Upper Michigan Vacation Photograph Album, 1899-1901
approximately 125 photographs and 1 program in 1 volume
approximately 125 photographs and 1 program in 1 volume
The Upper Michigan vacation photograph album contains approximately 125 photographs and 1 program related to summer vacations in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The album (25.2 x 21 cm) is half bound in burgundy leather with black cloth boards. Photographs of interest include views of tent camping on the shores of Brevort Lake in Mackinac County, with outdoor cooking, picnics, local Ojibwa guides operating a boat named the "John Boucher", fishing and boating, berry picking, and a group of Ojibwa Indians including "Chief Tail Feather" performing for the camera; snapshots of "Old Mr. Massey, the Blacksmith of Brevoort," inside his log cabin; and the exterior of the cabin of Frank Budney, trapper and guide, with snow shoes and a hand-made grinding wheel. Mackinac Island-related photos show the fort and Arch Rock. Also included are photographs taken on the Detroit River showing a revenue cutter (the USS Yantic) and a sailing ship loaded with lumber; there is one photograph of the railroad ferry Saint Marie, and one photograph of the locks at Sault Ste. Marie. Many photos have manuscript captions and are dated.
Also present is a laid in program from the 1890 Columbus (Ohio) High School Graduation ceremony.
approximately 125 photographs and 1 program in 1 volume
2.25 linear feet
The Walker family papers (1962 items) contain the 19th-century letters and documents of the Walker family of Vermont, Illinois, and Minnesota. The bulk of the collection documents Houghton Walker's business activities; other topics include the Mexican War, the Civil War, migration and settlement in Illinois and Wisconsin, Indian affairs, and Presbyterianism.
The Correspondence series (248 items) consists of three subseries: Walker Family letters, Peck Family letters, and Miscellaneous letters.
The Walker Family letters subseries (199 items) comprise the bulk of the Correspondence series. The various Walker brothers wrote often about business, land sales, financial distress, and business affairs. Lucius and Houghton both discussed their experiences traveling west from Vermont. Lucius, an Indian agent, mentioned his role in Indian affairs, and described the process of writing the Minnesota constitution in the 1850s. Emeline Walker’s letters typically relate to her religious faith and activities in the Presbyterian Church. Reverend William Walker discussed his experiences in Gaboon, and described the climate, food, homes, lifestyles of the Gabonese people, missionary work, and conflicts with the French government (between 1844 and 1882).
The Peck Family letters (42 items) consist of the letters of Caroline Walker Peck, her husband Ebenezer, and their children Charles F, Peck and Sarah Wright, covering from the 1850s to the 1880s. These contain news on family and money issues, and document the business relationship between Charles and his uncle Houghton Walker.
The Miscellaneous letters subseries (7 items) contains letters to and from people outside the Walker and Peck families (1860-1905).
The Colonel Joel Walker Diary series (4 items) consists of a weather diary that contains daily temperature data and occasional notes on agricultural and day-to-day family activities (1837-1855). Also present are manuscript and typed copies of the diary, along with a list of excerpts of the non-weather information. Of note are the entries describing Walker's journey from Buffalo, New York, to Belvidere, Illinois.
The Documents and Financial Papers series (1,633 items) contains the business, financial, property, and estate records of the Walker family. Family members represented include Colonel Joel Walker, Joel Hamilton Walker, Francis Walker, George Walker, Francis H. Walker, Houghton C. Walker, Lucius C. Walker, Alice Houghton Walker, and Emeline August Frost Walker. However, the bulk of the series documents Joel Walker and Houghton Walker's business activities. Included are letters to merchants in the Midwest and New York, invoices, receipts, freight bills, orders, stock notes, promissory notes, treasury reports, insurance applications and policies, legal documents, estate papers, and cemetery and coffin bills. Many of the freight bills are for shipments on the Chicago & North-Western Railway Co.
The Miscellaneous Materials series (77 items) is comprised of eight subseries, including photographs, scrapbooks, family papers, and genealogical material.
The Photographs subseries (2 items) contains aerial perspectives of Belvidere, Illinois, taken by W. A. Eddy in 1905 with the aid of a kite.
The Walker Scrapbook subseries (1 item) consists of a 33-page disbound volume of newspaper clippings, letters, and other ephemera. The clippings largely concern family members' obituaries and news on the Presbyterian Church in Belvidere, Illinois. Also of note are two newspaper articles written by Francis Houghton Walker in 1916, criticizing the portrayal of historical figures, especially Thaddeus Stevens in The Birth of a Nation. Also of interest are newspaper announcements for the silver wedding anniversary of Houghton and Emeline Walker, along with a list of gifts given to the couple on the occasion of the celebration.
The series contains subseries for miscellaneous items related to the following family members: Colonel Joel Walker, George Walker, Emeline August Frost Walker, Houghton C. Walker, and Francis H. Walker. The bulk of the materials are newspaper clippings that mention family members, calling cards, and fragments of writing. Of note are surveying documents of Joel and Houghton C. Walker, Emeline Walker's notes on missionaries in Africa and religious writings, and a note from Francis H. Walker on seeing Halley's Comet.
The Genealogical Materials subseries (24 items) contains records of the Walker and Houghton families collected by Francis H. Walker, along with two typed transcripts of the material. Also present are letters and genealogical notes compiled by Harry Leslie Walker and John B. Walker in the second half of the 20th century. These trace the Walker family back to the 17th century.