The papers of Jean Worth consists largely of collected material relating to his research interest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The collection has been divided into the following series: Cedar River; Escanaba; Menominee; and Upper Peninsula -General.
Jean Worth was born May 5, 1904 in Menominee, Michigan. After graduating from the public schools in 1922, he joined the staff of the Menominee Herald-Leader. In 1923 he left Menominee to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and was graduated from that institution in 1925. In 1928 Worth took a position with the Detroit Times as a rewrite man and assistant in editorial promotion. He left Detroit to rejoin the staff of the Herald-Leader in 1930 as city editor. He was promoted to managing editor in 1934, and to editor in 1943. He served in this capacity until 1955, when he assumed editorship of the Escanaba Daily Press. He held this position until his retirement in 1969. During his retirement Worth served as a consultant to Upper Peninsula industry, taught at Bay de Noc Community College and continued to work on writing about Menominee and Cedar River history. He passed away in 1987.
During his career as editor both at the Herald-Leader and the Daily Press, Worth gained acclaim as an historian for those regions of the Upper Peninsula, especially in the areas of forestry and lumbering. He excerpted a great many notes from a half-dozen nineteenth and early twentieth century Menominee newspapers and developed a subject index for these materials as well.
