Business and Industry

The John H. Murdoch collection consists of various papers, newspaper clippings, audiotapes, and photographs collected by Murdoch during his involvement with Three Mile Island Alert. John Murdoch was a long-time resident of Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County and became involved in emergency communications and the activities of Three Mile Island Alert, the public-awareness group, following the accident at Three Mile Island on March 28, 1979. Throughout the decade after the accident, Murdoch devoted much of his time and energy to the fight against the restart of Three Mile Island.

The collection consists of the papers of Charles Nisbet, first president of Dickinson College, and his family, particularly his son-in-law, William Turnbull. The majority of these papers is correspondence conducted between Nisbet and his daughter, and also between Nisbet and Lady Leven of Scotland. The business ventures of William Turnbull are reflected through legal, financial, and other miscellaneous documents; the collection's single artifact is Turnbull's leather wallet.

The collection documents the lives of the members of the Potter, Guererro, James, and Lord families from the 1850s to the 1940s, beginning with Henry Cardwell Potter (1822-1902), a Philadelphia businessman who through his business dealings became Consul of Nicaragua for the city. Potter's daughter married into the Guererro and James families; her daughter married into the Lord family. The bulk of the collections consists of correspondence; a large portion of these letters are addressed to Mary Agnes Guererro from her fiancé John Carlisle Lord, a professional ball player. The collection also contains a large amount of business materials, including papers relating to Potter's office as Consul, Dr. James' medical practice, and the sale of the family estate, La Hacienda Santa Enriqueta. A large scrapbook, maintained by Dr. James, contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, and programs of social events. The collection is supplemented by a large collection of photographs, some of which have been identified.

The collection consists of correspondence, legal and financial materials primarily related to Price's law practice, his service in the Pennsylvania State Senate (1854-1856), and as a commissioner for Fairmount Park Association. Also included in the collection are papers concerning the Fisher's Creek Improvement Company and from the files of Eli Kirk Price, Jr., correspondence and applications for the Keene Home for Women, a retirement home in Bristol, Pa.

This collection contains the personal and legal papers of John Meredith Read, a Pennsylvania lawyer and state supreme court justice. The collection is housed in one document box and is divided into two categories: Correspondence and Legal and Financial Papers. The correspondence consists of letters sent to or from Read and his son, John M. Read, Jr.

This collection consists of folders in 13 manuscript boxes relating to correspondence and papers of Eli Slifer (1818-1888), an active figure in Pennsylvania politics and the Secretary of the Commonwealth under Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin, 1861-1867. Most of the letters were written during the Civil War and represent the pressures of local politicians, office seekers, and military men upon the Governor's office. There is much material on the enlistment and acceptance of military companies dated 1861 (e.g. Wiliam Foote of the "Lycoming Mountain Ears"), on the operation of the draft law, 1862-1864, on the soldier's vote, election of 1864, and on military surgeons and hospitals. The collection contains 47 letters and telegrams from Curtin, 1852-1866, and 61 from Col. Alexander Kelly McClure, 1851-1866. The political power of Simon and William Cameron is reflected. The political influence of the German and English press appears in letters of Israel Gutelius and his family. Other subjects discussed include banking, transportation, coal, iron, oil industries, military contracts, and the invasion of Pennsylvania.

There is a series of appendices that arranges the correspondence by Civil War Units, Military Affairs, Political Affairs, Business Affairs, and Miscellaneous Affairs.

These images are from a collection of photograph albums compiled by James Gordon Steese, an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. Steese assembled these albums using photographs he collected while serving as president of the Alaska Road Commission during the construction of the Alaska Highway in the 1920s.

For more information about this collection, see the links under related entries.

James Gordon Steese (1882-1958) was a member of the Dickinson College class of 1902. Among his many activities, Steese served as president of the Board of Road Commissioners for Alaska; the Steese Highway in Alaska is named for him. He later was involved with the development of railroads in both Alaska and Maryland and with several oil companies. Diaries and journals chronicle Steese's military service and his later years. The collection contains mostly professional correspondence, pamphlets, and reports on the Alaskan Road Commission and Steese's military service. Also included are several newspaper articles, maps, charts, and correspondence with Steese's family. A large photograph collection, mainly in the form of photo albums, supplements the document collection.

These images are from a collection of photograph albums compiled by James Gordon Steese, an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. Steese assembled these albums using photographs he collected while stationed in Panama working on the Isthmian Railroad and the Panama Canal Project between 1907 and 1912.

For more information about this collection, see the links under related entries.