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The Devereux papers consist primarily of essays and speeches written by the progressive philosopher and politician George H. Devereux between about 1840 and 1870 in Massachusetts. The collection also contains book reviews, biographies, fiction, and poetry by Devereux, along with a small number of his letters, legal documents, and printed items related to his sons' service in the Civil War.

The Devereux papers (205 items) consist primarily of essays and speeches written by the progressive philosopher and politician George H. Devereux between about 1840 and 1870 in Massachusetts. The collection also contains book reviews, biographies, fiction, and poetry by Devereux, along with a small number of his letters, legal documents, and printed items related to his sons' service in the Civil War.

The Correspondence series consists of 5 items including a four page letter from George Devereux’s son John Forrester from on board the frigate Constitution, describing Arthur's and his movements with the army (April 26, 1861). George Devereux copied a portion of a letter from his son Arthur that gave an account of his regiment saving the old frigate Constitution from the rebels in Annapolis. Another item is a brief undated letter from Nathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838) to his cousin John Forrester, inviting him to meet the President.

The Legal Documents series contains 2 items. First is a deed of sale transferring the late Reverend Thomas Carlile's "Chaise, Plate, and all the house-hold Furniture" to John Forrester from a group of Salem merchants. This document inventories every object of the house room by room. The second document is an 1866 quit-claim deed to George H. Devereux from Nathaniel Silsbee, husband of Marianne Cabot Silsbee, Georges' sister.

The Essays, Speeches, Poems, and Other Writings series contains 189 items and comprises the bulk of the Devereux Collection. The series consists of essays, speeches, poems, and works of fiction, written by George H. Devereux, between about 1840 and 1870. These reflect his deeply held political and social progressive viewpoints. Devereux wrote an extensive, mulit-part work on the French Revolution and Emperor Napoleon I; 7 essays are on historical topics (including two on the Civil War written during the war); 13 are on philosophical topics (common sense, time, mythology, human nature); and several minor essays are on a wide range of topics, including abolitionism, modern science, spiritualism, Unitarianism, proper names, and woman's rights. He wrote orations for the Children's Friend Society, and on topics of free thought, the forest, and the Massachusetts Legislature (pre-Civil War). While in Maine, Devereux wrote an essay on Moosehead Lake, and composed another on Maine's climate.

Other writings include book and literature reviews concerning Roman and Greek literature, both popular and modern literature; biographical sketches on Lord Byron and Colonel Timothy Pickering; and poetry, of which the most substantial item is Camillus, A Roman Legend, a poem in two parts with illustrations. Many of Devereux's poems are based on Aesop's Fables, such as The Frogs, The Dog and Bone, The Crow and Urn, The Wolf and the Crane, and other animal-themed verses. Other poem titles are: The Sun and the Wind, The Two Curses, The Youthful Wanderer (1836), and The Retrospect (1859). Several of the poems have multiple drafts. Some fragments of untitled prose and one 32-page work entitled Zeke Cutter are writings of fiction. Finally, this series includes three undated and untitled pages of writing and manuscript instructions for card tricks.

• The Weal = Reaf The Record of the Essex Institute Fair Held at Salem: September 5-8 (1860), which describes the vendors and activities, and features contributions from Nathaniel Hawthorne and his son.
• A copy of Our Roll of Honor, a collection of poems written by John Forrester Devereux. These poems commemorate his friends from the Salem Light Infantry who died in the war.
• A pamphlet reprint of the Essex Institute's October 1963 article, "The Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment at Gettysburg," by Hugh Devereux Purcell, which describes Colonel Arthur Devereux’s role at Gettysburg.

The Graphics and Realia series consists of one photograph, a carte-de-visite of John Forrester Devereux in the 11th Massachusetts Infantry, taken by Childs and Adam, Marblehead, and a of a pair of his epaulets.

Gertrude M. Nichols of Albion, New York, and Niagara Falls, New York, received 10 letters from acquaintances in the late 1860s. Her correspondents wrote of their lives in New York and Wisconsin.

Gertrude M. Nichols of Albion, New York, and Niagara Falls, New York, received 10 letters from acquaintances in the late 1860s. "Libbie," a friend, wrote Nichols 2 letters from Lockport, New York, in September 1866. She provided updates about acquaintances, shared her desire for Nichols to visit, discussed their friendship, and commented on marriage. Her letter of September 13, 1866, encloses notes and a printed "Programme of Daily Exercises" from an unspecified school. A friend named "Theo" (b. January 12, 1849) from Albion, New York, wrote 7 letters to Nichols between October 28, 1867, and August 8, 1869. His letters pertain to social news from Albion and to his friendship with Nichols. He also discussed a teaching institute's annual session (October 28, 1867), an argument over women's rights (December 4, 1867), raids of unlicensed liquor dealers (January 27, 1868), northerners' interactions with "southern vagabonds" (March 1, 1868), and a solar eclipse (August 8, 1869). Theo signed some of his letters "Philetiros." The final letter to Nichols, unsigned, concerns the writer's social life in Wisconsin (December 12, 1869-January 1870).

The collection includes correspondence, scrapbooks, publications, miscellaneous, lists of officers, newspaper clippings (copies), convention programs, and other materials.

The collection includes Bulletins (newsletters) of the Saginaw chapter, 1921-1933, and Michigan chapter, 1923-1926; By-laws, undated; correspondence between the state and Saginaw chapters, 1922-1935, undated; miscellaneous; information on various topics of interest to the chapter, 1919-1930s, undated; lists of officers, undated, and activities, 1928-29 and 1932; meeting minutes, mostly of the Executive Board, November 1, 1925-April 26, 1935; newspaper clippings (photocopies of individual clippings and scrapbook pages), 1924-1945. A few photographs are also in the scrapbooks.

A few LWV Michigan items are also included, such as Annual Convention Programs, 1926, 1938, and 1942; miscellaneous; list of officers, undated; and scattered meeting minutes of the Board of Directors, 1933-1935 and 1941.

Processing Note: Duplicates and publications of the LWV (U.S.) were withdrawn. The Scrapbook on Suffrage was extremely acidic and nearly its entire contents were loose and brittle. All clippings were photocopied and the contents were removed from the volume and placed into folders. Other loose newspaper clippings from other scrapbooks were also photocopied.

Two debating societies based in Montgomery, New York, recorded their constitutions and meeting minutes in this volume in the early to mid-19th century. At weekly meetings, members debated questions related to politics, morality, and other subjects, though religious topics were banned.

Two debating societies based in Montgomery, New York, recorded their constitutions and meeting minutes in this volume (approximately 180 pp.) in the early to mid-19th century. At weekly meetings, members discussed political issues and moral questions.

The title page has an unattributed epigram taken from verses written by Robert Burns for the Freemasons. Following this, the Farmers & Mechanicks Debating Society of Montgomery recorded its first minutes (February 4, 1823), which pre-date its constitution (February 11, 1823). The 4-page constitution and 2-page list of members' signatures are followed by about 70 pages of minutes from the society's weekly meetings. Every week, the group discussed a member's question, posed and chosen the week before, with members arguing in the negative and affirmative. Questions covered a range of moral and political subjects such as quality of life, wealth, women's rights, punishment for crimes, and finances, though religious topics were banned. The minutes record the names of members presenting either side of the question and occasionally concern administrative affairs such as officer elections. The final dated entry appears on January 26, 1825, with one last entry from "Saturday evening Feb 28" of an unknown year.

The second section (approximately 90 pages) contains the minutes and constitution of the Farmers & Mechanicks Debating Society's successor, the Good-Will Debating Society, in the Town of Montgomery. Its constitution, which has later annotations and alterations, is largely similar to the earlier document. Weekly meeting minutes cover December 11, 1840-January 30, 1846, though some dates are missing or appear out of chronological sequence. The society's debate topics were similar to its predecessor's, though some related to contemporary political issues such as the annexation of Texas. A group of loosely tied newspaper clippings laid into the volume (dated 1846) pertain to the Mexican-American War and topics related to mechanics and manufacturing.

Seventeen individuals answered the questions printed in J. E. Spears' The Mental Portrait Album... (St. Louis: John L. Boland Book & Stationery Co., [1895]), which has a pictorial cloth cover showing a female figure and flowers. Entries between 1894 and 1895 were filled in by individuals residing in Missouri, Kentucky, and Kansas, while the later entries from 1910 to 1972 were written by those residing in Texas. Answers reveal contributors' favorite items, their tastes in music and literature, their opinions on admirable and detestable personality traits in men and women, as well as their beliefs about transportation, great reforms, follies, and wonders of the world.

Seventeen individuals answered the questions printed in J. E. Spears' The Mental Portrait Album. For Recording the Autographic Confessions of Friends and Acquaintances Regarding their Opinions, Tastes, Fancies, Etc. (St. Louis: John L. Boland Book & Stationery Co., [1895]), which has a pictorial cloth cover showing a female figure and flowers. Entries between 1894 and 1895 were filled in by individuals residing in Louisville and Danville, Kentucky; Pleasant Hill, Kansas City, Harrisonville, and Hughesville, Missouri; and Kansas City, Kansas, while the later entries from 1910 to 1972 were written by those residing in Forney and Wichita Falls, Texas. Answers reveal contributors' favorite items, their tastes in music and literature, their opinions on admirable and detestable personality traits in men and women, as well as their beliefs about transportation, great reforms, follies, and wonders of the world. Varying beliefs and prejudices are reflected, including those relating to women's rights, immigration, race (in particular against those of Mexican descent), and politics. Common answers celebrating emerging technologies, inventors, and historical figures, such as Thomas Edison and Robert E. Lee, indicate broader social phenomena.

Contributors noted their favorites of the following categories:

Color, Flower, Book, Animal, Season, Poet or Poetess, Prose Writer, Composer, Character in History, Character in Romance, Scenery, Music, Amusement, Occupation During a Summer's Vacation, and My Pet Hobby.

• My Chief Ambition in Life
• The trait I most admire in a woman
• The trait I most admire in a man
• The trait I most detest in each
• The fault for which I have the most toleration in another person
• That for which I have the least
• The qualifications or accomplishments I most desire in a matrimonial partner
• My idea of perfect happiness
• My idea of real misery
• There is always some one person, or thing, for which we have an attachment exceeding all other endearments in intensity. For me it is for
• Of the various modes of traveling, I prefer
• If privileged to make a journey, the single place or locality I would prefer to visit, above all others would be
• As a traveling companion, I would most highly appreciate
• Shipwrecked on a deserted island, I would most desire
• The greatest wonder of the world, according to my estimation, is
• As an inventor, I think the greatest service towards the world's progress has been rendered by
• Of the many reforms at present under consideration, I most sincerely and particularly advocate
• The greatest folly in the Nineteenth Century, in my opinion, is
• My motto