Bluemango Books and Manuscripts

Specializing in early American Primary Source Manuscripts, and books with “a story behind the story”

Elizabeth was born and raised in Hornell, New York. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, she studied fisheries biology and worked for the Wisconsin and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (field research) and the Fisheries Cooperative Research Unit (lab research). After living in Wisconsin for 30 years, she relocated to Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 2011, she started attending local auctions and was drawn to early American Bibles with handwritten family history, so she began to reconnect them back to descendants (such as the Bible of a Revolutionary War surgeon). This was a springboard for her business, and in 2012, Bluemango Books and Manuscripts was launched, where she specializes in early American primary source manuscripts. ‘The story behind the story’ is the focal point of her work in researching people's lives found in manuscripts or tracing interesting provenance. Relying on research skills learned in the scientific field, she has a keen sense of discovery and curiosity. She has researched genealogy for over 45 years and has combined her love of history and people to bring new life to old account books! Reading first-hand experiences in primary sources as early journals or daybooks and discovering what was recorded, offers keen insights on how events affected people’s lives. She enjoys the hunt for fresh material and shedding light on overlooked items! Grandma to 6, mom of 3, vegetarian, and family historian, she often visits old burial grounds seeking gravestones of people being researched. She exhibits at Rare Book Fairs on the East Coast, where you can find "Pop's Traveling Rug." Her late father was a third-generation physician in Hornell, and the rug was always in his study! Member of The ABAA, The Manuscript Society, The Ephemera Society, IOBA, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Bucks County Antique Dealers Association.