Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Fales, Samuel Bradford
| title | George and Samuel B. Fales collection, 1815-1866 (bulk dates: 1834-1850) | repository | Manuscripts Division, William L. Clements Library |
| description | This collection contains personal and business correspondence related to Philadelphia merchant George Fales (35 items), as well as documents, newspaper clippings, and correspondence pertaining to the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, which Fales's nephew, Samuel Bradford Fales, helped to operate during the Civil War (6 items). George Fales received 4 letters from his brother Samuel between 1815 and 1835, which mainly concern financial and business matters. The first letter, written on December 4, 1815, provided a list of expenses, including money intended for the construction of a school for African Americans in Boston. Other letters from business associates discuss finances; business with Fales or with his firm, Fales, Lothrop & Company; and potential business ventures such as a wood-chopping enterprise. Fales also received 3 personal letters from his nieces Eliza F. Bridgman and Mary T. Monroe and 1 from his nephew Samuel Bradford Fales, who described his travels near Pittsburgh (April 22, 1836). Samuel B. Fales granted his uncle power of attorney in a document dated February 4, 1834. The collection also contains 6 items related to Philadelphia's Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, including 2 letters addressed to historian Benson J. Lossing. Robert R. Carson encouraged Lossing to utilize the Union Volunteer Refreshment Committee's business card in his pictorial history of the war, and attached a newspaper clipping reporting a grand jury's approval of the project (April 7, 1862). Arad Bellows provided a list of corrections and additional information in response to Lossing's recent work (August 6, 1866). Samuel Fales wrote 2 letters to "Reverend Sibley" about the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, written on stationery bearing a letterhead engraving of the establishment and including the projected number of soldiers assisted (November 20, 1865). One of these letters is attached to a printed newsletter about the enterprise, entitled "The Fair Record of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon." Three newspaper clippings, including 2 from The Philadelphia Inquirer and 1 from the Evening Bulletin, concern the history of the saloon and hospital, and contain testimonials. The collection also contains a carte-de-visite photograph of Samuel B. Fales and a broadside poem entitled "Lines in Memory of the Philadelphia Volunteer Refreshment Saloon," signed and inscribed by Samuel B. Fales for Benson Lossing. Biography George Fales was born in Bristol, Rhode Island, on December 1, 1787, the son of Nathaniel Fales and Elizabeth Bradford. In 1802, he went into business with his brother Samuel, a dry goods merchant in Boston, Massachusetts. Fales moved to Philadelphia in 1814, where he formed Cheever & Fales and, later, Fales, Lothrop & Company, which sold American manufactured goods. In 1830, George Fales married Anne Rush. He became the director of the Commercial National Bank in 1840, and the director of the Franklin Fire Insurance Company in 1875. Samuel Bradford Fales was born in Boston, Massachusetts, around 1807, the son of Samuel Fales. After graduating from Harvard College in 1825, he briefly studied medicine before becoming a merchant in Philadelphia. He later collected art and served as director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. During the Civil War, he helped establish and operate the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital. Samuel Bradford Fales died in September 1880. The Union Volunteer Refreshment Committee of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , was formed on May 27, 1861, to provide food, water, lodging, and medical care to soldiers passing through the city between military assignments. The committee erected the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, a hospital, and other facilities on the corner of Washington and Swanson Streets, and served hundreds of thousands of soldiers throughout the Civil War. The buildings were demolished after the end of the war in 1865. |
| extent | 41 items |
| formats | Business Papers Personal Papers Correspondence Clippings Photographs |
| access | Contact the Manuscripts Division at the William L. Clements Library for access restrictions. |
| record source | https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/clementsmss/umich-wcl-M-1898fal?view=text |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:30:07 |
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| title | Samuel B. Fales collection of Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon papers, 1861-1886 (Bulk: 1861-1865) | repository | The Historical Society of Pennsylvania |
| description | The Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon epitomizes the civilian-led relief organizations of the Civil War. The saloon was begun by a group of private volunteers and sustained itself for the duration of the war by relying on donations and its own enterprises. It never received any government aid. This collection includes items that attest to the importance of the saloon and its efforts to aid not only soldiers, but their families. The Samuel B. Fales Collection is an eclectic group of papers and ephemera documenting the internal workings, as well as public perceptions, of the saloon. As Corresponding Secretary, Fales was directly involved in the daily routine of the saloon. Most of the correspondence in the collection was neither sent to nor written by him, yet it reflects the business of the saloon through the papers of other board members and correspondence pertaining to events, functions, donations, and goods ordered. Invoices list items purchased from merchants, grocers, butchers, and tailors, to name a few. Dated internal forms and memoranda provide listings of regiments that passed through. The most detailed records of the soldiers who stopped at the saloon exist in the hospital records, which describe illnesses, wounds, and treatments given to the soldiers there. Names, birthplaces, and ages of the troops are often listed. Some correspondence relates to soldiers that died while at the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon; many relatives and friends thank the saloon for the care given to the soldiers and for helping them arrange for the men's bodies to arrive home. These letters offer the most sincere testament to the important and indispensable role that the saloon filled with efficiency and careful attention. There are also thank-you notes from soldiers who were grateful for the food and welcome that they received at the saloon. The financial records of the saloon are not an extensive part of the collection. Nevertheless, letters regarding contributions, cash books, and invoices provide an overview of the saloon's financial situation. The bulk of the collection is miscellaneous material. Newspaper clippings relating to the saloon describe its activities and indicate public (and media) perceptions of it. Printed materials that were given to the soldiers to the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon demonstrate the care and attention that was given to the soldiers and provide insights into what soldiers may have expected when visiting the saloon. Tickets for the saloon's activities are evidence of its attempts to engage the soldiers and the community in its cause, and items pertaining to the history of the saloon, though not detailed, describe rules, regulations, and basic operations. There are also some items describing the history of the Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloon, a similar organization. In addition, there are some items pertaining to the United States Sanitary Commission and the Great Central Fair. Sanitary Commission items offer limited insights into the working relationship fostered between it and the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon. Some of Fales's personal ephemera and correspondence is included in the collection. His postwar activities at the Union League and his affiliation with other patriotic organizations is documented in a rudimentary fashion, and these papers include Fales's endeavors to locate art depicting Civil War subjects and some papers (mostly printed material) pertaining to the creation of a Lincoln monument. The Samuel B. Fales Collection provides significant insight into Civil War civilian relief organizations. Although the collection is eclectic and comprised largely of small bits of miscellaneous material involving many different people and activities, by piecing together the many different types of documents that exist in the collection it is possible to trace the basic operations of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and describe its evolution from a place that provided a hot meal to a hospital and sanctuary, and eventually, a social services site for soldiers and their families that helped them to procure transportation, employment, and a sympathetic respite from the hardships of war. Background note: In South Philadelphia, at the corner of Washington Avenue and Swanson Street, a neighborhood grocer named Barzilai Brown began distributing food to soldiers traveling to and from the nearby Navy Yard and railroads. This operation, originally referred to as "Brown's," became the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon on May 27, 1861. Samuel B. Fales was the Corresponding Secretary of the saloon. The establishment grew and became a place of rest, relaxation, and, of course, refreshment for travel-weary soldiers, whom the saloon provided with food, drink, paper, and stamps. Troops stopping at the saloon were also given travel directions, names of army officials and contacts, and places of local interest. In September 1861 a hospital was added to better accommodate sick and wounded soldiers. The saloon received donations of food, clothing, and money. In 1863 a captured Confederate naval vessel, "Ram," was lent to the saloon. The admission fees gathered from those viewing the boat were applied to the saloon and helped with the upkeep and growth of the hospital and other facilities. The Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon closed in late 1865. In the course of its operation it aided thousands of Union troops and provided them with food, clothing, and medical attention. The establishment was able to unite the neighborhood and the city behind a common cause and provided relief to many during a time of great need. |
| extent | 22 boxes, 14 volumes, 9 linear feet |
| access | Contact the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for access restrictions. |
| record link | https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1580fales.pdf |
| record source | http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/f/Fales1580.XML |
| updated | 12/20/2017 18:11:09 |
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