The Chadwick Papers
These are large PDF files, about 20 Meg each, and might take a while to download if you have a slow internet connection.
Alexander Cox Chadwick Jr. (1890-1957) was a newspaper editor in East Falls. He was editor of the Roxborough Times and, later, the Suburban Press newspapers which served Philadelphia’s northwestern communities. The Chadwick Papers, 1900-1937, contains 73 scrapbooks on local history that are organized by subject. There are also a small number of scrapbooks containing personal and business correspondence of Chadwick’s, and a sketch book featuring many drawings of Wissahickon Park. We will post more volumes as they become available.
Each volume is a large PDF. Download the volume and open it with Adobe Reader, then use the Find (ctrl-f) function.
New! Chadwick Papers Index online!
Adapted from The Chadwick Papers Index by Katy Hineline, 1991. Click here to open in a new tab.
NOTE: At present (8/6/2024) Google has not indexed all the volumes of the Chadwick papers here. Meanwhile, contact Roger Marsh, marshRRR@gmail.com. I can search them all on my computer. -Roger Marsh
Notes:
- Each volume is a large PDF. Download the volume and open it with Adobe Reader, then use the Find (ctrl-f) function.
- You will be searching a text version that was created when the pages were scanned. It is not perfect; the software could not decipher the old newspaper clippings accurately.
Click the volume number to download the PDF
INDEX to Chadwick Papers (PDF) Online (new tab)
Volume 5. Falls of Schuylkill. Clippings from The Weekly Forecast 1914- 1926
Volume 6 Old Academy. Formation of The Old Academy, deed, original subscribers, Minutes from Academy meetings Jan 1820 – Jan 1898 (all transcriptions)
Volume 7, The 21stWard. Clippings from The Weekly Forecast, The Chronicle, The Evening Bulletin, Suburban Press, Roxborough Press Relating to Roxborough and Manayunk 1882 – 1931
Volume 9 Falls of Schuylkill. Clippings from the 1930’s relating to Falls of Schuylkill Folly, History of the Young Men’s Literary Society as of 1936
Volume 10 Falls of Schuylkill. Clippings from Forecast, Philadelphia Record, Suburban Press 1930’s Dobson, Hagner Mills, marriages, Woman’s Medical College, Laurel Hill 1913 – 1935
Volume 11. Falls of Schuylkill. Clippings about local institutions, places 1930’s. Reorganization of Old Academy as a theater, Laurel Hill, 1930’s
Volume 12. Falls of Schuylkill. Index of Forecast articles 1900- 1906, a few Ledger articles 1873-1881 not related to the contents of Volume 12. Clippings mainly about people of the Falls. East Falls Herald, Chronicle Evening Bulletin, Suburban Press most mid 1930’s, a few from teens (Not in Index)
Volume 12A. Falls of Schuylkill. Mid 30’s clippings includes the proposal for the creation of McMichael Park (1925), First case of Infantile Paralysis in East Falls (1916), list of Forecast articles on Dobson, obituaries. (Not in Index)
Volume 13. Footprint Makers and Now and Then. A. C. Chadwick , Jr. wrote these two columns and many of them are collected here as clippings (1929 – 1935). Commentary on world affairs as well as local ones. (Not in Index)
Volume 14. Miscellaneous. Early days of the depression when NRA meant National Industrial Recovery Act., Scouting, including BSA songbook, articles on birds, insects, flowers…yearly resume’ (s)of 1930 – 1936 culled from The Suburban Press
Volume 15 Transportation. Clippings starting with steamers 1881, streetcars (horse drawn), new bridges over the Schuylkill (1928)…bus routes(1930’s) Includes some motorbus schedules.
Volume 16. Schuylkill River Valley. Clippings of happenings along the Schuylkill River. Old Mills, Fish facts, Oldest Dining club, Naturalists, Hoover visits Valley Forge articles from the 1930’s
Volume 17. Wissahickon Valley Clippings. Valley Green, ,Stone Railroad Bridge, Flora and fauna of the Valley, Mills, Hotels along the creek
Volume 18 Lower Merion Township. Largely typescript outline of brief early history of Lower Merion township ending 1888
Volume 19. Miscellaneous. Pictures of the state legislators (1929?) and senators, govern or legislative districts of PA, buildings in the capital, beer making in East Falls,
Volume 20. Miscellaneous Clippings very miscellaneous everything from “Human Mechanics” to “Your new paper currency.”
Volume 21. Miscellaneous Scraps. Again very miscellaneous. Old and new trolleys ….saying of the saints….colonial Philadelphia…set of tickets and membership cards…Manayunk Canal
Volume 22. Miscellaneous Pictures. Pictures and Christmas cards, not related to East Falls (Not in Index)
Volume 23. Maps 1875. Ward 21 maps 1875. Ward 28 1875
Volume 24.Transportation List of references to transportation in the Weekly Forecast. Steamboats, steam railroads,. News about the Reading Railroad through the area, establishing bus routes
Volume 25. Politics. Elections results in East Falls for 1930’s Local city politics
Volume 26 21stWard. People and places in Roxborough/Manayunk. 1930’s
Volume 27. The 21st Ward. Miscellaneous clippings about people and activities in Roxborough and Manayunk. 1930’s
Volume 28. Sports. Rowing, baseball, in the Falls in the 1930’s features on Costello and Mclvaine
Volume 29. Deaths Obituaries 1913 – 1930
Volume 31. Shronk Letters -Volume 1. Letters of R.R. Shronk to J.S. Swartz 1904 – 1914 Shronk was a newspaper reporter in the falls and he wrote over many years to his dear friend James Swartz in NYC. Lots of detailed information about life in the Falls in the time period
Volume 32 Shronk Letters Volume 2.Continuation of Volume 1 letters. 1915 – 1921.
Volume 33. Miscellaneous Scraps. Includes The Man on the Corner columns from the Independence Gazette (Chadwick), Germantown in formation, railroads.
Volume 34. Miscellaneous. Young Men’s Business Association, Reading timetables, St. Thomas More School for Little Boys at Ravenhill (Montessori 1936)
Volume 35. Sports. East Falls Church Leagues. Principally baseball 127 introduction of basketball Church League, rowing
Volume 36. Mills of the Wissahickon by James F, Magee., Jr. A series of articles published in the Suburban Press about the Mills of the Wissahickon written 1933-1934.
Volume 36A. Mills of the Wissahickon The clippings of Magee’s articles along with a number of handwritten letters from Magee to editor Chadwick.
Volume 37. Miscellaneous Scraps #2. Battle of Germantown celebration 1927 and other Revolutionary War articles.
Volume 39. Papers. These relate to Chadwick’s stamp collecting (Not in Index)
Volume 41. Falls of Schuylkill Presbyterian Church 1856 1931 typed history of the church clippings and ephemera relating to the church
Volume 42. Churches Miscellaneous 1. Clippings, programs of East Falls, Manayunk, Roxborough churches 1900 – 1930’s
Volume 43 Churches Miscellaneous 2. St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church (4th at Delaware), Gospel Church of Roxborough, American Theological Seminary (Rox), R.R .Shronk on history of East Falls churches
Volume 44. Methodist Episcopal Church. Manual and Directory 1912, clippings and programs 1896 – 1931
Volume 45 Falls of Schuylkill Baptist Church 1838 – 1931 Programs and articles relating to the church.
Volume 46. Local History Miscellaneous Notes Book 1 Sketches of 1875 maps of East Falls, History of Roxborough (typescript)
Volume 47. 21st Ward. Roxborough Symphony Orchestra programs, 88th Regimental Pennsylvania Volunteers, articles Roxborough, Manayunk, Wissahickon.
Volume 48 Notes from Manayunk, Wissahickon and Roxborough by Horatio Gates Jones in 1891. A history of those places.
Volume 49. 21st Ward Figures in Roxborough, St. Timothy’s Church programs , musical events.
Volume 50. Politics. Letters to Chadwick from various political figures Dem convention of 1936, business and the Roos admin (too much gov’t spending)
Volume 52. On the Trail of Washington’s Army by Edward W. Hocker. A series of articles in The Independent Gazette starting in July 1927
Volume 53. The Redman’s Trail by Edward B. Phillips 1930 ran in The Germantown Telegraph Fanciful history of the American Indians in the area intermingled with facts of locations of white men.
Volume 61. Local History Miscellaneous Notes Book 1 Chadwick’s personal notes about people and places Roxborough East Falls, Wissahickon, list of books given to him by GHS, is transcriptions of Annals of Philadelphia by Watson (Vol. 1) (Not in Index)
Volume 62.World War Volume 1 Clippings on local people/institutions and WW I
Volume 63. World War Volume 2. Battles, as written about in Philadelphia press including headline of the surrender 11/11/18
The following are not in the Chadwick Papers Index
Volume 64 Old Time Advertisements from the Manayunk Chronicle 1931
Volume 65. Letters Letters to Chadwick, largely in his capacity as editor 1932 – 1934
Volume 66 Letters. Chadwick in role of historian of the Wissahickon Valley Historical Society as well as editor of the Suburban Press
Volume 67 Letters. Dedication remarks.. Swartz Memorial Church School of the Falls of S. Baptist Church (presently the Wee Care Child Care ); letters having to do with Washington Bicentennial, Woman’s Medical College, talk on the Brandywine, G. Washington’s association with the Falls of Schuylkill….talk given at Breck School (by Chadwick) Feb 19, 1932
Volume 68. Sesqui-Centennial Exposition 1926. Extensive clippings and commentary by Chadwick about this ill-fated celebration
Volume 72. Letters. Lions club, Suburban Press, Penn Athletic Club , churches. 1934 – 1935
Volume 73. Letters. 1936 – 1937
Volume 74. East Falls This volume compiled from miscellaneous pages found in the Falls of Library. Clippings from local papers 1920’s and 30’s, by-laws of the East Falls Business Men’s Association
Volume 75. Germantown. Clippings about Germantown 1929-1932, Feb 1922 Beehive,
Volume 76. Roxborough, Manayunk, & Wissahickon, Fourth of July parades, Songs of the Wissahickon, dates from 1881 – 1936
Volume 77 Miscellaneous. More clippings left by Chadwick. Not organized
Volume 78. Editorials in The Suburban Press 1931 – 1932
Volume 79 Observations from the East Falls Herald (a column signed SCCAFF)
Volume 80. In the Rut and on the Rise. Roxborough News 1928 – 1928. (a column)
Volume 81 Along the Schuylkill with SCCAFF 1926 – 1927 Newsy historical articles about places along the Wissahickon Valley
Volumes 82 and 83.. Along the Schuylkill with SCCAFF July, 1927 – July 1928 (volume 82). Newsy history articles about spots in the Wissahickon Valley. Along the Schuylkill with SCCAFF 1928 – 1929 (volume 83) A historian’s view of people and events along the Wissahickon Valley
Volume 84. Editorials in the Roxborough Times Feb 1927 – Jan 1928
Volume 85. Editorials –Roxborough Times July 1932 – January 1933
Volume 86. Footprint Makers by SCCAFF. Each one an article about a particular person, other articles about history of the area
Volume 87. Now and Then column People and places of interest in the area. Suburban Press 1932 – 1933
Volume 88 Editorials in The Suburban Press February 1929 – September 1929
Volume 89. Editorials in The Suburban Press September 1929 – September 1930
Volume 89A. Editorials in The Suburban Press September 1930 – August 1931
Volume 90. Herald Stories. Clippings from the East Falls Herald 1925 – 1926
Volume 91. The Forum. The Suburban Press June 1932 – March 1933. Witty commentary on the passing scene.
