I recently found an old envelope that Charles LANGDON (LONGSDON?) of Coleta (Genesee), Whiteside County, IL received from Manchester, England in 1878. You can see the envelope on www.philgen.org (search on Whiteside, click on View, and scroll to the bottom of the page). The 1870 and 1880 censuses of Genesee, IL show that Charles was born in SC, but that his parents were born in England. Does anyone have information that Charles's parents were born in/near Manchester?

Here is a direct link to the photo of the envelope: http://www.philgen.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&c=for...

The reason I have a photo of the envelope is because of my interest in using old envelopes and postcards in genealogical research. I have an article in the spring 2009 issue of New England Ancestors entitled Philatelic Genealogy and have started the philgen website. I do not know if the letter that was in the envelope still exists.

Please let me know what you think.
Thanks, Jim Miller