Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection contains Ella St. John Whallon's personal correspondence, including letters from friends and family members in Michigan and love letters from her husband, James M. Whallon of Dowagiac, Michigan. The collection also has letters to Lizzie Wittle of Columbia, Pennsylvania, from Edward E. Seifred, a member of the United States Army's 18th Infantry Regiment who served in the Philippines during the early twentieth century. Other items include financial documents, tintype photographs, a commemorative ribbon, and a leather postcard.

This collection (63 items) contains Ella St. John Whallon's personal correspondence, including letters from friends and family members in Michigan, as well as love letters from her husband, James M. Whallon of Dowagiac, Michigan. The collection also has letters to Lizzie Wittle of Columbia, Pennsylvania, from Edward E. Seifred, a member of the United States Army's 18th Infantry Regiment who served in the Philippines, and another correspondent, dated between 1903 and 1909. Other items include financial documents, tintype photographs, a commemorative ribbon, and a leather postcard.

The Correspondence series (58 items) contains correspondence related to Ella St. John Whallon and Lizzie Wittle. During the final years of the Civil War, Philena Hood of Saline, Michigan, wrote to Ella St. John about her experiences in school; one of her letters encloses a small piece of fabric (October 16, 1864). Several of Ella's cousins wrote to her during the late 1860s, mostly about family news from Clinton and Lansing, Michigan. One cousin, Wallace J. Hunt, commented on his experiences while serving with the Union Army in Winchester, Virginia; his letter of January 31, 1865, encloses a tintype photograph.

From 1871-1874, James M. Whallon wrote 27 letters and postcards to Ella St. John, pertaining to his life in Dowagiac, Michigan, his feelings for Ella, and their anticipated marriage. After their wedding, he sometimes wrote brief postcards while traveling. In 1872, Ella wrote 1 letter to James and received 2 letters from her mother. In August 1876, a relative wrote to Ella about his experiences at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. She received a postcard from her brother Frank in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1917, and a partial letter from a friend in 1923.

The second group of correspondence is comprised of 5 letters to Lizzie Wittle of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Edward E. Seifred wrote 3 letters while serving with Company I of the United States Army's 18th Infantry Regiment in Manila, Philippines, in 1903 and 1904. He discussed his feelings for Wittle, proposed marriage, and reflected on his life as a soldier. In 1909, she received 2 letters from "Andrew," who explained his decision to delay marriage until achieving financial security and reported on a couple who had eloped in York, Pennsylvania. Undated items include a leather postcard addressed to Lizzie Wittle with an ink drawing of a bulldog on the back.

Five receipts are integrated with the correspondence, including documentation of wages paid to James M. Whallon during his Civil War service (October 24, 1863) and 4 receipts for Samuel St. John's contributions to a church building (1869-1872).

The Photographs series (3 items) contains a tintype portrait of Ella St. John Whallon, a tintype portrait of Samuel St. John, and a carte-de-visite portrait of Ella St. John Whallon.

Ephemera items include a poem that Philena Hood wrote for Ella St. John, with a pencil drawing of a bird on the back, and a ribbon from the 11th Michigan Cavalry Regiment's 1889 reunion in Battle Creek, Michigan.

This collection is made up of personal correspondence between members of the Eckert family, Black family, and Shippen family. The letters pertain to family news, marriage, religion, and everyday life in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the early to mid-19th century.

This collection (227 items) consists of personal correspondence between members of several Pennsylvania families in the early to mid-19th century. The letters pertain to family news, marriage, religion, and everyday life in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the early to mid-19th century.

Members of the Baker, Biddle, Black, Eckert, and Shippen families wrote one another from various Pennsylvania towns, including Shippenville, Shamokin, Washington, and Philadelphia. A group of early letters pertains to Harriet Wood Eckert, who wrote to her parents and sister about life in Washington County, Virginia, and received letters from family members in Pennsylvania. Richard Shippen wrote to his father, Robert Shippen of Drumore Township, Pennsylvania, about life in Shippenville in the early 1800s.

After the 1830s, much of the correspondence concerns Mary G. Eckert, the daughter of Harriet Wood and Solomon Eckert. Her first letters, written to her parents, describe her life and educational experiences in Philadelphia and Washington, Pennsylvania. In the mid-1840s, she began corresponding with Adam Black of Shippenville, whom she married around 1844. During the early years of their marriage, they wrote one another with news from Shippenville and from Shamokin, where Mary lived with or visited her parents. Their letters relate to courtship and marriage, family news and health, religion, and additional subjects. Letters by other family members concern topics such as health, family news, and daily life in 19th-century Pennsylvania.

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania. A number of letters written between George Niles Bird and Frances Rowe depict their lengthy, occasionally difficult, courtship in the late 19th century. Letters from other friends and family members are interspersed, including a letter from Hope Rowe recounting the funeral of President James A. Garfield (October 9, 1881).

Nancy N. Bird's correspondence consists primarily of incoming personal letters. Nancy's cousins wrote many of the letters, with the family's religiosity influencing much of their writing. The Bird family papers include many of Nancy N. Bird's speeches, including a series of talks delivered to fellow members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) between 1886 and 1912. She discussed temperance, religion, and topics of local interest, including the history of Smithfield, Pennsylvania. Nancy N. Bird's printed materials consist primarily of ephemera, programs, and newspaper clippings, largely related to her work with the WCTU and to the Bradford Baptist Association. Also present are three items written by Nancy: a short book entitled A History of the Sunday Schools in East Smithfield, PA. Since 1822, and two copies of The History of the Baptist Church of East Smithfield, PA. Other materials related to Nancy include journal pages, a photograph, and Sunday School papers.

Helen Bird's letters, written to her mother, chronicle her year at the West Chester Normal School, 1912-1913, and include frequent complaints about the atmosphere, the people, and the food.

Materials relating to George Bird consist primarily of incoming correspondence from friends and from his cousin Geraldine ("Jerry"). Jerry, who financially supported George during his time at Pennsylvania State University, also offered advice and updates on her academic life at Cornell University, while George's friend Eugene Edgar Doll discussed his experiences at the University of Chicago and his patronage of the arts. The collection also includes reports from George Bird's early studies and from his time at Pennsylvania State.

Personal letters from other members of the Niles and Bird families include early letters from Hannah Niles to her husband Samuel, and letters addressed to George N. Bird, his wife Frances, and their daughter-in-law Carrie. Two printed letters from "Robert and Bernie" in Impur, India, describe the country and their educational and missionary work; on January 7, 1921, they mentioned Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.

The collection contains diaries and journals, account books, and albums. The diaries include an 1844 unsigned journal, Hannah Minor Niles' 1866 diary, Nancy Niles Bird's 1851 diary, and Carrie M. Bird's 1921 diary. An account books tracks John Bird's expenses between 1846 and 1858, and a record book kept by Nancy Niles Bird includes the meeting minutes from the Soldiers Aid Society during the Civil War and household accounts. George Bird's autograph album covers the years 1879-1881 and Nancy Niles Bird's scrapbook, kept between 1850 and 1925, contains newspaper articles about her mother Hannah, members of the Bird family, and acquaintances from Pennsylvania and Kansas.

Other miscellaneous items include a printed map, a document related to the military chapel at Ellington Field, Texas, genealogical items, and manuscript poems.