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Collection of research materials (mostly photocopies) of Dr. Charles E. Feltner. The collection’s focus is Great Lakes diving, maritime history (both American and Canadian), shipping history, and shipwrecks. Other major topics include 1905 and 1913 storms, insurance, marine casualties, merchant vessels, sailing, shipbuilding/construction, and underwater logging.

Dr. Charles E. and Jeri Baron Feltner Great Lakes Maritime History Collection, 1978, 2018 and undated, 17.5 cubic feet in 30 boxes and 3 oversized folders contains the research materials (mostly photocopies) of Dr. Charles E. Feltner. The collection’s focus is Great Lakes diving, maritime history (both American and Canadian), shipping history, and shipwrecks. Other major topics include 1905 and 1913 storms, insurance, marine casualties, merchant vessels, sailing, shipbuilding/construction, and underwater logging.

The photocopies are from numerous historical collections and/or research institutions housing the collections, almost always identified in detail by Dr. Feltner. If the source information was on or in the folder, it was retained during processing. Of particular note are copies from the Louden G. Williams collection, Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University.

The contents includes: articles, bibliographies, copies of manuscripts, correspondence, essays, geological surveys, information on diving on shipwrecks, rigging and masting, marine vessel enrollments, insurance, legislation, maritime genealogy bibliographies (American and Canadian), newspaper clippings, Old Mariners’ Church, Detroit, photographs (some of which are originals), reports, ship salvage, shipwrecks, vessel inspections, underwater archaeological surveys, underwater heritage research, U.S. Lighthouse and Life-Saving services, and Dr. Feltner’s original notes, correspondence and essays. Boats of particular interest in this collection include the Calypso, the Challenge, the Chicora, the Daniel J. Morrell (built in 1906, sank in 1966), the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Huron Brave (a fictitious ship), and the Lady Elgin. Included are also materials concerning Dick Race, Jacques Cousteau, and Peter Elias Falcon. Materials from corporate authors include Association of Canadian Lake Underwriters, Board of Lake Underwriters, Bureau of Navigation, Inland Lloyds, Institute of Marine Engineers, Lake Underwriters (this is the American underwriters), U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Lake Surveys, U.S. National Archives, and U.S. War Department Corps of Engineers. Many locations are documented in this collection. Major, but not inclusive, locations include Buffalo, NY, Chicago, IL, Cleveland, OH, Detroit, MI, Mackinaw City, MI, Milwaukee, WI, Ontario, Canada, Port Huron, MI, Presque Isle, MI, Sandusky, OH, Sault Saint Marie, MI, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and Thunder Bay.

Of particular note, rare insurance materials are included in the collection. Also of special interest are diving educator’s materials, a single slide of an artist’s drawing of the Daniel J. Morrell breaking up in 1966 (See Box 28 Wreck files…), meteorological wreck charts and shipwreck locations, ship model plans/ building, and notes on how to conduct research.

This collection is likely one of the top ten marine history research collection in the United States, complied from research collections in national and international historical institutions. Original variant spellings were retained in the box and folder listing.

The Photographs folder includes one image each of a Northern Line vessel, the Edmund Fitzgerald, and Goderion.

All items in Oversize Folder 1 measure 11x17 inches. All items in Oversized Folder 2 measure 11x15 inches. The contents of Oversize Folder 3 have varying measurements as noted in the box and folder listing.

Arrangement: Collection materials are organized by size, then alphabetically and chronologically within original order.

Cataloging Note for Marine Historians: Please note that pre-existing Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) do not match normal maritime designations, especially for ship designations ex. Chicora of 1895 (Steamship). Also, Enrollments is not an official LCSH. The Archivist provided the most descriptive finding aid and best cataloging possible for this collection, in consultation with Professor Jay Martin.

Processing Note: Duplicate copies and peripheral non-Michigan materials, both primary and secondary sources, and miscellaneous notes were withdrawn from the collection during processing, a total of 1 cubic foot. Acidic materials and poor quality photocopies were photocopied and the originals were withdrawn. All withdrawn materials and duplicates were returned to the donor as per the donor agreement, amounting to 9.5 cubic feet. 70 titles were separately cataloged. 17 items were added to the Michigan Vertical Files.

The James Douglas papers are comprised of letters, letter books, logbooks, account books, and official naval documents relating to the career of Sir James Douglas, a British Admiral who was active in European and Caribbean waters and participated in the 1745 Siege of Louisbourg.

The James Douglas papers are comprised of letters, letter books, logbooks, account books, and official naval documents relating to the career of Sir James Douglas. Douglas rose to the rank of admiral and was active in European and Caribbean waters, and participated in the 1745 Siege of Louisbourg. The collection contains 7 letterbooks, 10 logbooks, 1 orderly book, 7 prize and account books, 1 book of sailing instructions (with notations by Douglas), 10 letters, 17 financial and official documents, and 2 genealogical documents (for an itemized list of the collection, see Additional Descriptive Data).

The Letter Books, Logbooks, and Account Books series contains the collection's bound volumes.

The letter books are comprised of copies of over 1,000 letters and orders to and from Douglas and his fellow naval officers. The letter book from Jamaica (1738-1745) includes letters and orders from Edward Vernon, Sir Chaloner Ogle, Thomas Davers, and Commodore Charles Brown, mostly addressed to naval store keeper George Hinde, concerning repairing and outfitting ships. The 1755-1759 letter book contains observations on ship movements and encounters, and letters from him to other naval officers, largely concerning European waters. The letter books from 1775 to 1777 hold copies of letters from Douglas, written when he was commanding the naval base at Spithead during the Revolutionary War. The letters are primarily addressed to Sir Philip Stephens, Secretary of British Admiralty, regarding naval administration and military news during the war in America (August 6, 1775-May 27, 1777).

• Tilbury, 1741-1742 (kept by Thomas Lempriere)
• Vigilant, 1745-1747
• Anson, 1755
• Bedford, 1755-1759
• Alcide, 1757
• Dublin, 1760
• SterlingCastle, 1760-1762
• Cruzer, 1770 (kept by Midshipman James Douglas, Jr.)
• Cerberus, 1770 (kept by Midshipman James Douglas, Jr.)

Topics of note include: an account of the British attack against the Spanish at Cartagena (Tilbury logbook, 1740-1741); the British capture of Dominica and Martinique, and the Siege of Havana, while Douglas was commander and chief of the Leeward Island Station (1760-1762 logbook); and a logbook for a captured French ship (1760-1761). The logbook of a French ship captured in the West Indies (December 16, 1761-May 1, 1762) contains sketches on the insides of the front and back covers. Depicted are fish and sea creatures; crude portraits of men and women, dressed in finery; silhouettes of faces; and drawings of two stately homes.

• Ledger of Douglas' private accounts (1770-1771).
• Two notebooks accounting for prizes taken by British ships in 1759 and 1762.
• A sederunt book of the trustees, relating to the settlement of Douglas' estate, created sometime after his death in 1787.

Also of note is a printed copy of Sailing and Fighting Instructions, heavily annotated by Douglas.

The Correspondence and Documents series contains 29 letters and documents, including: 8 letters concerning naval matters; 4 letters concerning Douglas' will, estate, and genealogy; Douglas' marriage agreement; 7 signed naval promotions on vellum; Douglas' appointment as baronet (1786); 3 memorials and petitions; 2 essays; 1 speech; 1 receipt; 1 legal disposition; and two genealogical items. Genealogy records include a family tree of Douglas' ancestor Douglas of Friarshaw (d. 1388) and a facsimile of the genealogical chart of Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane's ancestors going back to the 13th century.

This journal recounts Joseph E. Taylor's experiences onboard the Andrew Jackson during a voyage from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Bremen, Germany, in September 1876. Taylor illustrated his journal with pictures of the ship's sails and interior.

This journal (35 pages) recounts Joseph E. Taylor's experiences onboard the Andrew Jackson during a voyage from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Bremen, Germany, in the fall of 1876. Under the command of J. C. Bartlett, the ship left Philadelphia on September 3, 1876. The Andrew Jackson reached the English Channel on September 25 and approached Germany in early October, as Taylor composed his final journal entry. Taylor described the voyage, including events such as bird and porpoise sightings, and made notes about the Gulf Stream. The journal also includes several sketches of the ship's interior (pp. 1, 3-4), accompanied by detailed descriptions. A small printed map laid into the volume shows the "Saloon and Cabin Plan of the American Steam Ship Co.'s Steam Ships 'Pennsylvania,' 'Ohio,' 'Indiana,' 'Illinois.'"

The collection consists of letters and essays submitted to the editor of the United Service Journal for publication, principally regarding British naval and military matters.

The collection consists of letters and essays submitted to the editor of the United Service Journal for publication, principally regarding British naval and military matters. Topics range from naval architecture, technology, and weaponry, to histories of naval and specific military engagements and defenses of individual persons. The letters also regard such matters as the recovery of the HMS Thetis off the Brazilian coast, charities and education efforts, discipline, piracy, officer promotions, and military mortality in Canada. Several letters reference disagreements over articles published in the United Service Journal.

This volume is midshipman Roger Perry's workbook, kept while aboard the U.S. Frigate Brandywine, after leaving Hampton Roads, Virginia, for the Mediterranean. It contains a list of officers aboard the vessel; detailed series of watch, quarter, and station bills; and notes and essays on seamanship. Notably, Perry's documentation of the watch includes illustrations showing the placement of specific seamen on the yards.

This volume is midshipman Roger Perry's workbook, kept while aboard the U.S. Frigate Brandywine, after leaving Hampton Roads, Virginia, for the Mediterranean. It contains "two introductory pages, one with a sketch of the Brandywine and the second serving as the notebook's cover page; three pages listing officers aboard the frigate in 1830; 99 pages of detailed (and in seven cases illustrated) series of watch, quarter, and station bills, showing which stations the men filled during various evolutions; and 118 pages of notes on seamanship. These last include instructions on preparing a ship for departure, on operating it at sea, and for returning it to port.

Inserted in the book is a separate sheet containing on one side a 'Table of Masts and Spars for all Classes of Vessels in the U.S. Navy' (ships of the line, frigates, sloops, brigs, and schooners) and on the other side 'Proportions for Tops, Trestle trees, Cross trees & Caps'" (David P. Harris, "Midshipman Roger Perry's Workbook for the U.S. Frigate Brandywine, 1830," general description accompanying the Roger Perry Workbook).