Francis Willey Kelsey, for whom the Archaeological Museum at the University of Michigan is named, was born in Ogden, New York, May 23, 1858. After graduating from the University of Rochester in 1880, he went on to study in Europe (1883 - 1885). Kelsey received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Rochester in 1886 and became a professor of Latin at Lake Forest College (1882 - 1889): in 1889 he took the chair previously held by Professor Henry Frieze at the University of Michigan, as Professor of the Latin Language and Literature. He was awarded an honorary LL.D. degree from the University of Rochester in 1910.

Kelsey's interests were many fold, his efforts tireless, and his mind always eager to tackle a new subject or devise new methods of attacking old problems. As an educator, Kelsey was loved by pupils and esteemed by his colleagues; pupils and professionals alike increasingly sought his advice and counsel on a myriad of matters. Kelsey was respected as a learned, accurate writer and editor. He was compared to University of Michigan President James Angell in his use of "calm, serene, high-minded, simple English." His accomplishments as a writer and editor kept him at the forefront of classical education. Always a champion of a sound classical education, he edited Greek and Latin in American Education. (1911). His editions of Caesar's Gallic War, Cicero's Cato Maior de Senectute, Laelius de Amicitia, Cicero's Orations, Ovid, Lucretius and Xenophon's Anabasis (with Professor Zenos) are considered first class resource books even today, some 85 years after publication. He translated August Mau's Pompeii, Its Life and Art and was at work on a huge detailed study of Pompeii when he died in 1927. The many articles contributed to scholarly and popular journals reflected his interests in education, the classics, religion and archaeology. From 1890 until his death he was editor (with Professor Percy Gardner) of the Handbooks of Archaeology and Antiquities published by Macmillan; he edited with Professor Henry Sanders more than fifteen volumes in the Humanistic Series published by the University of Michigan.

Kelsey was active in many professional societies also reflecting his broad interests; these included the Schoolmaster's Club, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Historical Association, the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, the Classical Association of Great Britain, and the Deutsches Archeologisches Institut. He was a corresponding member of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belle-Lettres of Paris. Kelsey served as President of the American Philological Association, 1906 - 1907, and President of the Archaeological Institute of America, 1907 - 1912. During his five year tenure, the Institute launched new ventures, such as sponsorship of an expedition to Cyrene in 1910 - 1911. Kelsey was also instrumental in shaping policy for the schools of archaeology both here and abroad: he helped establish new schools in addition to maintaining a continued active interest in the management of those already in operation.

Kelsey's interest in archaeology prompted him to organize five expeditions to the Near East for the University of Michigan from 1919 until his death. In 1920 Kelsey supervised a detailed survey of the battlefields of Julius Caesar in France and Belgium; he then went to Turkey where he explored Roman ruins and studied ancient manuscripts found there. Excavations at Pisidion Antioch and Sizma in 1924 revealed ruins of a church where Paul may have preached, and fine examples of Roman antiquities. He directed a 1925 expedition to Carthage, and excavations in Karanis revealed a typical Egyptian town in the Graeco-Roman period.

Kelsey made numerous and lasting contributions to the University of Michigan. Paul Bulkley, Assistant Secretary at the University, once suggested to Kelsey that a book be written titled, "The Gifts [to the University of Michigan] Which Have Come Through Professor Kelsey." Kelsey had a deep love for music and for many years he served as President of the Musical Society. Through his personal efforts, the Choral Union Series flourished and grew by attracting such performers as Caruso and Paderewski to Ann Arbor. Kelsey was a prime force in securing funds to build Hill Auditorium. President Harvey Hutchins called him "visionary" when Kelsey suggested locating the auditorium on the site it occupies today. He was instrumental in efforts to secure the great organ which was exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair, and brought it to Michigan as a memorial to Henry Frieze; the cost was underwritten by many people personally contacted by Kelsey. However, his dream of building a large, moveable stage so that grand opera could be performed at the Hill auditorium was not to be. Kelsey urged that Albert Stanley's work on "Greek Themes in Modern Settings" be published in the Humanistic Series, and secured the Stearns collection of rare musical instruments for the University.

Kelsey actively monitored a plan for the campus of the University, advocating strict adherence to its proposals, so that the campus would retain its beauty and dignity with the passing years. The donation of a bronze fountain by the mayor of Ann Arbor found a suitable campus location through Kelsey's efforts. His visions of continued growth led to contacts with Horace Rackham who contributed generously to the Near East Expeditions. Through his efforts, the Pendelton Library in the Michigan Union was build and stocked. Many scholarships and fellowships were established and underwritten by the benefactors he solicited. It was also Kelsey's idea to publish the Frieze Diary.

Kelsey sought to attract the best minds to the Latin Department and was tireless in his efforts to secure funds for scholarly projects which would enhance the reputation of the University. One of these projects was the Humanistic Series, to encourage scholars to publish manuscripts which would stand as singular contributions to scholarship and win international recognition. After an unsuccessful attempt to finance the plan through the Regents, President Angell advised Kelsey to see Regent Arthur Hill, Chairman of the Finance Committee. Hill was so taken with the idea, that he gave Kelsey a personal donation of $300 to get things started. The first volume of the Humanistic Series appeared in 1904. Philanthropist Charles Freer of Detroit, also impressed with Kelsey's idea, chose the Humanistic Series as the medium to make available facsimiles of his manuscripts to scholars. So close was their collaboration that Freer left a bequest to the University in order to continue publication in connection with his collections, even though the collections themselves were deeded already to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

Association with Charles Freer also brought to the University the Dattari coin collection, an outstanding collection consisting mainly of Egyptian coins dated from just before the founding of Alexandria to the middle of the fourth century A.D. Other coin collections came to the University through Kelsey also and it was Kelsey's contacts through Freer which led to the acquisition of the great papyri collection.

Charles Freer and Thomas Spencer Jerome, an alumnus of the University of Michigan, were close friends. Although it is not clear how Kelsey became acquainted with either gentleman, Kelsey's diaries reveal that he knew them well enough to have been invited to lunch at their villa in Capri, Italy in 1901. After Jerome died in 1914, Kelsey went to Italy in 1915 to oversee Jerome's estate, divide his library collection between the University of Michigan and the American Academy in Rome, and rescue his monumental manuscript on "Roman Morals", which he was writing at the time of his death. This manuscript was to be published by G.P. Putnam.

Returning to America by ship, Kelsey met Dr. David Askren, a missionary and physician, then working in the Fayoum district of Egypt; through him, Kelsey heard of the existence of rare papyri. Appointing Askren an agent for the University and working through Maurice Nahman, an Egyptian dealer in antiquities to who Freer had introduced him, Kelsey was able to secure a number of rare and valuable papyri in 1920. These were divided between the University of Wisconsin and Michigan; however, Michigan's collection is considered even today to be the finest in the western hemisphere.

As a further word regarding Kelsey, Jerome and Freer, Kelsey assigned to Professor John Winter of the University of Michigan the task of readying Jerome's manuscript for publication. Working from Jerome's unfinished manuscript and detailed notes, "Aspects of the Study of Roman History" finally was published in 1923. Kelsey's advice was instrumental in carrying out Jerome's bequest to the University to "further historical research" by establishing the Jerome Lectureship at the University and the American Academy in Rome. The Jerome Lectures bring outstanding classical scholars to Ann Arbor and Rome, bi-annually to deliver a series of lectures. Winter was selected to present the first Jerome Lecture. As a final note on Kelsey's relationship with Freer, Kelsey wrote to Charles Freer in 1904, asking that he consider giving a $500 Fellowship to John Winter; Freer did so, anonymously.

Kelsey's humanitarianism led him to assist other poor scholars as well by quietly asking benefactors for anonymous assistance to them. His efforts also crossed nationalistic lines. German Colleagues acknowledged Kelsey's efforts in securing private contributions after the war to continue their work on the great Latin Thesaurus. He aided in the work of the Near East Relief Committee after the Armenian Massacre: he was Secretary in the State of Michigan for the Belgium Relief Committee, whose mission was to feed and clothe the children in Belgium after World War I.

Kelsey also was an active participant in his church and was a dedicated family man. He married Isabel Badger in 1886, and had two daughters and one son. He returned to Ann Arbor after the 1926 expedition in poor health and intense pain, yet he managed to keep up his correspondence until he died on May 14, 1927. He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Ann Arbor.

Francis Kelsey left behind a remarkable series of contributions to the academic world in general and the University of Michigan in particular. His papers, now included within the holdings of the Bentley Library, are an accurate reflection of those contributions and his many interests.