Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Professor of history and director of Michigan Historical Collections of University of Michigan. Personal and professional correspondence; class notes and lectures; Michigan Historical Commission files; research material on Thomas M. Cooley; material concerning Azazels, University faculty club; letters written as student at University of Michigan, 1912-1913, and at Harvard; and letters written as instructor at Culver Military Academy, and at Teachers' College, St. Cloud, Minnesota in the 1920's; also photographs.

The papers of Lewis George Vander Velde date from 1855 to 1975 and comprise 7 and 3/4 linear feet of material. The collection is valuable for its documentation of the life of an historian and teacher. Vander Velde papers show a constant attention to, and interest in, Michigan local history. The Collection is arranged into seven series: Biographical Materials; Professional Files; University Class Notes and Lectures; Research Materials (Thomas M. Cooley); Family Papers; Personal Correspondence; and Miscellaneous.

Papers and photographs collected by Robert D. Aldrich relating to the history, people and institutions of Concord village in Jackson County, Michigan; include correspondence, diaries, account books and other papers of Concord residents; records of Concord social organizations, businesses, schools, and church and governmental bodies.

The Robert D. Aldrich collection consists of materials--manuscript, printed, and photographic--documenting the history of Concord, Michigan, in western Jackson County. The collection spans the period from the arrival of the first settlers in 1831 to the 1980s. There are a few items dating back into the eighteenth century (as early as 1783) since the papers of some pioneer families predate their arrival in Concord. The bulk of the collection, though, falls in the period since the Civil War.

The collection documents every facet of life in Concord. Included are the papers of numerous Concord citizens consisting of personal correspondence, diaries, account books and newspaper clippings about them. In addition, Aldrich collected the records of various Concord businesses and organizations, as well as some church, school, and governmental records.

The collection has been divided into two series: Manuscript and Printed Materials, and Visual Materials. Both series are arranged alphabetically either by personal name or name of organization, or by general subject area, such as Circus, Underground Railroad, etc.