Ralph Crissman Sweeney collection

Record Group

Identifier: UA-10.3.521

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of two photo albums. The first album contains 235 photos of various sizes and covers Ralph Crissman Sweeney's life from 1910 to 1920. Included are photos of him and his family, Michigan Agricultural College's campus and buildings, railroad construction, the Michigan State Capital, Michigan Governor Woodbridge Ferris being sworn in, school football photos, and Williams Hall after it burned down.

The second album contains 435 photos and 40 loose photos and covers Ralph's life from 1924 to 1935. Included are photos of him and his family; family vacations at Houghton Lake, Eight Point Lake, and Glen Lake, Michigan, Florida, and Ohio; a Crissman family reunion, sanitation locations and conferences, and the Special Class Sanitary Reserve. The loose photos show Ralph's daughter, Sue, getting married in 1947 and his son, Willard, graduating from Michigan State College in 1952.

Dates

Creation: 1910 - 1920, 1924 - 1935, 1947, 1952

Creator

Sweeney, Ralph Crissman, 1896-1990 (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Ralph Crissman Sweeney was born on January 25, 1896 as the oldest of at least four children to Willard N. Sweeney and Loretta Crissman Sweeney in West Bay, Michigan. The Sweeney family moved to Lansing, Michigan in 1911, where Ralph played football and graduated from Lansing High School in 1914. Ralph continued his education at Michigan Agricultural College in 1914, and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Engineering in 1919. While attending M. A. C., Ralph was a member of the Freshman Basketball Squad, Union Literary Society, J. Hop Committee, and served as Associate Editor for “The Holcad,” and Assistant Athletic Editor for the “1917 Wolverine.” In 1918, Ralph enlisted in Ordnance Supply School where he participated in the 16th Ordnance Depot Co., taking a year off from schooling before returning for his senior year. In 1925, Ralph Crissman Sweeney married Angeline Shaw on March 28, 1925 in Franklin County, Ohio, and later had two children Sue and Willard. The marriage ended in divorce between 1940 and 1950. Ralph Crissman Sweeney was enlisted in the Army during World War II from May 4, 1941 to December 18, 1946, where he served in England, North Africa, and Italy, and attained the rank of colonel before his retirement. Ralph worked as a sanitary engineer with the Ohio State Health Department in Columbus, Ohio, as well as for the New York State Health Department. Ralph Crissman Sweeney died on March 21, 1990 in Lansing, Michigan, and is buried in Deepdale Memorial Park in Eaton County, Michigan.