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Collection includes information about the history of Michigan counties, forts, places, people, events, French men and Native Americans, and mining.

Collection materials include correspondence and reference requests on various Michigan historical topics, counties, forts, and people, as well as French men and three Ottawa chiefs he researched for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Most materials were collected between 1965 and 1967. Some materials are in French. Some materials are in French.

Oversized Materials: Map by Dept. of Conservation, Div. of Geological Survey, entitled Progress Structural Contours of the Mt. Pleasant Oil Field Area, Aug. 8, 1929, measures approximately 38x62 inches, is stained and acidic; and an undated, twentieth century reproduction of a New France, Canada Map entitled Le Canada, ou Nouvelle France, by N. Sanson, d'Abbeville, 1657, tinted in yellow, brown, and two shades of green, measures 10x14 inches, in the bottom margin it states "compliments of C. M. Burton, Detroit." The maps were separated from the boxes sometime prior to 1997. They were located, interfiled between published maps, in January 2015 by students working on a map scanning project, and were then processed by the Archivist Marian Matyn.

Processing Note: Originally, the maps were separated from the boxes sometime prior to 1997. They were located, interfiled between published maps, in January 2015 by students working on a map scanning project, and were then processed by the Archivist Marian Matyn.

This collection contains the correspondence, legal documents, and financial records of Edward H. Thomson, a lawyer who lived in Flint, Michigan, in the mid-1800s. Many items pertain to Thomson's involvement in mining ventures in the Lake Superior region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

This collection contains the correspondence, legal documents, and financial records of Edward H. Thomson, a lawyer from Flint, Michigan, in the mid-1800s. Many items pertain to Thomson's involvement in mining ventures in the Lake Superior region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The Correspondence series (120 items), the bulk of which is dated between 1844 and 1885, contains personal and business letters, including correspondence addressed to Thomson and his retained letters. Many items pertain to Thomson's involvement with the British and Canadian Mining Company and other mining firms in the Lake Superior region. Other letters relate to his position as commissioner for immigration. A group of Civil War-era letters concerns land claims in Michigan; many of these items bear the letterhead of the Michigan State Land Office. The series also contains 8 letters of recommendation in support of Thomson's candidacy for United States Consul at St. Thomas, Canada, 1885.

The Documents and Financial Records series (117 items) contains indentures and other documents related to land in Massachusetts and Michigan. The series includes receipts and other financial documents, as well as documents related to Edward H. Thomson's mining ventures, including a copy of an agreement between Thomson and others to conduct business as the British North American Mining Company (November 3, 1845). The series also includes Thomson's appointment as consul to Basle, Switzerland, signed by President Andrew Jackson (February 25, 1837), and Thomson's appointment as a captain in the Michigan Militia in 1861 (August 13, 1861); a group of 45 checks includes many drawn on John A. Winston & Company, affiliated with the Bank of Mobile.

The Writings series includes 2 essays composed for debating clubs, several respecting William Shakespeare, brief notes on algebra, and other material. The collection contains 2 Genealogical essays: one traces the history of the Thomson family; the other contains chronology of events in the life of Dr. Douglass Houghton.

A series of Maps mainly contains surveys, including several depicting the Lake Superior region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Printed Items include pamphlets, printed letters and documents, ephemera, and newspaper clippings. The series includes 2 copies of a printed document pertaining to exploration of the eastern shores of Lake Superior for mineral deposits (November 21, 1845), a broadside for an 1881 dedicatory picnic, and admission and other cards. Most of the 16 newspaper clippings relate to the death of Howard W. Peaslee of Malden Bridge, New York, after he fell from a bridge in 1885; other clippings contain obituary notices and announcements.

This artificial collection includes annual reports, reports of mine inspectors, brochures, stock certificates, and an issue of the American Journal of Mining, New York, August 18, 1866.

This artificial collection consists mostly of annual reports of mining companies, reports of mine inspectors, a few brochures or informational pamphlets about the mining companies and mining, stock certificates, and an issue of the American Journal of Mining, New York, August 18, 1866.

This daybook contains information about Samuel Livingston Mather's financial affairs in Cleveland, Ohio, between July 1843 and June 1848. The accounts pertain to real property in Ohio, mining company stock, banking, and Mather's personal finances.

This daybook (166 pages) contains information about Samuel Livingston Mather's financial affairs in Cleveland, Ohio, between July 1843 and June 1848. The accounts pertain to real property in Ohio, mining company stock, banking, and Mather's personal finances.

The daybook entries are comprised of notes about individual transactions and agreements, and many refer to additional financial records or letters, recorded in other volumes (not present). The volume represents Mather's personal and business interests; several individuals appear frequently throughout the volume, including William N. Sill (later, his estate) and Nathan Starr. Mather often conducted business with residents of New York State. Some entries pertain to real property in northeastern Ohio, and a manuscript map of lots near a street corner, titled "Western Starr," is laid into the volume (pp. 135-136). Other records concern tax payments, the Merchants Bank, and stock in mining companies such as the Isle Royale & Ohio Mining Company.