Collections : [Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library]

The collection consists mostly of personal Sovereign family materials rather than Aladdin company records. Formats include paper, photographs, negatives, slides, films, oversized scrapbooks, blueprints, homework, some business records, and court and legal documents. MOLD/ALLERGY ALERT: Please note that the collection was treated in spring 2012 for mildew and mold and then deacidified. Some of the materials retain an unpleasant odor. Researchers with allergies should be careful when using the collection.

MOLD/ALLERGY ALERT: Please note that the collection was treated in spring 2012 for mildew and mold and then deacidified. Some of the materials retain an unpleasant odor. Researchers with allergies should be careful when using the collection.

Aladdin Company is organized by size and then into the following sub-series, which are organized alphabetically and chronologically:

Aladdin Advertising, 1920-1969, and undated, in 1 box, 1 Oversized folder (.25 cubic ft.). This is advertising about Aladdin products. Oversized items include a Dog and house drawing with text,“I, too own an Aladdin…”, undated, and “Good houses never grow old”, undated.

Aladdin Business Dealing, which includes business agreements, correspondence, reports, employee records and photographs, 1918-1980, and undated, in 2 boxes, 1 Oversized folder (1 cubic ft.).

Aladdin-Founders of Aladdin, 1911-1975, undated, which consists mostly of Will J. Sovereign’s journals, 1927-1963, a few of these are Will F. Sovereign’s diaries. The series also includes photographs, legal correspondence, accounts, death information, stock certificates, and other certificates and information about the founders, in 4 boxes (3.25 cubic ft.). There is correspondence from “Nig” (Nigel) a friend in Box 6. Of special interest is “Transcript to Lewis, Edmond, and Watkins vs. United States, Filed February 1923,” a transcript to a court case regarding the theft of founder of the Aladdin Company, Will J. Sovereign’s yacht, the “Aladdin,” by rum runners from Canada during Prohibition.

Aladdin Housing, 1911-1983, undated, which documents some of the houses Aladdin sold, customer communications, and 1826 McKinley House, in a variety of formats including memorabilia (a tool belt and Aladdin lamp), various photographic materials, articles in 2 boxes (.75 cubic ft.).

Aladdin Miscellaneous, 1921-1989, undated, with manuals, articles, and reports from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Bay City, Michigan, Portland, Oregon, and Wilmington, North Carolina in 2 boxes (.75).

Aladdin Oil [business interests], 1927-1972, and undated in 2 boxes (.75 cubic ft.) including photographic materials, advertising, legal records, information on the Roscommon Well and Pere Marquette Railway Company.

The Divorce Case, 1951-1970, and undated in 3 boxes (2.25 cubic ft.). The series, documenting the very long, acrimonious divorce case between Mary and Will F. Sovereign which resulted in Michigan’s No Fault Divorce Law, is notable for the amount and types of information. This series contains a vast amount of spy and detective information in regards to the two parties involved in the case, transcripts from the detectives’ notes and from recorded phone calls, photographs, lawyer correspondence and memoirs, and court documents.

Family papers are organized by size and subdivided by names of the creator, and include:

Billy Sovereign Papers, consists of Awards and Certificates and photographic materials, 1955-1958, and undated, in 1 box (.5 cubic ft.). Of interest here is “Billy’s College Career, 1966, 1971,” which includes notes and homework from Central Michigan University. See Sovereign Youth/Academic and Divorce Case series for more information on Billy.

Jeanette Lempke Sovereign Papers, 1916-1980, and undated, in 2 boxes (.75 cubic ft.). Her papers include photographs, articles, awards and various certificates about her career, material documenting her marriage, crash, death [not from the crash], and estate.

Sally Sovereign Papers, 1928-1970, and undated, in 2 boxes (.75 cubic ft.). Her papers include correspondence to/from Sally, photographs, and miscellaneous.

Will F. Sovereign Papers, 1922-1981, and undated, in 1 box (.5 cubic ft.) include business and personal correspondence, including personal correspondence from someone named “Tiny”, 1972-1976, accounts, awards and certificates, and photographs.

Will F. Sovereign War/Military Papers, 1941-1947, and 1957, and undated, in 2 boxes (.75 cubic ft.) include a diary, correspondence, photographic material, government and military documents, propaganda, and a diary, 1942-1943. Will tried several times to enlist and eventually served in 553rd Army Air Force Base unit from July 15, 1944 to January 24, 1946.

Sovereign Youth/ Academic, 1906-1971 (scattered), and undated, in 2 boxes (.75 cubic ft.) includes homework, certificates, degrees, birthday information, childhood letters and memorabilia, awards, and information on the academic careers of Billy, Sally, and Will F.

There are seven Oversized folders, the contents of Advertising, Business Dealing, and Family papers are described in the series description above.

The last three Oversized folders include various types of architectural records. See the Box and Folder Listing for more detail. Folder #5 is Miscellaneous, 1909-1952 (scattered) and undated, and includes company charts, plans for furniture and Aladdin home parts, and various properties. Folders 6 and 7 consist mostly of blue-line prints of houses, notably Residence for Mr. and Mrs. W.F. Sovereign, Bay City, the yacht “Aladdin”, and land plots in Bay City, Midland, and Saginaw, Michigan.

Oversized volumes. Four of these oversized volumes are acidic scrapbooks about the company and family, three are dated 1929, and one is dated 1929-1932. The two others oversized volumes include a lovely, published, undated volume entitled Industrial Housing in a velvet cover (in box), and a business volume entitled Cars Forwarded which documents the shipping of Aladdin products in railroad cars, 1937-1941.

Other formats include films and slides. There are eleven films, #1 is of Aladdin ranch homes being built, undated; #2 is of a St. Patrick's day parade in Bay City, 1959; and #3-11 are of an air show at James Clements Airport, Bay City, 1972. Also, there is a slide box of slides on Aladdin finished products, a mill building, church construction, and family, mostly Billy Sovereign (See Box Listing for more detail.)

Researchers may also be interested in the main Aladdin Company collection and publications about Aladdin in the Clarke Historical Library.

The collection mostly documents Michigan railroads, focusing on the Ann Arbor Railroad Company (AARR), related lines, and its ferries in many formats. Also included are some organizational records of the Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association (AARTHA).

Collection, collected over time by Don Wilson, some of which he was given by other rail fans. The collection mostly documents Michigan railroads, focusing on the Ann Arbor Railroad Company (AARR), related lines, its reorganization, abandonment, and its ferries. Some ferry information is general such as Twin Screw Specs (Box 5), and there is information specific to the M.V. [Motor Vessel] Viking (originally Ann Arbor No. 7) and the City of Milwaukee. Formats include slides, photographs, negatives, photograph printing plates, blueprints, scrapbooks, photograph albums, speeches, notes, newspaper clippings and magazine articles, maps, digital scans and positive prints from those scans, a CD, and miscellaneous, related publications. Also included are some organizational records of the AARTHA. Other railroads documented to various degrees in the collection include: Central Michigan Railroad (CM); Detroit, Caro and Sandusky Railroad (DC and S); Detroit, Toledo, and Ironton Railroad; Grand Trunk Railway (GT); Green Bay and Western Railroad; H and E Railroad [probably the Huron and Eastern]; Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad; Michigan Interstate Railway Company; Michigan Northern Railway Company; Mid-Michigan Railroad; New York Central Railroad (NYC) and St. Louis Railroad (SLRR); New York Central State Railroad (NYCS); Norfolk and Western Railway Company; Northwestern Pacific Railroad; Penn Central Railroad; Southern Pacific Transportation Company; Tuscola, Saginaw Bay Railroad (TSBRR); Toledo, Owosso, and Flint Railroad (TOandFRR); Wabash Railroad, and Wisconsin Central Railroad.

Items of special interest to researchers may include: manifests of the M.V. Viking, February-August 1976, and AARTHA bylaws, meeting minutes, newsletter information, member lists, and other information (Box 1); reorganization information (see Vincent M. Malanaphy folders (Boxes 2, 4), Michigan Interstate Railway Co. and MI Rail System Rationalization Plan information (Box 4), AARR photographs (Boxes 2-3), Pamona Derailment Negatives, undated (Box 5).

Photographs, negatives, and history of a plethora of railroad related topics are found throughout the collection. There are three slide boxes and two note card boxes full of slides on railroads (Slide Boxes 1-5).

Blueprints include line, lever circuit controllers, and station design plans, styling and painting design, system maps, tracks and structures, equipment, station and train car blueprints, and property drawings.

The 2016 addition, Boxes 14-16 and Folder #21 (legal-size), 1.5 cubic feet from Don’s friend Don Maddock was organized by Maddock into the series of Abandonment Petitions and Michigan Interstate Era. Included are paper documents, scans and positive prints of some of Wilson’s negatives, a few other topical files, a CD, and three color photographs. The addition largely documents the reorganization and end of the AARR. Sale papers for the City of Milwaukee are included. Most of the 2019 addition papers are copies. Note: 2016 addition negatives are housed in print file negative preservers, not archival negative sleeves.

Researchers may be interested in knowing that there are several collections and many publications by and about the Ann Arbor Railroad in the Clarke, as well as other collections and published sources documenting other railroad companies.

Processing Note: The collection is organized by size and format, and then in alphabetical and chronological order. A few publications, two general railroad films, and a tote bag were returned to the members of the AARTHA. Some publications (24), both monographs and parts of serials, were cataloged separately and added to the Clarke’s collections. Some of the items are quite acidic or fragile, most of which were photocopied and the originals were withdrawn from the collection (.25 cubic ft. total). In a few cases, where entire folders were composed of very fragile tissue paper records or acidic records, the decision was made to leave the materials as they were without copying them. Numerous abbreviations were used by Mr. Wilson within the collection, which were replicated by the processors. Michigan was often abbreviated MI by Mr. Wilson and is used in this finding aid. See the Scope and Contents Note for abbreviations used for names of railroad companies.