1832 Cholera Outbreak in Philadelphia and Duffy’s Cut

...view of the outbreak as sort of a blessing in disguise in that it allowed many to reflect on their lives and come to terms with death. He writes, “The cholera has done great good in Philadelphia. Many are prepared for death, frightened from daily examples of unexpected deaths.” Excerpt

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Digital Collections

Digital Collections CHRC has a large number of items that have been digitized through various digitization projects, partnerships, patron research requests, and social media initiatives. We endeavor to provide standardized descriptive practices and open access to this growing collection over the web. CHRC's Omeka site features a growing set of

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Parish and School Closing

...her salaries and increased tuition costs to families. This almost forced Roman Catholic High School for Boys, the first diocesan high school in the country to close in 1988. While it was able to recover, other institutions would not be so lucky. Halvey_654J_021 Halvey_654J_022 Halvey_667J_004 Halvey_667J_009 Halvey_667J_013 Halvey_677J_024   Parishes

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Philadelphia’s First Catholic Cathedral

...races its history to 1763, when a second church was needed for the growing number of Catholics in the city. Built on land originally bought to serve as a cemetery for Old St. Joseph’s, Old St. Mary’s was referred to as “Mission Number 1” as St. Joseph’s was seen as

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