ordered, as well more as those for the Exalted Cyclops robe and helmet sets. The name, number, and hat size for each Klansman is also stated. Disclaimer: The Pennsylvania State Archives provides digital access to a wide range of historical documents, some of which may be considered offensive by today’s standards. The Archives does not endorse views expressed in these historical collections but presents these collections to aid in scholarly research. less

A record of Oaths of Allegiance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, renouncing allegiance to the British Crown or her armies. Included within this record are lists more of men who took the Oath of Allegiance, listed in order by date. Also included are individual oaths, personally written or in a pre-printed form, signed, witnessed and sealed. The record also contains large charts of people who had taken the Oath of Allegiance. These charts provide information on the name of allegiance takers, their age, occupation, place of nativity, place of residence, and the names of their parents. less

Images of a register compiled between 1965 and 1971 from 3 x 5 cards that were possibly assembled under the Federal Writers' Project and containing 1,500 more names of members of the Harmony Society. Old Economy Village Director Daniel B. Reibel compared the names in this register against the names published in Karl Arndt's George Rapp's Harmony Society, 1785-1847 (Cranberry, N. J.: 1971) but they have not been checked against the original records. If a date of death is given it means that the person died as a member of the Harmony Society. Images are arranged alphabetically by surname of member. This collection is part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission which was created in 1945. less