Charles W. Dahlinger was a prominent historian, lawyer and politician in Allegheny and Pittsburgh in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was the son of German immigrants, Charles Dahlinger and Margaret Strauch, who were married in Pittsburgh in August of 1853, shortly after their respective arrivals in the United States. They lived in Allegheny, now the North Side of Pittsburgh, where Charles worked at various times as a furniture maker, railroad worker, coffin maker, and embalmer. Charles was naturalized in 1856, and in February of 1858, Margaret gave birth to a son, Charles William Dahlinger.
There is little material documenting the early life of Charles William Dahlinger. He was an avid reader as a child, and in his early twenties he began writing histories and articles about the history of Pittsburgh. He left school at a young age to work as a messenger for the Workingman Savings Bank, eventually working up to the position of cashier. In 1884, he took an extended tour of the southern United States, and his writing interests expanded to include broader subjects in American history. He passed the Pennsylvania Bar exam, and began practicing law in 1887. He was elected to the Common Council of Allegheny City in the same year.
In the late 1880s, Dahlinger became involved in the organization and the construction of the Carnegie Library of Allegheny City. Andrew Carnegie had, by this time, donated over three million dollars toward the construction of various American libraries and music halls. After an 1881 donation of half a million dollars for the construction of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the city of Allegheny asked Carnegie for a similar donation. Carnegie contributed three hundred thousand dollars, and on February 13, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison presided over the grand opening of the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny. The library had the support of prominent Pittsburgh citizens, including Henry Phipps. Dahlinger served as the library's first chairman, and worked closely with William Stevenson, a friend and the first librarian of the Carnegie Library of Allegheny. Dahlinger also took part in the process of an 1899 addition to the library, made possible through another donation by Carnegie.
Dahlinger began working with the Allegheny Trust Company and the Ridgeview Land Company at the turn of the twentieth century. He became legal advisor and vice president of the Allegheny Trust in 1901. A life-long Republican, he served as a Presidential Elector to Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. In 1915 he received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Washington and Jefferson College (Washington County, Pa.). He became president of Allegheny Trust Company in 1925, and later served as the chairman of the board in 1934. Dahlinger served as a trustee of Washington Jefferson College, president of the Allegheny Lyceum, a literary society, and invested in the Columbia Plate Glass Company. He was also a member of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, serving as both director, from 1930 to 1932, and as a trustee from 1932 until his death in December of 1935.
Series have been designated for Family Papers and Other Materials. The Family Papers include personal correspondence of various members of the Dahlinger family, genealogical histories and manuscripts about the Dahlinger family, and legal and financial papers for both Charles and Charles William Dahlinger. Other Materials include letters and documents concerning the construction of the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, a scrapbook of clippings and writings about Pittsburgh history, political papers from the Independent Republicans of Pittsburgh, and various articles and manuscripts written by Charles William Dahlinger about the history and religion of the Pittsburgh area.
The Charles William Dahlinger Papers are arranged in two series. Series have been designated for Family Papers and Other Materials.
The Charles William Dahlinger Papers are housed in two archival boxes.
This collection is open for research.
These materials were received in one accession in 1936.
Acc# 1936x Gift of Mrs. Charles W. Dahlinger.
Papers of Charles William Dahlinger, 1849-1935, MSS# 172, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff in c1937. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Melanie Stevn Marinkovic on February 13, 1995.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on May 12, 2001.
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Other Materials include items concerning the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, Dahlingers published and unpublished writings and speeches, Pittsburgh history, Pittsburgh politics, and the Ridgeview Land Company. The Carnegie Library materials contain correspondence between librarian William Stevenson and various people, including Andrew Carnegie, and city resolutions passed concerning the construction of the library and its later addition. Most of the correspondence is dated after the 1890 opening of the library, some of which addresses funding of the 1899 addition. Included are transcribed copies of most of the letters from Andrew Carnegie. Of particular interest are resolutions, budgets and reports concerning the administration of the library. Also included are the programs for the library's grand opening, newspaper obituaries for William Stevenson, and a program and other information concerning the 1915 dedication of a memorial to James Anderson.
Also included are materials documenting the Ridgeview Land Company, the history of Pittsburgh, Allegheny city politics, and other historical topics. The Ridgeview Land Company minutes cover the length of the Company's existence, from July of 1889 until February of 1900, and include the company's by-laws and lists of property purchasers. News clippings and writings about the history of Pittsburgh from 1752 to 1877 are contained in the scrapbook. It contains accounts of the 1874 flood of Pittsburgh, handwritten chapters of the history of Pittsburgh from 1752 to 1874, and newspaper clippings about the flood, the 1872 fire in Allegheny, and 1877 railroad riots of Pittsburgh. The political materials date from 1882 to 1927 and include pamphlets addressing election procedures for the Independent Republicans of Pittsburgh (1880-1890), handbills of candidates, and hand written membership rolls for the Republican Party membership. Charles William Dahlinger wrote the manuscripts, booklets, and articles, dated between 1884 and 1926, about various aspects of American and Pittsburgh religion and history. The longer works address Moravian Missions in the Pittsburgh area, Abraham Lincoln's life and presidency, and a history of the Republican Party of Pittsburgh. Also included with his writings is an 1884 journal that Dahlinger kept while traveling in the South, documenting his impressions of the scenery, his fellow passengers, and the Southern people. Speeches and addresses by Charles William Dahlinger are intermingled with the writings and date from 1914 to 1920. The bulk of the speeches were given at meetings of the German Beneficial Union during the first World War, and urge German-Americans to loyally support the American government. The miscellaneous materials include an elementary school speller, a letter written by Andrew Carnegie during his War Department association in the 1860s, and materials concerning author/bookseller Zadok Cramer. The Cramer materials include a listing of books, magazines, and almanacs published by Cramer.