Digital Bookshelf At Penn State

In the Digital Book Collection at Penn State is a book which publishes a letter of special interest to those doing research on ancestors from Sweden or Finland. The book is titled "A Letter From Pennsilvania, 1683", published in 1949.

Description of the letter from the book:

"An early letter, written from Philadelphia in William Penn's time, bearing the date of Jan. 31, 1682/3. The writer of the letter, Thomas Paskell, wanted his friends in England to know what life was like in the New World. He gives a graphic description of the Delaware colony of the Swedes and Finns. It is thought to be the first mention of Finland in the New World. Only four copies of the original printed letter survive. This facsimile reproduction printed through the courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. in 1949."

Excerpt of the letter:

"I was at Bridlington fair where I saw most sorts of goods to be sold, and a great resort of people; Where I saw English goods sold at very reasonable rates; The Country is full of goods, Brass and Pewter lieth upon hand. That which sells best is Linnen cloath, trading cloath for the Indians; I bought Kersey and it doth not sell, Broad Cloath is wanting, and Penniston, and Iron-potts: and as for the Swedes, they use but little Iron in Building, for they will build, and hardly use any other toole but an Ax; They will cut down a tree, and cut him off when down, sooner than two men can saw him, and rend him into planks or what they please; only with the Ax and Wooden wedges, they use no iron; They are generaly very ingenous people, lives well, they have lived here 40 years, and have lived much at ease, having great plenty of all sorts of provisions, but then they weer but ordinarily cloathd; but since the English came, they have gotten fine Cloaths, and are going proud. Let all people know that have any mind to come hither, that they provide Comfortable things for their passage, and also some provitions to serve them here, for although things are to be had at reasonable rates here, yet it is so far to fetch, that is spends much time, so that it's better to come provided for half a Year then to want one day, I thank God we have not wanted, but have fared well beyond what we did in England."

This letter is extremely interesting and contains important information for anyone writing a family history for this period of time or on this ethnic group. The list of books also includes Ulster Scots, Pennsylvania Dutch, and many families and biographies by name. This is only a small part of what is available. It is an excellent resource for ethnic groups, the time periods, and early Pennsylvania history and beyond. Take a look! It is facinating! Books on the web just keep getting better and better.

Description of the collection from the website:

This digital collection is created by the Penn State Libraries, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Library in Harrisburg, the Free Library in Philadelphia, and the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh.

The Pennsylvania history collection targeted for this preservation microfilming project, known in the Libraries as the Beaver Collection, represents the nucleus of the Libraries’ strong collection in Pennsylvania. The collection consists primarily of Pennsylvania county histories, atlases, and Civil War regimental histories. It is a principal source for scholarly researchers nationwide, and supports graduate and undergraduate history programs at the University.

The Beaver collection came to the University Libraries in the early 1930’s, when the private library of General James Addams Beaver was acquired and moved to the University Libraries. Beaver was very prominent Centre County son. He practiced law in Bellefonte until the Civil War broke out. He served as first lieutenant of the Bellefonte Fenciblies and eventually took command of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, most of whom were recruited from Centre County . After the war he returned to Bellefonte to practice law. In 1873, he was elected to the Board of Trustees of the then Pennsylvania State College, serving in that capacity until 1882. From 1887-1890, he was Governor of the state of Pennsylvania ; from 1898-1914, he again served on the Board of Trustees of the Pennsylvania State University ; and from 1906-1908 he was acting President of the University.

In 1917, the University Libraries established the Beaver Memorial Library Fund in memory of James Addams Beaver’s accomplishments at the Pennsylvania State University and in the state of Pennsylvania . The library endowment fund continues to be used for purchasing books in Pennsylvania history.

You may browse the collection by title, subject or author, or do a keyword search for each category. At this time there are 634 titles. Material can be downloaded by chapter or you may download the entire book in PDF format.

Links In This Article:

PA's Past - Digital Bookshelf At Penn State
"A Letter From Pennsilvania, 1683"