For those of you that do not know about this project, please take a look. You might find it worth while. They surely could use your support. Thanks! Don Hartman Listowner >From the Director's Newletter of the Friends of the Biographical Dictionary of Pennsylvania Legislators Project: Friends of the Biographical Dictionary of Pennsylvania Legislators project. (http://www.bdopl.com/resourc.html) Our bulletin board features speakers, exhibits, and other events about Pennsylvania genealogy and history prior to the Civil War. If you know of any events that you would like announced, especially outside of southeastern Pennsylvania, please email us with the information. We also sometimes highlight a particular museum or historical site or repository; you can also send us information for that purpose as well. ([email protected]) BIOGRAPHIES OF TWO REVOLUTIONARIES TO BE ONLINE. To attract more visitors to our web site, and also to solicit helpful feedback, we will present online the biographical essays on John Armstrong and Peter Kachlein. These works in progress will be posted by 15 July. The final versions of these essays will be published in volume three of Lawmaking and Legislators in Pennsylvania: A Biographical Dictionary. John Armstrong, an Irish-born Presbyterian who immigrated to the Cumberland Valley at mid-eighteenth century, served three years in Pennsylvania's colonial Assembly and two years in the Continental Congress, but is best remembered for his military leadership in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. His colorful career included his victory over Indian forces at the battle of Kitanning on the Allegheny River in 1756, and the defense of Charleston, South Carolina, during an attempted British invasion in 1776. Peter Kachlein, a German-born miller who immigrated to Pennsylvania, played an active role in the early history of Easton in Northampton County; he also served as sheriff of that county during the violent struggle with Connecticut over the Wyoming Valley. His participation in the 1775 Assembly was interrupted by his service as a lieutenant colonel of the Northampton County militia and of the Flying Camp during the Revolution. Kachlein was one of the leading revolutionaries of Northampton County. We welcome your comments and suggestions on the essays. Any corrections or additions should be accompanied with the source of the information, and, if possible, a transcription of the evidence. We can not add or correct any information unless we can verify the evidence ourselves. Please send any comments, corrections, or additions to me at [email protected] or Dr. Craig W. Horle, Biographical Dictionary of Pennsylvania Legislators, 917 Gladfelter Hall (025-24), Berks Mall, Phila. PA 19122. MICHAEL SWOOPE'S BOND AS A TAVERN KEEPER. The following is a typical mid-eighteenth century bond for keeping a tavern. It was granted to Michael Swope or Swoope, who represented York County in the colonial legislature from 1768 until 1776, and then served in the first assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Swoope was a colonel of the Flying Camp and was captured by the British when Fort Washington was taken. He was not released until January 1781. York County Quarter Sessions Docket Book, 1 July 1750 Michael Swoope tenet in [held liable for] £100 Benjamin Swoope in £100 Sub Conditione That if the above Michael Swoope shall not at any Time during the ensuing Year suffer any Drunkenness, unlawful Gaming, or any other Disorders, nor sell any Drink to the Indians to debauch or hurt them, But in all Things observe & practice all Laws and Ordinances of this Government relating to the Employment of Tavernkeeping &c PREMIUMS. So far our effort to build membership in The Friends of the Biographical Dictionary, an organization of supporters of the project, has been of only very limited success. We had hoped to raise much needed revenue for our project through memberships. All levels of memberships include premiums. By becoming members, individuals will not only make a donation to our project but receive something of value that should be appealing to them. We have currently been discussing changing our premiums so as to build membership more effectively. Unfortunately we really don't know what premiums supporters of our project would like, that would be feasible. Maybe you can help. Please take a look at our premiums page http://www.bdopl.com/members.html and let us know whether or not you think we should change our premiums package. How can we more effectively convince people to join? This is important. Since losing our National Endowment for the Humanities funding in 1997, we have had to cut our staff from six full-time historians to three. Presently we are seriously understaffed. While funding for our current full-time staff of three is secure at present, thanks to a generous grant from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, raising additional revenues is essential for the project's continued well-being. An enormous amount of research lies before us, and we don't want to cut back on the exhaustive research and careful writing that has always been our trademark. Our fundraising efforts have had some success, raising about $20,000 over the last two years, but that still falls far short of the funds we need. Currently our fundraising is focused on raising enough to maintain and expand the size of our part-time professional staff. Your suggestions on how to make our membership drive more effective will be greatly appreciated. BULLETIN BOARD: The permanent collection of American art at Scranton's Everhart Museum has recently been reinstalled as an exhibit "Art and Society in America: 1750 to the Present." The exhibit focuses on four themes: the American landscape, from virgin forest to industrialization; the tradition of still-life painting; the roles of men in commerce, industry, and hunting; and the world of women and children and the cult of domesticity. The museum is located at 1901 Mulberry Street in Scranton. For more information, call the museum at (717) 346-7186. You can also visit their web site at http://www.northeastweb.com.everhart/index.html Through 31 August, the exhibit "'Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land': The Liberty Bells of Pennsylvania" will be presented at the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum, located at 622 Hamilton Mall in Allentown. This exhibit will highlight the eight bells that were used to call upon the citizens of Pennsylvania to attend the public reading of the Declaration of Independence on 8 July 1776. For more information, call the museum at (610) 435-4232. Through 6 September, the exhibit "George Washington, American Symbol" will be presented at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford. The exhibition will examine the events of Washington's life, his military and political accomplishments, his status as an American hero, and the myths and legends surrounding him. A large collection of diverse objects and artifacts will reveal the changing image of Washington over two centuries. An illustrated catalogue of the exhibit is available. For more information, call (610)-388-2700. You may also want to visit their web site at http://www.brandywinemuseum.org Through 24 November, the exhibit "Ardent Spirits: The Origins of the American Temperance Movement" will be on view at the Library Company of Philadelphia. The exhibition traces the temperance movement's development from Dr. Benjamin Rush's moral thermometer in the late 18th Century to the formation of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the late 19th. The Library Company of Philadelphia is located at 1314 Locust Street in downtown Philadelphia. For more information, call (215)-546-3181. You can also visit the virtual exhibition at http://www.librarycompany.org.