Frank M. Etting collection
Item
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Country
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US
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Language of name of institution
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eng
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Contact information: postal address
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1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
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Contact information: phone number
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001 (215) 732-6200
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Contact information: email
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chutto@hsp.org (Director of Archives)
ssmith@hsp.org (Director of Research Services)
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Reference number
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0193
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (official language of the state)
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Frank M. Etting collection
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Language of title
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eng
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Creator / accumulator
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Frank M. Etting
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Date(s)
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1558/1889
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Language(s)
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eng
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Extent
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7 linear metres (78 boxes, 20 volumes, and 1 flat file)
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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This collection comprises materials from Frank M. Etting and personal records. It consists of three distinct groups of papers. The first includes an autograph collection containing materials of distinguished Americans and Europeans from 1558 to 1887. The second group comprises family papers from 1739 to 1847, which document the efforts of the Gratz, Frank, Etting, and Hart families and their associates in the settlement and development of trade in early Pennsylvania and contain some information on the domestic affairs of these families. The third group comprises papers on the public and professional career of Frank M. Etting.
The second section is of particular interest for the history of the Jewish community of Philadelphia in the 18th and 19th centuries since it includes documentation from some of the most prestigious Jewish families living in the city at the time, namely the Gratz, the Hart and the Franks. Gratz family miscellaneous correspondence (1695-1917), Gratz-Croghan papers (1733-1830), and Michael Gratz papers (1759-84), among other records, include documents regarding their Sephardic correspondents and business partners, including Mr Penha (or Pennia) and the brothers Isaac and Elias Rodriguez Miranda from Curaçao.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The connection of Frank M. Etting (1833-90) with the Historical Society of Philadelphia began in 1855 when he was elected recording secretary at age 22. After a decade in the army (1861-70), he returned to Philadelphia to begin a career in public service. He became director of the city's public schools, chairman of the committee to restore Independence Hall and director of the Historical Department of the Centennial 1876.
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(source: Historical Society of Pennsylvania online catalogue)
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System of arrangement
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The collection is arranged into three sections.
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Author of the description
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Carla Vieira, 2023
