English family papers
Scope and Contents
This collection relates mainly to Albert D. English, his wife, the former Marion Brown Monteith, their daughter Jean English Wisner, and Albert's sister, Annetta English.
Many letters in Albert's personal correspondence, especially those from his sister, Annetta, contain references of local historical interest. Annetta English, in her diaries and essays, recorded a great deal of the history of the Manchester, Michigan area. Albert kept personal notes in this field, and also collected numerous articles, pamphlets, and other materials of historical interest.
Included in the papers are some of Jean English's diaries (1916-1924), and several school assignments from high school and college.
Correspondence and notes of Albert and Marion concerning religious matters and numerous church bulletins of varied denominations are included in the papers.
The papers also contain several items concerning the genealogical history of the English's and other families and numerous newspaper clippings of the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries concerning people and events in the Manchester area and other places. Included as well are business and personal letters (1879-1894) of Thomas W. Monteith, Marion's father and letters (1913-1930) written to Oscar Mahrle, who in 1930 was involved in a legal dispute with the English's. Also included are a personal diary-notebook (1881) and memo book (1887) kept by Albert D. English; a personal diary-account book (1921) of Marion English.
Dates
- Creation: 1829 - 1954
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Biographical Note
Albert and Annetta English were two of the children of Benjamin G. English, whose parents Richard and Susanna English came to Manchester, Washtenaw County, Michigan in 1836. Benjamin was a farmer, school teacher and school district assessor (1860-1877) in Manchester. Albert took over the latter position in 1877 and held it until 1926, in addition to being a farmer, stockholder in the Union Savings Bank, Overseer of Highways for District 19 (1897-1907), Postmaster of Manchester (1900) and a member of the 8th District War Board (1919). He was an active member of the Democratic Party and was elected to its State Convention in 1910, 1914, and 1916.
Both Benjamin and Albert English were members of the Michigan Pioneer Historical Society; Albert was also a member of the (Washtenaw) County Pioneer Society.
In 1898, Albert married Marion Brown Monteith, of Allegan County. Marion was born in 1863, the daughter of Thomas W. Monteith, a farmer. Marion owned a crop farm near Martin, Barry County, Michigan and was a stockholder in the Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
In 1906, Albert and Marion's only child, Jean, was born. Jean attended Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) from 1922-1928. She taught school in Bay Port, Michigan from 1929 until her marriage to Edward Wisner in 1933.
The English family was very active in religious affairs. Marion spent much time working with mission groups (especially the First Baptist Women's Missionary Society), and Albert was one of the founders and later a board member of the Iron Creek Baptist Church.
Extent
6.75 Cubic Feet (8 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
Gift of Edward Wisner.
Legal Status
Copyright: Michigan State University.
Property Rights: Michigan State University.
- Title
- English Family Papers
- Status
- 4 Published And Cataloged
- Author
- M. Hobson
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu