Our Fellowship
The Swan Historical Foundation, Inc. in Titusville, New Jersey and the David Center for the American Revolution at the Library & Museum of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia invite applications for an inaugural short-term residential research fellowship in Revolutionary-Era Material Culture (defined as 1750-1820).
This funding opportunity provides one month of support for researchers to work in the artifact collections of the Swan Historical Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and other repositories in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The fellowship is open to scholars in all fields who show a demonstrated need to use the collections for their project. Applicants will be judged on the strength of the project and the demonstrated need to use collections. For those who need materials at institutions other than the APS or Swan, a letter of support from a curator or other relevant person at the proposed repository is highly encouraged.
Successful applicants are awarded a stipend of $3,000. The stipend is paid after the awardee arrives at the APS’s Library & Museum to begin their fellowship. The purpose of the stipend is to defray the costs of working in Titusville and Philadelphia. All awardees will have a small additional stipend to cover a trip to the Swan Foundation to see its collection. Awards are taxable income, but the Society is not required to report payments. It is understood that recipients will discuss their reporting obligations with their tax advisors. The Society does not provide fellows’ housing but will share suggestions for possible accommodations with the successful applicant.
Fellowships may be taken starting any day no earlier than June 1, 2023 and must be completed by May 31, 2024. Fellows are required to be in residence for four consecutive weeks. Fellows do not have to decide on the dates of their fellowship right away; they have one year to decide, although most take their fellowships during the summer period.
The Swan Historical Foundation, Inc. (SHF) is a 501c3 corporation dedicated to promoting interest in the era of the American Revolution and to collecting and exhibiting artifacts from the period. SHF owns a collection of approximately 1,200 items, housed primarily at the New Jersey Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey.. SHF’s intent is to support education and research on the material culture of the era of the American Revolution and to promote familiarity with the SHF collection in the scholarly community. Applicants’ research topic need not focus specifically on items in the SHF Collection, but should fit within the period of the collection’s scope (1750-1820).
In return, SHF would appreciate a brief article (800-1200 words) for its newsletter about a relevant topic of the fellow’s choosing.
This funding opportunity provides one month of support for researchers to work in the artifact collections of the Swan Historical Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and other repositories in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The fellowship is open to scholars in all fields who show a demonstrated need to use the collections for their project. Applicants will be judged on the strength of the project and the demonstrated need to use collections. For those who need materials at institutions other than the APS or Swan, a letter of support from a curator or other relevant person at the proposed repository is highly encouraged.
Successful applicants are awarded a stipend of $3,000. The stipend is paid after the awardee arrives at the APS’s Library & Museum to begin their fellowship. The purpose of the stipend is to defray the costs of working in Titusville and Philadelphia. All awardees will have a small additional stipend to cover a trip to the Swan Foundation to see its collection. Awards are taxable income, but the Society is not required to report payments. It is understood that recipients will discuss their reporting obligations with their tax advisors. The Society does not provide fellows’ housing but will share suggestions for possible accommodations with the successful applicant.
Fellowships may be taken starting any day no earlier than June 1, 2023 and must be completed by May 31, 2024. Fellows are required to be in residence for four consecutive weeks. Fellows do not have to decide on the dates of their fellowship right away; they have one year to decide, although most take their fellowships during the summer period.
The Swan Historical Foundation, Inc. (SHF) is a 501c3 corporation dedicated to promoting interest in the era of the American Revolution and to collecting and exhibiting artifacts from the period. SHF owns a collection of approximately 1,200 items, housed primarily at the New Jersey Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey.. SHF’s intent is to support education and research on the material culture of the era of the American Revolution and to promote familiarity with the SHF collection in the scholarly community. Applicants’ research topic need not focus specifically on items in the SHF Collection, but should fit within the period of the collection’s scope (1750-1820).
In return, SHF would appreciate a brief article (800-1200 words) for its newsletter about a relevant topic of the fellow’s choosing.
The David Center for the American Revolution
Integrates the rich manuscript, microfilm, and print collections of the David Library with the early American history collections of the APS to create a one-stop-shop for the study of the American Revolution. The David Library collections consist of approximately 8,000 volumes, 9,000 reels of microfilm, and the large Sol Feinstone manuscript collection. The Sol Feinstone Collection, a rich collection of letters and documents, was assembled by DLAR Founder Sol Feinstone (1888-1980) over a period of fifty years. It includes material on almost all notable Americans from before the Revolution to the 1850s, as well as prominent Europeans and documents related to military affairs. This adds to the APS Library's Early American History Collections, which are particularly strong for the period from 1750 to 1840. In addition to the Benjamin Franklin Papers and the Thomas Paine Collection, the APS has a wide assortment of documents from the revolutionary era. Among these are official government documents and correspondence, military records that range from the Continental Army to Pennsylvania county records, and personal correspondence from various historical actors. Comprehensive, searchable guides and finding aids to these collections are available online at www.amphilsoc.org/library and http://amphilsoc.pastperfectonline.com/.
The American Philosophical SocietyIs committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly excellence while supporting a working and intellectual environment that fosters an inclusive atmosphere for learning, prizes diverse origins and points of view, advances equal opportunities to learn and communicate, and encourages the widest possible access to its collections. The APS has titled these goals the APS IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality, and Access) for its enduring institutional commitment to these values.
Applicants may be:
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Current and Past Recipients
2024
Whitney Nell Stewart, University of Texas - Bass School of Arts, "Bitter Vines: Wine and Slavery in the United States"
Emily J. Whitted, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Darned, Patched, and Mended: Repairing Textiles in Early America”
2023
John Bradstreet "Jack" Weaver, West Virginia University, "The Long Rifle: Material Culture, Violence, and Early, American Identity, 1720 – 1820"
2022
Cambra Sklarz, University of California, Riverside, “The Artist and the Ecosystem: Strategies for the Use and Reuse of Materials in Early America.”
2021
Alexandra Macdonald, The College of William & Mary, "The Social Life of Time in the Anglo-Atlantic World, 1660 - 1830"
You can see APS’s other fellowships, including those for the David Library, here: https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/fellowships
The premier collection includes more than 600 American Revolutionary War items curated by the Swan Historical Foundation in the Visitor’s Center at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey. According to the foundation, the collection includes “an original Ferguson Rifle, numerous muskets and rifles, swords, powder horns, and eight dog-face pistols, all with information about the item.”
“At the core of the SHF charter is education,” says Richard Kane, Chairman of the Swan Historical Foundation. “We can think of no finer way to embrace that goal than to reward and encourage scholars in history. We’re excited by this fellowship and by the relationship that it helps to forge with the David Center for the American Revolution of the American Philosophical Society Library & Museum.”
Whitney Nell Stewart, University of Texas - Bass School of Arts, "Bitter Vines: Wine and Slavery in the United States"
Emily J. Whitted, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Darned, Patched, and Mended: Repairing Textiles in Early America”
2023
John Bradstreet "Jack" Weaver, West Virginia University, "The Long Rifle: Material Culture, Violence, and Early, American Identity, 1720 – 1820"
2022
Cambra Sklarz, University of California, Riverside, “The Artist and the Ecosystem: Strategies for the Use and Reuse of Materials in Early America.”
2021
Alexandra Macdonald, The College of William & Mary, "The Social Life of Time in the Anglo-Atlantic World, 1660 - 1830"
You can see APS’s other fellowships, including those for the David Library, here: https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/fellowships
The premier collection includes more than 600 American Revolutionary War items curated by the Swan Historical Foundation in the Visitor’s Center at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, New Jersey. According to the foundation, the collection includes “an original Ferguson Rifle, numerous muskets and rifles, swords, powder horns, and eight dog-face pistols, all with information about the item.”
“At the core of the SHF charter is education,” says Richard Kane, Chairman of the Swan Historical Foundation. “We can think of no finer way to embrace that goal than to reward and encourage scholars in history. We’re excited by this fellowship and by the relationship that it helps to forge with the David Center for the American Revolution of the American Philosophical Society Library & Museum.”
Miniature Portrait Major-General Daniel Morgan
Dated 1794.
Ref: SHF-555
Dated 1794.
Ref: SHF-555
“This miniature oil painting on ivory Major-General Daniel Morgan (1736-1802) was executed by an unknown artist in Virginia in the year 1794. The General was 58 years old and would soon be leading 5,000 Virginia troops of militia to western Pennsylvania to suppress the “Whiskey Rebellion”. One of but three paintings of General Morgan from life. Governor “Light-Horse Harry” Lee of Virginia commissioned him a two-star General in December, 1793. He earned a Gold Congressional Medal of Honor for his victory at the Cowpens, South Carolina, on January 17th, 1781.
Help Support the Swan Historical Foundation
Swan Historical Scholarship Fund - Support our fellowship awards through the American Philosophical Society
and the David Library for the American Revolution
Building Fund - Support our exhibits in the new Washington Crossing State Park Visitor's Center, scheduled to open in 2026.
and the David Library for the American Revolution
Building Fund - Support our exhibits in the new Washington Crossing State Park Visitor's Center, scheduled to open in 2026.
Donate to
The Swan Historical Foundation, Inc.
to help support our:
Scholarship Fund
Building Fund
&
the General Fund to Support Conservation and Acquisitions
The Swan Historical Foundation, Inc.
to help support our:
Scholarship Fund
Building Fund
&
the General Fund to Support Conservation and Acquisitions
We need your support in order to reach these goals. Your donations generate the resources we need to grow and innovate, year after year.
Gifts of any size make an impact and are deeply appreciated.
A contribution to the Swan Historical Foundation is a lasting investment and is 100% tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Gifts of any size make an impact and are deeply appreciated.
A contribution to the Swan Historical Foundation is a lasting investment and is 100% tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
