Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Butler Clarkson journal contains an account of the author's 1855 voyage from the Bass Strait in Australia to Holyhead, Wales, as well as financial accounts for numerous expenses after Clarkson's immigration to Lansingburgh, New York.

The Butler Clarkson journal (approximately 45 pages) contains an account of the author's 1855 voyage from the Bass Strait in Australia to Holyhead, Wales, as well as financial accounts for numerous expenses after Clarkson's immigration to Lansingburgh, New York.

Clarkson began his travel journal on March 23, 1855, in the Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania, and recorded brief daily entries until sighting Holyhead, Wales, on June 8, 1855. His entries report weather and wave conditions and often take note of the scenery, with frequent remarks on the ship's location and places passed, such as New Zealand, Cape Horn, and Trinidad. He occasionally mentioned marine life, including turtles, porpoises, and whales, and on one occasion he saw a whale attacked by a swordfish (May 8, 1855).

The volume also has accounts that Clarkson kept between 1857 and 1866. These related to a variety of services and goods, including expenses for keeping horses and accounts with the Rensselaer County Bank. Some accounts are dated at Lansingburgh, New York. Financial agreements between Butler Clarkson and George Clayton are also present. Other entries are a list of addresses, a drawing of a person, and a birth record for Clarkson's children. The journal is one of "Henry Penny's Patent Improved Metallic Books" and includes a metal stylus for use on its special paper.

This collection is made up of 4 documents related to the emigration of Charles Stuart and his family from Scotland to the United States in 1854.

This collection is made up of 4 documents related to the emigration of Charles Stuart and his family from Scotland to the United States in 1854. The material includes manuscript, partially printed, and fully printed documents concerning the family's journey onboard the Wallace (including a ticket for their passage) and their arrival and first year in Canada and the United States. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

This diary chronicles the author's sea voyage from New York to China in the spring of 1859, as well as his life in Shanghai between July 1859 and July 1860. At sea, he detailed the daily weather, scenery, and life onboard the ship, and in Shanghai he described his everyday life as a doctor and shared numerous observations on the effects of foreign trade on the country, local missionary efforts, and military conflict between the British and Chinese.

This diary (289 pages) chronicles the author's sea voyage from New York to China in the spring of 1859, as well as his life in Shanghai between July 1859 and July 1860. The first entry, dated February 28, 1859, opens with the author embarking for China on the N. B. Palmer, an American clipper under a Captain Frisbie. Over the next several months, he recorded daily observations of the weather and of life onboard the ship, including the captain's occasional harsh treatment of the crew. In addition to recording daily measurements of latitude and longitude, he occasionally described the scenery as the ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope and made its way to China by way of Indonesia. After a brief stop on Java in mid-May, the ship proceeded to Hong Kong, where it arrived on June 11 to discharge its cargo. During his brief time in Hong Kong, the author noted several aspects of local life, including the influence of foreign missionaries. On June 27, the N. B. Palmer departed Hong Kong bound for Shanghai, which it reached on July 4 amid Independence Day celebrations. Once in Shanghai, the diarist recorded his impressions of the city and incidents from his medical career, which included administering vaccinations as well as caring for the sick. The diary contains many references to political affairs and to the local efforts of foreign missionaries; much of the political focus is on the influence of Great Britain, particularly after the escalation of the Second Opium War. In addition to political commentary and descriptions of his daily life as a doctor, the diarist occasionally expressed his hope that Christianity would eventually win over the locals. The author remained in Shanghai until at least July 21, 1860, the date of his final entry. Two items laid into the volume include an undated note of thanks for the doctor's services (pp. 58-59) and a sheet of paper containing two Chinese characters (pp. 90-91).

This collection consists of 7 documents and printed items relating to the steamship City of Glasgow and its voyages between Liverpool and Philadelphia between 1850 and 1852, including advertising materials, receipts, and a passenger manifest.

This collection consists of seven documents and printed items relating to the steamship City of Glasgow and its voyages between Liverpool and Philadelphia between 1850 and 1852, including advertising materials, receipts, and a passenger manifest.

The documents in the collection include three partially printed receipts signed by the Philadelphia agent Thomas Richardson for freight payments. There is also a manifest of the passengers who sailed on the ship in August 1852, listing their names, age, sex, occupation, country of origin and "Country of which it is their intention to become inhabitants," number of packages or baggage, and number of passengers who died during the voyage. The passengers are separated into those sailing via cabin or steerage, and they range in age from infants to 70 years old. Countries of origin include Ireland, England, the United States, France, Germany, Scotland, Switzerland, and Belgium. Final destinations for immigrants include the United States, Canada, and Peru. A variety of occupations are represented, such as farmers, merchants and shipping agents, engineers, weavers, millwrights, and skilled tradesmen like a glass cutter, blacksmith, jeweler, galvanizer, and more. A British vocalist, Thomas Bishop, and Boston artist John Pope (1821-1880) are listed as cabin passengers.

Advertising materials include a November [1850] printed circular sent to William D. Lewis for an upcoming event to "celebrate the arrival of the Steamer 'City of Glasgow,' the first of the new line of Steamships established to ply between this port and Liverpool." There is also an illustrated printed broadside produced by the Richardson Brothers & Co. in 1851 to advertise the Liverpool and Philadelphia Steam Ship Company and the Pennsylvania Steam Ship Company's "Steam Communication Monthly from Liverpool to New York, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Charleston, Havana, &c., By Way of Philadelphia." The City of Glasgow is listed as one of their four ships, with notes about ship tonnage, departure dates, rates of passage, rates of freight, and additional information about securing railroad tickets to American cities. Printed on yellow paper, the broadside features a decorative border and an engraving of a steamship.

A colored engraving of the City of Glasgow sailing down the Delaware River, clipped from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, is also present.

This diary (4.5"x7.5") consists of 57 pages of entries and notes composed by Scotland native David Houston, who emigrated to the United States with his wife and children in the summer of 1854. The first 41 pages (May 29, 1854-July 7, 1854) recount the Houstons' journey from Glasgow to New York onboard the President Fillmore. Later groups of entries report some of the family's expenses after arriving in North America (3 pages, May 24, 1855-September 28, 1855) and contain copied documents regarding Houston's religious affiliation, additional religious notes, and other brief entries about the family's lives in Philadelphia and New York City (13 pages, July 1854-January 4, 1858).

This diary (4.5"x7.5") consists of 57 pages of entries and notes composed by Scotland native David Houston, who emigrated to the United States with his wife and children in the summer of 1854. The first 41 pages (May 29, 1854-July 7, 1854) recount the Houstons' journey from Glasgow to New York onboard the President Fillmore. Later groups of entries report some of the family's expenses after arriving in North America (3 pages, May 24, 1855-September 28, 1855) and contain copied documents regarding Houston's religious affiliation, additional religious notes, and other brief entries about the family's lives in Philadelphia and New York City (13 pages, July 1854-January 4, 1858).

David Houston began his diary on May 29, 1854, after loading his family's trunks in a stateroom onboard the President Fillmore, an 870-ton sailing ship bound for the United States from Glasgow, Scotland. His wife, Margaret, and their three sons William, David, and Robert joined him soon thereafter, and the ship set sail on June 1. Houston described life onboard the ship in daily entries composed regularly until his arrival in New York on July 7, 1854 (pp. 1-41). He covered topics such as the distribution of sugar, tea, flour, oatmeal, beef, and other foodstuffs to passengers; his frequent attendance at, and leadership of, passenger-organized religious services; the ship's progress; and the weather, including a series of rough storms. Houston's diary also recounts the passengers' efforts to commend their captain, Peter Nelson, for his conduct during the voyage; after hearing several proposals, they wrote and orally presented a brief tribute, which Houston copied (pp. 34 verso-35 verso). Of note are entries describing the ship running aground (May 29, 1854, pp. 3-4), the effect of storms on the ship's sails and crew (June 8, 1854-June 12, 1854, pp. 12-15), a bird flying onto the boat (June 21, 1854-June 22, 1854, pp. 20-21), and the near death of an infant due to an accident (June 30, 1854, pp. 31-32). He also reported that he inserted a message in a bottle and dropped it in the ocean (June 24, 1854, p. 21 verso).

Though he stopped writing regularly upon his arrival in North America, Houston continued to record sporadic diary entries until January 4, 1858. These notes reflect several aspects of his life in Philadelphia and New York, such as the cost of rent, his regular correspondence with his father, who remained in Scotland, and his strong religious beliefs. On two occasions, he copied documents certifying his membership in the Presbyterian Church, and in one entry, dated June 3, 1856, he recalled his wife's delivery of a stillborn child.

The Howe family letters are made up of personal correspondence related to the family of Dr. Estes Howe of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Family members and friends wrote about subjects such as domestic and international travel, their social lives, and family news and health.

The Howe family letters (95 items) are made up of personal correspondence related to the family of Dr. Estes Howe of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bulk of the collection consists of letters by and to Dr. Howe in Cincinnati; Pomeroy, Ohio; and Cambridge, and to members of his family, particularly his wife Lois and their children James Robbins ("Robb") and Lois.

The collection includes letters to Lois Howe from a niece in Pomeroy, Ohio, in 1885, and undated correspondence from James Robbins Howe ("Robb") to his sister, Lois, pertaining to his experiences at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In a bundle of around 35 letters, Chester Wright wrote to "Louis" about his travels in Germany, England, and Scotland from July 7, 1892-May 14, 1893. Other items are personal letters to Mary White from Maria Denny Fay about her life in England in the 1850s. Fay commented on her transatlantic voyage and reported on dances and other social activities around "The Moor." Mary White’s letters are accompanied by typescripts. The collection includes a single newspaper clipping with an illustrated poem entitled "The Sultan."

This collection contains documents, correspondence, and a journal related to German immigrant Carl Gallwitz and to the Mathes family, Alsatian immigrants who were later related to the Gallwitz family by marriage. Included are German-language documents from the early 19th century as well as a journal that Carl Gallwitz kept while traveling to and around the United States in the 1820s.

This collection contains 9 documents, 2 letters, and a journal related to German immigrant Carl Christ Wilhelm Gallwitz and to the Mathes family, Alsatian immigrants who were later related to the Gallwitz family by marriage.

The first 5 items, all in German, are 3 baptism certificates, a printed poem about baptism, and a document. The poem is surrounded by a colored printed floral border, and the document is written on a sheet with a colored illustration of two birds in a floral setting. Other documents are a naturalization certificate for Martin Mathers [sic], issued in Wooster, Ohio (April 2, 1855), and a German and French document from the 1860s certifying the 1833 birth of George Mathes to Martin Mathes and Marguerite Rott of the Alsatian town of Wissembourg.

Correspondence includes a German letter from Martin Mathes, Jr., to his father (July 19, 1850) and a letter signed by several men in Coloma, California, about the death of Martin Mathes, Jr., and funeral costs (December 8, 1850). A manuscript poem in German and an illustration of the Sun are undated.

Carl Christ Wilhelm Gallwitz kept a journal (459 pages) between March 22, 1820, and January 1832. He documented his travels in Europe and in the United States, as well as his life in Ohio. Gallwitz wrote brief entries almost daily between 1820 and 1822, and less frequently through January 1832. Gallwitz occasionally drew illustrations, including a kite's stringing system (July 1, 1820, p. 68), various types of fish (July 4, 1820, pp. 71-73), a "May apple" plant (August 6, 1820, p. 94), and an unidentified mammal (19 August, 1820, p. 99). The journal includes a list of cities that Gallwitz visited while traveling between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New Orleans, Louisiana (pp. 270-271), as well as several pages of watercolor and ink manuscript maps of his traveling route, usually made on riverboats (pp. 273-299). A translated copy of the journal and Gallwitz's itinerary are housed with the collection.

The journal also includes a colorful illustration of a man painting the portrait of a woman in an interior setting, featuring details such as a patterned rug, a side table with teacups, and paintings hung on the wall (p. 486). Two additional illustrations depict store signs for "L. Weeman & Comp. Store" and "1823. L. Ewing's Office" (p. 491). The inside of the back cover bears a pencil sketch of three figures at the base of a bluff.

This collection is primarily made up of correspondence between and addressed to members of the Gough family of Gort, Ireland, including George Stephens Gough; his wife, Jane Arbuthnot; and their children, Hugh, George, Rodolph, and Eleanor ("Nora"). The Gough family directly descended from Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough. Most of the letters pertain to the education and military career of the younger George Gough. The collection also includes a travel diary, documents, financial records, and notes.

This collection is primarily made up of correspondence between and addressed to members of the Gough family of Gort, Ireland, including George Stephens Gough; his wife, Jane Arbuthnot; and their children, Hugh, George, Rodolph, and Eleanor ("Nora").

The Correspondence series (740 items) largely consists of incoming personal letters addressed to Jane Gough, Viscountess Gough, and her son George. George Gough frequently wrote to his parents (most often his mother) throughout the 1860s, describing aspects of his education at Woodcote House in Henley-on-Thames, England; Eton College; and the University of Cambridge. He also commented on family news and his desire to join the military. George's later letters, written from the 1870s-1890s, concern his career with the British Army, which included service in England, India, and Africa; some of his letters from 1881 refer to political relations around the time of the First Boer War. He also wrote letters from Dresden, Germany, and from Switzerland.

Jane Gough received additional letters from acquaintances, including a group of letters expressing sympathy after George was wounded at the Battle of Abu Klea in January 1885. George Gough received letters from his siblings Hugh, Rodolph, and Nora, and from school friends and other acquaintances. One frequent correspondent, "Hubie," wrote throughout the 1860s, telling Gough about his experiences at Eton College and University College, Oxford.

The Diary (147 pages) recounts George Hugh Gough's travels in Canada and the United States during the fall of 1888. The volume covers the entirety of the trip up to Gough's return departure for Ireland, including ocean travel between Ireland and North America and railroad travel throughout Canada and the United States. Gough's entries regard daily activities, the scenery, historical context about places visited, and current events (such as the United States presidential election of 1888). The first page contains a list of visited locations and the distances between them. The final four pages contain a list of expenses incurred between September 28, 1888-November 15, 1888. A menu for passengers on the "'Allen' Line" of "Royal Mail Steamers" is pinned into the volume.

• Québec, Québec
• Montréal, Québec
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Toronto, Ontario
• North Bay, Ontario
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• Victoria, British Columbia
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco, California
• Yosemite Region, California
• Ogden, Utah
• Denver, Colorado
• Chicago, Illinois
• New York City, New York

The Documents series (11 items) contains military appointments for Hugh Gough (March 15, 1843, and May 1, 1861) and George Stephens Gough (January 5, 1849), a document authorizing the recipient to raise a number of men for a military regiment (November 5, 1804), and 7 accounts for purchases made by G. V. H. Gough in March 1914. Gough paid for automobile repairs, shoe repairs, medical supplies, and food.

The Photographs series (11 items) includes nine black-and-white prints showing soldiers at leisure, soldiers with horses, and a military encampment. The remaining items are a carte-de-visite portrait of an unidentified boy and an informal outdoor picture of a boy with a dog.

The Writings, Lists, and Genealogy series is made up of 12 items. Writings include a small notebook containing French poetry, a sheet containing limericks and drawings, and an item titled "Liber secundus." Extracts and notes pertain to a House of Lords commission respecting forfeited Irish estates around the turn of the 18th century, to an "Index to the "Prerogative Wills of Ireland," and to a poem entitled "The Migration of the Sons of Umor." Lists include a "Catalogue of a Collection of Minerals and Geological Specimens arranged and sold by J. Tennant" in London, a list of clothing belonging to a member of the Gough family, a list of men involved in a cricket match, and a list of words made for an unidentified purpose. A family tree traces the descendants of Hugh Gough, great-grandfather of Hugh Gough, first Viscount Gough. One group of papers was intended to be used to record purchases in February 1862, though it contains only a heading.

Two items in the Printed Items series (11 items) pertain directly to Viscount Hugh Gough: a poem addressed to Gough and his wife during their visit to Bath on April 1, 1850, and a document regarding the construction of a memorial to Gough following his death (May 21, 1869). Other items include a "Map of the Northern Uaso Nyiro" (1914), three scorecards from cricket matches held at Lord's Cricket Ground in 1868 and 1780, and newspaper clippings pertaining to wineglasses, a funeral, and the Franco-Prussian War. The collection includes two books: a pocket-sized Book of Common Prayer that belonged to George Gough (1872) and a Catalogue of Pictures at Basildon Park, Berkshire (1910).

The Personal Stationery and Family Crests series (62 items) includes a drawing of a jester and numerous drawings and crests, most cut out of personal stationery belonging to a variety of individuals and families.

The Henry Kelsey (Barque) log books document the merchant ship's travels to New Orleans, Boston, and Barcelona between 1847 and 1849. Along with weather and daily events, the books reveal an abusive, difficult crew that showed open animosity toward the captain.

The Henry Kelsey (Barque) log books document the merchant ship's travels to New Orleans, Boston, and Barcelona between 1847 and 1849. The first entries in Volume 1 were made at New Orleans, where the ship loaded hay and corn and headed to Mexico. After traveling along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the ship, under the command of Joshua A. Gray, returned to New Orleans and subsequently left for Boston. After a lengthy stay at Commercial Wharf, it went to Havana, Cuba, where the crew became restless, verbally abusing the captain and refusing to work. On March 17, 1848, one crew member threw a ladle of hot water in the log keeper's face. The ship remained in Cuba until March 22, when it returned to Boston carrying sugar and other goods, and sailed down to Mobile in early June. After a brief trip along the Tennessee River, the Henry Kelsey left for a voyage to Europe, reached Barcelona in late December 1848, and made a brief trip to Marseilles before returning to Boston in February 1849. The second volume ends on May 28, 1849, with the ship still on its way to the United States. A letter from Joshua Gray to his wife and daughter, written while en route to Barcelona from October to December 1848, is laid in to the front of volume 2. Throughout their travels, the crew of the Henry Kelsey participated in mutinous behavior, swearing at the captain and officers, and often appeared to be intoxicated. The journals record several incidents of insubordination, along with the more traditional entries on weather, wind, sailing techniques, and activities in port.

This collection is made up of approximately 160 items related to the Hillard family and Low family of New York and Boston, including correspondence, documents, photographs, poetry, ephemera, and pamphlets. Family members wrote around one-third of the approximately 110 letters and typescripts, as well as 35 pages from a letter book, while living and working in China in the mid-1800s. Other letters and additional materials concern the families' social and business lives in New York and Massachusetts throughout the 19th century. The families were related by marriage.

This collection contains approximately 155 items related to the Hillard family and Low family of New York and Boston, including correspondence, documents, photographs, poetry, ephemera, and pamphlets. Family members wrote around one-third of the approximately 110 letters and typescripts, as well as 35 pages from a letter book, while living and working in China in the mid-1800s. Other letters and additional material concern the families' social and business lives in New York and Massachusetts throughout the 19th century. The families were related by marriage.

The Correspondence series contains the following subseries: Manuscript Correspondence, Edward Low Letter Book, and Low Family Typescripts.

The Manuscript Correspondence subseries contains around 100 items related to the Hillard and Low families. "Caroline," a friend of Harriet Low, wrote letters to Harriet in New York City from Macau, China, in 1834 and 1835. Caroline commented on aspects of her life abroad, such as William Napier's arrival from Great Britain and the difficulty of having goods shipped from the United States. Other early correspondence includes personal letters between members of the Low family, who often wrote from Boston about family news and their social lives.

Francis (Frank) A. Hillard wrote 25 letters to his parents and siblings between June 1844 and July 1846, including 2 while traveling onboard the ship Honqua and 23 while living in Canton (now Guangzhou) and Macau, China. He described many aspects of his everyday life and of his career as a merchant, and provided detailed accounts of scenery, people, customs, and local news. He also commented on his experiences as a foreigner living abroad. After returning to the United States and settling in Brooklyn, New York, he corresponded with his brother Oliver, to whom he wrote approximately 30 letters between 1847 and 1853. Frank discussed his mercantile career and social life, which included interactions with members of the Delano family. The bulk of the correspondence ends in 1853.

Abiel Abbot Low wrote 4 letters to his wife Ellen on June 12, 1841, and from June 28, 1845-August 21, 1845. In his first letter, he described his travels in northern New York along the Erie Canal. Low's letter of June 28, 1845, pertains to his transatlantic voyage to Manchester, England, on the Great Western: he discussed his fellow passengers, his leisure activities on the ship, and his reunion with his sister Harriet and her children. The final 2 items (August 16, 1845, and August 21, 1845) concern Low's life in New York City after his return from England; he provided news of acquaintances and briefly mentioned the possibility of war with Mexico.

The subseries contains a letter Frank received from his brother Oliver, who provided news of United States politics (June 9, 1846), a letter from a girl named Hattie to her mother that mentions a sermon by a "Mr. Longfellow" [1864?], and a letter and membership card from the New York State Woman Suffrage Association sent to Mary Loines (September 21, 1895).

The Edward Low Letter Book is comprised of 35-pages of retained copies of letters that Low wrote to various family members, including William Henry and Abiel Abbot, while living in Macau, China, from May to September 1842. He discussed his life and work in China, as well as the Chinese economy and current events.

A group of Low Family Typescripts contains 12 letters exchanged by members of the Low family between 1829 and 1841, accompanied by a table of contents and a letter about the original material, dated 1935. The location of the original letters is unknown. Harriett Low wrote the first 9 letters between 1829 and 1834, while traveling in the Pacific and living in Macau, China. She told her mother and sister of her life onboard steamships and about her loneliness, caused by separation from her family in the United States. The remaining 11 letters include items by Frank and William Henry Low concerning their travels to China and around the Pacific region. They also commented on financial affairs.

The Documents series has 2 subseries: Legal and Financial Documents (5 items) and Passports (2 items). Included are an indenture between John Hillard, Harriet Low, and Seth Low (November 1, 1836); 4 receipts (August 1894-March 9, 1896, and undated); and passports for John Hillard (1842) and George Stillman Hillard (1859). Each passport is housed in a leather wallet.

The Photographs series contains 3 cartes-de-visite of Samuel Stillman and Rebecca Allen Stillman, as well as 3 card photographs of George Stillman Hillard.

Poetry and Other Writings (10 items) are comprised of 3 small poems, including one Francis A. Hillard wrote for his brother Oliver; 1 long poem entitled "The Tale" (27 pages); a preface and notes concerning the preparation of a work on the Low family papers; 3 loose pages and 1 packet of notes; and a 2-page prose draft.

The Genealogy series holds a 25-page document with genealogical information about the Hillard family and associated families.

Printed Items are divided into 3 subseries. Printed Ephemera (4 items) includes an illustrated envelope for the company Fritz and Dean, a business card for John B. Hillard, an image of George S. Hillard, and a bookplate for items bequeathed to the Massachusetts Historical Society by James Savage. The Currency (13 items) was all issued in North America between 1770 and 1780. Three of the four published Pamphlets were written by George Stillman Hillard between 1843 and 1852. The final pamphlet is a copy of "A Clipper Ship and Her Commander" (1924).