The bulk of this collection consists of research materials, notes, and correspondence created and compiled by American English professor William Randel (1909-1996) for an unfinished book on Mormon gold miner and journalist Samuel Brannan (1819-1889), as well as drafts of chapters of Randel's book.

William Peirce Randel (1909-1996) was a professor of English who, later in his career, engaged in full-time writing. Randel was a Professor of English Emeritus for the University of Maine and was also a professor of English and director of American Studies at Florida State University. Randel was an Edward Eggleston Scholar who studied with Ralph Leslie Rusk and Lionel Trilling in the 1940’s. He was the author of notable books about history, which include The Ku- Klux-Klan: A Century of Infamy, The Evolution of American Taste, The American Revolution: Mirror of a People, and a biography of Edward Eggleston. Before his death, Randel was working on a biographical book on the life of Samuel Brannan, Mormon, gold miner and journalist.

1,440 items in 7 boxes

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