Collections : [Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library]

The papers contains letters, maps, travel books, a scrapbook, a journal, and a certificate.

Reuben H. Morley Collection, 1898-1905, and undated (.75 cubic foot in 2 boxes) contains letters, maps, travel books, a scrapbook, a journal, and a certificate. The papers are organized by size and alphabetically. Materials are in English, Spanish, Tagalog, German, and Chinese. Most of the collection consists of letters by Reuben Morley, written while he was in the Philippians. These letters mostly relate to Morley’s work as Provisional Secretary-Treasurer. One of the letters was sent to the future American president William Howard Taft who was then Civil Governor of the Philippines. There is also a certificate, signed by Taft, that certifies Morley as the Provisional Secretary-Treasurer in the Philippines. There is a letter Morley wrote to a family named Sweeny that details Morley’s observations of the Fourth of July in the Philippines. The collection also contains a memorial pamphlet made a year after Morley’s disappearance that contains details of the time before and after his disappearance and Morley’s last few letters while he was in Northern China. There are also maps that were owned by Morley. One map, notated in handwriting by Morley documents his trip from Europe to Asia. There are also a few maps of Chinese cities that he visited. The miscellaneous folder contains receipts to a hotel in China, a journal in Spanish, and a Chinese paper that is a good luck fortune. There is also a Scrapbook that contains newspaper clippings on the Spanish-American War with notes written by Morley. This scrapbook also contains racist comments Morley felt towards Filipinos. Similar notes are also written in some of his letters. The scrapbook contains a telegram from Reuben’s uncle, George W. Morley, noting that Reuben was drafted. The Stowage Plan, a pictorial ship manifest, for the SS Kawachi Maru contains 6 paper copies of what was an oversized acidic paper that was withdrawn because of its damaged condition. This drawing may have been used in a report, as a teaching tool of global shipping and lading, or as vessel manifest.

Photographic materials collected by the Trelfas, documenting a wide range of Michigan and national people, places and events.

This collection, 6.25 cubic feet (in 14 boxes) 1849-1925, and undated, was donated over a period of time by one or both of the Trelfa brothers and is divided into six series. The series were established by accession number and topic matter. For a more detailed listing see the Box and Folder Listing. Overall the collection is in good physical condition.

Series 5 consists of 0.75 cubic ft. (in 2 boxes) Acc#2643, Spanish-American War images. Box 1 includes 52 and Box 2 contains 19 film negatives in homemade glass casings, #807-1740, #1742-1760, all undated, each measures approximately 5x4 inches. Topics include views of Washington, D.C., war camp, streets and buildings, camp, officers, soldiers, horses, tents, two unidentified African-American girls, three unidentified African American boys, an unidentified native man with a mule cart full of furniture, parade ground, railway, people, animals, etc.