Mead Family Collection

The Mead Family collection consists of photographs, historical documents and artifacts pertaining to Azel Mead (1784 to 1871), his descendents, and other relatives.  The materials cover various aspects of the family’s lives from 1833 to approximately 1960.  This includes documents relating to Minerva Jeanette Mead and her husband George G. Mead who were involved in the spiritualist movement at the turn of the century.  They were active members of the Haslett Park Club which held a yearly spiritualist retreat on Lake Lansing.  Other materials relating to the family include Azel Mead’s divorce papers and casual letters written between family members. 

The photographic material contains a number of images of people and houses in Mason, Michigan, circa 1900 as well as vacation photographs and formal portraits from that era.  There also are a large number of snapshots from the portions of the family that lived in Kansas.

This collection was donated by Shirley Silker.  Additional items in the collection document her research into the Mead family and the local spiritualist movement.

Explore the Collection

Finding Aid (PDF)

The finding aid for this collection contains a complete list of all the materials available. 

About the Family

The Mead Family Collection contains documents and photographs cover over a hundred years and more than a dozen different people.  About the Family contains an overview of the different family members and how they fit into the family tree.

Selected Documents:  Haslett Park

Minerva Jeanette Mead and George G. Mead were both active members of a spiritualist group that for several years meet at a site near Lake Lansing.  They called themselves the Haslet Park Camp Association and the Haslett Park Circle.  The Mead Family Collection contains several documents from the Haslett Park Groups including meeting minutes and a the 1896 camp brochure.  A selection of these documents has been digitized and a complete list can be found in the finding aid above.

Selected Documents: Family

The Mead family left a large amount of personal correspondence as well as various financial and legal documents and an assortment of personal ephemera.  A selection of these documents has been digitized and a complete list can be found in the finding aid above.

Photographs

The Mead Family Collection contains approximately 800 photographs.  All of these images have been digitized and are available for use.

Mead Family Google Map (Outside Resource)

Through Google Maps we have plotted out many of the location that are mentioned or photographed in this collection.