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The Dolph family carte-de-visite album contains formal studio portraits, many taken by the Dolph Brothers of Erie, Pennsylvania, around the 1860s-1870s. The photographs show both men and women, and two are artistically posed scenes.

The Dolph family carte-de-visite album (16cm x 13cm) contains formal studio portraits, many taken by the Dolph Brothers of Erie, Pennsylvania, around the 1860s-1870s. This album may have been compiled from loose photos acquired at an estate sale by collector and donor Frederick P. Currier. The photographs, comprised of 42 albumen print cartes-de-visite and 5 tintypes, mostly depict men and women, though a few include children. Some items are hand-colored. Many of the subjects are identified by name, and several are labeled on the back "Dolph home," possibly by the collector and donor. Dolph family members include Albert W. Dolph in a military officer's uniform, Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Dolph, and James or Joseph Dolph. A photograph of two men in close conversation, one with a straw hat, pipe and large book in his lap, the other in a top hat and cane, may be of the Dolph brothers themselves; a man beside a mirror that shows his reflection may be a portrait of Jas. Dolph. Also of note is a double portrait of unidentified albino twins. The album's brown leather cover has a geometric design in relief and is closed with two metal clasps.

This collection is made up of the papers of five generations of the Dwight, Willard, Alden, Allen, and Freeman families of the East Coast and (later) U.S. Midwest, between 1752 and 1937. Around 3/4 of the collection is incoming and outgoing correspondence of family members, friends, and colleagues. The primary persons represented are Lydia Dwight of Massachusetts and her husband John Willard, who served in the French and Indian War; Connecticut mother Abigail Willard along with her husband Samuel Alden, who ran an apothecary in Hanover, New Jersey; Allen Female Seminary School alumna and teacher Sarah J. Allen; American Civil War surgeon Otis Russell Freeman; Presbyterian minister and temperance advocate Rev. Samuel Alden Freeman; and prominent public librarian Marilla Waite Freeman. The papers also include diaries and journals, writings, school certificates, military and ecclesiastical documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, advertisements, business and name cards, invitations to events, and brochures for plays and other performances.

The collection is arranged first by family grouping, then by material type. These series roughly reflect the arrangement of the collection when it arrived at the William L. Clements Library.

The Dwight-Willard-Alden Family Papers are comprised of around 250 items, dating between 1752 and 1884. One fifth or so of this grouping is predominantly correspondence between Lydia Dwight/Lydia Dwight Willard, her father, stepmother, siblings, husband, and sons, 1752-1791. These intermarried families were based largely in Sheffield and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The letters include discussions about mending and cleaning clothing; feelings about their father/husband gone to serve in the French and Indian War; putting up a monument to replace faltering graves; the return of Elijah and Col. Williams from the field on account of sickness; coming and going of soldiers; moral and practical advice; teaching and boarding young students during the war; settling into (“no longer free”) married life; the death of Bathsheba Dwight; the meeting of local men in private homes and the training of minute men in Stockbridge; the prolonged case of smallpox experienced by Lydia’s son in 1785; and news of John Willard, Jr.’s admission to Harvard.

The remaining four fifths of this grouping are largely incoming correspondence of Abigail Willard Alden (1771-1832) and her daughter Abigail Alden (1809-1854). Their correspondents were located in Stafford, Connecticut; Hanover and Lancaster, New Hampshire; Lunenburg, Vermont; and elsewhere. They begin with letters from siblings and parents to the newly married Abigail Willard Alden (ca. 1800); Samuel Alden travel letters to New York City; and news of a Stafford doctor named Chandler who had promised marriage to a woman and then fleeced her for $500 before fleeing to parts unknown. A group of letters regard pharmacy matters, the burning of Samuel Willard’s drugstore (January-April 1802), and the state of Anti-Federalists and Federalists in Stafford (1802). A large portion the letters include content on sickness and health, with varying degrees of detail, including several family members sick and dying from measles in 1803. Other topics include Hanover, New Hampshire, gossip on local premarital sex; a debate on whether or not to hire a black female domestic laborer; comments on a local suicide attempt; a young woman deliberating on objections to women spending time reading novels (April 10, 1806); and treatment by a quack doctor. These papers also include two diaries, poetry and essays, two silhouettes, genealogical manuscripts, and miscellaneous printed items.

The Allen Family Papers are largely incoming letters to Sarah Jane Allen prior to her marriage to Samuel A. Freeman (around 300 items), and from her father-in-law Otis Russell Freeman (around 60 items) between 1860 and 1865. An abundance of the letters were written to Sarah while she attended the Allen Female Seminary in Rochester, New York, and afterward when she lived at Honeoye Falls, New York. They include letters from her parents, cousins, friends, and siblings. A sampling suggests that the bulk are letters by young women attempting to eke out a life for themselves through seminary education, teaching, and domestic labor. Among much else, they include content on Elmira Female Seminary, New York state travel, and female friendship and support.

The Otis Russell Freeman letters date between 1862 and 1865, while he served as a surgeon in the 10th and 14th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. He wrote about the everyday camp life with a focus on the health and sickness of the soldiers. His letters include content on the defenses of Washington, D.C., fighting at Cold Harbor and outside Richmond, Virginia, the surrender of Robert E. Lee, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln's body lying in state at Jersey City. Two carte-de-visite photographs of Otis Freeman are present.

A diary kept by Sarah J. Allen began on the day of her marriage, September 26, 1865, documents her honeymoon to Niagara Falls. It ends in November 1865. The remainder of the volume is filled with recipes for baked goods, pickles, and other foods. The printed items include ephemera from Sarah Jane Allen’s tenure at Elmira Female College five issues of the Callisophia Society’s newspaper The Callisophia (vol. 1, nos. 1, 3-6; March/April 1860-January/February 1861), as well as a Catalogue of Books in Callisophia Library, December 1862.

The Samuel Alden Freeman Family Papers include approximately 300 largely incoming letters to Presbyterian minister S. A. Freeman, plus printed materials, ephemera, photographs, and bound volumes, dating in the 1810s and from the 1860s to 1880s. Correspondence of his second wife Olive dates from the 1810s in central New York. The collection includes letters to S. A. Freeman from his first wife Sarah, daughter Abigail Alden Freeman (1873-1925), and Sara Harriet Freeman (1879-1946). These materials include courtship correspondence of Sarah Jane Allen and S. A. Freeman. A considerable portion relates to Presbyterianism and at least one temperance society pledge sheet is present. Approximately 50 photographs, about half of them identified, are largely of Samuel A. Freeman and the Freeman daughters Marilla and Abigail. Among the printed ephemeral items are advertisements for programming at Corinthian Hall (probably Rochester, New York), items related to a Sunday School Association (including a printed broadside catalog of books at a N.J. Sunday School), and pamphlets on Presbyterianism. A medicinal recipe book from the mid-19th century and a commonplace book of poetry are examples of the S. A. Freeman family bound volumes.

The collection concludes with letters, photographs, ephemera, and printed items comprising the Marilla Waite Freeman Papers. Around 600 letters are largely incoming to public librarian M. W. Freeman from female educators and librarians. They discussed their profession, books, reading, and intellectual topics. A small clutch of letters, about three dozen manuscript and typed poems, and a dozen or more newspaper clippings, 1900s-1910s, comprise poet Floyd Dell’s contributions to the collection. Marilla also corresponded with poets and writers Margaret Todd Ritter, Robert Frost and Mrs. Frost, and Marie Bullock about public and private recitations and lectures. Examples of subjects covered by the printed materials include orations, educational/school/college items, library-related items, newspapers and clippings, fliers, women's clubs, New York City theater, the American Library Association, Poetry Society of America, poems by various authors, such as Ina Robert and John Belknap, visiting and business cards, and travel.

The Hayner family carte-de-visite album contains carte-de-visite and tintype studio portraits taken in Troy, New York, around the 1860s-1870s. The photographs include pictures of many members of the Hayner family and various other families, and some individuals are pictured more than once.

The Hayner family carte-de-visite album (14cm x 21cm), which belonged to Martin H. Hayner, contains 94 carte-de-visite and tintype photographs taken in Troy, New York, around the 1860s-1870s, as well as one lithograph of a young woman and young man. The brown leather cover has a floral design stamped in gold; a floral design is engraved into the sides of the pages. The studio portraits, comprised of 65 cartes-de-visite and 29 tintypes, are mostly pictures of grown men and women of various ages, including members of the Hayner family, Christian clergy, and members of various other families; some were photographed as couples. Smaller groups of items show infants and young children. Nearly all of the individuals pictured are identified, and one carte-de-visite is a photograph of Abraham Lincoln. Some of the tintypes are hand colored. A list of individuals pictured is housed with the album.

The Howell family photograph album contains tintype and carte-de-visite portraits of the relatives of Clarissa Cutler Howell, who lived in Waltz Township, Indiana, in the mid- to late 19th century. Pictures of her children, parents, and siblings are included.

The Howell family photograph album (13cm x 10cm) contains 34 photographs of the relatives of Clarissa Cutler Howell, who lived in Waltz Township, Indiana, in the mid- to late 19th century. Included are 26 tintypes, seven cartes-de-visite, and one silver gelatin print, which shows Clarissa Cutler Howell at an advanced age. A lithograph entitled "Love at the Gate" is tucked into a sleeve behind this print. With the exception of the later print, the photographs are formal studio portraits of Clarissa Cutler Howell and her parents, siblings, children, and other family members. The album's blue leather cover has a geometric relief design.

This photograph album contains portraits of direct descendants of Elijah Hubbell and Hannah Fields of Danbury, Connecticut, as well as members of associated families, including the Van Allen family of Janesville, Wisconsin, and the Lynes family of Otsego County, New York.

This album (16cm x 12cm) contains 36 carte-de-visite and two tintype portraits of members of the Hubbell family, Van Allen family, Lynes family, and others. The Hubbell and Lynes families lived in northern and central New York, and the Van Allen family lived in Janesville, Wisconsin. Formal studio portraits show men, women, and children of various ages, and some individuals are pictured more than once. Most of the photographs are labeled, and labels exist for some items that are no longer present. The covers are bound in green cloth, with a decorative design in relief.

This photograph album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of unidentified individuals taken primarily in Ionia and Clinton Counties, Michigan, in the mid- to late 19th century.

This photograph album (15cm x 12cm) contains 27 carte-de-visite and 15 tintype portraits of unidentified individuals taken in the mid- to late 19th century. Only one subject, Mr. J. C. Sessions, is identified. The studio portraits mostly show adult men and women of various ages, sometimes photographed in couples and, on two occasions, with children. A few portraits of individual children are included, including two of a young boy who was also photographed at a later date. The album has a green cover with a raised geometric design; a metal clasp that was once affixed to the volume is no longer extant.

The Kellogg family photograph album contains formal carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of men, women, and children taken mostly in Morenci, Michigan, and Wauseon, Ohio, around the mid-1860s.

The Kellogg family photograph album (14cm x 21cm) contains formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken mostly in Morenci, Michigan, and Wauseon, Ohio, around the mid-1860s. The photographs, comprised of 41 cartes-de-visite and 4 tintypes, show men, women, and children, sometimes photographed in pairs or groups. Some photographers are identified, such as "traveling artist" W. H. Cunningham. Mary McKenzie Stranahan presented the album to Mrs. Reba Kellogg, her daughter, in Wauseon, Ohio, on June 5, 1865. The brown leather cover has a tooled geometric design, and the title "Album" is stamped in gold on the spine.

The Morning family carte-de-visite album contains studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in the latter half of the 19th century. Members of the compiler's family and unidentified persons were photographed individually, in pairs, and in groups of as many as six people.

The Morning family carte-de-visite album (14.5cm x 22cm) contains 88 studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in the latter half of the 19th century. The items are comprised of 53 cartes-de-visite, 34 tintypes, and 1 small albumen print mounted on a rectangular visiting card. A number of gem tintypes are laid sideways into the carte-de-visite-sized windows, with two items visible in each window. The album's padded covers are bound in purple cloth, and an owner's name written onto the first page is faded.

The photographs are individual and group portraits of men, women, and children, including infants and toddlers; some appear more than once. Two young boys, apparently twins, were dressed identically for their picture, and a woman's hand is visible supporting an infant in another. Two girls wore white dresses and veils, possibly for communion ceremonies, and a priest is shown reading a book. Group portraits include a picture of six young men with canes and a picture of four young adults posing around a chair, shot at an angle. Two of the tintypes have hand coloring on the pictured individuals' cheeks and clothing.

The New Jersey carte-de-visite album contains studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in New York and New Jersey in the late 19th century, as well as three chromolithograph "scraps" mounted on visiting cards.

The New Jersey carte-de-visite album (17cm x 13cm) contains 36 cartes-de-visite, 10 tintypes, and 3 chromolithograph "scraps" mounted on visiting cards. The cartes-de-visite and tintypes are studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in New York and New Jersey in the late 19th century. A small number have hand coloring. Most items show adult men and women photographed individually, with one picture of an adult couple, two pictures of young children, and one picture of an infant sitting in a chair. Eight mounted gem tintypes are included. Three lithograph "scraps" depict a young girl pictured with a friendship album, an open envelope, and an artist's palette with the captions "Friendship," "Devotion," and "Forget Me Not." Each scrap is mounted on a visiting card with a raised decorated border and the names "Mrs. George Carmers" and "Morriss Algoe" printed in script. The volume's brown cover has a raised geometric design, and it has two enameled metal clasps.

This carte-de-visite album primarily contains formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in various locations in northeast North America from the 1860s to 1880s. One photograph shows an artistic rendering of the text of the Lord's Prayer, and a colored cutout is pasted into the volume.

This carte-de-visite album (15cm x 13cm) primarily contains formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in various locations in northeast North America from around the mid-1860s to early 1880s. The pictures are comprised of 42 carte-de-visite and 2 tintype portraits, as well as an additional carte-de-visite photograph collage. Two of the items are dated November 3, 1865, and September 3, 1881; few of the people pictured are identified. One woman is shown holding an infant in her lap. One tintype shows a young man dressed in costume wearing a plumed hat. The additional carte-de-visite depicts a printed version of the Lord's Prayer that utilizes several ornate fonts; a picture of Jesus Christ appears amidst the text, which is surrounded by drawn scenes of angels. A cutout pasted into the volume is a colored drawing of a woman standing next to a grazing sheep, framed by three large flowers. The album's brown leather cover has geometric designs stamped in gold and metal clasps; a floral design is carved into the sides of the pages. "Photographs" is stamped in gold on the spine.