Search

These two bound volumes chronicle the sailing voyages and agricultural exploits of Albert Henry Kingman of Keene, New Hampshire. Sailing from Boston to New Orleans and back in 1856, Kingman described shipboard life and provided observations of antebellum New Orleans. Following his return to New Hampshire, the diaries follow his life as a farmer.

These two bound volumes (marked "volume 3" and "volume 4") chronicle the sailing voyages and agricultural exploits of Albert Henry Kingman of Keene, New Hampshire. Sailing from Boston to New Orleans and back in 1856, Kingman described shipboard life and provided observations of antebellum New Orleans. Following his return to New Hampshire, the diaries follow his life as a farmer.

The first volume begins mid-November 1856 and concludes mid-November 1857. He described his efforts to secure work on a sea-going vessel. While in Boston, he attended services at Trinity Church and Tremont Temple. He eventually secured passage, with the assistance of his uncle, as a cook's mate onboard the Milton from Boston, Massachusetts, to New Orleans, Louisiana, by way of Cuba. While at sea, Kingman detailed life aboard ship including the weather, especially the chronic lack of wind, which affected the Milton a sailing vessel. He also commented on marine life, ocean geography, and sightings of other vessels. Notable events included the addition of a hammock ("dream bag") to his cabin, hunting of dolphins, and sighting St. Elmo's fire. He also recorded the date of the inauguration of James Buchanan as President of the United States.

Arriving in March 1856, Kingman discussed homes and sugar plantations along the Mississippi River, and the tugboats towing the Milton to New Orleans. During his sojourn ashore, Kingman noted the architecture of Jackson Square and focused several entries on slavery in the city, including comments on fugitive slave advertisements and witnessing a slave auction. Kingman also discussed local news, such as fires, crime, and prices of goods. After a month in New Orleans, Kingman returned with the Milton to Boston. Kingman returned home to Keene, New Hampshire, to work on the family farm.

The second volume reveals Kingman's life as a farmer from late November 1857 to early June 1859. Most entries include details regarding livestock and tending to crops; however, he also included family news and mentions of social gatherings. He sang in the Congregational Church choir and attended Sunday School. He participated in a debate society for a time, was smitten with several different young women, and discovered a talent for marksmanship. Other topics include local politics, a hot air balloon ascension, and the completion of the transatlantic telegraph cable. Throughout both diaries, Kingman provided notes on various books he read.

U.S. District Court Judge, Eastern District of Michigan; Federal trial court case files, personal and professional correspondence, scrapbooks, University of Michigan student notebooks, and other materials concerning legal activities, Republican Party politics, prohibition, the election of 1924, Sigma Alpha Epsilon affairs; also family materials, including grandfather, John J. Tuttle, Leslie, Michigan, Ingham County official and businessman; and photographs.

The Arthur J. Tuttle Papers are arranged in 13 series: case files, opinions and jury instructions, topical office files, conciliation commissioners, criminal files, correspondence, letterbooks, scrapbooks, University of Michigan, financial matters, miscellaneous biographical materials, Tuttle family materials, and visual materials.

Student at the University of Michigan, 1865-1867, later Decatur, Michigan, sheep breeder. Diaries describing student life at the University of Michigan, 1865-1867; later diaries include brief comments on weather and mundane daily events and activities; and photographs.

The Arthur W. Haydon collection consists almost exclusively of diaries kept by Arthur from 1865 to 1878 and 1888 to 1915. The diaries are simply collections of Arthur's thoughts. The earliest entries are more fulsome than those for his later life.

Of particular interest are the two volumes, 1865-1866 and 1866-1878. The first of these was written while Arthur was away at school in Ann Arbor. He attended the University of Michigan for two years, 1865/66 and 1866/67. The entries show Arthur's love of school. Not only does he describe his days with great detail and emotion, but the style in which they are written reveals a young man who truly enjoys life. There are no diaries for the years 1879-1887. After 1878 there is a volume for each. The prose becomes much simpler. Haydon describes the weather for the day, the chores he performed, and the everyday events of his life, Only occasionally are the diary entries for these years revealing of Haydon's thoughts and emotions.

In addition to the diaries there is a folder containing miscellaneous newspaper clippings he saved about events important to him as well as a few family mementos. The photographs are of his house and farm buildings.

Newspaperman, editor of the Ann Arbor News. Correspondence, reports, photographs, and other materials largely concerning his newspaper career with Booth Newspapers, Inc.

The Stace collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Ann Arbor News and Booth Newspapers; Topical files; and Other materials. The collection documents his career as a newspaperman with Booth Newspapers and the Ann Arbor News.

The Blanchard family papers document the lives and careers of several members of the Blanchard, Cobb, and Proctor families from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. Includes visual materials, publications, personal writings, and extensive correspondence files.

The Blanchard Family Papers document the professional achievements and personal lives of several generations of a scientifically minded and artistically gifted family. The papers focus heavily upon the eminent plant pathologist and nematologist Nathan A. Cobb, his wife Alice Vara Cobb, their daughter, biologist Frieda Cobb Blanchard, and her husband, herpetologist Frank Nelson Blanchard (the latter two of whom were professors at the University of Michigan). In addition to the photographs, drawings, correspondence, journals, and writings of these four individuals, the collection is rich in family correspondence, diaries, and personal papers from other members of the Cobb and Blanchard families (and their forebears and branches, including the Bigelow, Proctor, Ross, White, and Randall families). The Blanchard Family Papers will be of value to researchers interested in a variety of topics: scientific endeavors and methodologies (and in particular those related to agronomy, nematology, botany, and herpetology); the visual arts and the development of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; colonial and provincial life in Australia and Hawaii (respectively); and the daily affairs of American (and Michigan) families throughout the twentieth century. The Blanchard Family Papers consist of seven series: Nathan A. Cobb, Alice Vara Cobb, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Frank Nelson Blanchard, Blanchard and Cobb Family Letters, Other Family Members, and Isaac G. Blanchard.

Charles M. Barnett's Civil War journal documents important events in southeastern Tennessee between August and October, 1863, including the Tullahoma Campaign, the retreat from Chickamauga, and parts of the Chattanooga Campaign.

Charles M. Barnett's journal is contained in a single volume, beginning May 1, 1863. The entries for 1864 are written in the front part of the same volume, with corrections as to day and date noted occasionally. The journal contains particularly useful information on the signal events in southeastern Tennessee between August and October, 1863, including the Tullahoma Campaign, the retreat from Chickamauga, and parts of the Chattanooga Campaign, including the opening of the Cracker Line and the Wauhatchie Night Attack.

Republican congressman from Michigan's 4th Congressional District, 1934-1962, served on the Education and Labor Committee and the Government Operations Committee, known for his fiscal conservatism and opposition to much of the New Deal legislation, he was particularly concerned with the growing power of labor unions and worked to amend the Wagner Act, eventually becoming a key player in passage of the Taft-Hartley Act. As chair of special subcommittees, Hoffman conducted several investigations into labor racketeering, particularly by the Teamsters Union. Collection includes committee files, some constituent correspondence, topical files, investigation files, press releases, scrapbooks and a limited number of sound recordings and photographs.

The Clare E. Hoffman Papers consist of Congressional files detailing his work on the House Committee on Education and Labor, the House Committee on Government Operations, and various subcommittees, including investigating labor racketeering; files concern in part his sponsorship of labor-related legislation, bills unifying the armed services, and bills authorizing reorganization of the executive branch; and photographs.

The Hoffman collection of congressional papers covers the years 1934-1962. Unfortunately the first few terms of his service are not as adequately documented as might be hoped, as in 1942 Hoffman directed his staff to discard retired files. As a result, except for a few political files and subject files, the Hoffman collection bulks largest for the years 1943-1962.

Despite the fragmentary character of the documentation on Hoffman's early years in Congress, the collection provides a detailed view of the activities of a conservative congressman from western Michigan for a twenty-year period. In recent American history, the years 1943-1962 were important both for wartime politics and for the myriad problems that came after victory: the cooling of relations with the Soviet Union, the integration of returning veterans into the economy, shortages in housing and consumer goods, a renewed militancy among the nation's labor unions, the continuation of the struggle for civil rights for blacks, the fear of internal subversive activities; in short, problems of great importance and complexity, issues for which there were no easy answers.

Hoffman was eyewitness and participant to the politics of these issues. As a representative of increasing seniority, he was a powerful conservative voice within the Congress. Because of his position on the Education and Labor committee, he helped shape the bulk of legislation passed in the postwar period, notably the Taft-Hartley Act. And because of his position on the Expenditures Committee, Hoffman was instrumental in passage of the National Security Act of 1947 that unified the administration of the armed services and enlarge their responsibilities.

Apart from these major pieces of legislation, the Hoffman collection documents the service of a congressman who was attuned to the concerns and politics of his largely rural and small-town district, with constituents economically conservative and ever distrustful of federal encroachments upon their lives. Of special interest are various files of correspondence with the businessmen and small manufacturers of his district. As a good politician, Hoffman was especially mindful of maintaining good relations with these people, and helping them when he could with their labor-related problems.

Like many congressional collections, the Hoffman papers consist in large part of communications with constituents and out-of-district citizens. But because of his power within the Congress, Hoffman's files (letters received and sent) are often substantive in content and a valuable complement to the work of the House, as published in the Congressional Record and other printed sources.

Corydon Fuller's journals document the travels of a young bookseller (from the Northern Midwest) in Arkansas, bordering areas in Louisiana, and in Mississippi in the years preceding the Civil War.

Corydon Fuller's intriguing journals (marked "Vol. 6th" and "Vol. 7") follow the path of the young itinerant bookseller in a fascinating series of situations and places. A college graduate, Fuller wrote both well and copiously, recording the events and his impressions with impressive clarity and depth.

As a man prone to some reflection on the political and social issues of his day, Fuller's journals are a valuable resource for study of the hardening sectional lines in the Trans-Mississippi South. By 1857, Fuller believed that an impasse had been reached, reflected both in his reporting of adamant Southern views on slavery and states' rights, and in his own hot-tempered opinions on moral right versus wrong.

Organization of Dexter, Michigan, area farmers. Minutes of board and annual meetings, financial statements, tax reports, and cash and general journals.

The records of the cooperative date essentially from the second half of its existence. They consist for the most part of financial records and minutes of board meetings and annual meetings. Unfortunately, there is very little correspondence. Nor do the existing records reveal much biographical information about the German-Americans who were predominant in the cooperative. A sample of the stock certificates has been preserved for the stocks' attractive illustrations.

The DuBois-Ogden-McIlvaine papers contain the 19th-century letters, letter books, diaries, account books, and other miscellaneous material relating to the DuBois, Ogden, and McIlvaine families. The collection pulls together items from family members in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Louisiana.

The DuBois-Ogden-McIlvaine papers (852 items) center on the writings and affairs of Sarah Platt Ogden DuBois, George Washington DuBois, Charles Pettit McIlvaine, and their extended families. The collection is comprised of 656 letters, six letter books, five diaries, four account books, one logbook, 29 genealogical records, and 46 poems, prayers, drawings, cards, and other miscellaneous items. The collection conists of items from family members in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Louisiana.

The Correspondence series (656 items) contains letters written by the extended DuBois-Ogden-McIlvaine families. The earliest letters concern Cornelius DuBois, Sr. (1786-1794), and Sarah "Sally" Ogden, and are from friends and family (1799-1807). Of interest are the letters that discuss the birth and death of Sarah’s son Robert (March 14, 1804, and September 6, 1804).

The series contains 25 letters between Sarah P. O. DuBois on Long Island and her husband Cornelius DuBois in New York City (1812 and 1813). In these, the couple discussed domestic matters such as childbirth, child rearing, and Sarah's poor health. The bulk of the letters between 1813 and 1836 are addressed to Sarah from friends and family members. These provide a glimpse into the family members’ personal lives as well as their views on religious matters, manners, and child rearing.

Many of the letters from 1835 to1845 concern Reverend Charles P. McIlvaine and his siblings Henry, George, and Mary Ann DuBois. Also throughout the 1840s are letters relating to George W. DuBois, including 16 letters from his father, 33 from his wife, and 71 letters written by DuBois to various family members. Of interest are several letters written by Dubois during a European sojourn in 1847-1848 in which he discussed the political turmoil afflicting the Continent. From 1846 through September 1848, many of the letters are between Dubois and his love interest Mamey McIlvaine, in Gambier, Ohio, as well as a few to Mamey from her father, Bishop Charles McIlvaine.

Of special interest are five letters written by George W. Dubois during his time as the chaplain of the 11th Ohio Regiment Volunteers in 1862. The collection also contains several Civil War era letters from the family members on the home front.

Between 1891 and 1892, the series contains 10 letters from George W. Dubois living in Redwood, Colorado, to his mother, father, and siblings. These relate to family health, crops, a new camera, the exercise of bicycling for health reasons (Victor Safety Bicycle model C.), and religious matters. Several items concern DuBois' management of the Marble Cemetery, and describe logistics on moving bodies and selling portions of the cemetery.

Many of the 20th-century items are personal and business letters from Cornelius DuBois, Jr., and Mary S. DuBois. The items from 1960 to 1983 relate to family genealogy collected by the ancestors of the DuBois, McIlvaine, and Ogden families. These also provide provenance information for items in this collection.

The Letter books series (6 items) contains copy books of letters written by Sarah P. O. DuBois, Charles P. McIlvaine, and George W. DuBois. The Sarah P. O. DuBois letter book (92 pages) is comprised of letters to family members spanning 1782 to 1819. McIlvaine’s letter book (125 pages) contains autographs and letters from various prominent religious, government, military, and academic leaders from 1830 to1873. Also present is a binder of typed copies of letters to and from McIlvaine. Many of the original incoming letters are in the correspondence series.

• July 21, 1829: Leonidas Polk, a personal letter discussing religion and indicating the role religion played at West Point
• May 17, 1848: John C. Calhoun, a letter of recommendation for the letter bearer
• September 16, 1850: Jefferson Davis, concerning reminiscences on instruction at West Point
• January 8, 1861: Senator John Sherman, concerning the coming war
• February 7, 1861: John McLean, a personal letter discussing the likely formation of a southern Confederacy within the month
• August 21, 1862: William H. Seward, a private letter discussing European opinions about the Civil War
• November 18, 1862: George McClellan, defending his actions in the war and remembering McIlvaine's visit to the front
• May 29, 1863: Ambrose Burnside, a Civil War travel pass
• February 15, 1864: James A. Garfield, concerning his views on treason
• June 19, 1865: Edwin M. Stanton, regarding the military’s use of seminary buildings in Alexandria, Virginia
• June 19, 1867: Rutherford B. Hayes, concerning the recovery of articles taken by Union troops during the Civil War
• February 7, 1870: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a personal letter
• February 9, 1871: Samuel P. Chase, a request for McIlvaine to perform the marriage of his daughter
• July 10, 1873: Henry Ward Beecher, personal letter

The "Commercial Manifold" copybook (4 pages) contains a fragment of a letter by an anonymous author (October 1879). The final two letter books are both from George W. DuBois. The first (165 pages) spans January 1883 to April 1885, and includes letters, poems, prayers, music, and drawings. The second (99 pages) spans November 1886 to January 1887, and contains letters, a recipient index, and one poem written by DuBois' daughter Mary Cornelia DuBois.

The Diaries, Account Books, and Ships' Logs series (10 items) is comprised of bound volumes that contain personal and financial information on family members:

• 1827-1836: Sarah P. O. DuBois' account book, containing itemized monthly expenses for doctor and apothecary visits; sewing; carriage hires and traveling; charity; and mortgage accounts from 1907-1910
• September 1842-August 1848: George W. DuBois' "Journal No. 1" covering his time at the Theological Seminary at Gambier, Ohio, at age 19, through his European travels in 1848
• 1847-c.1949: Typescripts of George W. DuBois' journals from 1847-1848 (2 pages) and 1861 (9 pages), and Harry O. DuBois' recollections recorded sometime before his death in 1949 (21 pages)
• April 21-May 22, 1848: George W. DuBois' logbook for his voyage on the ship Victoria from London to New York. Enclosed is a small photograph of George W. DuBois
• 1852-May 1893: Two journals kept by George W. DuBois, the first spanning February 1852-May 1878, and the second spanning from February 1853-July 1893. Book one contains business accounts for 1852-1853 (p.2-107), 1853-1857 (p.198-261), and 1873-1875 (271-278), along with George W. DuBois’ and Eugene DuBois' personal accounts from 1872-1874 (p.398-405). Pages 282-299 contain a list of signatures for the Post Office of Crosswicks Creek, New Jersey. Book two consists of a "Farm Day Book," comprised of the accounts and activities of George W. DuBois' farm. Beginning at the back of the volume are 160 pages of meteorological and astronomical records noting latitude and longitude calculations.
• April 1853-July 1854: Typescript from Kenyon College of Emily Coxe McIlvaine's European trip
• July 1861-February 1862: A typescript of the Journal of Reverend George W. DuBois while chaplain of the 11th Ohio Regiment during the Civil War
• 1882-1905: An account book containing records on mortgages, inventories, securities, interest payments, and accounts for various people and companies, kept by George W. DuBois and his son Cornelius M. DuBois
• 1892-1895: An unsigned journal and poetry book, including 13 pages of verse (some likely original) and a seven-page diary of a trip in upstate New York

The Documents series (42 items) contains of 33 legal documents, George W. DuBois' commission in the Ohio Army as a chaplin in 1861, Cornelius DuBois’ war deeds, and the will of Charles P. McIlvaine. Twentieth-century items include wills and executor documents for Mary Cornelia DuBois, Henrietta DuBois Burnham (draft), Mary Constance DuBois, Peter DuBois, and a copy of Cornelius DuBois ' (father to George W. DuBois) will.

The Genealogy series (29 items) consists of several manuscript books and loose notes, documenting the genealogy of the families represented in the collection. Of interest are notes for the McIlvaine, Reed, and Coxe families beginning in the 14th century and following the line to the early 1700s (9 pages); a comb bound booklet containing "genealogical charts prepared for the decedents of Floyd Reading DuBois and Rosilla Marshall" with annotations; and a DuBois Family Album, which contains copied letters, biographies, and genealogical notes, including copies of letters between siblings Robert and Sarah Ogden and from Sarah to her son Henry Augustus Dubois.

• Pages 59-83: Record of descendents of John Ogden "The Pioneer" as early as 1460 and continuing through the 19th Century
• Pages 86-89: Detailed biography of Henry Augustus Ogden
• Pages 90-93: Biography of brother Cornelius DuBois, Jr.
• Pages 100-106: Epenetus Platt's family line (George Washington DuBois' great-great-great maternal grandfather)
• Pages 111-113: Indexes to journals and letters in the collection
• Pages 114-248: Blank
• Pages 249-269: Three copied letters between family members in the 1820-1830s and a short biography for George W. DuBois

The Photographs and Engravings series (10 items) contains an engraving of Charles P. McIlvaine and Robert J. Chichester, photographs of C.E. McIlvaine, Charles P. McIlvaine, and George Washington DuBois, and five photographs depicting rustic life on a lake.

The Miscellaneous and Ephemera series (46 items) is comprised of 12 poems, prayers, manuscript music, and drawings (undated); 23 printed holiday cards and calling cards (1904 and undated); 18 newspaper clippings, including family death and marriage announcements (February 4, 1910-July 1983 and undated); 14 religious announcements and pamphlets (1873-[1925]); and 10 writing fragments and ephemeral items, such as dried flowers and lace handmade coasters.

• Undated: Sketch of the McIlvaine homestead, and music for a chorus entitled "There is a Lord of Pure Delight" by Harry O. DuBois.
• Undated: Typed copy of Daniel Coxe's A Description of the English Province of Carolina By the Spanish Called Florida and by the French Louiseane..., written in 1727 and published in London.