Ralph Edwin "Ted" Spears, Jr., Compiler, Battelle-MacLane-Mendel-Spears Family Collection, 1848/2001, bulk 1860/1950

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Ralph Edwin "Ted" Spears, Jr., Compiler, Battelle-MacLane-Mendel-Spears Family Collection, A&M 4042, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
1.88 Linear Feet 2 document cases, 5 in. each; 1 document case, 2.5 in.; 2 large flat storage boxes, 3.5 in. each; 1 large flat storage box, 3 in.
Creator:
Spears, Ralph Edwin, Jr. (1919-2014)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Ralph Edwin "Ted" Spears, Jr., Compiler, Battelle-MacLane-Mendel-Spears Family Collection, A&M 4042, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection of the Battelle, MacLane, Mendel, and Spears families from southern Ohio and north-central West Virginia (including Wheeling and Morgantown), comprised of genealogy, records, clippings, photographs, artifacts, and more. Collection includes family genealogy and records (Box 1), individual carte de visites, cabinet cards, and assorted family photographs and newspaper article clippings (Box 1-2). Additional photographs include several cased family photographs such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes, mostly of Anna MacLane Battelle, her husband, William G. Battelle, and their son, James (Box 3). Family scrapbooks include personal photographs of Ted Spears and others and related ephemera (Box 4). Photographs of Ted Spears pertain to his college years at WVU and other events. Artifacts include family bibles and a lock of hair (Box 1), children's gloves, eyeglasses, earrings, and a ring (Box 3), and a safe deposit metal lock box (Box 6). A portrait of Ted Spears's great-grandfather, William G. Battelle, is included (Box 5).

Biographical / historical:

This collection features a variety of family relatives and ancestors of Ralph Edwin "Ted" Spears, Jr. Among them are members of the Spears, MacLane, Mendel, and Battelle families. His parents were Ralph Edwin Spears (Sr.) (1893-1954) and Clerimond Mendel (1893-1995), whose parents were Margaret Battelle (1860-1939) and Harry J. Mendel (1858-1920). Margaret Battelle's parents were William G. Battelle (1835-1869) and Anna A. MacLane (1836-1893). Ted Spears's great-great-grandfather was Cornelius Battelle (1807-1897), a prominent Ohio minister and brother of Gordon Battelle (1814-1862), who was a Methodist minister and Civil War chaplain, abolitionist, and a leader in the statehood of West Virginia. The Battelle Memorial Institute was established in the 1920s by Gordon Battelle (1883-1923), grandson and his namesake.

Acquisition information:
Gift from Spears, Ralph Edwin "Ted", Jr., 2014/08/14
Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: West Virginia & Regional History Center
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard