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Ann Arbor, Michigan, family. Family correspondence, photographs, and miscellanea.

The collection consists of letters of Ellen Botsford Bach written while touring Europe and while attending the University of Michigan. Her other papers include reminiscences of her early life in Ann Arbor before 1900 and a recipe book. The papers of Waldo Bach consist of letters he wrote while serving in the Spanish American War.

Registrar of the University of Michigan. Files concerning University admissions policy, the work of the registrar as liaison between the University and secondary schools, the relationship of the University to other educational associations, and the maintenance of student records at the University; and files relating to his work with University, community, and other social organizations; also photographs.

The Ira M. Smith papers document his career as Registrar at the University of Michigan, his reform of the admissions process, his involvement in general university affairs, and activities with various community organizations. The collection has largely been retained in its original order. Groups of files were given series title. These are Biographical materials, Correspondence; University of Michigan; Community Activities, and Photographs. The great bulk of the collection relates to University of Michigan affairs and to his community involvements.

The Michigan Historical Collections Topical Photograph Collection offer a broad and varied glimpse into nearly one hundred years of Michigan history, from the 1860s into the 1950s. The provenance of most of the photographs has been lost and therefore these images have been grouped together by subject into an artificial accumulation. Subjects depicted range from industry and transportation to clothing styles and social customs.

The photographs in this collection were received from various sources. Subjects include carriages, automobiles, Great Lakes shipping, railroads, and mass transit, especially street railroads. There are also images documenting activities within the mining, forestry, and lumber industries, mostly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Also included are photographs of various ethnic groups and their societies, notably of Native Americans (1870s-1930s) of the Manistee and Ludington, Michigan, areas. Some of the images are street views and private residences in various Michigan towns and cities. Of interest are photographs of Michigan units taking part in the Spanish-American War and the "Polar Bear Expedition" of World War I. There is also a series of bookplates, [acquired from?] William H. Bicknell, many of which relate to the University of Michigan.

John F. Shepard family; diaries, photographs, recipes and correspondence concerning family matters and nineteenth century farm life; also professional correspondence, student notebooks and lecture notes of John F. Shepard.

Although the Shepard family papers (1807-1934) cover three generations, the bulk of the materials are from John F. Shepard. The earliest correspondence is primarily addressed to his father Arthur, and to his grandfather John from family members and relatives. The letters deal with health, crops, and relatives. There are also letters from John F. Shepard's wife Berenice to her mother Mary Barnes (maiden name Van Valin) and from Berenice's father Charles to her mother. The Barnes and VanValins lived in Marshall, Michigan.

The John F. Shepard papers include professional correspondence from 1911 to 1934, mostly relating to University building plans. There are also minutes (1921-1925) of the Committee of Five on the Comprehensive Building Program, as well as Shepard's student notebooks from philosophy and psychology courses taught by James R. Angell and James H. Tuft at the University of Chicago, and by Alfred H. Lloyd and Walter B. Pillsbury at the University of Michigan.

The photographs are mainly of his wife's family, many from the late nineteenth century.