Collection Overview

Title: The Henry George and Anna George De Mille Family Collection

Predominant Dates: 1880-1950

Arrangement: Arranged in five series: I. Correspondence, published, unpublished, and reproduced works by Henry George; II. Correspondence, published, unpublished, and reproduced works by Henry George, Jr.; III. Correspondence, published, unpublished works, and reproduced works by Anna George De Mille; IV. Correspondence, published, unpublished and reproduced works by Agnes George De Mille; and, V. Photographs, prints, and illustrations of Henry George and the Anna George De Mille Families.

Biographical Note

When Henry George died in 1897, he left a wife, Annie Corsina Fox George, and three children: Henry George Jr., Richard Fox George, and Anna Angela George De Mille. George’s eldest daughter, Jennie Teresa George died in 1890 from typhoid.  Two of George’s children, Henry George Jr. and Anna Angela George De Mille remained active in the single tax movement long after his death.

The eldest of the George’s four children, Henry George Jr., was born in Sacramento, CA in November 1862.  Following the family’s move to New York City in 1880, he became a reporter for the Brooklyn Eagle.  In 1884 he accompanied his father on his second lecture tour of Great Britain.

Henry George Jr. worked as a reporter and editor for several newspapers and magazines throughout the next decade including the London Truth, The North American Review, and his father’s paper, The Standard.  In 1893 he moved to Jacksonville, Florida where he became the managing editor of the Florida Citizen.  He returned to New York in 1897 during his father’s second campaign for mayor of New York City.  Henry George Jr. replaced his father as the nominee of the Democracy of Thomas Jefferson Party following George’s passing in October of that same year.

After his father’s death, Henry George Jr. began working on a biography of Henry George and in 1900, Doubleday and McClure published The Life of Henry George.  In 1916 he served as a Democrat in Congress representing the 62^nd district of New York.  As a Congressman, George Jr. gave many speeches and sponsored several bills in favor of a single tax on land values.  He did not run for reelection in 1914 and died in 1916.

Henry George’s youngest child, Anna Angela George De Mille, was born in San Francisco in 1877.  She dedicated most of her life to preserving the legacy of her father and promoting his ideas.  Anna George De Mille held numerous leadership roles in the single tax movement including vice president of the International Union for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade in London and director of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation.  She helped Oscar H. Geiger establish the Henry George School of Social Science in 1932 and served as president of the board of trustees.  Anna George De Mille conducted several lecture tours in connection with the single tax movement including one in December 1946 of black universities in the Southern United States.  She was a principal donor of material to the Henry George Collection at the New York Public Library.

In the 1940s, Anna George De Mille began working on a biography of her father, Citizen of the World, which appeared serially in the American Journal of Economics and Sociology.  The University of North Carolina Press published the biography in book form in 1950 edited by Don C. Shoemaker with an introduction by Anna George De Mille’s daughter, the renowned dancer and choreographer Agnes George De Mille.

Following her mother’s death in 1947, Agnes George De Mille donated many items and historical material from her family’s collection to the Henry George School of Social Science in Philadelphia and New York.  Agnes George De Mille played an essential role raising money and support for the in initial restoration of Henry George’s Birthplace in 1957.

Collection Content

Series One: Correspondence, speeches, published, unpublished, and reproduced works by Henry George (sorted by date)

Series Two: Correspondence, speeches, published, unpublished, and reproduced works by Henry George, Jr. (sorted by date)

Series Three: Correspondence, published, and unpublished works by Anna George De Mille (sorted by date)

Series Four: Correspondence, published, and unpublished works by Agnes George De Mille (sorted by date)

Series Five: Photographs, prints, and illustrations of Henry George and the Anna George De Mille Families.