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David Wheeler Palmer was a Bridgewater, Michigan school teacher and farmer. His papers consist of diaries, 1846-1864, 1876-1882, and 1887-1892, concerning daily activities and farm life. There are also papers of other family members, including Emmett Newton Palmer, a Brooklyn, Michigan physician, Fred E. Palmer, a surgeon who served in the Spanish-American War, and Louisa Palmer, who was a teacher in Hawaii.

The David Wheeler Palmer collection consists mainly of his diaries and other papers. These diaries, dating from 1846 to 1892 with some gaps, comment in detail on his life, his family, the weather, financial transactions, and local politics. Other portions of the collection include materials of other family members: Palmer's wife Fidelia Randall Palmer; her brother Roswell Randall, Jr.; Emmett Palmer, the son of David and Fidelia; Fred Palmer, the son of Emmett; and Joseph Palmer, the father of David. Of interest are the photographs accumulated by Dr. Fred Palmer while he was serving in the Philippines. These include images of Hawaii on route to the Philippines and of the Santa Mesa facility in the Philippines. Another family member represented in the collection is Louisa Palmer who taught in Hawaii. She was an inveterate traveler who wrote extensive letters describing places visited for her students and family.

Norris family of Ypsilanti and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Papers of Mark Norris, Ypsilanti businessman and postmaster; papers of his wife, Roccena Vaill Norris, local teacher and woman's rights advocate; papers of their son, Lyman, attorney and regent of the University of Michigan, 1883-1884; papers of Lyman's son, Mark Norris, Grand Rapids attorney and Grand Master of the Knights Templar in the United States; papers of Lyman's daughter Maria Norris, Grand Rapids physician; papers of Mark's son, Abbott Norris; and related papers of other family members, notably the Whittelsey family of Connecticut.

The Norris family papers consists of three linear feet of correspondence, business papers, and scrapbooks. The bulk of the papers are letters among various family members which contain a wealth of information about 19th century daily life, social conditions, business affairs, and local and state politics. This collection is especially useful in researching: women's history; Norris family and kinship interrelationships; early area settlement and local history; university student life at the University of Michigan and elsewhere; 19th century economic conditions and political issues; and 20th century Freemasonry.

Materials collected by J. M. Bagley, which include the family papers of Coldwater (Mich.) politician Corydon P. Benton. Benton's papers contain about 15 letters (Sept. 28, 1861-Dec. 3, 1862) from his son Edwin Benton, a soldier with the 44th Illinois Infantry who was killed in action at Stones River, Tenn., as well as a letter (Jan. 8, 1863) from B. F. Kneppen relating to Edwin Benton's death. Benton's papers also include correspondence (1871-1880) of another son, Frank Benton, who was a student at Michigan Agricultural College and a missionary to Cyprus. The collection also includes the correspondence from 1849-1862 of Daniel Wilson of Ovid Township in Branch County, Michigan. These materials contain letters from Wilson's nephews John Willson (Apr. 11, 1862) written from Belmont, Ky., and O. Wilson (Mar. 30, 1863) of the 4th Rhode Island Artillery, Battery C, written from Falmouth, Va. Another portion includes five letters (Dec. 17, 1861-Mar. 9, 1862) of William Babcock, written from Kentucky and Tennessee.

Paulus den Bleyker family of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Papers of Paulus den Bleyker, his son John, John's wife, Anna Balch den Bleyker, and other family members relating to family and business affairs.

The collection includes the correspondence and business papers of Paulus den Bleyker, papers of his son John den Bleyker and John's wife Anna Balch, Paulus' daughter, Martha, and other family members and descendents. Much of the correspondence is in Dutch, but an English calendar of these letters (in box 1) has been prepared by Harry DeVries and Effa Zwier.

Many of the papers for the years 1828-1851 are on affairs in Holland and the den Bleyker settlement near Kalamazoo. For the years 1851-1856, the correspondence deals with personal affairs, the building of a flour mill and a saw mill and land transactions. For the years 1856-1857, there are many letters from family and friends but the bulk of them concern den Bleyker's real estate dealings. For 1872 to 1936, the correspondence is of John and Anna Balch den Bleyker and relates to family and business.

Of special significance in the collection is the file of letters exchanged between Paulus den Bleyker and A.C. Van Raalte, the founder of the Dutch community in Holland, Michigan.

Professor of Latin and acting president of University of Michigan. Correspondence, 1855-1856, to his wife, describing his travels and experiences in Europe; also material pertaining to affairs of University of Michigan, including letters from Andrew D. White of Cornell University; biographical and genealogical material on Frieze, eighteen volumes of records of European travel; and photographs.

The Frieze papers are comprised of personal and professional materials, including correspondence to colleagues and family; travel diaries and letters to his wife, Anna, written while traveling in Europe, 1855-1856 and 1872-1873; lectures and essays; papers from his years as a student at Brown and as a Latin instructor; various papers on his views of university education and his ideas for curriculum improvements; biographical material on the Frieze family; and photographs. For additional details on correspondents, see the Selective Index to Correspondence, which includes Frieze's wife, Anna, daughters Carrie and Addie, James B. Angell, President James A. Garfield, and other notable people.

Niles, Mich. businessman and officer in the Sixth and Nineteenth Michigan Infantry regiments during the Civil War. Includes correspondence, diaries, and photographs related to Griffin's personal life and military service in addition to genealogical information and miscellaneous materials.

The Eli A. Griffin papers are organized into a single Personal Papers series, which includes family genealogical information, correspondence, personal diaries, photographs, military records, and other materials. The collection documents Griffin's various travels (including trips to the California gold fields in 1849 and 1853 and other trips to Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, and Utah), service in the Union army during the Civil War, and information about his family.

Family diaries of the Cumings family of Apine Township, Michigan.

Diary of Philip Cumings describing farm life in New York and his settlement in Kent County, Michigan; also diary of his son Edwin recording farm and church activities, local affairs, and weather; and diary of his daughter Grace describing a trip by rail to Florida.

Organist and professor of music at the University of Michigan, and other members of the Christian family; correspondence, clippings, concert programs, and other papers re his teaching, concert career, European student days, etc.

The Palmer Christian collection is comprised of four series: Correspondence and other papers; Programs and reviews of recitals; Madrigals; and Photographs. The correspondence is noteworthy for long-term correspondents such as symphony conductor Eric De Lamarter who regularly communicated with Christian for over twenty year period beginning in 1925 and from Eugene Ormandy. During World War II, Christian received many letters from former students then serving in the military.

Grand Rapids, Michigan family, involved in furniture making and other businesses, also active in local state and Republican Party politics and businessmen's associations. Papers include family papers and correspondence, business records, scrapbooks and visual materials.

The Sligh family collection consists of the personal and business papers of the four generations of Slighs mentioned in the biographical introduction: James W. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Jr., and Robert L. Sligh. Although there is some overlap, the files have been arranged into seven series, one for each of these three Slighs, one for the Sligh Furniture Company and related family businesses, and one each for Newspaper clippings and Scrapbooks, and Visual Materials.

Correspondence and miscellaneous business papers including Civil War letters exchanged between John C. Buchanan and his wife, Sophia Bingham Buchanan, while he was serving as first lieutenant in Co. D. of the 8th Michigan Infantry. Many of the letters are almost sermons and philosophical essays about his home and family, religion, his country and the war and its leaders. Others are detailed descriptions of camps and camp life, such as Seabrook plantation in South Carolina and its Negroes, James Island and its reptiles; his quarters and food; sea transports; marches, skirmishes and battles with the Army of the Potomac in the Maryland campaign and around Fredericksburg. The collection also includes letters from Claude Buchanan while he was a student at the University of Michigan; letters (1847-1858) of J. Irwin Beaumont of Mississippi and Minnesota to Angie Bingham (Gilbert); notebooks, speeches, business papers, and a diary of a trip to the South in 1884 made by Claude Buchanan.

Eight letters of recommendation for Fisher from fellow officers relating to his Civil War service; correspondents include Melvin Brewer (Sept. 18, 1863), John W. Geary (June 31, 1863), W. D. Mann (Aug. 27, 1863), Angelo Paldi (Oct. 7, 1863), C. H. Town (Oct. 17, 1863), and C. I. Walker (Aug. 13, 1861); also one letter (April 21, 1863) from George C. Gordon of Company I, 24th Michigan Infantry. Collection also includes a typescript of excerpts from Fisher's diary describing a Michigan boat trip from Detroit to Ontonagon via Sault Ste. Marie in 1850, and student days at the University of Michigan in 1860; also diary of an overland trip to California in search of gold and the return trip by sea, with comments on mining; three University of Michigan student notebooks on courses by James V. Campbell, Thomas M. Cooley, and Charles I. Walker; and notes on the James Fisher family by Max Fisher.

Librarian of University of Michigan. Correspondence, including material on library administration, collection development, opening a new library in 1883, and the exhibition of University of Michigan professor's books at the 1893 World's Fair; also family correspondence, including letters discussing travels and Civil War service of family members; and photographs.

The collection includes correspondence; files relating to his career as chief librarian of the University of Michigan; personal and biographical materials; and speeches, essays, and writings.

Student at University of Michigan, 1855-1858, officer in Co. F, 24th Michigan Infantry and correspondent for the Detroit Free Press during the Civil War. Student letters and other correspondence, notes on baseball games played in Detroit, Michigan, in 1867, diary of a trip to Detroit in 1854, diary of daily activities in New Hampshire in 1856, newspaper clippings of war reports, edition of temperance newspaper which he published himself; and drawings.

The Green papers concern his activities at the University of Michigan in the 1850s and his Civil War service. The collection consists of correspondence, diaries, clippings, and miscellaneous. Of interest is a folder of line drawings depicting Civil War scenes.

Papers collected by Margaret Leutheuser of Ann Arbor, Michigan, relating to ancestor families, notably the Leach, Waterman, and Armstrong families. Civil War materials of Morgan L. Leach, member of the 1st and 9th Michigan Cavalry; farm account books of Edgar and William Armstrong of Mundy Township, Genesee County, Michigan; correspondence of other family members; and scrapbooks containing newspaper accounts of settlement of Leach family in Genesee County, and account of trip of Morgan Leach to Traverse Bay, Michigan, in the 1860s.

Margaret Leutheuser collected a variety of materials pertaining to her ancestors, notably among the Leach, Waterman and Armstrong families. The collection dates from the 1850s to the 1930s, and includes family correspondence, newspaper articles written by Morgan (M.L.) Leach, and farm account books. The materials are arranged in one Family Papers series by the originator/author of the item.

Detroit, Michigan, newspaper publisher. Papers of Scripps and of the James E. Scripps Trust established to ensure that control of Scripps's Evening News Association would remain with his immediate family. Series in the collection include: biographical material, notably unpublished biography and personal diaries, 1858-1868 and 1872-1881; business records of various Scripps newspapers and publishing companies; George H. Scripps probate records; and James E. Scripps trust records. Also, European journals by Scripps' wive, Harriet Josephine Scripps.

This collection contains both the personal papers of James E. Scripps and the records of the thirty-year trust he created shortly before his death in 1906. This collection is divided into four series: Biographical Materials, Business Records, George H. Scripps Probate Records, and James E. Scripps Trust Records. The bulk of this collection concerns the running of the Evening News Association. The records of the Evening News Association, the James E. Scripps Corporation, and the James E. Scripps Trust, with related litigation materials, attest to the complexity of this Detroit newspaper operation. Two European journals in the Biographical Materials series belong to Scripps' wife, Harriet Josephine Scripps. The journals contain information about the Scripps family, including relations with James Scripps' sister, Ellen Browning Scripps, who was a journalist and a philanthropist, and the founding donor of the Scripps College.

Papers of Michigan family including Joseph Comstock Jones, school superintendent and textbook publisher; Alice Van Hoosen Jones, teacher in East Saginaw, Michigan, and daughter of Van Hoosen farm owners Sarah Taylor and Joshua Van Hoosen; papers of Elisha Jones, half-brother of Joseph and professor of Latin at University of Michigan. Collection primarily comprised of correspondence, 1860-1950, and photographs, circa 1860s-1910.

The Jones family papers are comprised of correspondence, photographs, genealogy material, and other family papers. The bulk of correspondence is that of Alice Van Hoosen Jones, 1876-1950. She corresponded with her sister, Dr. Bertha Van Hoosen, her parents, Sarah and Joshua Van Hoosen, among other friends and family members. The papers also include correspondence of J.C. Jones, 1860-1902; papers of Elisha Jones, 1871-1888, including correspondence related to his European travels and legal papers; and photographs of J.C. Jones, his sister, Sarah, and Alice Van Hoosen Jones.

Carr-Stearns family of Whitehall, Muskegon County, Michigan, and Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan; family correspondence, including Civil War materials.

The collection includes letters, diaries, and a memoir of Ezra Stearns relating to his Civil War service. There are also letters and other miscellanea of Marvin S. Carr written while a student at Michigan State Normal College, Ypsilanti, and later as a cadet at the United States School of Military Aeronautics at Champaign, Ill., Dallas, Texas, and Mount Clemens, Michigan during World War I. The photographs in the collection are of the family farm, with some high school photographs made in Whitehall public schools.

Naturalist, professor of zoology and paleontology at the University of Michigan. Autobiography and biographical material; correspondence, diaries and travelogues, and writings concerning in part his collecting expeditions for the University Museum to South America, China, the Philippines, and other parts of the Far East; also papers reflecting his thoughts on science, religion, philosophy and evolution; and photographs.

The papers of Joseph Beal Steere consist of four feet of manuscript and visual material, one oversize volume, and one oversize folder covering the years 1861-1941. The collection is organized into seven series: Autobiography/Biography, Professional and Published Correspondence, Diaries and Travelogues, Writings, Photographs, and Correspondence with family and friends (1861-1926).

Ann Arbor, Michigan, family. Family correspondence, photographs, and miscellanea.

The collection consists of letters of Ellen Botsford Bach written while touring Europe and while attending the University of Michigan. Her other papers include reminiscences of her early life in Ann Arbor before 1900 and a recipe book. The papers of Waldo Bach consist of letters he wrote while serving in the Spanish American War.

Zoologist-botanist, collector of plant and specimens for the University of Michigan in the Middle East and South Asia. The collection includes biographical and personal materials, correspondence, topical files, journals, writings, estate materials, photographs and motion pictures. Much of the collection relates to his travels and collecting expeditions in the Middle East and South Asia.

The Walter Koelz papers document Koelz's travel and work in South Asia and the Middle East in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as his life in Michigan, both before and after traveling abroad. The collection has been divided into seven series: Biographical and Personal, Correspondence, Topical File, Journals, Writings, Estate Materials, and Visual Materials.