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Collection

Chase S. Osborn Papers, circa 1870-1949 (majority within 1889-1949)

149.9 linear feet ((in 152 boxes)) — 3 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder

Governor of Michigan, writer, businessman; papers include correspondence, business records, speeches, writings, visual materials, diaries.

The Osborn collection consists of correspondence, diaries, business papers, scrapbooks, photographs, and other materials accumulated during his life. Materials prior to 1889 are scarce possibly because of a fire which destroyed Osborn's home; thereafter and up to the time of his death in 1949, the Osborn papers are voluminous, documenting each of this man's varied activities. Although his career as elected public official was limited to one term as governor, the collection reflects the importance of his life in areas beyond politics alone. His voice was heard, in letters and speeches and monographs, speaking out on the issues of the day - prohibition, conservation, the New Deal, and of course his life-long interest in the development of Michigan's Upper Peninsula economy and natural resources.

Collection

Department of History (University of Michigan) student papers, 1930-1987

7 linear feet (263 papers)

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.

Collection

George R. LaRue papers, 1910-1951

4 linear feet

Professor of zoology at University of Michigan. Correspondence, mostly of a professional nature, with students and scholars in the field of zoology; also manuscripts, addresses, lecture notes, and other papers.

The LaRue papers consists of professor correspondence, 1910 to 1951 and a few of the lecture that he came about the work of the Biological Station and his expertise in the area of parasitology.

Collection

George Romney Papers, 1920s-1973

601 linear feet — 194.6 GB (online)

Online
Republican Governor of Michigan, 1962-1969; Presidential candidate, 1968; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1969-1972. Papers consist of extensive correspondence and subject files from his tenure as governor, campaign material, and files relating to service at HUD and his other political activities, includes photographs, films and videotapes and sound recordings.

The papers of George Romney document the many faceted career of an automobile executive, governor of Michigan, candidate for President, cabinet officer, and activist on behalf of volunteerism. In this electronic version of the finding aid to the Romney papers, there are six subgroups of materials. These are Gubernatorial Papers covering the period of 1962 to 1969, Pre-gubernatorial Papers covering the period before taking office in 1963, Post-gubernatorial Papers covering the period after 1968, records of Romney Associates (a group established during his bid for the presidency), Visual Materials covering mainly the period up to 1969, and Sound Recordings also covering up to 1969. There is some overlapping of dates, particularly around the time when Romney was first elected governor in 1962 and the period when he joined the Nixon administration in 1969. The researcher should also note that the papers of Lenore Romney are not part of this finding aid.

Collection

Harold Titus Papers, 1908-1967

5.2 linear feet

Traverse City, Michigan, free-lance writer and conservation editor of Field and Stream magazine; correspondence, manuscripts of writings, diaries, topical files, and photographs.

The collection includes correspondence, manuscript articles, and conservation columns; materials collected by the Michigan Writers' Program concerning Michigan logging; also diaries, speeches, newspaper clippings, notebooks, genealogy, photographs, and miscellaneous material concerning Titus' interest in conservation, forestry, and fishing.

Collection

Jack Van Coevering Papers, 1928-1978

21 linear feet

Detroit Free Press outdoor writer and later faculty member in the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources. Files of Detroit Free Press outdoor pages and conservation articles, clippings, and photographs, correspondence, and notes on Michigan conservation history, pesticides, pollution, plants and animals, hunting and fishing, parks, rivers and lakes, conservation writing, and ecology; also manuscript of history of conservation in Michigan with background information; and materials gathered for intended biographical study of Michigan conservationists.

As a long-time observer of the Michigan conservation scene, Van Coevering collected a wide range of materials to document the history of hunting, fishing, and wildlife management, the development of state parks and forests, political development of the Department of Conservation and Conservation Commission, concerns about pollution and pesticide poisoning, and other conservation and environmental matters in Michigan. This collection is made up of his writings and background materials on all these topics.

The collection contains only a part of Van Coevering's papers. His "personal" papers were destroyed by his widow after his death. Included here are "historical" papers collected in the course of his work as an outdoor writer. The papers include press releases, clippings, memoranda, reports, and other documents collected by Van Coevering as well as correspondence. Van Coevering's outgoing correspondence is generally of the information-seeking type, and provides little insight into his ideas.

The collection is divided into five major series: Publications, Reference file, School of Natural Resources file, Michigan conservation history file, and Photographs. There is also a small folder of obituaries and other personal information in Box 1. In 1996, the library received an addition to the collection. This 1996 accession from Frank Angelo includes the manuscript of "A Brief History of Conservation in Michigan," and the accompanying research as well as background research for a proposed history of prominent Michigan conservationists.

Collection

Junius E. Beal Papers, 1869-1946

15.3 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan, businessman, publisher of Ann Arbor Courier, Republican politician, and regent of University of Michigan. Correspondence, letter books, speeches, newspaper clippings, and photographs; papers (1909-1920) of Michigan Public Domain Commission, of which Beal was a member; papers (1877-1904) concerning Port Huron Gas Light Company; and printed material and miscellanea (1885-1905) concerning League of American Wheelmen and his interest in bicycling.

The Junius E. Beal papers include correspondence, papers accumulated from his various interests and organizational activities, subject files, speeches, newspaper clippings, and photographs. The series in the collection include: Correspondence, Michigan Public Domain Commission, Topical Files; and Other Materials. Most of the files in the collection relate in some way to Beal's life in Ann Arbor, either as a student, a businessman, a public figure, as someone who took civic responsibility seriously and was determined to serve his community and the university that he loved.

Collection

Littlefield Family Papers, 1834-1935

0.5 linear feet — 1 microfilm

Papers, of the Josiah Littlefield family of Monroe County and Farwell, Clare County, Michigan. Correspondence, typescript of autobiography, and excerpted typescript of University of Michigan student diary, 1867-1871, of Josiah Littlefield, surveyor, lumberman, and conservationist; also letters of other members of the Littlefield and Hall families; and photographs.

The Littlefield family collection documents several generations in the life of a family which migrated from Grafton, New York about 1830, and came to Michigan, settling first near Ash in Monroe County and later in Farwell in Clare County. The collection (311 items) spans the period of 1834 to 1935, and consists almost entirely of letters among family members, though there is a small group of printed items dealing with University of Michigan activities and life in Farwell, Michigan. Included with the papers are the correspondence, autobiography, and excerpted diary of Josiah Littlefield. There is also correspondence of Littlefield's wife, Ellen Hart Littlefield, his mother, Mary Hall Littlefield, his daughter, Ellen Littlefield Elder, and his uncle, Edmund Hall.

The correspondence comprising the collection includes several recurring subjects: schooling, medical treatment, social customs, religious matters (selecting ministers, sermons, and church activities), agriculture (types of crops grown and prices received), food prices in Michigan, fashions of domestic furnishings (see Josiah Littlefield folder: September 13, 1874, September 24, 1874, October 4, 1874 and January 1, 1874 from Ellen Hart Littlefield; Mary Hall Littlefield folder: October 14, 1874 from Josiah Littlefield; Ellen Hart Littlefield folder: March 3, 1875 from Lucy Hart and October 5, 1873, letter from Josiah Littlefield; see Ellen Hart Littlefield folder: April 25, 1875 from Jessie Hart Williams).

Interesting though brief descriptions of Oberlin College in the 1830's occur in letters from Edmund Hall (see Martha Smith Hall folder: February 15, 1840 from Edmund Hall; and Mary Hall Littlefield folder: May 21, 1836 and October 11, 1836 from Edmund Hall). Mr. Hall apparently became involved in abolition activities in Michigan in the mid 1840's. A listing of seven speeches scheduled for September or October, 1844 is in the first Edmund Hall folder.

In the area of women's history, parts of the collection cover several topics of interest in addition to those referred to as recurring subjects. Martha Smith Hall, Josiah Littlefield's maternal grandmother left her husband E.F. Hall in New York state about 1830 and migrated to Michigan with her children. She managed to establish a new home and raise and educate her family without any economic help from her husband. (see Martha Hitchcock folder: February 2, 1854 from E.F. Hall, October 12, 1855 from Carolina A. Kinsley; see Edmund Hall folder: August 13, 1855 and August 21, 1855 from Carolina A. Kinsley, October 20, 1855 from Martha Hitchcock, and October 2, 1855 to Mrs. Kinsley from Edmund Hall).

Reference to a case of post-natal depression so severe that it culminated in temporary insanity and the killing of a child occurs in the Josiah Littlefield folder (January 15, 1875 from Ellen Hart Littlefield). Descriptions of another serious post-natal depression are contained in the Josiah Littlefield folder (January 15, 1875 from Ellen hart Littlefield and May 21, 1877 from Margaret Hart).

Collection

Michigan Environmental Council records, 1925-2012 (majority within 1980-2005)

57.5 linear feet — 2.5 GB (online)

Online
The Lansing-based Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) formed in 1980 to coordinate lobbying and other member activities, distribute information, and monitor the environmental policies of state government. More recently, the council has focused almost exclusively on distributing information, directing funding, and building broad consensus on land use issues. The MEC records include information on significant environmental issues in Michigan as well as administrative papers pertaining to the council's operation.

The Michigan Environmental Council records depict the incremental growth of one of Michigan's pre-eminent environmental organizations. In addition to administrative records dealing with the council's operation, the record group also contain information on key environmental issues, major council initiatives, and MEC members. These records therefore will be of value to those interested in the environmental movement, Michigan legislative process, and the development of non-profit organizations.

Collection

P.S. Lovejoy Papers, 1918-1941

5 linear feet

Professor of forestry in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan, active in conservation movement, first head of the Michigan Game Division and a popular writer on conservation topics; papers consist of correspondence (including Aldo Leopold and Gifford Pinchot and leading conservationists), reports, writings and photographs.

The collection consists of five linear feet of correspondence and articles, and other materials relating to Lovejoy's work on behalf of forest conservation, forestry in general, his work with various state and local organizations, and his career as a writer for different national magazines.

Though the collection dates from 1918 to 1941, it bulks largest (except for the Articles series) in the period beginning in 1931. This was after Lovejoy had left the University of Michigan and after his pioneering work in the 1920s.