Collections

Professor of history at University of Michigan; scholar of America's revolutionary era. Correspondence concerning the historical profession, publishing, current events, and personal matters; lecture notes, newspaper clippings concerning personal matters and travels in Europe and India; papers concerning his activities during World War I, particularly with the National Security League.

The Van Tyne collection includes correspondence concerning the historical profession, publishing, current events, and personal matters; lecture notes, newspaper clippings concerning personal matters and Van Tyne's travels in Europe and India. The papers also include material concerning his activities during World War I, particularly with the National Security League. The papers are organized in two series: Correspondence and Professional and Personal Papers.

Michigan State Police officer, 1923-1941, Michigan Civil Defense Director during World War II, State Police Commissioner, 1947-1951, Republican candidate for governor, 1954, served on Michigan Liquor Commissioner and as Detroit Recorders Court judge. Papers include extensive documentation of his service as Director of Civil Defense and State Police Commissioner and his political activities.

The Donald S. Leonard collection is a valuable resource to researchers studying topics of law enforcement and civil defense and Michigan state politics and government. The Donald S. Leonard collection has been arranged into seven series: Personal and Correspondence, 1925-1966; Civil Defense; World War II Era, 1941-1946; Michigan State Police, 1929-1952; Detroit Police Department, 1952-1954; Political Files, 1950-1956; Organization and Activities Files; Audio-Visual Materials; Committee on Equal Educational Opportunities. Leonard also taught law course at the State Police Recruit School and Metropolitan Police Academy of Michigan.

Adrian, Michigan attorney and Republican congressman, 1919-1933 and 1935-1951. Correspondence, 1898-1934, newspaper clippings, 1920-1950, including materials concerning veterans and other constituent affairs, political campaigns, the Republican Party, the influence of the Ku Klux Klan in the election of 1924, and personal affairs.

The Michener collection consists almost totally of correspondence accumulated while Michener served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Although the collection dates from 1898 to 1955, the great bulk of it dates from 1904 to 1934, years when Michener practiced law, served as a county prosecutor, then went off to Congress. The files relate exclusively to the politics of being a congressman, the job of staying in touch with constituents, responding to their concerns, thanking them when they offer support, etc. During each election year, Michener sent out hundreds of form letters. Such correspondence included notes enclosed with nominating petitions; brief notes which accompanied signed petitions; acknowledgments of the signed petitions; letters to newspapers asking them to print enclosed advertisements; letters enclosing campaign cards; form letters urging support at the primary; letters of congratulation; Michener's acknowledgment of congratulations; letters to people from various towns asking them to phone in the election returns; thank you notes to those who phoned in the returns; and so forth. Examples of each type of these form letters have been included in the collection though the bulk of materials has been reduced.

The collection is particularly valuable for material on grass-roots Republican politics, the methods and means by which an individual sought election to Congress and then maintained that position through several successive terms. Michener's correspondence is particularly heavy during election years. Some of the issues discussed by him relate to prohibition in Michigan, the influence of the Ku-Klux-Klan in the 1924 election, and the problems confronting veterans of the Spanish-American War and World War I. The collection is less valuable for the work that Michener did while in Congress. There are few files relating to legislative activities.

United States Representative and Secretary of the Navy; collection includes correspondence, 1880-1927, concerning personal matters, business affairs, and political activities; letters to Mrs. Denby regarding Denby’s death; articles, speeches, notes and memoranda on various topics including the Teapot Dome Scandal, Panama Canal, relations with China, and the United States Navy; photostats of letters exchanged between Nathaniel Denby and George Bancroft, 1845-1846; and photographs.

The Edwin Denby papers, dating from 1845-1846 and 1880-1929, are organized into five series: Correspondence, Articles and Speeches, Topical Files, Personal/Biographical, and Photographs. Denby's papers document his political career as United States Representative and Secretary of the Navy, and include relevant information on such topics as the United States Navy, the Panama Canal and the Teapot Dome Scandal.

Grand Rapids, Michigan businessman and politician; correspondence, business papers; scrapbooks, and photographs.

The Frank D. McKay collection is divided into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Business and financial papers; Newspaper clippings and scrapbooks; and Photographs.

Michigan Secretary of State, 1931-1935; Governor of Michigan, 1935-1936 and 1939; and chairman, 1936, of the Michigan delegation to the Republican National Convention. Correspondence, speeches, press releases, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous notebooks and printed materials concerning his political career.

The Fitzgerald papers date from 1928 to 1944 but the bulk of the collection falls within the period of 1930 to 1939, the year of Fitzgerald's death. Papers dated after 1939 are those of his wife Queena. The collection primarily concerns the mechanics of campaigning for office with little documentation of the administration of either the office of secretary of state or governor. The collection has been arranged into seven series: Correspondence; Biographical / Personal; Photographs; Speeches and Press Releases; Political Career; National Republican Party published material; and Scrapbooks.

The largest series in the collection - Correspondence - is important for showing the range of Fitzgerald's political acquaintances and his skill in achieving elective office. A selective index to those who corresponded with Fitzgerald is appended to this finding aid.

Republican Governor of Michigan, 1927-1930, from Ionia. Correspondence and other papers, 1898-1936, concerning the Spanish-American War, Republican politics, and personal affairs; and scrapbooks, 1896-1929, covering his political career and election campaigns; and photographs.

The Fred W. Green collection is comprised of correspondence, scrapbooks, speeches, photographs, postcards, and miscellaneous other materials. Some of the correspondence covers the period when Green was at Santa Clara, Cuba in 1899, but the bulk of the letters fall within the period of his gubernatorial service.

Judge of the Recorder's Court in Detroit and Frank Murphy's brother; contain correspondence, legal briefs, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning Detroit politics, 1935-1961, the grand jury investigation of Detroit street railways, 1936, arbitration of labor disputes, 1936-1941, investigation of the Charles Street housing project, 1939-1940, as well as materials illuminating the careers and personal affairs of both George and Frank Murphy, especially in relation to Detroit and the Philippine Islands.

The George Murphy papers, which encompass the years 1911 to 1961, are most comprehensive for the decade following 1932. During this period - the most politically active in Murphy's career - the correspondence is especially useful in illustrating George Murphy's role in his brother's emergence as a politician, especially his role as dispenser of patronage in the depression years. The papers, of course, illuminate the social function performed by the Recorder's Court and contain voluminous correspondence with state and federal judges, attorneys, prisoners, prison officials, probation officers, etc. Judge Murphy also maintained close contact with affairs in his home town, Harbor Beach. Included in the collection are significant materials on affairs in the Philippines during his brother's governorship there, particularly correspondence during the years 1933 to 1936 with his sister, Marguerite, Eleanor Bumgardner, and with leading Filipinos concerning conditions there.

Member of Co. K, 339th U.S. Infantry who served in the Allied intervention in Russia, 1918-1920, the "Polar Bear Expedition." Collection includes citation from French government for bravery in combat in 1918; and photographs.

A photocopy of a citation for bravery from the French government and photographs taken at the ceremonies at White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery during which the bodies of American soldiers returned from Russia were reinterred.

Opinions written as judge, June 1, 1921-December 4, 1935 (7 volumes); photograph albums; account book, 1908-1910; miscellaneous clippings, citations, and correspondence and motion pictures

The Gillespie papers consist of clippings and miscellaneous items relating to his legal career and articles on his death, photographs, judicial opinions and films.

The Photographs consist of portraits and s composite photos of Oakland County Bench and Bar, 1924 and 1950, and a folder of copy prints of photos from the two albums. The albums contain numerous images of hunting and fishing scenes, many from Houghton Lake and the Au Sable River, oil rigs in Genesee county, the Detroit Ski Club ski jump in Rochester, Michigan, photos of the First and Second Michigan Air Tours, 1929 and 1931, view of Mackinaw City, Mich storefronts, 1917, Ranger, Texas, street views and oil rigs, 1919, vacation at Isle Royale, Mich., 1935, and a trip to the Soo Locks and Tahquamenon Falls.

The Judicial Opinions Series includes all of he opinions Gillespie wrote as a member of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan, 1921-1934

The Motion Pictures series consists of two 16mm films documenting portions of the First and Second Michigan Air Tours, 1929-1930, including footage of airplanes and aerial views of Michigan scenes; includes views of Governor Fred Green, the airship Graf Zeppelin, and Mackinac Island The films were digitized in 2011 and are now available on DVD or as streaming files (on request).