Finding Aid for the The Mansley Family Papers, 1850-1927

This collection consists of photographs, correspondence and printed matter relating primarily to John Mansley and his son William Thomas Mansley of Wilmington, Delaware. John Mansley, a native of Britain, became a citizen in 1852. His son William was born in 1865, and seems to have moved to the Berwyn area about 1930, as he was a TEHS member and contributor to the History Quarterly in its first three decades. He died about 1956. His wife Ruth Loreaux Mansley, of Conestoga Road in Berwyn, was Vice-President of the TEHS from 1943 to 1949. Her niece was TEHS member Dorothy Reed who inheirited the collection. It was passed down through several hands and donated by Dottie Hayes in 2005. Ruth Mansley is mentioned in the Wayne Suburban article about Dorothy Reed (in the Dorothy Reed Biographical file.)

The Mansley photographs are in Book 15 of the photographs collection. Over a dozen of these are portraits of William T. Mansley. Most of the remainder are unidentified. These photographs are in the TEHS Image Collection with the Identifier prefix MAN. The correspondence and printed matter are stored with the manuscripts collection; see separate list.

Mansley Family Papers

List of documents:

Letter, John Travis, Jr. to [his cousin] John Mansley, Jr., May 4, 1850. Sends news of family members, having not heard from Mansley since 1838, mentions Uncle William, Aunt Sally, and brother Hiram.

Certificate of Citizenship for James Bardsley, October 13, 1851.

Certificate of Citizenship for James Mansley, May 10, 1852. (Note: name is given as John on the outside fold.)

Baptismal certificate of William Thomas Mansley, son of John and Elizabeth Mansley, dated July 30, 1866, with birth date given as November 23, 1865.

Dentist’s bill to Mrs. Elizabeth Mansley, 1872, $34 for extractions and inserting full set of teeth.

Wilmington Opera House program, May 20, 1866, “Fourteenth Anniversary of the Rugby Literary Society,” featuring music, dramas, songs and declamations, 4 pages, with many advertisements.

Postcard, H. R. Maybin to William Mansley, June 11, 1886.

Two dog licenses for William T. Mansley, January 21, 1907.

Letter, Eleanor Tatum to William Mansley, February 17, 1908, writing from Cincinnati thanking her nephew for a card and mentions rising waters of the Ohio River.

Postcard, Arthur Losey (?) to W. T. Mansley, care of Heroy’s [store], May 27, 1924, hopes to see him.

Letter, Arthur Losey (?) to William Mansley, June 1, 1924, mentions a pending deal, written on Waldorf Astoria letterhead.

Postcard, Arthur Losey (?) to W. T. Mansley, care of Heroy’s Coffee Store, December 23, 1924, with Christmas greetings.

Letter from the Sisters of Charity of St. Peter’s School, Wilmington, to Mr. Heroy, December 27, 1927, thanking him for gift of candy for the children, three printed cards enclosed.

Blank postcard, face depicts an old man in a chair, with printed notation: “Squire Brink, when 14 years old, fell off the Cliffs … Milford, Pa.”

Obituary notice of Blanche Mansley, August 3, 1959.

Cheryl Leibold