Lansing and Taft Families Papers
00058

Summary Information

Repository
Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
Creator
Lansing Family, (Elijah M. Lansing, d. 1854)
Creator
Taft Family, (Daniel Owen Taft, b. 1833)
Title
Lansing and Taft families papers
ID
00058
Date [inclusive]
1838-1917
Extent
0.66 Cubic feet , 1 volume on shelf
Language
English

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: "Item title, Collection title, Collection Identifier, Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan".

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Biographical Note

The Lansing and Taft families papers are the product of four individuals: Elijah M. Lansing, Frank M. Lansing, Rosadel Taft Lansing, and Daniel Owen Taft.

Elijah M. Lansing resided in or near the town of Pittsfield in Washtenaw County, Michigan. He was a member of the 6th Regiment, 5th Brigade of the Michigan Militia. He was appointed sergeant in 1842, lieutenant in 1843, and captain of the unit in 1845.

Frank M. Lansing, a grandson or nephew of Elijah M. Lansing, was born in 1868. He attended Eastman College of Business in Poughkeepsie, New York, graduating in 1886. He served as a dry goods commission merchant until the mid 1890s when he became the proprietor of the Howell Steam Laundry in Howell, Michigan. From 1906 to 1917 he operated an insurance business in the Howell-Brighton area. He resigned in 1917 to become the cashier at the Milford State Bank in Milford, Michigan. During his stay in the Howell-Brighton area, Lansing was active in church and community affairs.

Rosadel Taft Lansing was the wife of Frank M. Lansing. She was an active participant in her husband's insurance business and in church and community affairs.

Daniel Owen Taft, born in 1833, was the father of Rosadel Taft Lansing. Taft resided in or near the village of Oak Grove in Livingston County, Michigan, where he was a farmer and a dealer in farm machinery. He also owned land in Deerfield, Osceola, and Tyrone Townships in Livingston County.

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Scope and Content

The collection documents through correspondence, diaries, and financial records, the activity of four people over three generations. These papers span the years 1838 to 1917, with most of the material falling in the periods of 1838-1845 and 1881-1917. The 1845-1881 gap is due to the absence of a generation of records.

The records of Elijah M. Lansing (1838-1845) relate to the 6th Regiment, 5th Brigade of the Michigan Militia (Washtenaw Guards). The incoming letters include a request to join the guards, a letter concerning the Officer's Rendezvous, and an invitation to the Washtenaw Guards 3rd Annual Ball. The constitution, muster rolls, and company orders recount the militia's purpose, duties, and members.

Frank M. Lansing's personal papers (1886-1916) are composed mostly of diaries and notebooks. The diaries, though not often complete for each year, briefly relate his daily business and social activities. His notebook of 1901 includes some biographical data, and the autograph book provides picture stamps of himself as well as his Eastman College of Business classmates. Among his business records (1886-1917) are found ledgers from the Howell Steam Laundry and the Lansing Insurance Agency which provide a detailed record of cash received, cash paid out, policy holders and payments, payments for laborers, and some personal expenses. Also, on the envelope containing the Eastman College of Business banknotes is a listing of several addresses for his dry goods business (1886).

The papers of Rosadel Taft Lansing (1883-1890s) consist of memorabilia.

The personal papers of Daniel Owen Taft (1887-1901) contain correspondence to and from family, friends, and two eviction notices to tenants living on some of his property. His farm records (1881-1911) include ledgers which list produce transactions, laborer's hours and wages, price listings of crops, and Taft's personal expenses. Also found in the back of the 1881-1895 ledger is genealogical information on Taft's family. The manuscript maps of the three townships surrounding his home give the location of his neighbors' property and his land holdings.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections July 1981

Conrad Hall
888 Wilson Road, Room 101
East Lansing , MI, 48824
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu

Revision Description

 December 2013 March 2001

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Legal Status

Copyright: Michigan State University Property Rights: Michigan State University

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Custodial History

Gift of Charles Barnett.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Boy Scouts of America. Troop 1. (Brighton, Mich.)
  • Eastman National Business College. (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
  • Republican Party. (Mich.)

Family Name(s)

  • Lansing Family, (Elijah M. Lansing, d. 1854)
  • Taft Family, (Daniel Owen Taft, b. 1833)

Genre(s)

  • Diaries
  • Ledgers (account books)
  • Letters (correspondence)
  • Photographs

Geographic Name(s)

  • Deerfield (Mich.)
  • Howell (Mich.)
  • Livingston County (Mich.) -- Maps
  • Michigan -- Militia
  • Osceola County (Mich.)
  • Tyrone (Mich.) -- Maps

Personal Name(s)

  • Barnett, Charles
  • Lansing, Elijah M.
  • Lansing, Frank M., b. 1868
  • Lansing, Rosadel Taft

Subject(s)

  • Advertising
  • Agriculture -- Accounting
  • Bank notes
  • Chemistry -- Experiments
  • Farm equipment
  • Finance, Personal -- Michigan
  • Fire insurance
  • Insurance -- Accounting
  • Insurance agents
  • Marketing -- Vocational guidance
  • Retail trade
  • Revivals

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Collection Inventory

Papers of Elijah M. Lansing 1838-1845 

Scope and Contents note

Michigan Militia Records 

Box Folder

Incoming Letters 1844 

1 1

Militia Constitution 1838 

1 2

Muster Rolls 1844 

1 3

Company Orders 1844-1845 

1 4

Promotions 1842, 1845 

1 5

Court Martial Proceedings for Delinquent Members 1845 

1 6

Militia Receipts 1845 

1 7

Parade Formation Diagram Undated 

1 8

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Papers of Frank M. Lansing 1886-1917 

Personal Papers 

Diaries 

Box Volume

 1889 

1 1
Box Folder

 1891 

1 9
Box Volume

 1892 

1 2

 1893 

1 3

 1901 

1 4

 1902-1905 

1 5
Box

Cashbooks 

1
Box Folder

 1886-1887 

1 10

 1888 

1 11

Notebooks 

Box Volume

 1901 

1 6

 1910 

1 7
Box Volume

Autographed Book 1886 

1 8

Picture Index 1893-1895 

1 9
Box Folder

Programs from Community Activities 1899, 1916 

1 12

Business Records 

Box Folder

Incoming Letters 1886, 1917 

1 13
Box Volume

Dry Good Business Scrapbook 1886 

1 10
Box Folder

Eastman College of Business 1886 

1 14

Banknotes. Scrapbook of Advertising Methods Circa 1899 

1 15

Ledgers 

Box Volume

Howell Steam Laundry 1898-1900, 1903 

1 11

Howell Steam Laundry 1900 

1 12

Howell Steam Laundry and Frank M. Lansing Insurance Agency 1900-1909 

1 13
Volume

Frank M. Lansing Insurance Agency 1910-1916 

14
Box Folder

Advertising and Receipts - Howell Steam Laundry Circa 1890s 

1 16
Box Folder

Certificates of Insurance Agency Commission. Rosadel Taft Lansing 1915 

1 17

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Papers of Rosadel Taft Lansing 1883-1890s 

Personal Papers 

Box Volume

Autographed Book 1883-1892 

2 15

Guest List Undated 

2 16

Chemistry Laboratory Notebook 1894 

2 17
Box Folder

Miscellaneous Items Circa 1880s-1890s 

2 1

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Papers of Daniel Owen Taft 1881-1911 

Personal Papers 

Box Folder

Correspondence 1889, 1890, 1892, 1895, 1899, 1901 

2 2

Program for Revival Conference 1887 

2 3

Farm Records 

Ledgers 

Box Volume

 1881-1895 

2 18

 1895-1905 

2 19
Box Folder

Auction Announcement and List of Property Sold 1902, 1911 

2 4

Receipts 1885-1902, Undated 

2 5

Farm Machinery Dealership Records 

Box Folder

Correspondence 1890, 1891 

2 6

Advertisements 1899-1900, Undated 

2 7

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Oversized Materials 

Drawer
48
Drawer

Elijah M. Lansing. Muster Rolls 1844-1845 

48

Elijah M. Lansing. Company Orders 1844-1845 

48

Elijah M. Lansing. Promotions 1843 

48

Certificates of Insurance Agent Commission. Frank M. Lansing 1916 

48

Rosadel Taft Lansing 1917 

48

Daniel Owen Taft. Manuscripts Maps of Deerfield, Oceola, Tyrone Townships (Livingston County) Undated 

Photographs 

Drawer
People Photographs

People. Lansing Family 

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Photographs 

Folder

Carte de Visite - unidentifed women and stamps with photos of Frank M. Lansing ca. 1886 

CDV

Tintype- portrait of two unidentified men 

Tintype