A Guide to the William J. Mann, Jr. "Free Enterprise Sixty Years Ago", 1956
A Collection in the
Thomas Balch Library
Collection Number SC 0135
Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
USA
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195
Email: balchlib@leesburgva.gov
URL: http://www.leesburgva.gov/departments/thomas-balch-library/
© 2018 By Thomas Balch Library. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Laura Christiansen
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection open for research.
Use Restrictions
No physical characteristics affect use of this material.
Preferred Citation
William J. Mann, Jr. "Free Enterprise Sixty Years Ago", 1956 (SC 0135), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.
Acquisition Information
Provenance Unknown
Alternative Form Available
None
Accruals
Formerly catalogued as VREF 975.5 MAN. Volumes 1 and 2 courtesy of Special Collections University of Virginia Library.
Processing Information
Laura Christiansen, 27 August 2018
Historical Information
William Jackson Mann, Jr. (1888-1958) was the son of William and Sally Bruce Smith Mann of Upperville, Fauquier County , VA. He married Maria Louisa Shackleford Fontaine (1887- 1960), daughter of Richard and Kate Fontaine of Hanover County , VA, in September 1913. They had three children: William B. Mann (1918-2005), Louise F. Mann (1920-1969), and Charles M. Mann (1926-1991). As an electrical engineer, William J. Mann, Jr. worked for the Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company in Swissvale, PA before relocating to Baltimore, MD in 1920. There he worked for several electrical equipment manufacturing companies.
In the 1950s, Mann began to write short biographical stories about his childhood in the area around Upperville for his grandchildren. He eventually self-published a three volume memoir entitled Free Enterprise Sixty Years Ago: Stories for My Grandchildren. He presented his memoir to his grandchildren as a Christmas gift in 1956.
Scope and Content
Free Enterprise Sixty Years Ago consists of William Jackson Mann, Jr.'s recollections of his boyhood in Upperville, VA from the 1890s to 1910s. Topics include childhood memories such as gathering firewood to heat the family home with his grandfather, trips to collect chestnuts, as well as camping and fishing on Goose Creek and the Shenandoah River. Also collected are memories of people, places, and businesses in Fauquier and Loudoun counties . Businesses described include mills, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, dairy farms, and country stores.
The three volumes of Mann's memoirs were originally collected as typescript in small loose-leaf binders. Volumes 1 and 2 in this collection are photocopies of original typescripts held by the University of Virginia's Special Collections [CT275.M453A3 1956, v. 1 & 2]. Volume 3 is an original typescript created by Mann numbered "90/129". Page sizes in the typescript vary.
Arrangement
Folder
Related Material
Shorts, A. G., Jr. 2000. Upperville days: photographs and stories from Virginia Hunt Country. V 975.5275 SHO; McArtor, Robert C., and Susan McArtor Bellinger. 2005. McArtor and Poston family diaries: Upperville, Purcellville, Paris, Alexandria and Washington, D.C. V REF 929.2 MCARTOR
Adjunct Descriptive Data
Bibliography
Ancestry Library Edition, United States census, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com
Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.
Mann, William J. 1956. Free Enterprise Sixty Years Ago: Stories for My Grandchildren. [Virginia]: [W.J. Mann, Jr.].
Other Finding Aid
None
Technical Requirements
None
Other Finding Aid
None
Bibliography
Ancestry Library Edition, United States census, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com
Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.
Mann, William J. 1956. Free Enterprise Sixty Years Ago: Stories for My Grandchildren. [Virginia]: [W.J. Mann, Jr.].