Anne X. Alpern was a renowned jurist hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She served as city solicitor of Pittsburgh during the 1940s and in 1959 became attorney general of Pennsylvania, the first woman to hold such an office in the United States. Born in Russia in 1903, she moved to the United States shortly thereafter with her family, settling in Scenery Hill near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although Alpern was interested in law from an early age, she trained as a teacher, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1923. Encouraged by her father, Joseph Alpern, she received her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1927. Soon after she began working for the local law firm of Cunningham Galbraith & Dickson. At the time, female attorneys were not generally given the chance to argue court cases, but Alpern was persistent in her request for such an opportunity. Her employers gave her a case that nobody else wanted, and after a single night's preparation, Alpern went to court the next day and won. Within days she used this intense preparation method again, in another successful case. She continued this practice throughout her career.
In 1934, city solicitor Ward Bonsall hired Alpern to assist with a large backlog after Mayor McNair's election. Alpern worked long hours, though the job was temporary and without pay, often staying in her office all night. Her hard work led to success in cases such as Westinghouse Air Brake Co. v. City of Pittsburgh, which saved the city millions of dollars. As a result of her success, Bonsall promoted her to first assistant city solicitor in 1935. She quickly gained a reputation for a dramatic flair in the courtroom as well as an impressive mastery of the law. In 1942, Alpern was appointed city solicitor by Mayor Scully, the first time in Pittsburgh’s history that a woman had been appointed to this position. In 1946, she was admitted as an attorney of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That same year she worked with Mayor Lawrence to obtain a temporary injunction against a strike by workers for Duquesne Light which caused a brief blackout in the city. This was the first of several actions which exemplified her impartiality in the eyes of many, even as it alienated some of her supporters in organized labor and the Democratic Party. As city solicitor, Alpern was noted for promoting smoke control and improvements of the public transit system, resisting increases in utility rates and trolley fares, and working to expose and remove government corruption. She was a member of the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers (NIMLO), serving as president from 1947 to 1948, and worked with the Public Parking Authority of the City of Pittsburgh from 1947 to 1951.
In November 1953 Anne Alpern ended her service as city solicitor when she was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. Although the Democratic Party had nominated her, Alpern was elected with strong bi-partisan support. In 1959, the recently elected Governor Lawrence appointed Alpern to the position of attorney general for the state of Pennsylvania. This was the first time in United States history that a woman held such a position in state government. Alpern's jurisdiction in this office included the state police and the Department of Justice. One of her major projects as county judge and as attorney general was the reduction of case backlogs in Pennsylvania's courts – she frequently said that "justice delayed is justice denied". Alpern helped put regulations in place to prevent the abuse of money donated to public charities. She also worked unsuccessfully for the creation of a state-level Division of Consumer Protection, arguing that the Public Utility Commission was not effective in protecting people from the depredations of utility companies. In 1960 she began an investigation into allegations of voting fraud in Philadelphia involving the Democratic Party.
Early in 1961, Alpern was offered a position as the head of the Federal Power Commission by John F. Kennedy, but turned it down. In August of the same year, before her term as attorney general was completed, Governor Lawrence appointed Alpern as a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to fill a sudden vacancy. As an interim appointment to the court, she was required to run in the election of 1961 for a full twenty-one-year term of service. On November 7th she was narrowly defeated by Henry X. O'Brien. Analysts attributed this partly to the support she lost from Democrats after the voting fraud investigation, as well as her work to reduce retail milk prices and her opposition to the 1946 utility strike, which turned some union leaders against her. She also had experienced opposition due to her efforts to reform the state judicial system: her bill authorizing the appointment of court administrators had been defeated by the state legislature in June 1961. To compensate for this defeat, Governor Lawrence named Alpern to the position O'Brien had vacated in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
In 1962 the University of Pittsburgh conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on Anne Alpern. During her second term as judge in the county court, she heard the case that resulted in the Port Authority of Allegheny County abandoning its "Skybus" public transit project in 1973. In 1974 Anne Alpern retired from the court and joined the firm of Berkman Ruslander Pohl Lieber & Engel. She died in Pittsburgh in 1981.
Anne Alpern was renowned for her legal achievements and for her success in balancing a public career with a private family life. She married fellow assistant city solicitor Irwin Swiss in 1937 and the couple raised a daughter, Marsha Swiss. Alpern took part in community activities and public charities, serving on the board of the United Jewish Federation, the United Fund, and Action Housing, among others. She received many awards throughout her career, including recognition as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 1952, the Newspaper Guild Award and the Junior Chamber of Commerce Award in 1953, and the Award for Distinguished Public Service from NIMLO in 1953 and 1961. Since 1994, the Pennsylvania Bar Association has bestowed the Anne X. Alpern Award on outstanding female jurists in recognition of excellence and positive impact on women in the legal profession.
Alpern's papers highlight her activities and career achievements and provide a glimpse of her family life and hobbies. Court case files, some of which are closed, show many of Alpern's cases, both as an attorney and as a judge. Other types of records range from correspondence to reports from professional conferences to photographs. Some of the most readily-usable information is provided by a series of newspaper clippings, in folders and scrapbooks. These cover Alpern's career through articles and political cartoons.
Two sub-series of this collection within Alpern's personal papers come from Alpern's husband Irwin Swiss. These include a very limited set of records from his law practice and public offices, as well as journals, newspaper and magazine clippings, and notes on literature and politics, many pertaining to Zionism.
Further notes are found at the series level.
This collection contains materials protected by the attorney-client privilege and, therefore, may be subject to review prior to researcher use. In particular, material in Series VI. is closed until further notice in order to ensure compliance with attorney-client privilege laws. Closed files are marked in the contents list. Please contact the Archives Service Center for more information.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
These papers were housed in the University of Pittsburgh Barco Law Library where they underwent preliminary processing in 1985. They were transferred from the law library to the Archives Service Center in 2002.
Gift of University of Pittsburgh Barco Law Library on January 15, 2002.
This collection was sorted by Sherry Jane 1985 and processed by Charles Stanford in July to December 2006.
Papers of David Leo Lawrence, 1959-1966, AIS.1978.15, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Records of the Pittsburgh Railways Company, 1872-1974, AIS.1974.29, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Microfilmed Records of the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh, 1912-1964, AIS.1997.24, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Oversized materials and photographs are housed apart from the rest of the collection.
Bound reports and other publications taken from the collection have been cataloged separately. These include two issues of the
Jewish Criterion containing articles by Irwin Swiss: "Thoughts and Impressions of the Zionist Convention" (July 6, 1928) and "Palestine in the Contemporary Jewish World" (January 25, 1935). These newspapers can be found in ais Journals.
Anne X. Alpern Papers, 1918-1974, AIS.2002.01, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, eds. "Alpern, Anne X.,"
American National Biography, Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999: 377-378.
Rubin, Victor. "Portia from Pittsburgh."
Collier's October 20, 1946: 44-50.
Burgess, Milton V. "The Alpern Story."
Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph January 28, 1951: 3.
Series I. Case Files, 1928-1972 (Bulk 1929-1951)
Scope and Content Notes
These files represent many of Alpern's cases, either as an attorney or as a judge. In some cases her role is not clearly given by the records present. Most files hold court records and briefs, both typed and printed. A small number of files contain correspondence or newspaper clippings. Files are ordered alphabetically by the surname of the first party named in each case.
Some files come from Alpern's private practice with Cunningham Galbraith & Dickson and deal with divorce and estates. However, most of these are closed until further notice to ensure compliance with attorney-client privilege laws. Many cases that Alpern argued as city solicitor involved local industry, particularly railroads and utilities. Some significant files from this era include: a writ of prohibition against an investigation that threatened the office of Mayor McNair in 1936 (Box 6, Folder 11); the "Free Work" probes into allegedly illegal use of city labor and materials in 1950-1951 (Box 5, Folder 5; Box 6, Folder 8); and the "Mesta Machine" case of 1943 (Box 9, Folder 11-14) wherein Alpern defended the taxation by the city of property belonging to the Mesta Machine Company.
In cases involving the city of Pittsburgh, Alpern represented the city. For other cases, unless noted otherwise, the first name in the case title is the party Alpern represented. In cases where she represented the second party named, the client is identified as appellant or appellee, or as "client" in parentheses. A file at the end of the series contains records from cases sparsely documented or of minor significance, arranged chronologically within the file.
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| Box | Folder | | Berman, et al v. Duggan, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 723, January Term, 1971 | 1 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Bove, et al v. Pittsburgh Railways Company, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, C. 15317, 15327, 15371, 15376, 15407, c1951 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Brinton v. Kerr, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 223 March Term, 1935 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Burkman, v. Anderson and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 3994 April Term, 1934; Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 271 March Term, 1936, 1934-1936 | 04-05 |
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| Folder | | Carson v Board of Assessors of the City of Pittsburgh, et al, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 866 January Term, 1936 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Cinker v. Borough of Crafton, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 1523 January Term, 1963 | 7 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh v. Duquesne Light Company, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Complaint Docket No. 14157-1946, 1946-1947 | 8 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh v. Kaufmann et al, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 66 October Term, 1934 | 9 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh, et al v. Waverly Oil Works Company, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, 1936 | 10 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh v. Pittsburgh and West Virginia Gas Company and Kentucky West Virginia Gas Company, Docket No. G-627, In the Matter of Pittsburgh and West Virginia Gas Company and Kentucky West Virginia Gas Company, Docket No. G-635, United States Federal Power Commission, Opinion No. 168, March 1945, 1945 | 11 |
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| Folder | | Cold Metal Process Company v. United Engineering & Foundry Company, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 6700, undated | 12 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth v. Hoak, et al (before Judge Strauss), Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County (Criminal Division), OT Nos. 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 516 April Sessions, 1969 | 13-14 |
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| Box | Folder | | Commonwealth v. Kirk, et al, Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery and Quarter Sessions of the Peace of Dauphin County, No. 303, 304, 305 January Sessions, 1939 | 2 | 01-05 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth v. Lawrence, et al, Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery and Quarter Sessions of the Peace of Dauphin County, September Sessions, 1938, No. 301, January Sessions, 1939, 1938-1939 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth v. Saunders, Appellant, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 145 March Term, 1956 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth ex rel. City of Pittsburgh v. Heiman, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Sitting at Pittsburgh, No. 98 April Term, 1937 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth ex. rel. Flowers v. Flowers, Appeal of the Equitable Building and Loan Association, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 172 March Term, 1935 | 9 |
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| Box | Folder | | Commonwealth ex. rel. Park v. Kaiserman (client), Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 3509 January Term, 1938; Commonwealth ex. rel. Park v. DiCenzo, et al, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 3929 January Term, 1938 | 3 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth ex rel. Schofield v. Lindsay, Appellee, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 166 March Term, 1938 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Conley v. Firemen's Relief and Pension Fund Board of the City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Sitting at Pittsburgh, No. 158 April Term, 1938 | 3 |
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| Folder | | In re: Application of DeBolt Transfer, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Application Docket No. A. 29719 - Folder No. 5, c1937 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Dornan v. Philadelphia Housing Authority, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, No. 235 January Term, 1938 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Duquesne Light Co. Financial Information, 1952-1953 | 6 |
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| Folder | | F.J. Kress Box Company, et al v. City of Pittsburgh, et al, Supreme Court of the United States, No. 954 October Term, 1938 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Finley v. McNair, Appellant, and Moritz, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 233 March Term, 1934 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Finley v. Pension Board of the City of Pittsburgh, Appellants, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 85 April Term, 1937 | 9 |
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| Folder | | Flaherty, et al v. Port Authority of Allegheny County, et al ("Skybus"), Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 313 April Term, 1972; No. 41 March Term, 1973, 1972-1973 | 10-11 |
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| Folder | | General Motors Acceptance Corporation v. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Returnable at Pittsburgh, No. 89 April Term, 1929 | 12 |
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| Folder | | Glesenkamp v. City of Pittsburgh, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 191 March Term, 1935 | 13 |
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| Folder | | In re: Grand Jury Investigation of violations of the law in the use of city labor & materials of the city of Pgh. ("Free Work" Probe #1), Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery and Quarter Sessions of the Peace of Allegheny County, No. 59, September Sessions, 1950 | 14 |
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| Box | Folder | | Green v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 22 March Term, 1933 | 4 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Gretton v. City of Pittsburgh, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Sitting at Pittsburgh, No. 113 April Term, 1937 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Higbee Estate, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, Nos. 61, 62 March Term, 1950 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Howe Divorce, 1939 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Jackson Estate, 1950 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Jacob v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 98 March Term, 1938 | 6 |
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| Folder | | John Benkart & Sons Company v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (DeBolt Transfer, Intervening Appellees), Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh District, No. 172 April Term, 1939 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Kurtz v. City of Pittsburgh, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 1259 Miscellaneous Docket (Original Jurisdiction), undated | 8 |
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| Folder | | Lloyd v. City of Pittsburgh, et al, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 1603 October Term, 1945 | 9 |
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| Folder | | Mannella v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Sitting at Pittsburgh, No. 80 March Term, 1938-1939 | 10-11 |
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| Folder | | In Re. McCarter ("Free Work" Scandal #2), 1950-1951 | 12 |
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| Folder | | McCarthy v. City of Pittsburgh and Musgrave, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Sitting at Pittsburgh, Nos. 201, 202, 203, 204 April Term, 1937 | 13 |
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| Folder | | In Re. Petition of McNair for Writ of Prohibition, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 876 Miscellaneous Docket of 1936, 1936 | 14 |
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| Folder | | McSorley v. Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh and City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 115 March Term, 1948 | 15 |
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| Folder | | In re: Right of Metropolitan Utilities District, Omaha, Nebraska, undated | 16 |
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| Box | Folder | | Miller v. Seaman, et al (clients), Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 218 April Term, 1939 | 5 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Nash Divorce, 1939 | 2 |
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| Folder | | National Biscuit Co. Appeal to Re-trial of O'Donnell v. Kroger, c1934 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Orth v. Doench, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 125 March Term, 1932 | 4 |
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| Folder | | In re: Petitions of Patterson and Marshall, in re: Municipal Election of November 2, 1937 (Democratic judges, clients), Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 2289 January Term, 1938 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Pellegrini, v. Radiant Society, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 999 October Term, 1940, 1940-1943 | 06-07 |
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| Folder | | Pennsylvania Power & Light Company v. City of Bethlehem, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, No. 247 January Term, 1936; No. 28 January Term, 1937, 1936-1937 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Pennsylvania Railroad Company v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 81 March Term, 1939 | 9 |
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| Folder | | In re: Appeal of Perrin from the Decision of the Board of Adjustment, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, Nos. 78 and 100 March Term, 1931 | 10 |
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| Folder | | In re: Insurance Trust of Petty, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 39 March Term, 1933 | 11 |
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| Folder | | Pittsburgh Paving Company, for Use of Iron & Glass Dollar Savings Bank of Birmingham v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 184 March Term, 1937 | 12 |
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| Folder | | In re: Pittsburgh Railways Company, Debtor, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Nos. 8964, 8967, 8996 October Term, 1945; United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, No. 20225 In Bankruptcy, 1945-1950 | 13 |
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| Box | Folder | | Pittsburgh Terminal Warehouse & Transfer Company v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 19 March Term, 1938 | 6 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Roberts v. Pitt Publishing Company, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 202 March Term, 1937 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Scholnick, Inc. v. Blanck, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 3059 October Term, 1928 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Scholnick Inc. v. Temple Restaurant, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 1310 July Term, 1931 | 4 |
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| Folder | | In re: Appeal of Skarvelis from the Decision of the Board of Adjustment, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 133 March Term, 1936 | 5 |
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| Folder | | State of New York, et al v. United States of America (City of New York and National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, Amici Curiae), Supreme Court of the United States, No. 5 October Term, 1945 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Steinberg v. United States of America, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 11,793, undated | 7 |
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| Folder | | Stevens v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 89 March Term, 1938 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Taskey v. City of Pittsburgh, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 245 April Term, 1936 | 9 |
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| Folder | | United States of America and Mesta Machine Co. v. Allegheny County, Supreme Court of the United States, No. 417 October Term, 1943, 1943-1944 | 10-13 |
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| Box | Folder | | Voltz v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 151 March Term, 1938 | 7 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Ward v. City of Pittsburgh, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 107 March Term, 1936 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Weber v. Weber, County Court of Allegheny County, No. 80, 1927 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Weitzel v Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, No. 50 April Term, 1936 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Westinghouse Air Brake Co. v. City of Pittsburgh (client), Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 490 July Term, 1932 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Williams v. Samuel, et al, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, No. 441 January Term, 1938 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Various Cases, 1928-1969 (intermittent) | 7 |
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Series II. Professional Files, 1925-1974 (Bulk 1935-1963)
Scope and Content Notes
The records in this series represent Alpern's professional career outside the courtroom, notably her service in regulatory agencies such as the Public Parking Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, her participation in professional groups such as the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers (NIMLO), and her advocacy of court reform. The first files hold notebooks kept by Alpern in law school and a file kept by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law tracking Alpern's achievements after graduation.
Although the correspondence files in this series are not very extensive, they do give a limited view of Alpern's activities and network of acquaintances. Among the correspondents are clients, fellow attorneys, public officials, and citizens who sent in anonymous tips of illegal acts and called for their investigation. This series also holds hand-written notes kept by Alpern, which are often difficult to read.
A sample of brochures and other promotional material from Alpern's election campaigns in 1953, 1961 and 1963 is followed by documents from Alpern's participation in NIMLO and other agencies. These are arranged in rough chronological order. A script for her presentation to the 1945 meeting of NIMLO concerns the difficulties faced by Pittsburgh city officials in buying war surplus vehicles and other equipment, which she also addressed at the United States Conference of Mayors that same year.
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| Box | Folder | | Notebooks from Pitt Law School, c1927 | 11 | 01-02 |
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| Box | Folder | | Student File, 1925-1961 | 12 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Correspondence, 1929-1972 (intermittent) | 02-04 |
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| Folder | | Hand-written Notes: Office, Cases, Speeches, undated | 5 |
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| Folder | | Letters of Support for Federal Court Campaign, 1948-1949 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Election Campaign Material, 1953-1963 (intermittent) | 7 |
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| Folder | | Legislation Drafts and Notes, c1933-1950 | 08-09 |
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| Box | Folder | | United States Conference of Mayors, 1945 | 13 | 1 |
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| Folder | | President's Conference on Fire Prevention, 1947 | 2 |
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| Folder | | National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, 1942-1951 | 03-06 |
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| Box | Folder | | Public Parking Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, 1948-1951 | 14 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Report to Judge William H. McNaugher re: Court Congestion/Backlog, c1953-1958 | 2 |
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| Folder | | National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, 1959 | 03-05 |
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| Folder | | Official Comments and Statements, 1958, 1959 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Other Professional Conferences and Associations, 1950-1973 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Berkman Ruslander Pohl Lieber & Engel Law Firm, 1974 | 8 |
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| Oversize | | Plaques, Desk Signs and Metal Stamp, 1959-1961 | 15 |
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| Oversize | | Certificates, Awards, Cartoons and Campaign Posters, 1946-1972 | 1 |
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Series III. Personal Papers, 1919-1973
Scope and Content Notes
Papers in this series highlight Anne Alpern's activities outside of her professional career, including private pursuits as well as public engagements. Alpern was renowned for her ability to balance a professional career with a home life, and maintained several hobbies as well. At one time she was said to read one non-legal book a day and had a reputation as a gourmet cook, often visiting restaurants and asking for the recipes of dishes she enjoyed. Some recipes obtained from friends, newspapers and other sources are found here, as well as some creative writing by Alpern. This includes an incomplete draft manuscript for a play titled "So Help Me God" and an unnamed short story, both typed and hand-written.
Alpern was also a popular lecturer. This series holds a small number of programs from her speaking engagements and typescripts or drafts of speeches she gave, which include "The Case against the Courts", a well-known expression of her goals for judicial reform. A few items also pertain to her siblings and her father, Joseph Alpern.
In 1965, Alpern became involved in the resignation of Chancellor Litchfield from the University of Pittsburgh, eventually writing an article titled "The Big Donor Dropout! What Happened at the University of Pittsburgh." This article is found here together with fairly extensive documentation of the matter, including newspaper clippings.
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Subseries 1. Anne Alpern |
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| Box | Folder | | Personal Correspondence, 1919-1973 | 16 | 01-03 |
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| Folder | | Correspondence with Marsha Swiss, 1959-1970 | 04-05 |
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| Folder | | Estate of Joseph Alpern, 1937-1973 (intermittent) | 6 |
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| Folder | | Joseph Alpern Correspondence (in Yiddish), 1928-1930 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Alpern Siblings, 1928-1963 (intermittent) | 8 |
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| Folder | | Receptions and Social Events, 1939-1974 | 9 |
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| Folder | | United Jewish Fund of Pittsburgh, Inc., 1947-1949 | 10 |
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| Folder | | National Jewish Hospital at Denver, 1949-1950 | 11 |
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| Folder | | Hadassah Donor Luncheon, March 27, 1955 | 12 |
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| Folder | | NAACP Human Rights Dinner, March 31, 1955 | 13 |
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| Folder | | American Jewish Committee, 1959 | 14 |
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| Box | Folder | | Speeches, 1941-1958 | 17 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Addresses on KQV, 1938, 1945 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Address for the League of Women Voters, KDKA, May 20, 1936 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Oakland Renewal Plan, 1962-1963 | 4 |
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| Folder | | University of Pittsburgh: Chancellor Litchfield's Resignation, 1965-1966 | 05-10 |
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| Box | Folder | | Marriage Certificate and Honeymoon Mementos, 1937 | 18 | 01-02 |
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| Folder | | Creative Writing, undated | 03-05 |
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| Folder | | Speeches, Articles and Scripts by Others, c1933-1950 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Personal Interest Newspaper and Journal Clippings, 1950-1970 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Recipes, undated | 8 |
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Subseries 2. Irwin Swiss, c1930-1947
Scope and Contents note
Irwin Swiss, who married Anne Alpern in 1937, was born in Poland in 1897 and moved to Pittsburgh at the age of ten. He worked as an assistant city solicitor for Pittsburgh from 1935 to 1937, and then became a referee of unemployment compensation. In 1943 he joined the legal staff of the Federal Housing Administration, and served with that agency until late 1944, when he was appointed as an assistant United States attorney. In this position he played a prominent role in the prosecution of suspected communist sympathizers. Swiss died in February of 1960 following a traffic accident. These papers include a very limited sample of his correspondence and official papers, newspaper clippings, notebooks and date books. Occasional pages in one of the larger notebooks show handwriting that may be Alpern's.
Irwin Swiss was a dedicated Zionist and an orator of some reputation. This sub-series contains notes from some of his speeches and a modest selection of articles and notes concerning religious tolerance, anti-Semitism, nationalism and Zionism; poetry and literary criticism; and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's re-election campaign of 1940. Many articles from the
Jewish Criterion are included in Box 20, Folder 4.
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| Box | Folder | | Case File: Hansen Estate, Orphans' Court of Allegheny County, No. 362-A of 1939, 1939 | 20 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Notes for Speeches and Articles by Irwin Swiss, undated | 2 |
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| Folder | | Articles and Notes on Literature and Politics, c1930-1940 | 03-08 |
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| Folder | | Positions and Promotions, 1942-1945 | 9 |
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| Box | Folder | | Housing Agencies, 1943-1950 | 21 | 01-02 |
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| Folder | | Correspondence, 1940-1945 (Intermittent) | 3 |
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| Folder | | Court and Personal Notebooks, undated | 04-07 |
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| Box | | Pocket Date Books,1919-1947 | 22 |
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| Oversize | | Certificates of Office and Other Service, 1937-1947 (Intermittent) | 2 |
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Series IV. Newspaper Clippings and Scrapbooks, c. 1929-1974
Scope and Content Notes
These clippings follow Anne Alpern's public career, covering her roles in newsworthy events. Several articles are biographical in focus. There are also many humorous political cartoons commenting on Alpern's role in the workings of the city. Most of these were produced by the local newspaper artist Cy Hungerford in the early 1950s.
Loose clippings housed in folders are arranged chronologically by year, with some of the years sub-divided by certain topics. A portion of these were sorted and labeled in 1985, and Box 24 holds a typed index to them. This index provides chronological and topical guides, but does not list all of the clippings in this section. The clippings in Box 28, Folder 8 were apparently compiled by someone other than Alpern. They come from newspapers in the Philadelphia region and throughout Pennsylvania, including two Italian newspapers,
Il Progresso and
Il Popolo. Oversize items include the October 26, 1946 issue of
Collier's which featured an article about Alpern, and an article about her 1959 appointment as attorney general.
Six volumes of scrapbooks complete the series. Volume 1 is from Alpern's senior year in high school and is filled with handwritten messages from classmates. Volumes 2-6 contain newspaper clippings and occasional photographs from the 1940 to 1961. Although they cover many of the same topics, they also contain information not found in the loose clippings.
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| Box | Folder | | Index and Newspaper Clippings, c1929, 1938-1940 | 23 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Duquesne Light Strike, 1946 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Federal Court Campaign, November 12, 1948-March 18, 1949 | 2 |
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| Folder | | "Free Work" Probe: Kilgallen and Gross, April 27-June 15, 1950 | 05-06 |
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| Box | Folder | | "Free Work" Probe: Kilgallen and Gross, June 16-September 21, 1950 | 25 | 01-04 |
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| Box | Folder | | January 1951 | 26 | 1 |
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| Folder | | "Free Work" Probe: McCarter, February 9-June 28, 1951 | 02-06 |
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| Box | Folder | | "Free Work" Probe: Scrap Selling, March 10-June 13, 1951 | 27 | 1 |
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| Folder | | March 9-June 28, 1951 | 2 |
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| Folder | | City Contract Probe: Broadway Maintenance Street Lighting, June 9-July 17, 1951 | 03-04 |
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| Folder | | Appointment as Attorney General, December 24, 1958-1959 | 8 |
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| Box | Folder | | Appointment to Pa. Supreme Court and Campaign, 1961 | 29 | 01-02 |
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| Folder | | Skybus Case, 1972 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Unidentified Clippings, undated | 5 |
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| Oversize | | 1946, 1958-1959 | 3 |
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| Volume | | High School Senior Year, 1918-1919 | 1 |
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| Volume | | 6th Annual National Newspaper Dinner, Scranton Elks, 1956 | 3 |
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Series V. Photographs
Scope and Content Notes
Professional photographs include portraits and shots of Anne Alpern with other attorneys and political officials, including David L. Lawrence, Genevieve Blatt, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Most of the photographs appear to have been taken in or near Pittsburgh. Personal photographs include vacation snapshots and pictures of Alpern's family and friends. Oversize photographs show Alpern with David Lawrence and other political officials, members of NIMLO, and Alpern's family.
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| Box | Folder | | Early Photographs: Family, School | 30 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Family of Anne Alpern, Irwin Swiss, and Marsha Swiss | 5 |
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| Folder | | Extended Family and Friends | 7 |
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| Oversize | | Oversize Photos | 4 |
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Series VI. Closed Files
Scope and Contents Notes
These files contain information that is or may be protected by the attorney-client privilege. In order to ensure compliance with regulations regarding the privilege, they are closed until further notice.
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| Box | Folder | | Ahrle (Immigration to U.S.) [RESTRICTED], 1940-1941 | 8 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Allison v. Allison, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Docket "D", No. 3016 April Term [RESTRICTED], 1939 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Alpern v. National Association of Women's and Children's Apparel Salesmen, Inc. (NAWCAS) Benevolent Auxiliary [RESTRICTED], 1964-1965 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Basic Foods, Inc. v. Moyer, United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No. 2947 [RESTRICTED], 1940-1944 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Baysoi v. Jessop Steel Co., United States District Court of the United States for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No. 7963 [RESTRICTED], 1949-1950 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Berg Wills, Property [RESTRICTED], 1939, 1951, 1964 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Blank v. Blank, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 756 January Term 1950-D [RESTRICTED], 1950-1951 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Brandt v. Hoffman, No. 2016 July Term [RESTRICTED], 1935 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth v. C.I.T. Corporation (Motors Mortgage Corp.), Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, Commonwealth Docket, 1928; No. 113 Commonwealth Docket, 1929; Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Middle District, No. 9 May Term, 1929 [RESTRICTED], 1928-1929 | 9 |
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| Folder | | Commonwealth ex rel. Fidelity Trust Co. v. Babcock (client), Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 2273 October Term, 1934 [RESTRICTED], 1934-1949 | 10 |
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| Box | Folder | | Cunningham Estate [RESTRICTED], 1948-1949 | 9 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Davis Release to Truco, Inc. [RESTRICTED], 1947-1948 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Dixon v. Dixon, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 2111 January Term, 1937 [RESTRICTED], 1936-1937 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Dorian, U.S. Citizenship [RESTRICTED], 1974 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Failla v. Paulo [RESTRICTED], 1950-1951 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Fisher v. Fisher, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 3349 July Term, 1936 [RESTRICTED], 1936-1937 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Gamble Estate [RESTRICTED], 1929-1944 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Hahn v. Hively (client) [RESTRICTED], 1938 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Hamilton v. Hamilton, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 938, 1925; No. 1389 January Term, 1938 [RESTRICTED], 1938-1939 | 9 |
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| Folder | | Handelman [RESTRICTED], 1934 | 10 |
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| Folder | | Howell Divorce [RESTRICTED], 1948 | 11 |
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| Folder | | Hughes Patent [RESTRICTED], 1951 | 12 |
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| Folder | | Kerr Estate, Orphans' Court of Allegheny County, No. 539 September Term, 1935; Kerr v. Kerr, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 2452 July Term, 1936 [RESTRICTED], 1935-1941 | 13 |
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| Folder | | King v. King, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 1960 October Term, 1949 [RESTRICTED], 1949-1951 | 14 |
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| Folder | | Kline Estate, Orphans' Court of Westmoreland Co. and Superior Court of Pa. Sitting at Pittsburgh, No. 141 April Term, 1947 [RESTRICTED], 1947-1950 | 15 |
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| Folder | | Koontz v. Lescallet, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 962 April Term, 1939 [RESTRICTED], 1938-1939 | 16 |
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| Folder | | Malone Divorce [RESTRICTED], c1932 | 17 |
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| Folder | | McIntire Estate [RESTRICTED], 1934 | 18 |
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| Folder | | Moore Estate [RESTRICTED], 1950 | 19 |
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| Folder | | Mulford, Separation and Trust Agreements [RESTRICTED], 1931-1936 | 20 |
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| Folder | | Pellegrini, Various Claims [RESTRICTED], 1943-1950 | 21 |
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| Box | Folder | | Pellegrini, v. Radiant Society, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 999 October Term, 1940 [RESTRICTED], 1940-1943 | 10 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Pennsylvania Railroad Slide Case [RESTRICTED], 1938 | 2 |
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| Folder | | In re: Perfect Laundries of Pittsburgh, Inc., District Court of the United States, Western District of Pennsylvania, No. 16726 in Bankruptcy [RESTRICTED], 1931 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Pillmore v. Pillmore [RESTRICTED], 1936-1939 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Potts Estate, Orphans' Court of Philadelphia County, No. 189 of 1938 [RESTRICTED], 1938 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Rosen Divorce [RESTRICTED], 1945-1947 | 6 |
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| Folder | | In Re. Ryan Estate, Orphans' Court of Allegheny County, Docket 51, c1936; County of Allegheny v. Ryan, et al, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Lev. Fa. No. 525 July Term, 1949, Sur. Judgment Sci. Fa. No. 3353 April Term, 1949 [RESTRICTED], 1929-1949 (intermittent) | 7 |
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| Folder | | In Re. Schmitt [RESTRICTED], 1951 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Schoen & Schoen v. Elsasser, Court of Common Pleas of Somerset County, No. 566 September Term, 1931, C.D.; Elsasser v. Schoen, Court of Common Pleas of Somerset County, No. 3 February Term, 1932, C.D. [RESTRICTED], 1931-1932, 1936 | 9 |
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| Folder | | Shields v. Shields, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 2706 April Term [RESTRICTED], 1948 | 10 |
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| Folder | | Sieg v. Sieg, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 1828 October Term, 1939 [RESTRICTED], 1939-1942 | 11 |
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| Folder | | Sutton, Stock Sale [RESTRICTED], 1949 | 12 |
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| Folder | | Travis v. Travis, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 1858 April Term, 1949 [RESTRICTED], 1949-1950 | 13 |
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| Folder | | Wall v. Wall, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 2747 April Term, 1949B [RESTRICTED], 1948-1949 | 14 |
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| Folder | | Williams v. Baskerville (client), Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. 1977 July Term, 1936 [RESTRICTED], 1936-1938 | 15 |
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| Folder | | Young [RESTRICTED], 1944-1949 | 16 |
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| Folder | | Various Cases [RESTRICTED], 1933-1970 (intermittent) | 17 |
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