Daniel R. Rupp, Michigan History Collection, 1858, 2025, and undated

Summary

Creator:

Rupp, Daniel R., 1944-

Abstract:

This artificial collection which Rupp purchased from various sources, documents Michigan history and tourism, including Indigenous people of Michigan; Ernest Hemingway, his family, and movies based on his books; and the Louise Obermiller papers (partial) which documents disputes over ownership of lands of the Odawa and Ojibwa bands in Little Traverse Bay area.

Extent:

4 cubic ft. (in 6 boxes, 3 film cannisters)

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by M. Maksymowski, Marian Matyn

Background

Scope and Content:

This artificial collection, which Rupp purchased from various sources, documents Michigan history and tourism, including Indigenous people of Michigan; Ernest Hemingway, his family, and movies based on his books; and the Louise Obermiller papers (partial) which documents disputes over ownership of lands of the Odawa and Ojibwa bands in Little Traverse Bay area. Each of these series is further described below. The collection consists of paper-based and audio-visual formats, mostly correspondence, legal documents, and property records, photographs, photograph albums, moving image films, and a partial printing block of a hymn in Odawa. The text is predominantly in English, except for the printing block and one partial note page in German. Series are organized by size, format, alphabetically and chronologically, except for the Obermiller series. The original order of the Obermiller series was destroyed by the time the material arrived in the Clarke, so Archivist Marian Matyn followed the original order as illustrated by the University of Notre Dame Archives finding aid. Boxes 1-5 are .5 letter-size, Box 6 is .5 legal-size and Box 7 is a cubic foot box containing three archival film cannisters. The collection is in good physical condition. For more detail see the series description.

The first series in the collection is Michigan history and tourism (in Box 1, Box 3, 1 folder in Box 6, and one moving image film reel). This series includes printed tourism brochures and photographic glass slides (in Box 1), photographs, photograph albums, postcards, a printing block for a hymn in Odawa, undated, a stereoscopic view of “Ojibwe children, and letters (in Box 3).

Series 1:

The first series in the collection is Michigan history and tourism (in Box 1, Box 3, 1 folder in Box 6, and one moving image film reel). This series includes printed tourism brochures and photographic glass slides (in Box 1), photographs, photograph albums, postcards, a printing block for a hymn in Odawa, undated, a stereoscopic view of “Ojibwe children, and letters (in Box 3).

The glass slides are all undated. They are mostly mass-produced, tinted, some with text. Most of the mass-produced slides are part of multiple series created by Keystone View Company or Underwood and Underwood of the Song of Hiawatha as reenacted by Indigenous people. The most unique slides in the collection are two by the Detroit Photographic Co. of Indigenous men fishing in the rapids of Sault Ste Marie. The first slide is the black and white photographic slide, while the second is a tinted version of the first. There are also some homemade slides of another sequence of the Song of Hiawatha and of the Hiawatha Pagenat at Portage Lake. A slide of Pocahontas saving John Smith is a black and white photograph of a drawing. There is also a photographic slide of a bronze tablet (marker) documenting Marquette’s Funeral.

The creators of the two undated photograph albums are unidentified, as are most of the images. One of the photograph albums, with images from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, has several images documenting the photographer as a white woman. Most of the photographs appear to be of her family at their home and farm. The second photograph album contains portraits of unidentified African American people, mostly from the first half of the twentieth century, with a few which may be very late nineteenth century. One 1952 baby portrait is identified by full name as Nanita Ruth Brown (1952-2006), who lived her entire life in California.

The printing block is of a partial hymn with text in Odawa, undated, which was wrapped in tattered Messenger, v. X no. 5, July 1905 from the Holy Childhood Church and School, Harbor Springs, which was used as packing material. The printing block was retained as an example by the Clarke. It was one of a large number of similar printing blocks in Odawa and English of hymns and prayers, which were transferred to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indian’s Department of Repatriation, Archives and Records.

Completing this series is an example of Petoskey History, one folder of Correspondence from Bertha Rundell in Petoskey to her husband, John A. Rundell in Detroit, 1913, 1917. Box 6 (legal-size folders) includes 1 folder of undated photographs of an Indigenous woman and man in a canoe on a river, photographed by Gruett Chandler. These photographs are printed on the back of a partial, damaged sign.

There is also one moving image film, in its own cannister, “When Michigan Was Young,” 1964. Film ID No. 78141-2. ID Number: Film No. 78141-2. Format: 16mm, Black and White, Optical Soundtrack, Polyester bas. Date: 1964. Size: 1,000 ft. Information off Original Can(s): “D1048 When Michigan Was Young,” “Instructional Communications Center Northern Michigan University Marquette, Michigan.” Information off Original Leader(s): “When Michigan Was Young D1048” “Film Library Northern Michigan University.” Overview of Scenes: [Note: This film is composed of still artistic representations of settlers and Indigenous people of Michigan and the Midwest from the ice age through the 18th century. ] Animation of Michigan’s lakes forming. Still artistic representation of mammoths. Indigenous people fishing and farming. Indigenous people building canoes. “When Michigan Was Young Copyright 1964 Consumers Power Company” opening title. “Collection Detroit Public Library”, “C.W. Jefferys from the Imperial Oil Collection”, “William L. Clement Library University of Michigan”, “Michigan Historical Collections”, “Transportation Library University of Michigan”, “Michigan Historical Commission”, “Pontiac Motor Division General Motors Corporation”, “Public Archives of Canada”, “The Ohio Historical Society”, “State Historical Society of Wisconsin”, “The Indiana Historical Society”, “The Royal Ontario Museum”, “The National Lumberman’s Bank of Muskegon”, “The American Museum of Natural History”, “Chicago Natural History Museum” and “The Kenneth Jewell Chorale” in the introductory credits. Map of Michigan. Still artistic representation of settlers interacting with Indigenous people. Large ships on water. Settlers speaking with indigenous people. Indigenous people cooking over a fire. Settlers building houses and walls. Indigenous people fighting one another with bows. Map of rivers from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Huron. Animation of a line from Lake Huron to Like Michigan then to Wisconsin. A Settler leading a group of Indigenous people. Settlers shooting Indigenous people with guns. Settlers assembling canoes. Settlers walking in the rain. Map of rivers within Michigan. Settlers hunting animals with Indigenous people. Settlers and Indigenous people at a meeting in a log cabin. Burning buildings. Settlers kicking indigenous people out of a building. Map of Michigan with the label “Quebec.” Settlers and Indigenous people fighting. A settler cutting of an Indigenous person’s hair in a fight. Indigenous people capturing women and children. Map of Indiana and Illinois with American flags. Map of Michigan with British flag. American and British soldiers at a standoff. Map of Michigan and Wisconsin with the label “Northwest Territory.” Settlers and Indigenous people signing a document. Map of Michigan with an American flag. Settlers cutting down trees and building log cabins. “By Portafilms” end credit. [Note: The film was released by perennial Education.] Physical Information: .055 shrinkage. Miscellaneous Information: None.

Series 2:

The second series is Ernest Hemingway-related materials (in Boxes 2 and 7). This series, mainly in Box 2, consists mostly of secondary source movie material connected to his books; clippings; postcards and programs of Ernest Hemingway festivals. The exceptions to this are his mother’s sketch of her cabin, undated; his grandfather Anson T. Hemingway’s 1923 diary; family photographs, 1897, 1904, 1912, 1924, undated; and a Photographic Postcard of Marcelline and Ernest in Walloon Lake at Windemere, with a note from Dr. C. Hemingway to his sister, Miss Sarah Stitsman, 1911.

Anson T. Hemingway’s 1923 diary, January 1-December 31 (Scattered), is notable because it is the year that his wife, Adelaide Edmonds, died on January 5. The diary has scattered entries with many empty pages. The majority of his very brief daily listing of Oak Park, Illinois, church and social events and activities, news of family and friends, including visits, weddings, funerals, and letters received, his and his “Wife”’s health, her death and funeral. He often includes the weather and interesting news bits he likely read in the newspaper, such as election information and manufacturing statistics on Ford cars (which he noted on January 29). Anson refers to Grace, his daughter, as Daughter or Grace, and he refers to his daughter-in-law as Grace Hall Hemingway (GHH) or Dr. CEH and wife. Anson’s son, Clarence, who is mentioned often in the diary, is referred to as Dr. Ed, Dr. Clarence, or Dr. CEH. Ernest Hemingway is mentioned twice in the diary, as Anson heard that Ernest and Hadley were in Italy (April 7), and later, in Toronto (September 21). For a detailed inventory of when Ernest, his parents or siblings are mentioned in the diary, see the listing Archivist Marian Matyn prepared and added to the Diary’s folder.

The rest of the series includes a Screenplay adaption of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by R. V. O’Neil, undated; Islands in the Stream” Paramount Press Book, 1976; and “To Have and Have Not” Script, 2nd Rev. Final 1944, 20th century photocopy, undated. There is a professionally recorded Caedmon Tape, Ernest Hemingway Reading, Reel-to-Reel Tape, [1965].

Box 6 (legal-size folders) includes 1 folder of Hemingway, Ernest, “Islands in the Stream,” Color Movie Lobby Cards, #1, #5, each measures 11x114 inches, 1962.

There are two moving image Hemingway film reels, each in its own film cannister: “My Old Man,” 1970 and “Hemingway - Heroes -”, “DuPont Hemingway Act I Reel I,” 1961.

Film ID No. 78141-1. Format: 16mm, Color, Optical Soundtrack, Polyester base. Date: 1970 Size: 450 ft. “My Old Man” Information off Original Can(s): none Information off Original Leader(s): “Metro-Cleveland Educational Resource Center 4300 Brook Park Road Cleveland, Ohio 44134”, “FC-5375 My Old Man”, “E 47760 My Old Man”, “DEL/GEN/ILL/EBF – ‘My Old Man’ – Commentary”, “GFL 126741” Overview of Scenes: “Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation” title screen. Introductory credits. People carrying luggage in a crowded area. Still photographs of Paris streets and buildings. Horse racing. Still photographs of a child and then adolescent. More horse racing. Joe, a teenaged boy, and Butler, his father, sit at a cafe outdoors and talk. Joe makes eye contact with a teenaged girl. She smiles at him then leaves. Joe sitting next to a tree while Butler jumps rope. More horse racing. A horse jockey sitting at a cafe outside. Joe and Butler stare at him. Joe and Butler walk and talk. Joe and Butler walk and talk on another day. Man leading a horse at stables. Butler sitting outside with two other men speaking to him. Joe hands him a newspaper and the other two men leave. Joe walks and talks with a different man. End credits. Physical Information: No shrinkage. (The film is on a polyester base.) Miscellaneous Information: More information on the film’s cast and crew can be found here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16758152/?ref_=fn_ttl_ttl_6 The version of the film in the Clarke seems to be an abbreviated version or a promotional short of the full film. The full film can be found here: https://www.britannica.com/video/tale-narrator-Hemingway-impulses-childhood-illusions-My-1970/-138917 (These resources were accessed on March 18, 2025.)

Film ID No. 78141-3. Format: 16mm, Black and White, Optical Soundtrack, Polyester base. Date: 1961 Size: 1,800 ft. Information off Original Can(s): None. Information off Original Leader(s): “Hemingway – Heroes -”, “DuPont Hemingway Act I Reel I” journalist from 1934 to 1970.] Still images of Hemingway as a young child into a young adult. Men duck hunting. Child Hemingway loading a shotgun. Still images of Hemingway as a young adult. Newspaper articles written by Hemingway. Hemingway in a high school yearbook. Poster of Uncle Sam recruiting for the army. Newspaper articles about the war. World War I nurses. The Red Cross. Destroyed buildings. Explosions and gunfire. Trenches. Warfare. Veteran in a wheelchair. Still images of Hemingway writing. Back to Huntly at the desk. Still images of Hemingway. Moving images of men fly fishing in a river. Ducks flying in clearing. Hemingway standing next to a young woman. Streets and storefronts in France. Hemingway opens a bottle of alcohol. Streets with people walking on them. A skyline with the Eiffel tower. “La Rotonde” sign. More storefronts. Man with an eyepatch with glasses overtop of it. Men in military uniforms walking on street. Soldiers salute. Closeup of Benito Mussolini in uniform. Soldiers on motorcycles with body shields. Army marching. Senior woman smelling a flower. A player piano playing. Men and women dancing. Back to Huntly at the desk. Still images of Hemingway. Man hanging a “Pamplona Running of the Bulls” poster. Band marching on the streets. A parade. A fireworks show. The running of the bulls. Bulls ramming into people. People in a colosseum. Band playing in colosseum seats. A matador fighting a bull. Still images of a matador stabbing the bull. A waterfall. A windmill. “Viva España” sign. Soldiers crawling on the ground. Dead soldiers on battlefield. Soldiers marching on the street. Soldiers loading machine guns. Soldiers on bridge. Back to Huntly at the desk. Hemingway with animal trophies. An African savannah. Elephants, gazelles, giraffes and zebras. A mountain. Still images of Hemingway. A building in the savannah burning. Tanks moving through woods. Hemingway fishing from a boat. Hemingway interviewed in his house in Florida near a pool. Hemingway shows off his hunting trophies. “Julian Claman,” “Chet Huntly,” “Andrew Duggan,” and “NBC News” end credits. Physical Information: .035 shrinkage. Miscellaneous Information: More information on the film’s cast and crew can be found here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0566742/ (This resource was accessed on March 18, 2025.)

Series 3:

The third series is part of the Obermiller papers. This series, in Boxes 4-5 and all but two folders in Box 6, documents the combined efforts of Louise Obermiller, Michigan Indigenous people, and their white allies to substantiate and defend claims to land ownership on behalf of Odawa and Ojibwa bands in Little Traverse Bay as stipulated in treaties signed with the United States government in 1836 and 1855. There is clear documentation in the collection of broken promises by whites to Indigenous landowners, illegal abstracts of title created to sell communally owned Indigenous land. Properties in and near Bay View and Harbor Springs are discussed in the collection. While a majority of the correspondents are from Michigan’s Northern through central Lower Peninsula, others are from the Upper Peninsula, and out-of-state, mostly in Ohio, where Louise was based. Materials include property records; major correspondence are between Louise Obermiller, Effie Obermiller, Odawa and Ojibwa chiefs and tribal members, government officials, lawyers, judges, and community members throughout northern and central Michigan; and legal records including court records, lists of treaty signatories and claimants, affidavits, testimonies, and depositions. Also included are a few empty envelopes and a Druggist’s Bond of Henry W. Rodenbaugh, of Reidsville, Van Buren County, Michigan, 1902; with a photocopy, 2022.

Processing Notes:

This collection is part of a much larger collection that Daniel Rupp offered to the Clarke Historical Library in 2024. Many of the materials in the original collection were either duplicates of materials the Clarke already had in its collections or were outside of the Clarke’s collecting parameters. These materials were returned to Rupp in 2025. Of the materials retained at the Clarke Historical Library, publications were separately cataloged. By then, the original order of the unpublished materials was lost. Archivist Marian Matyn used the original order of the Obermiller collection, as demonstrated by Notre Dame Archives finding aid, as a guide to reconstruct the original order of the Oberrmiller materials. Order by size, format, title and date was imposed upon the rest of the collection. Acidic materials were photocopied to preserve the originals. Both photocopies and originals were maintained in the collection. No materials were withdrawn during processing. Films, originally on metal and plastic reels, were spliced, viewed via projection, described, and archivally housed in vented cannisters with cores by archives film student Max Maksymowski according to national film standards.

Biographical / Historical:

Biography:

Daniel R. Rupp:

Daniel R. Rupp was born in Petoskey, Michigan, in July 1944. With his father away as a U.S. Navy pilot in WWII, his first home was a log cabin built by his grandparents in the early 1930s in Oden, Michigan. He spent all of his summers growing up as a summer person in Oden, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. Rupp earned a B.A. from Duke University (1966), a J.D. from Ohio State University (1969), and an LL.M. from New York University (1971), and then worked for over 35 years as a corporate tax attorney. During his career, he, his wife, and their three children continued to spend considerable time in Northern Michigan and, since 1990, at a second home on Crooked Lake. He had an interest in the history of Northern Michigan from an early age, and began collecting local historical items in the early 1970s.

This interest included Ernest Hemingway with active membership in the Michigan Hemingway Society. Rupp presented a paper based on his own experience at the 2012 International Hemingway Society Conference held in Petoskey and Bay View on how Hemingway’s unusual “summer person” experience had a profound effect on his character and works.

Rupp’s collection of over 700 items included almost all of his accumulated primary and secondary sources, many relating to Michigan and/or Hemingway, was donated to the Clarke Historical Library and the Harbor Springs and Little Traverse Historical Societies in 2024. (This information is from the donor.)

Ernest Hemingway:

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), the son of Grace Hall and Dr. Clarence Hemingway (1871-1928), is considered one of the greatest American authors of the twentieth century. During his childhood, his family traveled by passenger steamers to escape the heat of summer in Oak Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, for the family cottage, Windemere, on Walloon Lake near Petoskey, Michigan, where he fished and hunted. His mother designed her own small cottage which was located across the lake from the family’s main cottage. For more information about Ernest Hemingway and collections related to him, his family, and friends, please see the catalog and finding aids of Hemingway-related collections in the Clarke Historical Library.

Anson T. Hemingway:

Clarence’s father was Anson T. Hemingway (1844-1926). Anson’s 1923 diary is in this collection. Anson married Adelaide Edmons (1841-1923) on August 27, 1867. Together they had six children: Aginette “Nellie” B. (1868-1945), Dr. Clarence E. “Ed” (1877-1928), Willoughby A. (1874-1932), George R. (1876-1953), Alfred T. (1877-1922), and Grace A. (1881-1959). During the Civil War, Anson enlisted as a private with the 72nd Illinois Regiment. Near the end of the war, he re-enlisted in Company H, U.S. Colored 70th Regiment as 1st Lieutenant. He also served as provost martial of the Freedman's Bureau in Natchez. After two years of study at Wheaton College, Anson served as general secretary of the Chicago YMCA for a decade before establishing a real estate business in Oak Park, Illinois. (This information is from Wheaton College Archives. (this information is from the Anson https://archives.wheaton.edu/agents/people/2705 and Adelaide Hemingway Collection finding aid, Family Search https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LVJY-8KG/anson-tyler-hemingway-1844-1926, accessed March 21, 2025.)

Marie Louise Obermiller:

Marie Louise Obermiller (1855-1940) was one of four children of Dr. Johann Meinrad and Mary Anna (Bork) Obermiller. Louise’s siblings were Philip (1854-1883), Theresa (1857-1944), and Effie (1858-1927). They were a prominent Catholic family in Toledo, Ohio. Louise received education in Europe. She had residences in Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio, where she became a prominent artist.

At her Harbor Springs, Michigan, vacation home, Louise met with Andrew J. Blackbird and other members of the Little Traverse Band of the Odawa Indians. During the 1880s and 1890s, she became a legal advocate for Indigenous communities in Northern Michigan concerning their rights to communal land holdings and annuities as stipulated in the 1836 and 1855 federal treaties. She traveled extensively, meeting with Ojibwa and Odawa community chiefs and leaders to document and coordinate legal strategy.

Louise died in Los Angeles, California, while visiting her sister Theresa (Obermiller) Wagar, and was interred in the Obermiller family mausoleum in Toledo.

Parts of the surviving Obermiller collection are in this collection in the Clarke Historical Library, while other parts are in the Archives of the University of Notre Dame, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians’ Department of Repatriation, Archives and Records. (This biographical information is from the online finding aid of Notre Dame’s collection at https://archivesspace.library.nd.edu/repositories/2/resources/2461, accessed March 24, 2025.)

Margaret Blackbird Boyd:

Margaret Blackbird Boyd (1817-1892) was an Odawa educator and artist known for her role in defending Native American land rights in Harbor Springs, 1870s-1880s. She grew up in Harbor Springs with her family, including her brother, author Andrew J. Blackbird, and their father, the Odawa chief Black Hawk. Margaret’s education at a large convent school in Cincinnati afforded her fluency in written and spoken English, which she would later utilize in her political advocacy work to defend Odawa rights.

Beginning around the 1870s, Margaret and other Odawa in Harbor Springs faced harsh discrimination with a flood of white settlers to the area. Hundreds of Odawa lost their land and homes, often due to illegal seizures, tax hikes, and intimidation. Margaret spoke out against these injustices, writing numerous letters to government officials, including several exchanges with Lucy E. Abbot of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs.

Note: While the Notre Dame collection of Obermiller and Andrew J. Blackbird papers has materials created by Andrew J. Blackbird materials in it, he is only referenced in the Clarke’s Obermiller collection. Researchers may be interested in books authored by Andrew J. Blackbird which he wrote to document Odawa and Ojibwe history and culture and to advocate for them, as well as additional material about him in the Clarke Historical Library.

Alexander Nesawacwad:

(Note: There is nothing in this collection that Alexander wrote, so this is based on how his son, Daniel, spelled his surname. Alexander’s surname is variously spelled in the collection by others as: Nesawacwad, Nesawaquat, Nesewequat, Nisawakwad, Nishawakwad)

According to Mary Obermiller, Chief Alexander Nesawaquat died by 1858. Prior to this he held land at Little Traverse, today’s Harbor Springs, in trust for members of the Odawa there. Some Odawa pulled together their resources to purchase the land. Owning the land in common was seen as the best option to preserve it into the future for their people. Isaac Wicher was hired to survey it and make a village plat in September 1847. In 1856 some of the Odawa proposed to divide the land, according to their share, so they could sell it to whites who wanted to purchase it. The state coveted lands of the Odawa at Harbor Springs and Bay View. In an effort to save the land for the Odawa by preventing its division and sale, Chief Alexander Nesawaquat deeded legal title of the land he held in trust for the Odawa to J.T. Wendell. (This information is from a partial October 14, 1889 letter to Messers Taggart and Denison re evidence of Mary Obermiller in the Wylie and Rose case.)

Daniel Nesawacwad:

(Note: Nesawacwad is how Daniel spelled his surname, which is variously spelled by others in the collection as: Nesawaquat and Nissawaiwad.)

Alexander’s son, Chief Daniel Nesawacwad (1840-October 22, 1903) was a farmer and Chief in Little Traverse, Emmet County. By 1880 he was married to Philemon. They lived with their children, Rosine, Joseph, Sophie and Charles, in Little Traverse. Their neighbors were Paul Etawegishig and Rosine, his wife, whose letters are also in this collection. (This information is from the 1880 Federal Census for Little Traverse, Ancestry.com, accessed March 25, 2025.)

By 1890, Daniel Nesawacwad had written several times to Anna M. Wendell, asking her to return the title of the land to him. Anna, who desired to sell the land profitably to whites and was already involved in a Supreme Court case, responded to Daniel that she was willing to deed the land back to the Odawa as she had promised ten years earlier, but she never did so. (See Box 5 Obermiller, Odawa and Ojibwa Correspondence and Documents, Letters between Anna M. Miller and Daniel Nesawacwad (Nesawaquat) re: deeding lands, held in trust, back to Indigenous owners, April 13, 1890, undated, and Obermiller, Odawa and Ojibwa Correspondence and Documents, Notes about J.T. Wendell and Indigenous land entrusted to Wendell, with notes in German on reverse, by Daniel Nesawacwad, undated.)

Jacob A.T. Wendell and his wife, Anna (Annie) M. Wendell:

Jacob A. Theodore Wendell (April 12, 1823-November 25, 1879) moved to Mackinac Island as a child. He served in the Michigan Legislature in both houses and as the county’s supervisor and customs collector on Mackinac Island. His wealth came from real estate. In 1869, he married Miss Annie (Anna) M. Hale with whom he had three daughters. (This information is from the Jacobe Wendell House, a house he built in 1846, webpage https://www.jacobwendellhouse.com/history/ accessed March 24, 2025.)

Mary Obermiller, Louise’s mother, recalled that Wendell had volunteered to help the Odawa fix their location and boundary disputes. Wendell agreed to protect the land held “in trust” by Chief Alexander Nesawaquat. According to many witnesses, Wendell frequently and publicly promised the Odawa that he would never use, occupy, or dispose of their land. (This information is from a partial October 14, 1889 letter to Messers Taggart and Denison re evidence of Mary Obermiller in the Wylie and Rose case.)

According to several witnesses, Louise Obermiller noted that Wendell asked the Odawa to gather funds so he could pay to file the deed in his name. They did so. After accepting the money, Wendell said in the presence of A.S. Wadsworth, Louis Wason, and others that he would file the deed, but waited years to do so, much to the consternation of the Odawa who frequently asked him when he planned to file. He finally filed a deed on August 18, 1865, which was recorded June 20, 1872. A fake deed was created by Wendell which he obtained through heirs of Chief Alexander Nesawaquat, which was promoted as legitimate by Wylie. (This information is from Notes about Marie Obermiller, J.T. Wendell, Estate of Alexander Nesewequat by Louise Obermiller and a letter from Louise Obermiller to Mr. J.G. Turner, October 18, 1889.)

After Wendell died on November 25, 1879, Anna was left with minor children to support. Wendell had been the recipient of the estate of his brother, George T. Wendell, which included land in Emmet, Cheboygan, Mackinac and other counties. As administratrix in 1881, Anna appointed lawyers, Humphrey and Perkins of Cheboygan, to sell land, taking a note and mortgage, and conveyed some land to Philo Crysler and Marla, his wife. By October 10, 1883 Anna found that the lawyers claimed to act for her minor children by selling land in Little Traverse, now Harbor Springs. Preston embezzled the proceeds from the sale. This resulted in her filing a suit against Crysler and her lawyers in Wendell et al. v . Crysler et al. in the Supreme Court of Michigan. January 25, 1889. The case is found at https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc36365/m1/469/, accessed March 24, 2025.

Meanwhile, the case of Obermiller v. Wylie et al. was complicated, lengthy, and did not end in the Odawas’ favor. The Circuit Court, Western District of Michigan, Southern Division judge, who is unidentified, finally arrived at an opinion on October 2, 1888. He answered several questions which came before the court. He found that the document with the names and sums of money the Odawas had paid for the land held in common by them met the definition of a trust in Michigan. The judge also found that the Probate Court had overstepped its authority by giving a deed to Alexander Nishawakwad’s estate in order to sell his property. Three Indigenous people had agreed to sell the property of their ancestors at that point, part of the land that Nishawakwad held in trust. Without a prior case to function as “an illustration,” the judge “could not see upon what ground or right” the actions of the Probate Court could now be overturned, and ruled all parties bound by decisions [meaning property sales] they had made. The court’s decision is found at https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc36365/m1/469/, accessed March 24, 2025.

Acquisition Information:

Acc# 78141

Arrangement:

Series are organized by size, format, alphabetically and chronologically, except for the Obermiller series. The original order of the Obermiller series was destroyed by the time the material arrived in the Clarke, so Archivist Marian Matyn followed the original order as illustrated by the University of Notre Dame Archives finding aid.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Land tenure--Michgian--History--19th century.
Ojibwa Indians--Michigan.
Ojibwa Indians--Treaties--19th century.
Odawa Indians--Treaties--19th century.
Deeds--Michigan--Emmet County.
Indigenous peoples--Land tenure--North America.
Indigenous peoples--Michigan--Treaties.
Indigenous peoples--North America--Government relations..
Indigenous peoples--North America--History.
Indigenous peoples--Politics and government--History.
Television broadcasting--United States--History.
Diaries--Illinois--Oak Park.
Festivals--Florida--Key West.

Names:

Holy Childhood Indian Industrial School (Harbor Springs, Mich.)
Keystone View Company.
Underwood and Underwood.
Portafilms (Firm)
Perennial Education.
DuPont de Nemours, Inc.
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan.
Hemingway family.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961.
Hemingway, Clarence Edmunds, -1928.
Hemingeway, A. T. (Anson Tyler)
Hemingway, Grace Hall.
Sanford, Marcelline Hemingway, 1898-1963.
Obermiller, Marie Louise, 1855-1940.
Boyd, Margaret Blackbird, 1817-1892.
Nesawacwad, Alexander, d. 1858.
Nesawacwad, Daniel, 1840-1903.
Pocahontas, -1617.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882--Song of Hiawatha.
Huntley, Chet, 1911-1974.

Places:

Michigan Territory--History.
Bay View (Mich.)--History.
Gaylord (Mich.)--History.
Harbor Springs (Mich.)--History.
Mackinac Island (Mich.)--History.
Petoskey (Mich.)--History.
Sault Sainte Marie (Mich.)--History.
Van Buren County (Mich.)--History.
Walloon Lake (Mich.)--History.
Key West (Fla.)--History.