Dear List, I have a patron who needs help finding proof of a letter sent from Charles M. Schwab (U. S. Steel, Bethlehem Steel) to his grandfather during the Homestead Strike of 1892. His quest is as follows: "I am seeking proof of the existence of a letter written by Charles M. Schwab. I have been searching for this information for well over a year and now my deadline is quickly approaching. Can you offer me any advice or direction? I am writing the biography of my grandfather, Michael J. Rorke. He lived in Homestead, PA in 1892 during the Homestead Steel strike/lockout. During this labor dispute, all liquor licenses in Homestead and Munhall were suspended. Charles Schwab, who was Superintendent of the Edgar Thompson Works at the time, wrote a letter of recommendation for my grandfather. Michael then took this letter to the Allegheny County Courthouse and received an exemption from the suspension. Michael Rorke, who owned the Hotel Rorke, was the only person in Homestead/Munhall allowed to sell liquor during the strike/lockout. This information was conveyed by Michael's son who is still living. I have tried thousands of internet searches, have contacted the Allegheny County Courthouse as well as the Carnegie Libraries and local historical societies. Yet I cannot find the location of this Schwab letter nor proof of the exemption given to my grandfather. Businessmen of the time always made copies of their correspondence contained in letterpress copy books. This tells me that the letter is somewhere in a collection." =============================================================== Any help/suggestions would be most appreciated. Thank You, Kip Altman www.businesshistorybooks.com ________________________________________________________________________ Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free. A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>