Search

Adam Ludewig, an Alpena, Michigan, bookseller's clerk in his early 20s, recorded information about his activities, interactions, and the weather in this pre-printed daily Excelsior diary. He provided very brief notes on his work in the store; documentation of church and Sunday school attendance; remarks on letters, notes, and visits by young women; the books he read; painting lessons; and other subjects. He frequently abbreviated names and other words, occasionally wrote sentences with old German script, and sometimes encoded words with pigpen cyphers.

Adam Ludewig, an Alpena, Michigan, bookseller's clerk in his early 20s, recorded information about his activities, interactions, and the weather in this pre-printed daily Excelsior diary. He provided very brief notes on his work in the store ("All well / Busy in Store"); documentation of church and Sunday school attendance; and mentions of letters, notes, and visits by young women—with occasional afterthoughts such as "poor girl is to have a tooth pulled this morning" or "I do not know what to do. Time will be my best support." He noted the books he read, from "Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Single and Married" to Goethe's "The Sorrow of Young Werther." He painted and studied French. Ludewig frequently abbreviated names and other words, occasionally wrote sentences with old German script, and sometimes encoded words with pigpen cyphers. Seven small pen and ink drawings are scattered within the volume.

Civic and other organizational work mentioned in the diary include financial support for the German Aid Society and the Arbeiterverein, and attendance at evening Masonic Lodge meetings (identified in the diary only as drawings of oblong squares in quotation marks). He became Secretary and noted that he paid $1.00 for life insurance from the Masons (for $1,500 coverage).

The Alexander family papers document the family, life, and early career of pianist Margaret June Alexander (also known as Vonya Alexandre) throughout the early 1900s. The collection is made up of two journals kept by her mother, Myrilla M. Anderson, plus letters, writings, artwork, family photographs, printed programs, sheet music, and other materials related to this Decatur County and Indianapolis, Indiana, family.

The Alexander family papers document the family, life, and early career of pianist Margaret June Alexander (also known as Vonya Alexandre) throughout the early 1900s. The collection consists of two journals kept by her mother, Myrilla M. Anderson, plus approximately 1 linear foot of letters, writings, artwork, family photographs, printed programs, sheet music, books, newspaper clippings, and other materials related to this Decatur County and Indianapolis, Indiana, family.

Margaret's mother, Myrilla Anderson Alexander, wrote two journals during Margaret's early life and stages of her musical career. The first, kept between 1894 and 1896, documents Myrilla's experiences during Margaret's infancy and a list of musical lessons, associated fees, and required books. The second journal covers 1907 to 1917, and focuses primarily on Margaret's musical performances, complemented by enclosed newspaper clippings, correspondence, and programs.

The Alexander family papers include Myrilla M. Anderson Alexander's sketchbook of ink, watercolor, and charcoal illustrations. A hand bound book appears in the collection, written for Myrilla Alexander by R. E. Sylvester, which contains poetry and sketches.

The collection includes 4 letters by Myrilla Alexander, picture postcards, calling cards, 2 blank living wills from the state of Florida, and a 1945 marriage certificate for Carl F. Grouleff and Vonya Kurzhene. A typed document titled "Remembrances of Anna Stover and Edith Surbey" recounts the friends' lives from their early education through their ongoing religious charity work. Other items include a handwritten description of Margaret June Alexander's 1913 performance at Carnegie Hall, a list of quotations, and a certificate regarding the eligibility of Mary Alexander Tarkington and Caroline Anderson Haugh to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Approximately 110 photographs depict Margaret June Alexander, her performance partner Mischel Kurzene, and members of the Alexander, Anderson, and Tarkington families. An address book kept by Myrilla Alexander includes addresses and birthdays of family and friends.

The collection's printed items include programs for musical events, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and two books. Approximately 50 programs reflect Margaret June Alexander's musical career between 1907 and 1927. Obituaries for members of the Alexander and Tarkington families appear within the collection's newspaper clippings. Multiple copies of an undated, printed advertisement for "Dr. Alexander's Effervescing Headache Powders" are also present. The collection's 2 books are G. W. H. Kemper's A Medical History of the State of Indiana (Chicago: American Medical Association Press, 1911) and Joseph Tarkington's Autobiography of Rev. Joseph Tarkington (Cincinnati: Curts & Jennings, 1899).

This slim volume contains a partial account of a trip from New York City to Niagara Falls in August 1825, with entries cutting off abruptly at Lockport, New York. The currently unidentified writer traveled on the incomplete Erie Canal aboard the safety barge Lady Clinton and by road on the last leg of their journey. The author included descriptions of scenery, geographic features, towns, and canal systems they passed. Within the volume are calligraphic headings, pressed leaves, and a color illustration of two birds and flowers.

This slim volume contains a partial account of a trip from New York City to Niagara Falls in August 1825, with entries cutting off abruptly at Lockport, New York. The currently unidentified writer traveled on the incomplete Erie Canal aboard the safety barge Lady Clinton and by road on the last leg of their journey. The author included descriptions of scenery, geographic features, towns, and canal systems they passed. Within the volume are calligraphic headings, pressed leaves, and a color illustration of two birds and flowers.

Major points of the route serve as headings within the volume, being visually differentiated from the main text by calligraphic headings. Observations on town layouts and architecture—including rough estimations of population count—provide a developmental snapshot of the region as perceived by the writer. Also mentioned is the construction on the Mt. Pleasant Prison at Sing Sing [Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, New York] and the quarry of white marble used by the builders.

The writer's travel by road was apparently not as easy as their travel by canal. After turning off the Ridge Road at Hartland, New York, descriptions of the woodland seem to indicate a host of obstructions in the form of mudholes, ruts, and stumps (p. 22). Apart from the entries on towns and landscapes, the writer noted a hotel landlord in Victor, New York, who kept two wolves, two small deer, and a fox in his yard (p. 16).

Yellowed imprints of larger leaves placed into the volume can be found on later pages, but only the smallest have lasted to the present day.

This volume, which may have belonged to a Scottish teacher, contains pencil drawings of everyday objects and notes related to instruction in art and geography.

This volume, which may have belonged to a Scottish teacher, has pebbled covers, with the title "Sketch Book" stamped in gold on the front. The first section, "Specimen course for Second Year Higher Grade," contains 6 pages of pencil drawings. The subjects include books, plants, household items, a shoe, a water tank, an umbrella, a broom, a basket, and a hand. The final page of drawings includes the note: "Complete course with interiors & outdoor work."

The second part of the volume is a 2-page chart titled "Geography. Scheme of Work," with tables of geographical subjects for students at various levels. Each month's course included the study of a country or geographical region, a "practical" subject, and a "physical" subject. The areas represented are primarily European nations; British colonies such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and India; North and South America; Asia, and Pacific islands. The teacher offered practical instruction in navigational concepts, the use and creation of maps, and surveying, and offered instruction on various geological topics such as the Earth's atmosphere, climate, and physical features such as volcanoes and glaciers.

The Arthur Bruhus papers primarily contain incoming and outgoing letters and greeting cards that Sergeant Bruhus wrote and received while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Bruhus described his everyday life at military camps in Maryland and Texas between January 1943 and April 1945 and his service in France between April 1945 and September 1945.

This Arthur Bruhus papers contain over 200 incoming and outgoing letters and greeting cards that Sergeant Arthur Bruhus wrote and received while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Bruhus described his everyday life at military camps in Maryland and Texas between January 1943 and April 1945 and his service in France between April 1945 and September 1945. The collection also includes negatives for 24 photographs and 13 printed and ephemeral items.

The Correspondence series is comprised of letters, greeting cards, V-mail, and postcards. Arthur Bruhus wrote approximately 175 letters to his mother, Anna Bruhus of Palatine, Illinois, during his time in the military. Bruhus served at several domestic military bases throughout the war, and frequently described his travel between camps and during furloughs, his first impressions upon arrival, the surrounding scenery, and nearby cities (particularly in Texas). While stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, he occasionally visited Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Bruhus also discussed camp life and, to a lesser extent, his military assignments. After undergoing radio training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in June 1943, he worked with radio-controlled planes used for target practice. In November 1943, he noted Camp Barkeley's use of German prisoners of war for manual labor (November 12, 1943). Bruhus was deployed to France in April 1945 and served at Épernay until his return to the United States in 1945. While in France, he commented on the scenery and everyday activities. In one letter he recounted his experiences on V-E Day (May 25, 1945). He enclosed church programs in two letters. His final letter to his mother is dated September 4, 1915.

Bruhus also corresponded with his sisters, nieces and nephews, and acquaintances (about 25 incoming and outgoing letters). Anna Bruhus received several letters from her grandchildren.

The Photographic negatives series is made up film negatives for 24 photographs of unidentified military barracks, soldiers, camouflaged tents, and group exercises.

The 13 items in the Printed items and ephemera series include advertisements, programs, and an issue of the Camp Barkeley News (May 12, 1944).

This collection contains correspondence that Charlotte Henrietta Winslow (née Pettibone) received in the mid-1800s. She corresponded with several potential suitors in the latter half of the 1840s, including her future husband, Horace Winslow. Other correspondence includes personal letters she received from family and friends, as well as letters addressed to her sister-in-law, Philinda Winslow. Other items include poems and religious notes.

This collection (1 linear foot) contains over 500 letters related to Charlotte Henrietta Winslow (née Pettibone), as well as poetry, religious notes, and other items. In the mid-1800s, Charlotte Pettibone Winslow received letters from potential suitors, family members, and friends. The collection also contains letters written and received by her husband, Horace Winslow, as well as letters received by her sister-in-law, Philinda Winslow. Most of the correspondence concerns social life in New York City and Connecticut in the early 19th century.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence that Charlotte Pettibone Winslow received both before and after her marriage to Presbyterian and Congregational pastor Horace Winslow. She received 3 letters from Delia Bacon between 1844 and 1845 related to her desire to study under Bacon, as well as letters from friends and family members describing their social lives in New York City and in Connecticut towns such as Norfolk and Hartford. Many of the letters discuss courtship and marriage; multiple correspondents also mentioned their acquaintances' visits to Niagara Falls.

Charlotte Pettibone corresponded with several potential suitors in the mid- to late-1840s, and the collection contains many letters she received from suitors, as well as her responses, which include both original items and contemporary copies that Pettibone transcribed herself. Two letters are apologies to potential suitors with whom she did not wish to engage in correspondence and courtship (February 18, 1843 and January 1, 1848). The collection contains 3 letters that Sanford Horton wrote to Pettibone between 1845 and 1846, regarding the possibility of correspondence and the potential for mutual affections, as well as her responses. She also received 4 similar letters from William Long, to whom she responded 3 times. The letters between Pettibone and Long often relate to religious views and to Charlotte's religious studies; the final 2, written in December 1846, discuss the discontinuation of their correspondence.

Other suitors included Harvey Loomis (23 letters and 12 responses, 1847-1848); Nat B. Stevens (7 letters and 2 responses, 1846-1847); and J. H. W. Wing (2 letters and 6 responses, 1848). Horace Winslow wrote 3 letters to Charlotte during their courtship, and 13 during the first two years of their marriage, expressing his affections and providing news of his health and activities.

Charlotte Pettibone Winslow also received letters from her mother, Fanny Pettibone, who provided news from Norfolk, Connecticut, and from her extended family. Fanny Pettibone received several letters from Jeffrey O. Phelps between 1876 and 1877, most of which concern finances. Charlotte Pettibone Winslow received 4 letters from her niece, Molly P. Phelps, about her studies at Amherst College between 1838 and 1840. Winslow also wrote to her sister-in-law, Philinda Winslow, after 1850, and wrote to other friends and family members throughout the early 1800s.

Philinda Winslow received social letters from friends and family members, including 19 from her brother Horace. Friends, cousins, and other correspondents discussed social news; her most frequent correspondent, Corinna A. Fisher, wrote 50 letters between 1845 and 1853, most from Lansingburg, New York. On April 17, 1862, Corinna A. Shearer responded to news of Horace Winslow's appointment as chaplain to the 5th Connecticut Volunteer Regiment, and wrote of the sacrifice of lives for the preservation of the Union. Two other items relate to Horace Winslow's Civil War service, including a paper listing his name and regiment and an undated printed form for declaring "Arrears of Pay."

The collection also contains a letter written to Timothy Stanley from a woman's rights convention held in Connecicut in 1854, in which the author claimed that women possessed superior qualities to men, advocated that women retain their surnames after marriage, and discussed women's civil rights.

Additional materials include a colored picture of a flower, miscellaneous fragments and notes, and a document respecting Charlotte Pettibone's performance at Miss Hillyer's School. The collection also contains 12 poems and poetic fragments, 13 sets of notes on sermons and Bible verses, a receipt, a printed letter that Horace Winslow addressed "For the Freedmen," a program for the Fourth Annual New England Conference of Christian Workers, and an advertisement for religious tracts.

Christian Hoffman, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kentucky, compiled this 201-page book of poetry, largely in the German language, with eight poems in English. Hoffman's selections include poems or poem fragments by Henry Kirke White, Lord Byron, Agnes Franz, Friedrich Rückert, Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau, Friedrich von Sallet, August Henrich Hoffmann, and others. Christian Hoffmann apparently included several original spiritual poems, such as "Des Kinder schwingender Geist" (pages 18-24) and "Die Absched des Prindes Gottes" (pages 169-170). Several blackletter script titles, decorative initials, and illustrations are present. The three illustrations include an urn with flowers (page 69), an angel with a harp (page 168), and a vignette of three maidens holding a banner with the words "O laube", "Liebe und" and "Hoffman" (page 76).

Christian Hoffman, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kentucky, compiled this 201-page book of poetry, largely in the German language, with eight poems in English. Hoffman's selections include poems or poem fragments by Henry Kirke White, Lord Byron, Agnes Franz, Friedrich Rückert, Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau, Friedrich von Sallet, August Henrich Hoffmann, and others. Christian Hoffmann apparently included several original spiritual poems, such as "Des Kinder schwingender Geist" (pages 18-24) and "Die Absched des Prindes Gottes" (pages 169-170). Several blackletter script titles, decorative initials, and illustrations are present. The three illustrations include an urn with flowers (page 69), an angel with a harp (page 168), and a vignette of three maidens holding a banner with the words "O laube", "Liebe und" and "Hoffman" (page 76).

This collection contains correspondence and newspaper clippings collected by Cora Clarke, a respected female botanist and entomologist.

This collection consists of 23 letters, five newspaper clippings, and six miscellaneous items. Nineteen of the letters are addressed to Cora Clarke, with four to her mother and one to her father. No single correspondent or time frame dominates the collection, nor are there themes which run through all the letters, except in the most general sense. Prominent people represented in the collection as correspondents include Grace Greenwood (a.k.a. Sarah Jane Clarke Lippincott), Jacob Abbott, James Freeman Clarke, Edward Sylvester Morse, Alpheus Spring Packard Jr., Robert Collyer, Samuel Eliot, Francis Parkman, and Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz.

The Clarke Papers appears to consist largely of letters retained for their autograph value, more than their substance. Clarke's botanical and entomological activities appear most clearly in letters from the Cambridge Entomological Club (1878 November 16) and Francis Parkman. However, only Charles Russell's letter discussing the anatomy of flowers (1870 December 19), provides anything approaching a lengthy or in-depth discussion. More typical are a letter dated 1875 May 25, mentioning the Boston Society of Natural History and the "Society to encourage studies at home," and a receipt for a summer botany course (1874 August 4) suggesting Clarke's commitment to continuing education. The value of the collection lies primarily in creating an impressionistic portrayal of a respected female scientist at a time when she was maturing into adulthood.

Edith A. Moore Frost's commonplace book includes material dating from 1860 to 1893, with signatures, poetry, and comments predominantly written by her classmates and teachers from Ashland High School in Ashland, Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts State Normal School in Framingham, Massachusetts. Acquaintances in Kansas wrote additional entries in the 1880s. Thirty-two photographs of signatories are pasted or tipped into the volume, along with other materials like a fabric swatch with a hair clipping attached, embellished paper, and a pressed leaf.

Edith A. Moore Frost's commonplace book includes material dating from 1860 to 1893, with signatures, poetry, and comments predominantly written by her classmates and teachers from Ashland High School in Ashland, Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts State Normal School in Framingham, Massachusetts. Some entries include notations written in another hand, primarily indicating if someone was a teacher. Acquaintances in Kansas contributed additional entries in the 1880s.

Many persons signing the album added elements to their entries, such as poems, proverbs, comments, and drawings. Twenty-seven photographs of women were pasted into the volume alongside their signatures, with an additional five photographs enclosed in a letter written by Mrs. E. A. Husey to Mrs. F. W. Frost in 1893 (concerning classmates from the State Normal School). The volume includes various other materials tipped or pasted in, such as a fabric swatch with an attached hair clipping, embellished paper, and a pressed leaf.

Edith A. Moore Frost first inscribed the volume on December 25, 1860, indicating this "Forget Me Not Album," which features engraved illustrations of women, may have been given to her as a Christmas gift. She later wrote, beneath a photograph of herself, "Edith A. Frost. Class of 1868. Mass. State Normal School. Framingham Mass. Pictures of graduating Class 1868."

Eleanor I. Moss collected poems, sketches, and engravings in this volume in the early 19th century. Male and female acquaintances contributed poems about friendship, nature, and religion. The visual material depicts buildings, people, and nature.

The Eleanor I. Moss autograph book contains 54 pages of poems, proverbs, engravings, and manuscript drawings and sketches. Moss's acquaintances contributed poems and extracts in the late 1820s, on subjects such as friendship, nature, and religion. Some entries are dedicated to "Ellen." "Caroline W." wrote a poem entitled "Thoughts by a sailor" (page 13), and "Life" (attributed to Byron) was copied with gold ink (page 39). Pages 108-109 and 115 have proverbs and prose passages with moral advice, dated 1845. The volume includes hand-drawn sketches and illustrations. Several engravings are pasted in. Most illustrations depict buildings in the British isles and country scenes.

• Couple under an arch (page 1)
• Dublin Castle (page 7)
• Two men and a woman, colored (page 11)
• Quarry Hill, Kent (page 11)
• Building by a body of water (page 21)
• Castle Acre Castle, Norfolk (page 29)
• Castle by a body of water (page 49)
• Stone building and cemetery (page 61)

• Open book (page 3)
• Boy holding paper (page 7)
• Bird, colored (page 59)
• People on a bridge, next to a man in a small boat, colored (page 63)
• Various flowers (page 122-125)