Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
Lansing and Taft Families Papers
00058
Table of Contents
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".
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.
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.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections July 1981
Conrad Hall888 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.
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
Collection Inventory
Papers of Elijah M. Lansing 1838-1845Scope 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 | ||
|
|
||||
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 | ||
|
|
||||
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 | ||
|
|
||||
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 | ||
|
|
||||
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 | |||