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The Albert J. Schimpke collection consists of photographs, audio-tapes, and other materials collected by Mr. Schimpke relating to Manistee, Michigan, especially the activities of one of its most prominent local lumbermen, Richard G. Peters.

The Albert J. Schimpke collection of R.G. Peters materials contains papers, photographs, negatives, and audio-tapes of interviews largely relating to lumbering in Manistee, Michigan.

Journalist, historical researcher from Kalamazoo, Michigan; Correspondence, research articles and notes, and photographs.

The Weissert collection includes correspondence, 1893-1947, including letters from Joseph Bailly, Clarence M. Burton, Gurdon S. Hubbard, Chase S. Osborn, Albert E. Sleeper, and George Van Pelt. There are also speeches, and writings mostly on Michigan history topics, including Indian history and the history of Kalamazoo and Barry County. The series of research notes illustrates the variety of Weissert's interests: historical personalities, forts, Michigan cities, and early state history. The photographs and snapshots pertain to Weissert's interest in Michigan history, especially homes, churches, mills, hotels, businesses, and other sites primarily in western Michigan, but also including Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island. There are also photographs of Michigan pioneers, particularly from the Hastings, Michigan area.

Dexter, Michigan, collector of materials relating to the history of railroading in Michigan. Correspondence, subject files, printed matter and photographs; contain material concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, the Manistee and Northeastern Railway Company, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Pere Marquette Railroad, and Ephraim Shay.

The Stoner collection contains about 3,600 photographs and negatives collected by Stoner, relating primarily to Michigan railroads. The collection also contains related manuscript materials.

Stoner's major collecting interests were in the Ann Arbor, Grand Trunk Western, and Pere Marquette Railroads and their predecessors, and in logging railroads, especially Ephraim Shay's railroad and others using Shay locomotives. Along with these lines, the collection contains photos of dozens of other railroads, not all in Michigan.

The photographs most commonly depict locomotives, often with their crews posed beside. Other common subjects are railroad stations (exteriors only), train wrecks, trains in motion, logging operations, carferries, railroad bridges, the Detroit-Windsor railroad tunnel, and street railroads.

Dozens of Michigan cities and towns and a number of places in other states are represented in the collection. Places depicted most often in the photos include Ann Arbor, Cadillac, Detroit, Durand, Frankfort, Harbor Springs, and Howell, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.

The collection is organized into seven series: Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, Unclassified negatives, Papers, Classified negatives, and Duplicate material.

Appended to this finding aid are two indexes, one for railroads and company names, the other for subjects. The indexes contain references to all items in the Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, and Unclassified negatives series.

The index to railroads and company names indexes logging and industrial companies that operated railroads, as well as railroad lines themselves. It does not index locomotive manufacturers, nor does it index the names of railroad museums where some of the photos were taken.

The index to subjects indexes place names and topical subjects. It does not index the term "locomotives" since the majority of the photos in the collection would be indexed under that heading. Place names are indexed if the photo includes a view of some part of the place or of some event at the place. Close-up views of locomotives that do not show any background are not indexed by place, even if the description of the photo identifies where it was taken.

Author from New York and Flint, Michigan. Diaries, writing journals, drafts of writings, copies of books and articles, and miscellaneous correspondence and publisher's contracts; and photographs.

The Edmund Love collection consists of diaries, 1955-1980, and writing journals containing plots, character names, dialog, etc. In addition, there are drafts of his writings, reviews of his books, and photographs.

Edmund Townsend served as quartermaster in the 3rd Delaware Infantry Regiment from 1862 to 1865. His letters to his brother Samuel describe his court martial and protracted feud with his commanding officer, Col. Jenkins. There is also a detailed description of a train accident in June 1862 which killed a number of men and horses and destroyed much of his unit's equipment.

Townsend's eleven letters to his brother, Samuel, provide little information on the war, per se, but they do provide a powerful image of a strong personality. From his first letter, in which he threatens two men and his sister-in-law at home for "develing" his wife ("I will cum home and kick his damned arse") to his protracted feud with Col. Jenkins, Townsend is consistently feisty and willing to fight for what he perceives to be his rights. Unfortunately, much of the original correspondence between the brothers is missing. There is a large gap between the two letters written in April and June, 1862, and the remainder of the collection written primarily in late 1863 and early 1864, and nothing at all written after May, 1864.

Among the highlights of this small collection are Townsend's detailed description of the railroad accident in June, 1862, and the series of letters written while he was under arrest. He records Jenkins' gloating "that he has me now and intends to keep me in arest," but later, after he has secured his release through Congressman Smithers' influence, he gloats a "general Shout and laugh [went] all through the Regt amongst the Privates and non commissioned officers when they herd Jenkins was in arest." His comments on Jenkins' alleged attempts to interfere with the soldiers' voting in the election of 1863, and on Jenkins' acquittal by a court packed with Freemasons are also of considerable interest. Finally, in February and March, 1864, while Townsend was attempting to resign from the service, there are three interesting letters in which he reports scouting out land to purchase in Maryland. He surveyed kaolin deposits on one tract, and was rapturous over an estate south of Annapolis that he purchased to farm when the war ended.

The F. J. Groth photograph collections contains photos of a railroad accident in South Lyon.

Materials on agriculture, resort property in northern Michigan, tariffs, American neutrality prior to World War II, and Lutheran Church-sponsored resettlement of refugees and displaced persons after World War II; also photographs. Correspondents include: Prentiss M. Brown, Elford A. Cederberg, Fred L. Crawford, Philip A. Hart, J. Edgar Hoover, Resettlement Service of the National Lutheran Council, George Romney, Arthur H. Vandenberg, and Roy Woodruff.

Photos of railroad wreck, steam hauler, and Whittemore house in Tawas City, Michigan. Photographs are dated 1911 and 1963.

Prohibitionist from Bay City, Michigan, dean of Bay City Junior College. Correspondence, 1930-1940; memoranda of various prohibition organizations, 1927-1941; materials relating to revision of the constitution of the Central Association of Congregational Churches of Michigan; other materials concern the Bay City Council of Churches, Crystal Falls, Michigan, and the Michigan Association of Junior Colleges; and photographs.

The Butterfield papers include correspondence, 1930-1940; memoranda of various prohibition organizations, 1927-1941 and materials relating to revision of the constitution of the Central Association of Congregational Churches of Michigan. Other materials concern the Bay City Council of Churches, Crystal Falls, Michigan, and the Michigan Association of Junior Colleges; and photographs.

The papers have been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Prohibition Organizations; Clippings and published material; Topical Files: Other organizational activities and historical interests; and Other Materials.

This collection is made up of letters from Lewis H. Thompson to his cousin Henry Butts. The correspondence pertains to Thompson's time in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in November 1862, and at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, 1864-1865.

This collection is made up of six letters from Lewis H. Thompson to his cousin Henry Butts. The correspondence pertains to Thompson's time in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in November 1862, and at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, 1864-1865.

Thompson's recipient Henry Butts lived in Dutchess County, New York, and the letters include Thompson's thoughts and opinions on Dutchess County, Henry's decision to attend college, young ladies, and family matters. Thompson wrote about the lack of danger at Jefferson Barracks ("a Hospital for Sick and Wounded Soldiers"), a nearby railroad accident, and activities such as riding on horseback and canvassing the country. Thompson spoke highly of St. Louis, which he remarked would "be the greatest city for Business when this war is over" (March 22, 1864). He mentioned the Lindell Hotel and the construction of the Southern Hotel, both of them St. Louis establishments.

Clinton County, Michigan, general store. Business financial records, family correspondence and history, diaries, photograph album of the Sickels-Bates family, and miscellanea.

The record group consists of financial records detailing the operation of the L. G. Bates General Store and its predecessor firm, J. F. Hasty and Co. As the dates of some of the records precede the opening of the Hasty store, it is possible that some of the accounts and ledgers are of a Sickel family member. In addition, the collection includes family correspondence, diaries and notebooks probably of Bates, family history and genealogy, photographs, and printed material.