Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Tecumseh, Michigan, builder; account books and miscellaneous family papers.

The collection consists of account books of Salmon Crane's business activities, including a ledger previously used for the accounts, 1838-1841, of Spafford and Smith, Tecumseh merchants, and as day book, 1857-1858, of the Tecumseh Herald newspaper. In addition, there are miscellaneous papers of Crane's sons, Theodore H. and Eugene W. Crane, both soldiers in Co. E, 18th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. Other family members represented in the collection include Charles S. and Verner B. Crane. Photographer Walker Evans was the great-grandson of Salmon Crane.

Papers of the Squier family of Battle Creek, Michigan. Include letters and diary of John E. Hickman, Civil War soldier in Co. C, 13th Michigan Infantry; letters and miscellanea of Theodore L. Squier, Sr., University of Michigan undergraduate student, medical student and instructor ca. 1914-1921 and Nina La Barge Squier, student in the University of Michigan Nurses' Training Program, 1919-1920; and letters and miscellanea of several family members who served in WWII. Also some records of the American Manufacturing Company of Battle Creek, Michigan.

The Squier Family Papers are organized into nine series, eight series of documents related to specific members or branches of the family and one series of photographs.

Ypsilanti, Michigan business; account books and daybooks.

The record group consists of account books and daybooks of the firm. Included is a record of log purchases, 1845-1853, and accounts of wheat purchased in 1842.

Business and commercial family of Ionia, Michigan; correspondence and financial records of Angelo E. Tower and Osmond S. Tower; correspondence and business records of Louis S. Lovell, W.B. Heath, and George Webber, Ionia, Michigan, businessmen.

The collection was accumulated and donated by Ada Health Owsley, the daughter of W.B. Heath, who had himself married into the Tower family. Most of the collection relates to the business dealings of Tower family members. The most important exception is a portion of the correspondence dealing with the Civil War service of Angelo Tower, a captain with Company E, Sixth Michigan Cavalry. These papers include both letters to his family and other documents relating to his military responsibilities. The collection, both correspondence and financial records, documents the development and commercial growth of Ionia, Michigan, and includes various records of Louis S. Lovell, bank cashier W.B. Heath, and George W. Webber, president of the Second National Bank of Ionia. The fact that there are some papers of George W. Webber, a banking competitor to the Towers is curious. Perhaps a possible merger of the two Ionia banks led to the storage of retired records in a common area. Regardless, the banking records of Tower and Webber offer some insight into the commercial development of Ionia.

Pioneer Ann Arbor, Michigan family, involved in farming, then real estate, developed the Tuomy Hills area of the city. Papers include personal and business correspondence of Cornelius and Kathryn Tuomy and of other family members; ledger books, 1868-1890, 1911-1938, and diaries, 1920-1921, 1925, 1926, 1936 concerning business and personal affairs; also papers of Kathryn G. Tuomy as president of the Michigan Federation of Business and Professional Women; and photographs.

The Tuomy Family papers document the daily life of three generations of a pioneer Ann Arbor area family. The three linear feet of papers span the years 1840-1966 with the bulk of the material falling within the decades bound by 1905-1945. The papers have been divided into four series, a small set of documents with biographical information, a larger set of personal and business correspondence, and family material arranged as a set of topical files. There is also a box of unidentified family portraits

A strength of the Tuomy Family papers is the documentation of daily life for a prominent Ann Arbor family from 1900 until the 1960's. Kathryn G. Tuomy's materials provide good exposure to the life of an Ann Arbor woman who has a university education and a family business to maintain. The papers are weaker in their coverage of the Tuomy and Tuomy real estate business. There is only marginal documentation regarding Cornelius W. (Bill) Tuomy's time in political office as drain commissioner. The photographs are not strongly backed up by the written documentation regarding the Tuomy and Tuomy real estate office and properties.

Saginaw, Michigan, lumberman and businessman, and Michigan State Tax Commissioner, 1912 and wildlife conservationist and sportsman. Papers include extensive correspondence files, business records and photographs.

The William Mershon collection consists of correspondence dealing with Mershon's various activities as a lumberman, Saginaw businessman, and member of the State Tax Commission in 1912. Subjects included in the papers are Michigan wildlife conservation, the Michigan Sportsmen Association, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Michigan State Tax Commission, Michigan politics, the Democratic party, personal business investments, lumbering and mining interest, and personal affairs.

The collection also includes diaries, a book of notes on hunting and fishing trips, and various business records such as cash books, time books, ledgers, and journals. These primarily concern his investments and lumbering business. Many of the business records are available on microfilm. The collection also includes photographs.

Civil War officer, banker, Republican State Representative and Senator from Jackson, Michigan. Correspondence, special orders, notes, business papers, and miscellaneous items, primarily relating to his Civil War service as Colonel of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, and to a possible appointment to the U.S. Senate in 1894; also notes on the management of the Withington & Cooley Manufacturing Company, 1895-1903, diary of a European trip, 1897, and photographs.

The papers of William H. Withington consist of correspondence, special orders, notes, and miscellaneous items relating to his Civil War service as Colonel of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry; business records of the Withington & Cooley Manufacturing Company, correspondence and other material concerning his political career as Republican state legislator and state senator.

This collection is divided into four series: Civil War Activities, Personal Papers, Withington & Cooley Manufacturing Company Records, all of which are arranged chronologically, and Newspaper Clippings.

A. L. Williams family of Owosso, Michigan. Personal and business correspondence of A. L. Williams, Owosso, Michigan pioneer, railroad entrepreneur, and spiritualist; and personal letters of other members of the family, including May Williams Dewey, wife of E. O. Dewey (Thomas E. Dewey family); and miscellaneous newspaper clippings, business ledgers, and personal and business diaries concerning business affairs and daily activities; "spirit messages" received from departed family and others; also photographs.

The Williams Family [Owosso] collection consists of 2 linear feet of material. It includes the personal and business papers of four generations of Williamses from 1838 to 1953. However, the bulk of the material relates to the family of Alfred Leonzo Williams between 1860 and 1890.