Orville Z. Frazier photograph album., Circa 1880-1910

Summary

Creator:

Frazier, Orville Z.

Extent:

1 volume

Language:

English

Call Number:

92151 AA Vault

Authors:

Finding aid created by Bentley Historical Library staff

Background

Scope and Content:

Photographs, mostly unidentified, of members of the Frazier and Burden families, their homes, and a diverse range of friends and acquaintances.

Biographical / Historical:

Orville Zackariah Frazier was born July 7, 1896 (or 1898) in Marion, Indiana, the son of Jerry Frazier and Luzena Burden. The family later lived in Elkhart, Indiana. Frazier married Birdie Morgan (born November 6, 1900 to Edward Morgan and Nora Ingram) on August 10, 1921 in Elkhart, Indiana. Frazier was originally an engineer for the Crow-Elkhart auto company and was also a model builder and inventor who held 16 patents, which included an internal combustion engine, a miniature racing car, an atmospheric pressure engine, a locomotive valve mechanism, a carburator, and a humidifier for internal combusion engines. In the 1920s and 1930s Orville Frazier lived in Grand Rapids and later River Rouge, Michigan. In September 1948, he was featured in an Ebony magazine article entitled, "Leading Negro Model Maker Orville Zachariah Frazier of Elkhart, Indiana." He later moved back to Elkhart, but at the time of his death, in 1971, was living in Grand Rapids.

Acquisition Information:

Donated by Proquest (donor no. 1771 )

Rules or Conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

African Americans -- Indiana.
African Americans -- Michigan.
Children.
Families.

Formats:

Albums.
Digital file formats.
Photographs.
Tintypes.

Names:

Burden family.
Fraser family.