Philadelphia’s Public Ledger now available via “America’s Historical Newspapers”
The Philadelphia Public Ledger (1836-1942), Philadelphia’s first penny paper, was recently added to America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922. Over 5,000 issues of the Public Ledger ranging from 1836 to 1876 are now accessible online. The Library also retains the complete run of the Public Ledger on microfilm.
America’s Historical Newspapers includes more than 60 newspaper titles published in Philadelphia between 1690 and 1922, among them the Philadelphia Inquirer for the years 1860 to 1922 and the Philadelphia Evening Post.
For more information about the Public Ledger, click here to read a short article from the Oxford Companion to American Literature.
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Do oyu have obituaries from 1880-1900? Thanks
Looking for headline from early 1920’s
“Irish Spy Laid To Rest”
How can I find?
May have been the Phils Record.
I am trying to get the names of the publisher, editor and compositors (printers) of this paper in 1836.
Also looking for verbiage that addresses the purchase of railroad bonds and real estate.
Thanks!
Found what looks like to be a complete a phila public ledger newspaper still in tact dated 12/21/25
I found an excerpt of a letter originally published in the Philadelphia Daily Ledger, and subsequently published in the New Orleans Picayune on March 8th 1952. The letter concerned the Chilean revolt of 1851, when some American railroad workers were held hostage by the rebels, and my great-great-grandfather Debruce Goodell, was forced to run the locomotive for the rebels. The excerpt ended by saying that his belongings were on the ship, which weighted a while for his return, which did not happen. Since he went on to live a long life after this, I would love to know how this story ended. Any help you could give me would be very very appreciated!
I ran across a reference to the naturalist Mary Treat on this website:https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2014/08/mary-treat.html
The author states:
“In 1913, the Public Ledger daily newspaper in Philadelphia published a profile of Treat, calling her the “World’s Most Famous and Industrious Woman Naturalist,” while also stating that few people in Vineland were aware of her renown.”
I would love to able to access this article. Can you help? Many thanks in advance!
Are the archives of the Philadelphia Public Ledger available online to the general public or is it limited to students and alumni of Villanova? I am neither, but I am trying to track down the May 5, 1865 edition of the paper for some amateur research. Thanks.
They are available to students and faculty here, but reach out to me at shawn.proctor (at) villanova.edu and we can discuss further.