Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Bishops files, records of executive and administrative bodies and of diocesan organizations, staff files, parishes and mission's materials, and visual materials and sound recordings.

The records of the diocese of Michigan have been arranged into the following series: Bishops' files, Executive and administrative bodies, Diocesan organizations, Diocesan programs, Diocesan staff, Parishes and missions, Clergy, Audio and visual material, and Miscellaneous.

The record group is most valuable for its documentation of the history of the diocese and the individual churches within its administration, with a lesser amount of material pertaining to religious functions performed and to the operation of diocesan administrative groups and departments. For a number of reasons, there is scant material pertaining to the administration of the diocesan office or to the special programs that have been initiated by it over the years. Some of this material may be found in the papers of individual bishops whose papers have also come to the library and are separately cataloged. These include Samuel McCoskry, Samuel Smith Harris, Charles D. Williams, Herman Page, and Richard Emrich.

Governing body of the Episcopal church in western Michigan, established in 1874; records include bishops' files, diocesan organization and committee files, photographs, scrapbooks, diocesan historian files.

The records of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan are a rich resource of material, not only for the programs and activities of the Episcopal Church in western Michigan, but also for their documentation of the role of the church in the life of the various communities served by the diocese.

Records from the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan first came to the Bentley Historical Library in 1972. Since then, the diocese has made several significant additions to their records. In 1999 the record group was reprocessed with the aim of drawing together like materials. The record group now consists of twenty-two separate series. These are: Bishop's Files, Chancellor, Treasurer, Diocesan Historiographer, Standing Committee Files, Miscellaneous Files, Diocesan Record Books, Publicity Files, Defunct Parish and Mission Churches Files, Diocesan Committee Files, Diocesan Organization Files, Diocesan Financial Records, Visual Materials, Sound Recordings, Scrapbooks, Western Michigan University (WMU) Ministry Files, Women's Organizations, Miscellaneous office and staff files Bulletins of Church Services, Church of Christ the King, Miscellaneous parish materials, and Miscellaneous diocesan materials.

Central administrative office responsible for financial management of the University of Michigan and fiscal policy with oversight for the general fund and trust budget. Unit has undergone several name changes: Vice President in Charge of Business and Finance (1935-1966); Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (1966-1993); Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (1993- ). Includes administrative records reflecting oversight of the university's financial assets, preparation of annual budgets, fiscal policy, investments and expenditures, and various financial issues. Documentation includes topical files, university budgets, and trust fund records. Includes files of office holders Shirley Wheeler Smith, Robert P. Briggs, Wilbur K. Pierpont, James Brinkerhoff, and Farris Womack, Chandler Matthews, Robert Kasdin, and Timothy Slottow.

Measuring 227 linear feet, 1 oversize folder, 51 oversize volumes, and 283 GB (online), the records of the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer document the fiscal history of the university beginning from 1909. At least since the 1950s, the vice president has taken responsibility for the creation of university policy in areas requiring special fiscal knowledge as well as for the preparation of the university's general fund and trust budgets. Other activities, such as policing actual expenditures or the day to day operations of specific service units within the university reporting to the vice president, have been delegated to subordinate offices.

Reflecting this division of responsibility, the records of the vice president document major fiscal issues facing the university and the preparation of the university's annual budgets. Some of the records are office files. However, the office also retained many key bound financial documents including an official set of the university's annual budgets.

The records are organized into six series: Central Topical Files; Supplemental Files; Assistant to the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Associate Vice President for Finance; University Budgets, Accounts and Reports; and Photographs. Most series are further divided into several subseries, reflecting different accessions. There is considerable overlap in date span of the topical files of the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Files created by one Vice President were sometimes retained for use by his successor(s) and transferred at a much later date than the bulk of his records.

The First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was organized and established on March 23, 1847. Records include administrative files, subject files, published material, and both visual and audio-material.

The records of the First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor have been divided into the following series: History/Background Information; Administration; Financial Records; Church Organizations; Topical Files; Miscellaneous later records; Photographs; Publications; Phonograph records; and Reverend Terry N. Smith. The records document church administration, membership activities, and the relationship of the church to its denomination and to other area churches. Included are records of communicants, baptisms and marriages (1873-1905); pew subscriptions and accounts (1878-1939) and other membership information; church bulletins and newsletters; minutes and reports of the board of trustees, board of deacons, church council, and various subcommittees; records of men's and women's church groups such as the King's Daughters, the Ladies Aid Society, the Women's Fellowship Society, and the Women's Foreign Missionary Society; records relating to the church's affiliation with the Ann Arbor-Washtenaw Council of Churches; files pertaining to the proposed merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Church with the Congregational Church in the 1950s; and materials documenting the work of Reverend Terry N. Smith.

Session minute books, 1831-2014; record books of women's and youth organizations; collected historical records, 1831-2022; and photographs.

The record group consists of meeting and session records, 1831-2014; a church register, dating approximately from 1940 to 1987; records of church women's societies and other church organizations; historical and church anniversary materials, 1831-2022; and financial records.

In the "anniversaries and historical materials'' series, the 100th, 125th, 150th, and 175th anniversary are covered. Additionally, "church historical materials" within this series includes a history of the church's founding, including correspondence, a church history timeline, information about the history of the property and sanctuary and Cook cemetery, and renovations. Lastly, "organizational records" includes directories, board, pastor, and ministry information, cookbooks, as well as a folder about the Saline Underground Railroad.

Founded in 1865, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Ann Arbor has a history of social activism and involvement with the University of Michigan community. The records contain church files and annual reports, sermons and correspondence of church ministers, and church publications--including the weekly newsletter. The papers also include materials of minister Kenneth Phifer regarding his views on assisted suicide and Jack Kevorkian, and also the issue of racial justice with the Ku Klux Klan rallies in Michigan.

The records of the First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Ann Arbor have been divided into seven series: Church History, Record Books; Church Reports; Yearly Files; Church Publications; Topical Files; and Ministers' Files.

The First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit Records comprise over 150 years of records documenting the activities of the church's ministers, administrative bodies, committees and interest groups, and members. The first such denomination in the Detroit area, First U-U traces its history to the mid-nineteenth century and represents the convergence of two like-minded denominations founded on principles of humanism, social consciousness, and civic responsibility. The collection's five series contain materials pertaining to the church's history and development, administration, religious services, educational programs, and community engagement.

The First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit Records comprise the collected documentation of the activities of the church's administrative bodies, committees, and congregation members. The collection contains materials pertaining to the church's history and development, governance, and religious, educational, and community service activities. The collection is divided into five series: Ministry and Membership, Church Administration, Church Committees and Organizations, Church Activities, and Newsletters and Orders of Service.

The Fox Island Lighthouse Association is a non-profit organization founded to preserve the South Fox Island light station in northern Lake Michigan. The collection contains both paper and digital records, and consists of materials created or collected by the association as part of their efforts to preserve the light station.

The collection contains both paper and digital records and consists of materials created or collected by the Fox Island Lighthouse Association as part of their efforts to preserve the South Fox Island light station. Collected material includes copies of U.S. Lighthouse Service and Coast Guard records from the National Archives, including photographs. The collection also includes the association's newsletters, newspaper articles about the association or the light station, a historic structures report developed for the association by U.P. Engineers & Architects, and a series of oral history interviews of former lighthouse personnel, conducted by association members.

The Fox Island Lighthouse Association records are organized into four series: Organizational Records, Collected Research Materials, Oral Histories, and Visual Materials. All but the Visual Materials series contain both print and digital records, and some documents exist in both formats.

Detroit businessman, active in many civic and philanthropic activities, a founder and president of the National Italian American Foundation and a founding director of Legatus, an organization of Catholic business leaders. The Frank D. Stella collection documents the career of a Detroit businessman, who devoted much of his time and energy to many philanthropic, cultural, and civic endeavors. The collection consists of his files from a selection of his organizational responsibilities relating to Italian American organizations and causes, to state and national Republican Party fund raising and campaigns, to Roman Catholic schools and organizations, and to the betterment of life (cultural, health services, etc.) of the greater Detroit area.

The Frank D. Stella collection documents the career of a Detroit businessman, who devoted much of his time and energy to many philanthropic, cultural, and civic endeavors. The collection consists of his files from a selection of his organizational responsibilities relating to Italian American organizations and causes, to state and national Republican Party fund raising and campaigns, to Roman Catholic schools and organizations, and to the betterment of life (cultural, health services, etc.) of the greater Detroit area.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical / Personal; National Italian American Foundation; Republican Party activities; Orchestra Hall Renovation; Legatus; Various community, fraternal, and charitable activities; and Photographs. Portions of the collection are more fully processed than others. Most series are arranged, as Stella maintained the files, into broad chronological divisions. Only the Orchestra Hall series and the Photographs series have been arranged and described in more detail.

The Friends of the Jordan River Watershed. Records contains the organizational and non-organizational records of conservation activities pertaining to the Jordan River and other fresh water bodies in the northwest corner of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

The Friends of the Jordan River Watershed Records makes a significant contribution to understanding late twentieth and early twenty-first century environmental advocacy within the state of Michigan, especially in the Lower Peninsula's northwest corner as it relates to conservation of freshwater systems. Further, FOJ's engagement with state and local government agencies illuminates the ways in which it has been able to increase the political and regulatory salience of environmental protection, despite and amidst the simultaneous rising influence of energy companies. The records will be useful for any researcher seeking to explore these dynamics and many others related to environmental justice.

The Friends of the Jordan River Watershed Records provides evidence of the organization's efforts to maintain the environmental and water quality of the Jordan River and its supporting water system. The collection is arranged into two series: Internal Business and External Business.