Little is known about the Wise family except that they were an African American family living in Detroit, Michigan in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Dorothy “Dotty” Wise is listed as a dancing teacher, with residence on Lambert Ave., in the 1930-1931 Polk’s Detroit City Directory. Materials in the collection indicate that the family had relatives living elsewhere in Michigan, Ohio and possibly Louisiana.

The Wise Family Papers (0.5 cubic ft.) consist primarily of approximately 115 photographic prints and snapshots dating from the 19th and 20th centuries of family activities including graduations, confirmations, and weddings; images of families in front of their homes, with their automobiles, and on vacation; individual and group portraits; and dancers and dance recitals. One portrait shows a man in what appears to be a priest’s cassock and is possibly an Ordination portrait.

The paper...