The William H. Sell papers contain materials that document most areas of Sell's life,
and includes personal materials, personal, professional, and religious writings,
materials related to activism, photographs, scrapbooks, and ephemera. Heavily
focused on activist causes, Sell participated in civil rights marches, such as the
"open housing" marches with Father James Groppi, delivered homilies regularly that
centered on civil rights issues, and served as an advisor to the Milwaukee 14, a
group of 14 men who stole and then publicly burned around 10,000 draft files at
Triangle Park in downtown Milwaukee in 1968. Materials documenting Sell's
involvement these causes are included within the collection. Bulk of papers are
ca.1965-ca.2000, including correspondence split amongst 7-8 different folders, news
about the Milwaukee 14 protest and reunions, sermons by date from 1963-1969, letters
to the editor and news columns, news clips of Fr. Groppi, himself as a married
priest, and many of his other writings including poems, a few plays, a novella or
two and some scrapbooks of clippings.
