Browse Items (164 total)
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Louisville Mendelssohn Lodge membership register, 1860-1921
An indexed membership register for the Louisville, Kentucky, B’nai B’rith Mendelssohn Lodge, a Jewish fraternal organization. The register documents members from 1860 to at least 1921. Recorded member information includes their name, place of residence, occupation, marital status, number of children, and date they were inducted.
The Har-Moriah Lodge No. 14 (“Mt. Moriah”) opened in Louisville in October 1852 and a second B’nai B’rith lodge, the Mendelssohn Lodge No. 40, opened in Louisville in May 1860. Many of the early lodge members were recent Jewish immigrants from parts of now modern Germany who had strong bonds through neighborhood proximity, marriage, and business ventures. The Har Moriah and Mendelssohn lodges officially merged in February 1904 and became Louisville Lodge No. 14.
Note: The PDF is 523 pages long, so please be patient while it loads.
For the full collection finding aid, see https://filsonhistorical.org/research-doc/bnai-brith-louisville-lodge-no-14-louisville-ky-records-1860-1921/ -
The song of the "contrabands;" "O let my people go," 1861
Printed sheet music of the spiritual "O Let My People Go," as recorded by Rev. L. C. Lockwood from his interactions with formerly enslaved people at Fortress Monroe in Virginia and arranged by Thomas Baker. -
Emancipation Certificate, May 25, 1865
Certificate that Lewis White is a soldier in the Company G, 109 U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment. As such, White, his wife, and their children are free citizens. Signed by James Brisbin. -
Ben Wiemeyer with dog, circa 1890
This cabinet card of a young man and his dog was found in the Mittlebeeler family photo collection. On the back the image is the inscription “Ben Wiemeier [sic] Aunt Lizzie's Boyfriend.”
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Moorman (1879-1945) was born to a German immigrant family in Louisville. She grew up on East Jackson Street in the Shelby Park neighborhood and later moved to Oak Street. In 1890 Lizzie succumbed to Typhoid Fever. Lizzie supported herself as a seamstress and remained single all her life, but this photograph provides a clue into an early romance.
A Ben Wiemeyer is listed in City Directories from the 1880s and 1900s as living on East Chestnut Street, only a half-mile away from where Lizzie lived. He was also from a German family. Although Lizzie and Ben never married, they must have dated when they were teens. Ben went on to marry and became a machinist.
Learn more about German photographer Paul Günter in this online exhibit: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/exhibits/show/gunter-photography/life-of-gunter -
Martha Albert Butt with dog, 1897
Strip of four photograph booth images of young Martha Albert Butt with her dog. -
Boy posing with dog
Quarter plate ambrotype of young Charles Henry Breckinridge (1844-1867) posing for a studio portrait with his dog. Son of Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge and Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, Charles was a member of the Breckinridge family of Baltimore, Maryland. His father served as a leader of the Kentucky Emancipation Party in 1849 and was a strong Union supporter at the start of the Civil War. Charles graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1865. He died in 1867 at only 22 years old while serving as a First Lieutenant in the 15th U.S. Infantry. -
Bridges, Benjamin to George Bridges, July 11, 1833
Letter of Louisville United States Army officer Benjamin Bridges to his father George Bridges discussing his role in the forced removal of Native people to Oklahoma. -
Ladies Fair, December 2, 1847
Advertisement for a fundraiser by the Black women of the Baptist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky, on December 2, 1847 at 7:00 PM. The advertisement notes that "A Good Supper, Oysters, Jellies, Salads, Ice Creams, Cakes, &c. &c., will be offered for sale on reasonable terms." The advertisement delineates that white attendees "will be waited on from 5 to 6 o'clock," before the main fair. -
Silver teaspoon
Coin silver teaspoon engraved "Lemon" on the front side of the handle. The bowl is egg-shaped and has a flat edge. The handle has rounded flanges near the bowl and ends in a fiddle style pattern. Marked on reverse: Jas. I. Lemon. -
Silver fork
Child's fork with convex curved handle. The handle is decorated with a raised outline, repousse leaves, and a monogram. The back of the handle has more vegetative repousse designs with 4 square marks of "J S & Co." and "Jas. I. Lemon & Co" (retailer). -
Contract hiring people enslaved by William C. Bullitt to be loaned to Archibald Dixon, January 1st, 1865.
A contract hiring several people enslaved by William Christian Bullitt to Cottonwood plantation, to work for Archibald Dixon, dated January 1st, 1865. The following enslaved people were loaned out: Dick, Armstead, Billy, Ike, Bill, John Gordon, and Frank (who is blind). The following children were also loaned to Dixon: Nelly, Bobb, Alfred, Harrison, and Jack. Rody, Lizzy, and Rose with her four children were also hired.Tags Archibald Dixon -
Drawing of coffee nut tree seed pod, 1816
A sketch of the coffee nut tree seed pod from the last page of a letter from Dr. Charles Wilkins Short to Dr. Daniel Drake. -
Compagnie de Colonisation Americaine, stock certificate, 1 July 1820
French stock certificate for one share in the Compagnie de Colonisation Americaine (American Colonization Company). Share is for 100 acres of land in Virginia and Kentucky for an investment of 1300 francs. Yields six percent annual interest. Dividends paid annually over thirty years using the attached coupons. -
Diary entry describing Native-Americans mounds, 20 December 1815
Daniel Chapman Banks was a Louisville Presbyterian minister. The diary chronicles his 1815-1816 trip from Connecticut to Louisville in which he travels through New Yok, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. This diary entry discusses Native-American mounds. -
Diary entry discussing murders committed by Native Americans, 7 December 1815
Daniel Chapman Banks was a Louisville Presbyterian minister. The diary chronicles his 1815-1816 trip from Connecticut to Louisville in which he travels through New Yok, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. This diary entry discusses murders committed by Native Americans. -
Diary entry describing the death of a woman's baby, 5 December 1815
Daniel Chapman Banks was a Louisville Presbyterian minister. The diary chronicles his 1815-1816 trip from Connecticut to Louisville in which he travels through New Yok, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. This diary entry describes the death of a woman's baby. -
Account of an earthquake from Daniel Chapman Banks, 25 November 1815
Daniel Chapman Banks was a Louisville Presbyterian minister. The diary chronicles his 1815-1816 trip from Connecticut to Louisville in which he travels through New Yok, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. In this diary entry, Banks gives an extensive account of the earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri, as it was told to him by a Mr. Hayes. -
Bars quilt
Quilt belonging to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. The quilt has strips of hand-woven cloth believed to have been made locally in Jefferson County, Kentucky, alternating with a commercial indigo print that was imported into the United States. The quilt, the oldest quilt in the Filson's collection, is more than 100 inches long on each side and was completely hand-stitched. Eliza married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816, who died seven years into their marriage in 1822. Eliza then took on the responsibility of managing their farm in addition to rearing her three young sons. Eliza enslaved seven people who provided crucial labor for the success of the farm and household. After her husband died, an unidentified enslaved woman helped Eliza manage the farm. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera leaving her three sons, all under the age of eighteen, to live with her brother. -
Empire Wedding Dress
Early silk empire style wedding dress. Empire dresses emerged in the early 19th century and rapidly became fashionable across Europe, particularly England. -
Teaspoon, circa 1810
Early style teaspoon with egg-shaped bowl and slender handle widening to a modified coffin style. Undecipherable monogram on end of handle. "SA" stamped in rectangular cartouche. Also a winged eagle, looking left.