Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Dexter, Michigan, farmer and chairman of the Washtenaw County Committee of the Greenback Party. Correspondence concerning activities of Greenback Party in county, particularly relating to election of 1878, and other papers concerning the Bates family during the Civil War.

The Charles Franklin Bates collection consists of correspondence, clippings, and miscellaneous relating to his war-time service and to his activities with the Knights of Labor and the Greenback Party. The collection is arranged into three series: Correspondence, Correspondence - Family, and Topical Files. Of particular interest is the Greenback Party correspondence which discusses the party's strategies, meetings, and speakers in the Ann Arbor area, the 1878 election, and local figures in the party. A letter, November 2, 1878, includes comments on the potential black vote for the Greenback party in the coming election. Much of the correspondence conveys personal and business information about Bates, especially correspondence with Emma and DeForest Lichfield and Gilett Salmon. There is, however, also letters about the Knights of Labor, especially a letter, 1886, from T.V. Powderly.

The microfilm is a duplicate of Greenback's Party correspondence folder with additional correspondence of family and friends.

Charlotte, Michigan, attorney, legal advisor to Governors Frank Fitzgerald and Luren Dickinson and justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Correspondence, newspaper clippings and other materials on Michigan politics, the Republican Party, and his association with Governor Dickinson; scrapbook, 1885-1889, compiled by Fred A. Pennington; account book, 1904-1905; day book, 1941; log book, 1942, of Beaver Island cabin; and miscellaneous notebooks and photograph albums.

The Emerson Boyles papers consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings and other materials on Michigan politics, the Republican Party, and his association with Governor Dickinson; a scrapbook, 1885-1889, compiled by Fred A. Pennington; account book, 1904-1905; day book, 1941; log book, 1942, of Beaver Island cabin; and miscellaneous notebooks and photograph albums. The collection has been arranged into three series: Correspondence and other papers; Miscellaneous personal and family; and Photographs.