Week 13

Interns' Corner,

For the thirteenth and final week of my internship, I finally managed to finish the names from the list sent to me. During this week I covered the years from 1869 to 1872. I thought that 1872 was important because this was the year before he died. My assumption is that Maxwell died really early in 1873, so that would explains its exclusion from the list. There really was not much to discuss from any of the findings. No new names or names of stores. Maxwell died in 1873, so it is likely he was not working as hard for the last five years of his life. That said I have no clear idea when he retired since there were very little names on the list during the 1870s. It was fitting that I managed to complete it in my final week. After I finished the list I told both Amanda and Dr. Black that I was finished. I sent the list to Amanda and then had to work on a reflection paper for Dr. Black. It only had to be one page long so it did not take too much time for me to complete. I also made sure to send out a thank you email to Amanda for allowing me to have an internship and to work away from Luzerne County. I loved looking through documents that were well over a hundred years old and trying to piece out information about a man who has been dead. Despite the setbacks from the pandemic, I still enjoyed my internship at the Luzerne County Historical Society. I would also like to thank Dr. Black again for helping me get this internship in the first place and further assisting me. As well as, Mr. Donahue too for telling me what to do for my internship when I knew it was time to start.

Week 12

Interns' Corner,

For week 12, I typed up the names from 1860-1868. As mentioned in last week’s post, I was rather miffed that I could not look through the files during the Civil War. I have no way of knowing what Maxwell did during the Civil War, but it seems that he might have been rather busy. Not busy in the sense of fighting since this is also close to the end of his life, but more in terms of work. The files from 1860-1865 have a lot more names on them. I have no idea if these are from the family members of those killed during the war trying to ask for insurance, as well as his friends discussing the war. As well as the political occurrences like the Emancipation Proclamation. I am a little upset that I may never be able to look through any of these documents, but I am at peace with this. The years after the war had less content in comparison. Granted that’s not to say that there were very few, 1868 had a pretty large sample. 1868 might have been the last time Maxwell ever worked full time since the following years have even fewer names. Then again it could be since it was three years after the war ended, so perhaps business started to pick up again considering the fewer amount of content implied on the document. There were no notable new names that I could see, just the same coal and mining companies as before. Not to mention, the same banks and insurance companies as before. I figured that the insurance companies would have a couple of documents during each year of the Civil War addressed to Maxwell. At the time of this writing, I have finished the entire list and the following week’s post will be about my reflection paper.

Week 11

Interns' Corner

During the eleventh week of my internship, I completed 1852 and stopped after completing 1859. One of the names that appeared frequently was St. Stephens Church. This got my attention because I remembered how the historical society was only next door to a church, so I did a quick google search and found out that they were the same. I am unsure if Maxwell was in frequent correspondence with the church was more for business and/or his own personal beliefs. Although I did find out that Maxwell was a lifetime member of a group called the American Christian Union, so it is likely he was rather religious. That said it was interesting and it reminded me of Wilkes-Barre. Another unfortunate problem from the pandemic was that after learning that the historical society opened in 1858 I could not look through any articles that discuss this. I could not find the name of Nathan Dennison, one of the founders, in the 1858 section. Another topic that I found interesting was that in 1857, Maxwell had been in correspondence with a group known as the Scranton Republicans. At first, I thought it meant that Maxwell might have been a Republican. However, after doing some research, I learned that it had nothing to do with the GOP, but was actually a newspaper. I have been unable to find any information regarding what party the paper generally supported during its publication, but I have found another important piece of information. During the late 1850s, the town of Scranton was growing into a full-blown industrial city. Due to this, I have learned the Republican was most likely a newspaper that revolved around businesses, not unlike Business Insider today. On a more personal note, I am rather disappointed that I will be unable to read the documents because of the buildup to the American Civil War. Something that will also play a part in next week’s journal.

Week 10

Interns' Corner

For the tenth week of my internship, I continued to copy names down from the list onto the word document created by myself. Last week, I managed to complete 1846 and stopped towards the end of 1852. Throughout the list were insurance companies with the most common of these being the Franklin Fire Insurance Company. I have noticed it throughout week 10 and the preceding weeks, my assumption as to why it is so common would probably be that Maxwell was an associate. From what I can gather about the company is that was opened in Philadelphia in 1829 and eventually shut down in 1873. As to why it shut down, I am uncertain, but coincidentally the company closed down the same year Maxwell died. It is possible that Maxwell might have been a very valuable member or associate, but due to my lack of resources, this is an assumption. Another notable name that got my attention was a group called the Proprietors of Plymouth from 1849. This garnered my attention because of the name Plymouth, which brought to mind the colony founded by the Puritans. However, this was more than 200 years after the town was fully founded in 1620. A proprietor is someone who owns a business, so it would appear that Maxwell had some associates in Massachusetts. It was interesting to see that Maxwell had potential business associates in a historical town. It would also appear that Maxwell had been regularly associated with the Wyoming Bank. By Wyoming, these letters would refer to Wyoming Valley, which is not far from Misericordia. Throughout my time at Misericordia, I have gone to Wyoming Valley to purchase items. However, it would seem that the Wyoming Valley Bank is no longer around, but I have been unable to find any information on a Wyoming Valley Bank. Finally, one name that got my attention was the Staffordshire Coal & Iron Company in the year 1850. This mostly relates to the history of coal mining and steel manufacturing in Pennsylvania.

Week 9

Interns' Corner

During my ninth week, I worked in intervals throughout the week. I managed to get ten hours done and managed to get through the years of 1844 and 1845 before stopping partway through 1846. Again due to the recent issues that plague us all, I am unable to go into detail about what document interested me the most. Instead, I have to find a couple of names on the sheet and theorize what it means. One recurring name was the Pine Forest Company, which grabbed my attention. I could not find any information about it, but considering Maxwell’s history of property dealership, I am inclined to believe that the company was responsible for the construction of homes. Pine Forest was either that or at the very least just supplied the wood needed for these homes. Another company that caught my attention was the Baltimore Coal Co. Considering Luzerne County’s history of coal mining and the fact Maxwell wrote a book about the subject fourteen years later it was nice to see a reminder of it. There were also the names of various banks such as the Wyoming Bank and the Philadelphia Bank. Considering Wyoming did not become a state until 1890 at least eighteen years after Maxwell died, it highly is likely this bank was referring to the Wyoming Valley not far from Misericordia. Regarding Philadelphia, it was interesting to know that Maxwell had correspondence with one of the most famous cities in American history. Finally, there was a letter from someone or someplace called Larkins of London. I was unable to find any information on whether or not this was a person or was some sort of business back during the 1840s. If it is referring to a person than it is interesting to see that Maxwell had been in contact with someone from London. I am rather disappointed that I was unable to read the document physically because it would be fascinating.

Week 8

Interns' Corner

For the eighth week of my internship, after Dr. Black told me to try and work a little more than ten hours for a week or two, I decided to do just that. I managed to get twelve hours done that week. My strategy was to work in intervals throughout the day, usually, I’d work for an hour and then try to do another hour sometime later in the day. Like last time, due to certain conditions, I have been unable to fully understand what most of the documents are, but there are words on the list that I thought would be helpful. One document that apparently is in the folder for 1842, is a petition regarding a memorial. Despite not knowing the full context of the memorial this grabbed my interest because Maxwell does become a member of the historical society. So seeing a petition regarding something that he may have started or received does intrigue me. Regarding news from Luzerne County, yesterday, Amanda told me she has tried to find me documents relating to Maxwell. One of the documents she planned to send me was an obituary, however, at the time of Maxwell’s supposed death in 1873, there was a newspaper strike. So it is rather likely Maxwell never got an obituary due to this strike. I also did find some information about Maxwell from the “History of Luzerne County Book” he was apparently admitted into the society in 1831. I also found some general historical information that relates to Maxwell about how he and some trustees helped secure state appropriations after the Civil War. I also learned that Maxwell had a daughter who eventually got married. However, I could not find the daughter’s name, nor could I find a birth and death date for her. I also could not find the name of her husband.

Week 7

Interns' Corner

Despite the sudden changes from the pandemic, I was still able to get ten hours of work done for the week. I have also been sharing my progress with Amanda, by telling her via email how much work I have gotten done each day. Despite just typing names I was still able to uncover some things from the list I was given. I now have more time to get work done by working in intervals throughout the day. For the past few days, I would try to work three hours a day. One of the documents in the folder for 1838 was a Republican newspaper, which I found curious. The party formed in 1854, sixteen years before. The only thing that I could assume from this was that Maxwell was probably an abolitionist or was at least a sympathizer. I was rather upset to miss this because I have always had an interest in the lead up to the Civil War. There was also a letter from a man named George Scranton. This got my attention because of the man’s last name, and it made me wonder if he had any connection to Scranton the city. After a quick web search, I found out that he was a former US representative of PA and is recognized as one of the founders of Scranton. This letter was before George Scranton got was elected in 1859, while the borough was formed in 1856 and the city was founded in 1866. With that said, I believe that Maxwell talked to George Scranton because his family was wealthy and well-known in Pennsylvania.

Week 6

Interns' Corner

The week after Spring Break, was a lot more eventful than anyone could have predicted. Wednesday, was the only day that was like any of the others from the previous week. I would go to the Historical Society and would examine the files of whatever folder I was sifting through. I finally managed to complete the folder for 1834 as well as the second box and could now move onto the third. However, later that day, every student had gotten an email that told students to leave campus because of the coronavirus epidemic. By working with Dr. Black and my father, I learned from Amanda that there was remote work I could do to complete my internship. On Friday, she told me that when I got off campus I had to write down the names on the list I had received. Amanda also told me that she would make sure to send me any articles she could find about Maxwell via email. She also advised me to get a book titled “History of Luzerne County” on Google Books to help me out during my research. That said I managed to start box three and immediately worked on the folder for 1835. I managed to complete a good portion of the documents and made sure to transcribe them as best as I could. One thing that I noticed about these documents was that their dates were easier for me to notice than the previous documents. It made it easier for me to notice if any of these documents were from the year 1835, and only two of them were displaced from the 1838 folder. Finally, on Saturday, after a long flight, I managed to complete the names for 1835 before getting some work done for 1836. To conclude, despite the change of locations, I managed to work on my internship while being away from Luzerne County.

Week 5

Interns' Corner,

On Wednesday, I finally managed to complete the folder for 1833. One of the more interesting things that I examined was that Maxwell had been in correspondence with John Dement. Dement was the Treasurer of Illinois at the time the letter was written. I could not make out the writing of the letter, but it was interesting to see that Maxwell had been talking to someone from a faraway state like Illinois. Although after some research I did learn that Chicago was founded that year, so it is possible the letters relate to that notable point. As to why Maxwell was invested in that, I have no idea. On Friday, I began to work on the folder for 1834. One document that I noticed was that Maxwell was still in charge of the finances of Ebenezer Bowman’s estate long after he died. It is also possible that Maxwell had been working with a relative of Ebenezer named Issac. It is likely that Isaac was Ebenezer’s son who inherited the estate following his father’s death. What was also interesting is that the letter mentions the year he died, 1829, was a year of political struggle. The struggle was between James W. Bowman (possibly Isaac’s brother) and George Dennison against the administration of someone named Thomas W. Miner. I could not find any information about Miner, so I am unsure of what kind of political role he had like mayor or district attorney. However, I thought it was important to bring up as it did provide a brief amount of information regarding the history of the county. Finally, on February 22, I managed to get as much work done for the 1834 folder as I could. Most of the documents I looked at were financially based as usual, and I could not make out anything as interesting as the previous days. With that said, I plan to finish the 1834 folder by Wednesday of next week and start the next box too.

Week 4

Interns' Corner

On Wednesday, the twelfth of February, I finally managed to complete the folder for 1832. As always, most of the documents I looked at were financial in content. For example, one of them was a bill for a court case regarding two men, Peter Allenback against George Stout. The year took me around four pages to fully record it. By the time I finished the folder it was just about time for me to leave. When I returned on Friday, I immediately began to work on the next year of 1833. I looked at the sheet, which had the names of those who were supposed to be in the folder. While not as long as the previous year it was still fairly long. One of the more notable documents I found was a case involving a woman named Olive Whitney. The name was familiar to me and after typing up her surname in the search bar of the document, there was a letter from her the previous year. Apparently, the case was centered around the inheritance of her husband and she was in a legal battle with his former business partners, Benjamin Stephens and Edwards. While I could not fully read the document, it stated that Whitney was a rather successful businessman and that the case was about how much money Olive was supposed to get for the inheritance. After documenting around thirty-three documents, it was time for me to head back to Misericordia. Finally, on Saturday, I found some letters from two familiar names that caught my attention. One of them was from John Wolfenberger who seemed to be a partner of sorts to Maxwell. The two letters stated that he was glad that Maxwell managed to secure payment from someone known as George Oyster. I did some online research and found a George Oyster who could possibly be the one from the letter mainly because he was born in Pennsylvania. The only thing against it is that he died in Washington DC and spent the last sixteen years of his life there. Though, I suppose it is possible that Maxwell could have traveled to DC in order to collect the payment. There was also the last will and testament from Caroline Dennison. Caroline was possibly the wife or sister of George Dennison who was a frequent correspondent of Maxwell. I believe that this shows how close Dennison and Maxwell were.

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