Search

Soldier in the 24th Michigan Infantry during Civil War, later civil engineer concerned largely with construction of bridges and canals, especially improvements of St. Mary's Falls Canal, and consultant engineer to Panama Canal project. Correspondence, Civil War diaries, essays on proposed Nicaraguan Canal, printed materials, maps, and other miscellanea; also photographs.

The Alfred Noble Papers collection consists of several letters and diaries documenting his service with the 24th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War and correspondence, construction documents and other material relating to his work as a civil engineer on a number of major projects including the St. Mary's Canal, the Harlem Tunnel in New York, Panama Canal, Alton Bridge on the Mississippi and a proposed Nicaraguan Canal. The collection is organized in two series, Papers and Printed Works, 1853-1906. The Papers series is available on microfilm.

Professor of engineering at the University of Michigan. Photos of Johnston's personal and family life in Wyoming and Michigan, including student activities at the University of Michigan; photos of his work on water projects in the West and in Egypt; and photos of Camp Davis, the summer engineering camp of the University of Michigan in Cheboygan Co., Michigan..

The Johnston collection spans the years of 1888-1928. The bulk of the collection is comprised of photographic prints, mainly cyanotypes, and glass plate negatives. Scattered papers are also present and include biographical material and topical files relating to Johnston's personal, religious, and professional activities. The collection has been arranged into five series, which include: Personal and Family Photographs, Work Photographs, Camp Davis Photographs, Glass negatives, and Biographical Materials.

Student papers, 1930-1987 prepared for classes in history at the University of Michigan (primarily Michigan history class taught by Lewis G. VanderVelde, but also including research papers for classes taught by Sidney Fine and others); topics concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; and local community history.

The student papers are organized alphabetically by author in two series, which are similar in date range and topics covered. Topics of papers concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; local community history and University of Michigan history. A topical index to the papers is available in the first box of the collection.

The James Patten papers contain letters and documents detailing his capture and captivity by Delaware Indians in Ohio, the funds raised by the family to purchase his ransom, his eventual release, and his life on the Ohio frontier.

The James Patten papers (16 items) contain letters and documents regarding Patten's capture and captivity by Delaware Indians in Ohio, the family's efforts to raise funds to purchase his ransom, his eventual release, and his life on the Ohio frontier (1789-1799). The collection is comprised of 12 letters (1788-1799), 3 receipts (1791), and a subscription list (1791). Also present is a photocopied excerpt from The Choates in America, 1643-1896, by E. O. Jameson, which describes the capture of Patton and Isaac and Francis Choate by the Delaware Indians (pages 125-128).

The earliest item in the collection is a letter of recommendation for David Patten (1761-1836) by the Selectman of Bedford, New Hampshire, and endorsed by Justices of the Peace from Hillsborough and Middlesex Counties (May 1, 1788). It asks "all Civil Officers and others let him pass and repass unmolested." David may well have planned to go to Ohio with his brother James, but changed his mind. Matthew and Elizabeth Patten wrote the next two letters in the collection to James Patterson, who accompanied their son to Ohio (June 13, 1789 and December 1, 1790). They discussed local news like the new style of singing hymns in the meeting house, family news, and news on crop yields. James Patten wrote all his 7 letters after his captivity; these contain details about his time with the Indians and how he was freed (November 1, 1796 -- April 21, 1799). Though many of his comments on the experience are brief, his letter to friend Samuel Patterson provides a day-by-day account of the nearly month-long trek he made across what is now the state of Ohio, from Big Bottom, where he was captured, to "The Grand Auglaize" in the heart of the Northwest Indian Confederacy (Sept. 10, 1797). He described his abduction, daily travel, and forced run through the gauntlet before he was accepted into the village: "I was welcomed into ther town one with his Club[,] a nother with his foot [,] another with his hand [,] another with a tomyhak."

The collection provides considerable information on ransoming a prisoner during the Northwest Indian War. Lacking sufficient funds, James' father Matthew Patten wrote a subscription appeal to friends and neighbors and received 37 signatures (July 4, 1791). The three receipts follow the trail of the 93 dollars collected to ransom James, as it was carried to Montreal by Isaac Choate, Jr.

The papers also document improvements in transportation both in New Englandas well as in the Ohio territory. In his letter of Aug. 18, 1796, David Patten informed his brother James that they had had a bumper hay crop, but had to pay very high wages to harvest it because of the demand for local labor "which is caused by building bridges and digging canals." He also listed the locations along the Merrimack River where bridges were being built: Concord, Amoskeag, Pentucket, Bodwell's Falls, Haverhill, Sweat's Ferry, and Newbury. In letters to his brother David, James Patten described, in detail, new roads, canals, and bridges built in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and mentioned horse powered boats being used on rivers in Ohio (November 23, 1797).

On the back of the September 10, 1797, letter from James Patten to Samuel Patterson is a copy of a poem called O True Times, commemorating American independence.

Civil engineer, consultant on marine development and dredging, and superintendent of the dredging division of the Panama canal. Topical files relating to the maintenance and development of the Panama Canal and dredging problems in Burma, Colombia, and other Latin American countries; scrapbook relating to the Spanish-American War; and photographs.

The collection documents the professional life of John G. Claybourn, superintendent of the Dredging Division of the Panama Canal from 1921 to 1948 and a consultant on matters of river and harbor improvement. In addition to the Panama Canal, the collection illustrates the role of the United States in infrastructure development in the Third World.

The papers include materials created and collected by Claybourn in his work on the Panama Canal, materials relating to personal business activities away from his primary work, materials relating to consulting jobs and to Claybourn's activities in professional engineering societies, and personal correspondence, much of it with some business connection.

The collection is not clearly divided by topic: papers relating to a particular topic may be divided among topical files, files arranged by correspondent or company, and the general personal correspondence file. Some of the topics of interest include the following:

Burma: The papers document Claybourn's consulting work in the early 1950s, on contract with the U.S. government, to rebuild commerce on the Irrawaddy River destroyed during World War II and to develop the Dalla Dockyards near Rangoon.

Claybourn, Elsie Greiser: A scrapbook documents her activities as a long-distance swimmer and canoeist. Her retirement years are described in detail in the personal correspondence file.

Claybourn, Leslie W.: Claybourn's correspondence with his brother, an inventor and printing industry executive, provides some documentation of the development of that industry.

Colombia: In the 1920s Claybourn was involved in the development of the Dique de Cartagena, a ship canal serving that city. The papers document his relations with the Colombian government.

Florida: Claybourn was a consultant in the early 1930s for a projected canal across Florida. The collection includes surveys and other papers relating to this project.

Panama Canal: The papers reflect both Claybourn's work on the Canal and his interest in the history of its construction. Most papers on this topic have been drawn together in processing, but many are found under the names of correspondents and in the general correspondence file. The topics documented in the greatest detail are maintenance of the canal, especially clearing of landslides, and planning for additional locks and later for a sea-level canal. Information about dredges used on the canal is also included. A collection of photographs, most of them from official sources, parallels these strengths.

The papers also document Claybourn's moonlighting on private dredging operations during the 1920s. This material is found under the names of companies and projects.

Retirement: Claybourn's retirement years were spent in Ann Arbor. The personal correspondence describes in great detail his and his wife's retirement activities.

Rumania: Correspondence with Bill Arthur includes a copy of Arthur's diary of events during a 1940 rebellion in that country.

World War II: In addition to the Rumanian material described above, the collection contains much relating to defensive activities on the Panama Canal. The Burma project described above includes information about war damage to transportation in that country.

Other consulting activities: Consulting projects in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Venezuela are documented less fully than those described above.

O. W. Stone was a Pentwater, Michigan, photographer. Includes photos of the Sault Sainte Marie Canal as well as Pentwater, Michigan, business enterprises and shipping.

The collection includes photos of Pentwater, Michigan, focusing on business enterprises and shipping. Also included are photos of the Sault Sainte Marie Canal.

These two albums contain photographs of scenery and railroads in Pennsylvania in the 1860s. Workers and buildings are visible in some of the pictures.

These two photograph albums (22cm x 17cm), entitled "Scenery of the Allegheny Mountains" and "Pennsylvania Railroad", are bound in green covers with "Alleghany Mountains Photographic Journal" [sic] stamped in gold on the spines. Volume 1 contains 39 items and Volume 2 contains 47 items, each 12cm x 9cm and mounted directly onto a cardstock page. Volume 1 has a black plate on the front cover with the title "Alleghany Mountains" [sic] and a decorative gold border. A plate pasted into the second volume indicates that photographer was John Moran of 806 Coates Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Many of the photographs show scenic views, railroad right-of-way, railroad tracks, telegraph poles, canals, mills, and small settlements. Several photographs of the sky capture clouds. Several images appear to be of the "Horseshoe Curve" on the Pennsylvania Railroad. A group of pictures of a foundry complex show laborers working with mule-driven railroad carts loading rails onto train cars, and one picture shows a group of boys near a track and a town. Other images of note include a photo of a locomotive at a tunnel portal; an elephant on a rural road, a waterfall; a large gravesite or memorial; and a group of monks outside of an unidentified building, possibly a school.

The William Tell Claude manuscript contains all of Claude's editorial columns written between December, 1846 and June, 1849, probably for the Maryland Republican.

The William Tell Claude manuscript contains all of Claude's editorial columns written between December, 1846 and June, 1849, probably for the Maryland Republican. As a deeply committed and tireless publicist, Claude launched a series of front door and back door attacks on the Democratic opposition, criticizing the Democratic war in Mexico and smearing the names of Democratic candidates for office.

The origins of the manuscript are unclear, but it appears to have been compiled at a later date, possibly simply to be retained for convenient reference, possibly for separate publication. Only one work of Claude's appears to found its way into print as a separate work, however, his war-time Address to the people of Anne Arundel County (1861).