Albert M. Barrett papers, 1900-1937
3 linear feet (in 4 boxes)
The Albert M. Barrett papers comprise 3 linear feet, and have been divided into five series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Lectures and Publications; Photographs; and Casework.
3 linear feet (in 4 boxes)
The Albert M. Barrett papers comprise 3 linear feet, and have been divided into five series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Lectures and Publications; Photographs; and Casework.
57 microfilms (1449 theses)
2 linear feet — 47 GB (online)
The Department of Psychiatry records contains manuscript and digital materials related to the Raymond W. Waggoner Lectureship events, and Department publications.
The Raymond W. Waggoner Lectures series (1.5 linear feet and 47 GB, 1996-2013) contains informational materials, transcripts and video recordings for the Raymond W. Waggoner Lectureship on Ethics and Values in Medicine since its establishment in 1996. Digital video and transcripts can be accessed through links in this finding aid.
The Publications series (0.5 linear feet, 1959 -- 2006) contains unit publications such as annual reports for the late 1980s, informational brochures, bulletins and information on residency programs. Additional materials include information on the Albert J. Silverman Research Conference and a guide to scientific publications produced by the department faculty.
1 volume
This scrapbook, titled "The Examination of Benjamin W. Greene," contains clippings of three short articles published in the Hartford Courant newspaper of testimony given at the trial of accused murderer Benjamin W. Greene in early 1866. Greene was charged with the murder of Eunice North Greene, his wife, on November 5, 1865, and the court sought to determine whether the homicide (and Benjamin's subsequent suicide attempt) was due to insanity.
An investigation of the Greene household allowed witnesses to piece together the progression of events on November 5, 1865. As Eunice was reading, Benjamin approached her from behind and cut her neck with a razor. She was able to call for help after Benjamin fled and to name him as the perpetrator, but her wounds were too severe to overcome. After a brief search, two men found Benjamin inside of a locked room, lying next to the same razor used to kill Eunice. Despite having cut his own wrists and neck in a suicide attempt, he was able to be stabilized and survived.
The loss of Eunice and Benjamin's eldest daughter, Harriet North Day (1831-1864), was consistently cited as the reason for the sharp decline in Benjamin's mental and physical health. The family physician, Dr. Beresford, held Benjamin's "singular and peculiar delusions with regard to his domestic affairs" (p. 2) as evidence of his mental instability. Often centered around Eunice, or supposed financial burdens, the validity of those claims was challenged by what Dr. Beresford and other witnesses observed prior to the homicide (p. 7, 11, 12, 14).
Before the murder, Benjamin repeatedly denied help from his family and friends, blocking at least one attempt by physicians to inform Eunice (p. 4) of his mental state. His nephew, William D. Wyatt (1828-1884), tried several times to intervene and help his uncle—both at his own behest and at Eunice's—but ultimately failed. William did not deem it safe to be alone with Benjamin, and testified that during one visit, Eunice told him that her husband was "a crazy man" and "had been a deranged man for years" (p. 11).
The scrapbook does not include the final ruling of the court, but the following is a quotation from an article [not present] containing the verdict, published in the Hartford Courant on March 14, 1866:
"The finding that Mr. Greene was insane at the time he killed his wife, will undoubtedly render his will, which was made in July last, and which was referred to in the testimony offered during his examination, of no account. In this will he bequeathed all his property to Robert E. Day, his son-in-law, and Mr. Day's little daughter. His action, in this respect, would seem to show that he labored under the delusion claimed that his whole family, with the exception of Mrs. Day, was leagued against him. After her death he said he had lost his best friend, and from that time forward declined in health rapidly."
143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes) — 54.83 GB (online)
The Institute for Social Research (ISR) records are dated from 1936-2017 (scattered) and consist of 143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes) and digital files (online). Materials in this record group include audiovisual material, committee files (which include minutes and agendas), correspondence, directors' files, oral histories, publications, reports, and topical files. These records document the founding and subsequent development of ISR as well as its centers and programs, particularly the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) and the Survey Research Center (SRC). The records also provide an overview of ISR's administration and the evolution of social science survey research methodology.
There are gaps in the records, which can be addressed in part through the papers of Rensis Likert, Angus Campbell, Dorwin P. Cartwright, and Philip E. Converse—all of which are held at the Bentley Historical Library (BHL). When viewed in conjunction with other ISR-related personal papers in the Bentley Historical Library, a rich and detailed picture of the growth of ISR as a center and the social science research discipline emerges.
71.5 linear feet (in 73 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 1 oversize volume — 7.77 GB (online)
The John B. Swainson collection consists of four subgroups of files: pre-gubernatorial (covering the period of 1943 to 1960), gubernatorial (covering his one-term, two-year tenure as the state's chief executive), post-gubernatorial (covering the years since he left the governor's office, 1963 to 1975), and visual materials.
The great bulk of the collection is the gubernatorial subgroup documenting the last months of Swainson's term as lieutenant governor under Governor G. Mennen Williams, the 1960 campaign for governor, his gubernatorial administration, and his unsuccessful campaign for re-election. The importance of the collection, as with all gubernatorial records, is its documentation of public policy issues of the early 1960s and the relationship of the governor to the legislature, to the heads of the state's various boards and commissions, to the federal government, and to the citizens of Michigan.
7.5 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 2 film reels
The record group is divided into 6 series: History/Background, Administrative Files, Committees, Directors Files, Personnel Files, and Visual Materials.
1 volume
This self-adhering scrapbook contains a blend of illustrated and non-illustrated clippings from various printed sources (newspapers, periodicals, books, etc.), originating mostly from New England in the 1860s-1890s. Topics include religion, politics (American and British), the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield (1831-1881), health and wellness, eulogies, and other articles. The volume is bears the printed manufacturers label "Mark Twain's Scrap Book Registered April 23rd. 1878 . . . Published by Slote, Woodman & Co."
An advertisement for the scrapbook itself includes information and prices about other variations of "Mark Twain's Self Adhering Scrap Book," such as a druggists' prescription book, a child's scrapbook, and a pocket scrapbook.
14 items
1 volume
P. H. Miller, Justice of the Peace for Warrick County, Indiana, maintained this docket book from 1869 to 1871 to record legal cases that came before him relating to debt, assault and battery, property disputes, and one case relating to mental illness. Additional financial documentation relating to the cases dates to 1887.
The bulk of the volume relates to debt, and most of the entries do not reveal the nature of the transactions between the parties. Those that do, however, reveal how local dry goods merchants, doctors, and laborers used the court system to recoup unpaid bills. Several include copies of bills, providing insight into services and goods being exchanged in the community. In one instance where the defendant fled the state to defraud his creditors, the court included an inventory of his holdings assessed to cover his debts (p.119). They also reveal the kinds of work happening in the community, from blacksmithing, making molasses, farming, brickmaking, and more.
A number of assault and battery cases are also documented, including several that involve plaintiffs and defendants from earlier legal disputes indicating escalating emotion and violence. At least one involved domestic violence, where Josephine Mischke accused August Mischke of hitting her with a horsewhip (pp. 137-139). August Mischke was later taken to court for abusing a horse, and appears periodically throughout the volume as a plaintiff bringing debt cases against patrons of his dry goods store for unpaid bills.
Several disputes over land and household goods like quilts, beds, and clocks are also recorded. The entry for State of Indiana vs. John A. Bristow documents the juried case that adjudged John A. Bristow was "insane and dangerous to community if suffered to remain at large," appointing Larkin Bristow "to take charge of him" (pp. 62-63).
Miller wrote marginal notations about associated fees. Throughout the volume, individuals signed to acknowledge receipt of the "Judgment in full," or loose receipts were pasted or laid in acknowledging payment.