0.3 linear feet
Translations of letters, 1847-1850, of Gotthardt Bechtold describing his trip to, impressions of, and settlement in America; also diary, 1861-1865, of Frederick W. Bechtold, soldier in Co. B, 12th Missouri Volunteers during the Civil War (partially in German); typescript translations of Bechtold's diary and of his letters, 1862-1864; and miscellaneous other family letters (some in German).
14 linear feet
The C.C. Little papers document a wide range to topics, events, administrative actions, policy developments during Little's tenure as president of the University of Michigan. The collection contains mainly reports and replies to letters but very little incoming correspondence. However, the researcher may use these replies as clues to other collections in the library which contain the individual correspondent's papers.
The chronological ordering of the papers makes subject access somewhat difficult. To selective indexes of correspondents and subjects found in the papers provide some assistance in using the Little papers. The following discussion of the papers follows the structure of the subject index.
The growth of the university which had begun at the close of World War I continued to be felt during President Little's tenure. New buildings completed earlier were handling classroom and laboratory needs, so attention now turned to living accommodations and the athletic department's needs (Sec. II). The period of the 1920s was one of increased interest in theories of progressive education. President's Little's primary interest was in educational policy arising from such theories. Thus, academic and departmental proposals and reorganizations (Sec. III of the subject index) form a major part of his papers. He made fewer administrative changes (Sec. I of the subject index). The twenties are also remembered as a time of social ferment in the country and this was reflected in campus life, with more attention being paid to regulating student social mores and the use of alcohol and cars (see Secs. I and IV of the subject index).
Although President Little oversaw the reorganization of some administrative offices, his attention was mainly focused on educational policy, his primary interest. This is reflected in materials on admissions policy, freshman orientation, continuing education of alumni, and the re-organization of the university into two separate units.
A few months after President Little took office, the "Day Report", so named because Edmund Day, Dean of the School of Business Administration chaired the committee which drew it up, was completed. It was the result of an exhaustive study of athletics, physical education and recreation in the university and led to changes in the Board in Control of Athletics, development of women's and intramural athletics, and gave impetus to the financing and building of the stadium (opened in 1927).
President Little's concern with developing students of good moral character resulted in regulation of the use of cars and alcohol, thought to be related twin evils, and the initiation of planning for dormitories, where all students would live under university supervision.
The major building projects that came to fruition during the Little Administration were the Stadium and the Women's League Building. Construction work at the Law School and the School of Education represented on-going projects begun in earlier administrations, while plans for a natural science museum were just beginning to take shape.
During President Little's tenure, schools and departments established earlier continued to grow, while some projects, such as the Creative Arts Fellowship, were brought to a close. The financing and governance of the Lawyers' Club presented on-going difficulties. Compensation for and the role of "outside work" in Medicine, Engineering, and Education required continued attention. The university contributed to scientific research through the Hobbs Expedition to Greenland which also showed the value of the university's fledgling radio program in maintaining communication with such distant projects.
With the appointment of Samuel Trask Dana as Dean, the School of Forestry was established in the spring of 1927. At that time the state was faced with the problems of cutover lands and the collapse of the lumbering industry. In 1927 the School of Forestry provided leadership in dealing with these problems by sponsoring two conferences which brought together owners and operators in the lumbering industry, state officials, and forestry experts to consider solutions.
The School of Education continued its growth with the addition of an elementary school building. The completion of that building in 1929 enabled the School to provide K-12 education under the supervision of its faculty. Some attention was given also to providing pre-primary education, but nothing came of this during Little's tenure.
The university and its academic life did not escape the impact of the societal upheavals of the "roaring twenties". Perhaps more so at the University of Michigan because of President Little's active role in several of those issues, as is reflected in his correspondence. He was an officer in the American Eugenics Society, a vocal proponent of both population control and the "betterment of the human race", and also served as chairman of the Michigan chapter of the League of Nations Non-partisan Association.
4 linear feet
The Menefee papers documents his professional career as a teacher and as a specialist in engineering mechanics. Following a single folder of Biographical Material, the collection divides into the following series: Correspondence, Speeches, Subject Files, and Photographs.
22 linear feet
The Harry B. Hutchins papers cover the years 1879 through 1929, and include records generated during his years as professor and dean of the law department, President of the University of Michigan, and in retirement. Boxes 1-18 are primarily comprised of correspondence. Reports of the departments, schools, and other units of the university are contained in box 19, folders 30-32, and box 20, folders 1-13. As president, Hutchins did not regularly submit annual reports to the Board of Regents. Additional materials include speeches, photographs, and biographical material.
3 microfilms — 1 folder
The Lucas collection consists of manuscripts, pamphlets, maps, pictures, newspapers, and other materials dealing with the Dutch migration to America collected for his book Netherlanders in America.
25.5 linear feet — 9 oversize volumes
Although the record group does include some correspondence, the bulk of the records consist of minute books and financial ledgers, mainly from the 1880s up to 1920. Many of these are for lodges in Illinois and Washington State. In addition, there are published materials, such as temperance books, pamphlets, and issues of periodicals. The proceedings of annual meetings are from many more states and provide detailed information on the national importance of the organization. The photographs are mainly of various group meetings.
2 linear feet
The papers of John B. Trevor relate primarily to his association with the American Coalition of Patriotic Societies (beginning in 1929) and his association with Albert Johnson, chairman of the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization of the US House of Representatives. The collection is an important resource for the study of various immigration restriction legislation in the 1920s.
4 linear feet
The papers of John Dingell span the years 1932-1955. The papers appear to represent a portion of his congressional office file. The collection consists of correspondence (both incoming and outgoing) and clippings relating to many of the bills which Dingell introduced, and copies of press statements, speeches, and interviews. There is no personal material. There are no documents relating to his committee work or to legislation introduced by other members of the House. Nor do the files of his own bills seem complete (for instance, Dingell's anti-pollution bill is missing). By and large the correspondence is fairly routine or for public consumption. Some of the correspondence is from constituents, some from special interest groups, and some (though not much) from colleagues.
25 linear feet — 1 oversize folder
The papers of Dr. John Tanton consist of materials documenting his work as a political and environmental activist from 1960 through the 2000s. The portion of the collection open without restriction is divided into the following series: Personal/Biographical; Population and Immigration Organizations and Issues; Conservation Organizations and Issues; Topical Files and Activities; Correspondence; Politics and Government; and Social Issues. The portion of the collection closed to research until 2035 includes the continuation of several series: Correspondence; Personal/Biographical; Population and Immigration Organizations and Issues; Conservation Organizations and Issues; and one new series, Public Interest Organizations and Issues.
8 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder
The Louis C. Cramton papers came to the Bentley Historical Library in three separate accessions (1948-1950; 1971; 1987). The collection has been arranged into six series: Correspondence, Miscellaneous Papers, Topical Files, Newspaper clippings/Scrapbooks, Photographs, and Louis Kay Cramton Papers.
14 archived websites (online; multiple captures)
The Web Archive of Michigan's Natural Resources collection contains archived websites created by various organizations and movements concerned with preservation of natural resources in the State of Michigan. The websites have been archived by the Bentley Historical Library, using the California Digital Library Web Archiving Service crawler from 2010-2015 and the Archive-It web archiving service beginning in 2015. Access to all websites archived by the Bentley Historical Library is available at: https://archive-it.org/organizations/934.
Web Archives include websites of conservation groups, environmental organizations and nature associations who call the state of Michigan home. The collection is especially strong in documenting conservation initiatives and environmental protection in Michigan.
The year that appears next to the website title in the contents list indicates the date that the website was first archived. Archived versions of the site from later dates may also be available.
25 microfilms (positive)
There are about 6000 letters in this collection. Most of the letters have been written by emigrants who used to live in Satakunta but there are also some from persons who lived in other provinces before emigrating. There are also post cards, diaries and passports in the collection. The letters were written to residents of Satakunta from 1880 to 1964. Although most of the letters were sent from the United States and Canada, there were a few letters from South America, Australia, New Zealand and Soviet Union.
The collection was arranged by towns (also known as parishes or municipalities). Within each town series the letters of each recipient were kept together. The owners of the letters are in chronological order according to the emigrating year of their correspondents.
Every collector of letters filled out a questionnaire for each writer. The questionnaire is at the beginning of the sender's letters. In the upper right corner of the questionnaire there is a code that includes the abbreviation of the town and the location of the sender.
Questionnaire used in collecting America letters:
Documents in this collection contain the following abbreviations for the names of the town or parish from an immigrant came:
36 linear feet (in 41 boxes) — 31 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder
The Sligh family collection consists of the personal and business papers of the four generations of Slighs mentioned in the biographical introduction: James W. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Jr., and Robert L. Sligh. Although there is some overlap, the files have been arranged into seven series, one for each of these three Slighs, one for the Sligh Furniture Company and related family businesses, and one each for Newspaper clippings and Scrapbooks, and Visual Materials.
100 microfilms
The Suomi College Finnish-American Collection is comprised of 100 reels of microfilm containing records from 151 separate organizations (68 of which are located in Michigan). These organizations are comprised of the following kinds of records:
Other organizations, including educational, relief, musical, athletic, national, historical societies, publishing companies, and some personal: 19 record groups (10 from Michigan)
Because the materials have been filmed in a random order, an index at the end of the container listing has been prepared to guide the researcher to specific kinds of records: church, temperance, etc.
16 microfilms
The Varsinais-Suomi Region immigrant letters consist thousands of letters written by Finnish emigrants from Varsinais-Suomi (Southwest Finland) region to their families and friends in Finland between 1880 and 1964. There are also post cards, diaries and passports in the collection. Many letters originate from the United States and Canada, but there are also others from South America, Australia, New Zealand and the Soviet Union. The Institute of General History collected the letters between February 1 and October 31, 1966. The collected letters were organized and microfilmed in the fall of 1966.
The collection was arranged by town (also known as parishes or municipalities). Within each town the letters of each recipient were kept together. The owners of the letters are in chronological order according to the emigrating year of their correspondents.
Every subseries of letters includes a questionnaire that was completed by the letter recipient. In the upper right corner of the questionnaire there is a code that includes the abbreviation of the town and the location of the sender.
The questionnaire for collecting these America letters contained the following questions:
Documents in this collection are identified with the following abbreviations indicating the name of the town or parish from which the immigrant came.