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A Marked Envelope "Folder" for A. J. Willis
Collection
The Arthur J. Willis Collection
Format
Original paper envelope
Date
c. 1929
People
A. J. Willis; Arthur J. Willis; Arthur Willis
Michael Gladden Jr.; Michael Gladden
Location
Apopka, Florida, United States of America.
Historical Background
An envelope bearing Arthur J. Willis' name and a series of calculations on the backside (pictured on the bottommost receipt). The envelope's flap is fused, and the top is torn, as with a letter opener. Upon further examination of this object, it is speculated that Michael Gladden Jr. used these extra envelopes as folders to hold individuals' credit and safekeeping account receipts.
Little is known about Arthur J. Willis. With what surviving records are present in the Michael Gladden Jr. Collection, it is known that Mr. Willis was born in Alabama in or around the year 1894. He may have attended Morehouse College alongside Michael Gladden Jr. in the early to mid 1920s, where they might have formally been introduced. Mr. Willis was fully literate and was part of the Apopka Negro Business League alongside Michael Gladden Jr. He and Mr. Gladden would often participate in debates to fundraise for Apopka's historic Black cemeteries. Mr. Willis worked as a tailor, clothes cleaner, and presser. At one point in his life. Mr. Willis was attacked by robbers and permanently blinded. The legendary Black community historian, Ms. Francina Boykin, even lived with Mr. Willis in her early childhood.
