Shriver-Klein manuscript collection

In 1721 the first of the Shrivers disembarked at Philadelphia. Andrew Shriver (1712-1797) came from the Electorate Palatine in Germany and quickly moved to the Schuylkill River. There he practised as a tanner and shoemaker apprentice; once freed from this apprenticeship, Andrew moved in 1734 to the Conewago region in Pennsylvania where he remained the rest of his life. His son, David Shriver, Sr. (1735-1826) moved to Frederick County, Maryland and eventually became a political, economic, and social leader, especially among the large German populace in that area. David Shriver, Sr. served in the Conventions of Maryland, 1774-76, in the Lower House of the Maryland Legislature from the late 1770s to the early nineteenth century, and in the Senate, 1808-10. It was this Shriver that laid the foundation of the family's prominence, most notably in the political arena.

The collections described here represent the records of the Shriver family at their Homestead in Union Mills, Maryland. Union Mills is located seven miles north of Westminster, Maryland and was founded by David Shriver's son -- David Shriver, Jr. (1769-1852) and Andrew Shriver (1762-1847) -- in 1797. The site of the Homestead was selected because of its strategic location along routes leading into Pennsylvania and further westward. With this area as a foothold, the family exerted considerable influence in Republican and Jacksonian politics and, as a consequence, on the economic development of the whole region. Andrew Shriver operated a general store, post office, and grist and sawmill there for many years; eventually a tannery and the farm itself became important economic components of the family operations.

In 1899 Winifred Shriver, daughter of Henry Wirt Shriver, married Henry Martin John Klein. The couple moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and had three sons.

The Shrivers early developed an intense interest in the preservation of their records and their Homestead. The Homestead at Union Mills was lived in by members of the family until the 1950s when it was taken over by three brothers, Frederic Shriver Klein, Philip S. Klein, and Richard H. Klein. These brothers, the former two being professional historians, recognized the historical significance of the house and opened it as a private museum in the early 1950s. This ownership was transferred to a foundation in 1970 and, in 1976, Carroll County took over control.