Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Manuscripts series is small and represents but a fragment of the papers and records that once might have been maintained by the people of the colony relating to their beliefs and to their business activities. Of greatest interest perhaps are those documents (briefs, testimony, and transcripts) relating to the various legal suits against Benjamin Purnell and the Israelite House of David in the 1920s. There is also fragmentary correspondence, some of which relates to the scheduling of the traveling House of David baseball team. This portion of the collection also includes clippings and other written materials about the colony, and miscellaneous items, such as calendars, business forms, menus, programs, and related items, which provide a sense of the economic enterprises of the colony.