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Manuscript Group 146
ROSS A. HICKOK PAPERS
1768-1943
5.25 cu. ft.


Ross A. Hickok (b. 1876, d. 1943), Harrisburg, was a son of William O. Hickok, Jr. (b. 1849, d. 1881) and Louisa Harrison Anderson Hickok (b. 1850, d. 1924), a granddaughter of Dr. John Anderson (b. 1770, d. 1840), Bedford. A graduate of Yale University, where he excelled as an athlete, Hickok was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, served briefly in World War I, and was prominent in the affairs of several veterans' organizations. He was active in Republican politics, a leader in the civic, social, and cultural life of Harrisburg, and influential in educational and business circles. A director of the Harrisburg National Bank, an officer of the Blubaker Coal Company, and involved in a number of other financial and business enterprises, he became president of the W. O. Hickok Manufacturing Company, Harrisburg, upon the death of his brother, William O. Hickok, III, in 1933. His wife, Helen Rankin Hastings Hickok (b. 1879), was the daughter of Governor Daniel H. Hastings.

Correspondence, 1891-1943

Letters, 127 folders, shed light on Hickok's political, civic, social, cultural, and family involvements, including his association with, among other groups and organizations, the American Forestry Association, Associated Willkie Clubs of Pennsylvania, Common Council of Harrisburg, Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce, Harrisburg Park Commission, Harrisburg Regatta Association, Harrisburg Welfare Federation, Harrisburg Track Athletic Committee, Municipal League of Harrisburg, National Municipal League, Naval and Military Order of the Spanish-American War, Pennsylvania Council of National Defense and Committee of Public Safety, and the Pennsylvania War History Commission.

Some of the more notable correspondents are:

James A. Beaver Martin G. Brumbaugh Joseph L. Delafield
Isaac H. Doutrich Samuel W. Fleming, Jr. Frederick Godcharles
Edward Z. Gross Joseph F. Guffey Daniel H. Hastings
George A. Hoverter Fannie M. R. Huntt Arthur H. James
A. S. Kreider R. H. Lansburgh James A. McClain
Vance C. McCormick J. Horace McFarland Marlin E. Olmsted
Boies Penrose George Wharton Pepper Cornelia Bryce Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot David A. Reed Theodore Roosevelt
William P. Schell Frank C. Sites J. L. Spangler
William C. Sproul J. K. Tener Woodrow Wilson


Autographed Items, 1768-1933, Collected by Hickok

Collection, 4 folders, features letters by:

Charles C. Abbott, n. d. Charles Francis Adams, 1870 John Armstrong, 1814
William Bainbridge, 1823 George Grey Barnard, n. d. William Bigler, 1852, 1867
James G. Blaine, 1881 James Buchanan, D. C. Buell, 1860
John Burroughs, 1890 Simon Cameron, 1864 Andrew Carnegie, 1886
Andrew G. Curtin, 1848, 1855, 1863 Ephraim Douglass, 1776, to Colonel Eneas Mackay Timothy Dwight, n.d.
Timothy Dwight, grandson of the preceding, 1896, 1897 Edward Everett, 1853 Simeon D. Fess, 1930
Henry Clay Frick, 1896 Albert Gallatin, 1803 John B. Gibson, 1851
U. S. Grant, 1863 Edward Everett Hale, n. d. Alexander Hamilton, 1792
M. A. Hanna, 1899 Joseph E. Johnston, n. d. P. C. Knox, 1911
James Monroe, 1814, to Isaac Shelby, governor of Kentucky regarding troops needed by General Jackson William Fisher Packer, 1858 Franklin Pierce, 1852
Gifford Pinchot, 1910, 1933 James Pollock, 1859, 1888 Owen J. Roberts, 1918
Thomas A. Scott, 1862 William H. Seward, 1846 Francis R. Shunk, 1820
Alfred E. Smith, 1933 John Philip Sousa, 1890 William A. Stone, 1892
Charles Sumner, 1854 William H. Taft, 1921 Zachary Taylor, 1823
John Tyler, 1843 Martin Van Buren, 1830 George Washington, 1785, to Francis Hopkinson
George Wolf, 1837, 1838

Among other items are documents signed by:

John Adams, 1799 Warren G. Harding, 1923 Rutherford B. Hayes, n. d.
Henry M. Hoyt, 1880 Andrew Johnson, 1868 James Logan, n. d.
James Madison, 1816 Thomas Mifflin, 1796 Robert E. Pattison, 1893
John Penn, 1768 David Rittenhouse Porter, 1850 M. S. Quay, 1880
Theodore Roosevelt, 1906 Simon Snyder, 1811, 1814James Trimble, 1825,1833


Accounts, 1894-1942

Letter press book, 1901-1904, and loose accounts, 1894-1942, 34 folders, relating mostly to the settlement of the estate of Daniel H. Hastings. Hickok was the administrator of Hastings' estate.

Miscellaneous Papers, 1891-1943, n. d.

Historical prints, water colors, etchings, engravings, etc.; collected by Hickok, 4 folders; family photographs, 1 folder; genealogical notes, 6 folders; and newspaper clippings, 1891-1943, 1 folder.

Family Papers, 1840-1938, n. d

Papers of William O. Hickok, Sr. (b. 1815, d. 1891), grandfather of Ross A. Hickok: correspondence, 1840-1885, 6 folders, with J. D. Cameron, J. J. Cantine, George W. Childs,George Dock, J.P. S.Gorin, Joseph Henry, Henry C. Hickok, Henry P. Hickok, E. S. Hutter, E. W. Hutter, F. L. Hutter, J. R. Hutter, W. S. Hutter,John B. Linn, A.K. McClure, George R. McFarlane, S. Elizabeth Mann, A. L. Russell, John W. Ryan, William P. Schell, George A. Snyder, and others; business papers, 1842-1890, 1 folder; photographs, n. d., 1 folder; and newspaper clippings, 1891, 1 folder.

Papers of Dr. Charles N. Hickok (b. 1820, d. 1906), brother of William O. Hickok, Sr.; family correspondence, 1846-79, 1 folder; published lectures, Bedford In Ye Olden Time, by Dr. Hickok, 1886; and Dr. Hickok's lecture "Early History of Bedford County," 1882. Papers of Mrs. Caroline L. Hutter Hickok (b. 1817, d. 1906), wife of William O. Hickok, Sr.: family correspondence, 1875-1903, 3 folders.

Papers of William O. Hickok, Jr. (b. 1849, d. 1881) father of Ross A. Hickok: photographs, n. d., 1 folder. Papers of Mrs. Louisa Harrison Anderson Hickok (b. 1850, d. 1924), mother of Ross A. Hickok; family correspondence, 1863-1922, 1 folder, including Civil War letters; photographs, n. d., 1 folder; and newspaper clippings, n. d., 1 folder.

Papers of William O. Hickok, III (b. 1874, d. 1933), brother of Ross A. Hickok: correspondence, 1906-1933, 1 folder.

Papers of Charles N. Hickok (b. 1880, d. 1945), brother of Ross A. Hickok: correspondence, 1899-1938, 1 folder, with Myers Y. Cooper, Joseph L. Delafield, P. S. DuPont, Benjamin F. Fairless, James R. Garfield, John Hays Hammond, John D. Rockefeller, and others.




PA State Archives Hours, Directions, & Fees Research Topics Online Catalog Land Records