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The Joshua Benjamin journal contains notes and navigational logs on the various crews and voyages of the Brigantine Sarah, Brigantine Young Henry, Ship Lufilania, Brigantine Dolphin, Sloop Tryall, Brigantine Sea Flower, Sloop Experiment, Sloop Endeavor, Sloop Abigail, Brigantine Willam & Mary, Brigantine Union, Ship Samuell, Ship John and Cranwell, and the Ship Welcome, all sailing between 1713 and 1734.

The journal has 303 total pages, including the small pages bound together with the volume. Of these, approximately 258 are devoted to ships' logs. The book contains 60 pencil and ink coastal profiles.

The Joshua Benjamin journal contains notes on the various crews of the Brigantine Sarah and Brigantine Young Henry, as well as navigational logs and notes for various voyages of these ships as well as for the Ship Lufilania, Brigantine Dolphin, Sloop Tryall, Brigantine Sea Flower, Sloop Experiment, Sloop Endeavor, Sloop Abigail, Brigantine Willam & Mary, Brigantine Union, ship Samuell, Ship John and Cranwell, and the Ship Welcome, between 1713-1734. These voyages typically begin or end in Boston, bringing cargo to and from various ports along the Eastern Seaboard, Caribbean, and London.

The volume opens with the following inscription:

Joshua Benjamin Book[:] taken on board the Hardie Brilhae a french Ship of About 400 Tuns 32 guns Mounted x175 men in the year 1710[.] I then belonging to Her Majesty Queen Anne[']s Service in Her Ship the Kent of 70 Guns x 440 men[.]

However, none of the book's entries document the voyages of these ships. The first few pages consist of charts for the crew of the Brigantine Sarah and Young Henry with notes on crew names and positions, their wages, and time served on the ship for that voyage. After these entries is a description of a religious service at the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo, Spain, accompanied by an inventory of holy relics housed there (page 9). The inventory claims 21 relics from various saints and religious figures, including one of the 30 pieces of silver received by Judas, 8 thorns from the crown Jesus wore at his crucifixion, and clothes worn by Jesus.

The next set of entries consists of the logs of the various voyages of Benjamin. He keeps track of the ships'; daily longitude and latitude positions, records the day's wind, weather, and sea conditions, and makes brief notes of daily events (setting off, docking, repairs, meeting other ships and sailors, exchanging goods, etc.). In general, the descriptions provide general information on the experiences of eighteenth-century seamen and speak to the ways in which they handled challenges at sea.

Occasionally, Benjamin describes encounters with other ships, which indicate that the crew felt keenly that the waters were dangerous. For example, on December 27, 1733, he mentions that they spotted two sails giving chase. "We feeling they were Enemies prepared to receive them by fitting the vessels for close fight" (p.141). The ships passed without incident. In one of the longer entries of the journal, Benjamin describes the unfortunate fate of the Brigantine Sarah, which on November 1, 1730, struck a rock that severely damaged the ship five leagues from Bermuda. Eventually, all crew abandoned ship and took refuge on a nearby Island. They were rescued by a passing sloop within 4 days and taken to South Carolina.

Many of the entries include rough pencil sketches of coastal profiles, indicating the basic vertical outline of approaching land. In addition to these profiles is a pen drawing of several fish (p.26) and a map of Martha's Vineyard (p.47). This hand-drawn and well labeled map of Martha's Vineyard is one of the earliest known charts of this passage.

See the "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" section for a complete document summary with voyage and illustration listed with their corresponding page numbers.

The Peter Aplin logbooks document Aplin's voyages on the British Navy ships Savage, Niger, Prudent, Strombolo, and Roebuck. The books detail travel between England, the Mediterranean, Africa, and India, and describe participation in naval battles and blockades in Revolutionary-era North America.

The five Peter Aplin logbooks (276 pages total) document his voyages on the British navy's ships Savage, Niger, Prudent, Strombolo, and Roebuck, from 1769 to 1777. The books detail travel to England, the Mediterranean, Africa, and India, and describe his participation in naval battles and blockades in Revolutionary-era North America. Entries typically note the ships’ daily location, the weather conditions, and other ship-related matters such as repairs, discipline, rations, and interactions with other ships. The bulk of the information about the crews on these voyages concerns discipline or death on board the ships. The Aplin logs do not, however, contain personal details. The first two volumes are in Peter Aplin's hand, while volumes 3, 4, and 5, are written by various anonymous crew members.

Volume 1 (91 pages) covers two voyages, the first being from Ireland to Northern Canada on board His Majesty's Sloop Savage, commanded by Andrew Snape Hammond, from March 6 to November 23, 1769. Entries are typically 2-5 sentences long and are full of technical details on how the crew maneuvered the ship and kept it afloat during a rough voyage, as well as disciplinary actions such as lashing and confinement. Starting off from Ireland's Blasket Islands, the Savage encountered many days of "hard gale," which forced the crew to throw the guns overboard to stop the ship from foundering (v.1, p.5). During this crisis, half the crew were needed at the pumps and even with that effort the "Main Deck was Constanly full of Water" (v.1, p.7). Finally, by April 15, after a turbulent trip along the south coast of England, the Savage moored at Portsmouth Harbor, where it was repaired and provisioned until May 28 (p.13-17). The Savage then set off across the northern Atlantic and arrived at St. John's Harbor in Newfoundland on July 29. The log offers few clues on the purpose for the voyage but notes that, once anchored, the ship bottom was scrubbed, the rigging set up fore and aft, and James Cunningham was confined "for Leaving [the] boat & getting Drunk" (p.26). On August 11, the Savage headed southward and moored at Bull Bay two days later. It made stops at Cape Broyle (August 24), and Capeling Bay, Newfoundland, (August 25), before returning to St. John's Harbor (September 12-18). It arrived back at Portsmouth Harbor in late September, where it stayed till the end of the Journal on November 23, 1769.

The second voyage in volume 1 is on board the HMS Niger, commanded by Francis Bankes, from April 1, 1770 to January 18, 1771. It left from Portsmouth, England, and traveled through the Mediterranean Sea with stops at Gibraltar, Cadiz, Genoa, and Smyrna. The entries are similar to the previous voyage’s log, noting interactions with foreign ships; on board activities while sailing and mooring; and disciplinary actions for negligence of duties, selling their clothes, and gambling. A few days after unmooring from Spithead, England (May 9, 1770), the Niger had a brief encounter with an unfriendly crew on another vessel. They "fired a Shot at a French Sloop for not paying proper respect to his Maj[esty's] Ship." (p.53) The Niger headed south past France and as they approached the waters of Portugal they fired three more shots at a Dutch ship, again, for not paying respect to the English Flag (May 20th). They reached Gibraltar on May 28th and moored at Cádiz Bay, Spain, from June 11-26. From July 20 to August 6, they moored at River Tagus near Lisbon, and continued further east, stopping at Greek and Turkish Islands, such as Smyrna Castle (in November) and Milo Harbor (in early December). The ship sailed west for the next month and on January 11, 1771, had arrived back at Gibraltar to restock food and supplies. The log ends on January 18th.

Volume 2 (85 pages) is a log for the ship Prudent, commanded by Sir Jonathan Clerke, for its journey from Spithead, England, to India by way of Madeira, Madagascar, Bombay, Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), and Madras (now Chennai), from April 9, 1772 to October 27, 1774. The ship left England on April 13, and arrived at Madeira, their first stop, on April 27 (p.5). The next leg took them to St. Augustine's Bay, Madagascar, where they stayed from August 15 to September 5, 1772 (p.15-17). They reached Bombay Harbor on October 29th, where they moored. During their long stay in Bombay, Aplin continued to take notes on weather, daily activities, and crew discipline, and also described their contact with other British naval officers and crews stationed there. Also during this period, the ship made several short trips to Trincomalee Harbor, Sri Lanka, and Madras, often accompanied by a larger fleet of British ships, including the Sloop Dolphin. The last dated entry of the journal was October 28, 1774, when the Prudent was on its way southeast from India. Notable events during the ship’s voyage include the death of a crew member on May 5th, "Departed this life of accident Robt. Libson" (p.7), and a court marital for Thomas Fennel and Pat Mahon for attempted mutiny, attended by all captains stationed at Madras; the penalty was 400 lashes (p.43).

Volume 3 (47 pages plus 14 blank pages) is the logbook of the Roebuck, commanded by Andrew Hammond during the British blockade of the American Atlantic coast, October 5, 1776 to July 14, 1777. Several entries mention “the Enemy” and describe various cannon discharges and chases of foreign ships trying to get past the British blockade. Other notable events include a "Divine service" given on board the Roebuck on Sunday, October 6, 1776 (p.5); accidents at sea, such as a man falling overboard on April 27, 1777 (p.33); and a crew member dying at the mast on May 18, 1777 (p.37). The journal begins with the Roebuck stationed near the mouth of the Hudson River near Manhattan in the days leading up to the British capture of Fort Washington. On October 9, the logbook notes that guns at Fort Lee and Fort Washington fired upon their fleet but they ceased firing when the ships got past the battery. The ships then anchored at Merlin's Landing, but one of the cutters was badly damaged in the encounter and was cut adrift. The Roebuck sustained damages and fatalities, and for days after the battle, between the 10th and the 16th, many men were "Committed…to the Deep" (p.5-7). On October 21, the ship was anchored at Haverstraw, New York, on the Hudson (South of Fort Montgomery) and over the next weeks, the log’s writer made note of when shots were fired, what ships they encountered, and where the ships were stationed, though they do not record any further battles. In December 1776 and January 1777 the Roebuck was part of the British blockade on the lookout for foreign ships. Many entries describe "giving chase," with some pursuits lasting two days. They let most of the ships go, though on some occasions Aplin mentions taking prisoners (p.17). Most of the vessels were headed to Boston, Virginia, and Philadelphia, with some coming from Cape Nichola Mola, such as a schooner captured on January 2, 1777, carrying sugar and molasses (p.17). At the end of January, the Roebuck headed north and on March 12, 1777, they arrived at St. John's Harbor, Newfoundland, where they worked on the ship, "Scrubbing Hammocks and wash'd between Decks" (p.29). The entries between pages 27-45 are in a different hand. The remainder of the journal records the ship patrolling off the coast of Delaware. On April 9th it was anchored at Fenwick Island (p.31) and over the next weeks, the ship visited Cape May and Bombay Hooks, where the crew occasionally carried out small arms exercises and observed fellow British ships returning with captured vessels.

Volume 4 (35 pages and 49 blank pages) contains logs for two ships: the Roebuck, commanded by Andrew Hammond, at ports along the southern and western coasts of England, July 14-September 30, 1775, and the Strombolo, commanded by Peter Aplin, anchored off Sandy Hook, July 14-September 21, 1778. For the first 9 pages of the log, the Roebuck was docked at Chatham, England (July 14-August 3, 1775). The ship was next moored near the North Shore of Sheerness, England, from August 4-22 where two men were received from the hospital (p. 9) and another was punished for thieving (p.11). The Roebuck cruised the south coast of England for the next 10 days, anchoring off the North Foreland (August 23), near Downs (August 24); at Spithead (August 27), near Yarmouth (September 5); at the Isle of Portland (September 10); and at Guernsey (September 14-30). The logbook for the Strombolo begins on page 20 with the ship anchored off Sandy Hook from July 14-September 21, 1778 (p. 20-25). At this time, the Strombolo was stationed with the British fleet and they received daily signals from Admiral Howe. The superior French fleet had gathered near Rhode Island and occasionally approached the British to try to engage them in a large-scale conflict. On July 17th, Aplin described a skirmish between the HMS Vigilant and some French vessels. After a few days of hard gales, the British fleet sailed north on August 8th (p.25) from Sandy Hook to the vicinity of Block Island. For the next six weeks, they sailed to Block Island, Cape Cod, Sandy Hook, and Montauk, along with British ships including the HMS St. Albans, Renoun, Ardent, Experiment, Emerald, Ariel, Delaware, Vigilant, Raisonnable, Phoenix and the Apollo (August 15-18). Aplin's ship and the HMS Richmond left the fleet on September 3, 1778.

Volume 5 (18 pages) contains hand-written copies of entries from the Roebuck voyages of Volume 3, covering the log entries of October 5 to December 18, 1776, and from May 17 to July 14, 1777.

The George Philip Hooke journal is a 21-page officer roster and journal of the 1st Battalion of Grenadiers in the British army, which describes their travel from New York to South Carolina. The volume also contains copies of 30 catch tunes, many with lyrics.

The George Philip Hooke journal (21 pages) is comprised of an officer roster and a journal of the 1st Battalion of Grenadiers in the British army under Henry Clinton, from December 1779 to May 1780. Hooke described the battalion's voyage from New York to South Carolina; gave the movements of his battalion during the landing at St. Simons Island, Georgia; and provided eye-witness accounts of various scrimmages in the southern campaign, including the siege and surrender of Charleston. Hooke described sinking the damaged "Judith Transport" (January 16, 1780); meeting the British fleet under Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, at Tybee Harbor, [Georgia] (February 3, 1780); and positioning and attacking the rebel forces at Charlestown, South Carolina, between March 29 and April 13, 1780.

At the back of the journal, after 48 blank pages, are copies of 30 catch tunes (comic rounds). The British baroque master Henry Purcell and popular composer Henry Harington wrote several of the songs, though many are unattributed, such as "The Quaker Wedding: A Catch for three voices," and "Come Honest Friends" (52 pages of music in total).

Papers collected by Robert U. Redpath and Richard U. Light of the Upjohn family of upstate New York and western Michigan, founders of the Upjohn Company. Daybooks, daily journals, sermon notes, and journal of trip to America and on the Erie Canal in 1830 of William Upjohn.

This collection, accumulated by Robert U. Redpath and Richard U. Light, consists largely of papers of William Upjohn, born in England, who migration to New York in 1830. Much of the material dates from before the passage to America, and includes sermons, daybooks and journals, and material relating to his work as surveyor and timber appraiser. The materials after 1830 concern his passage to his eventual home in upper New York State and to his business endeavors. Of interest is a folder of the minutes of the Greenbush Debating Society in 1833. In addition, there is a series consisting of papers (mainly photocopied) of other family members, including correspondence, Civil War materials, and miscellanea. A final series is comprised of various medical volumes owned by Upjohn family members.

Transcripts for diaries of William Upjohn written from 1820 to 1826 were added to the collection in 2019.

The Norton Strange Townshend Family papers include correspondence, diaries, essays, lectures, printed matter, clippings, financial and legal papers, photographs, daguerreotypes, ephemera, realia, maps, and books belonging to the Townshend and Dodge families, who were connected by the marriage of Margaret Wing (granddaughter of Norton Townshend) and Homer Levi Dodge (grandson of Levi Dodge) in 1917. Much of the collection documents the life and career of politician and agricultural educator Norton Strange Townshend, including his political, educational, and social reform activities.

The Norton Strange Townshend Family Papers consist of 20.5 linear feet of manuscripts, 66 cased photographs, 3 linear feet of paper photographs, 8 cubic feet of photographic slides, and 7 cubic feet of realia, arranged into 13 series. For more detail, see scope and content notes, below.

The Correspondence series (Boxes 1-10) contains all the collection’s letters, postcards, and telegrams (with the exception of official military correspondence, financial correspondence, and genealogy correspondence, which are under "Topical Files," "Financial Correspondence," and "Genealogical Correspondence," respectively). Correspondence spans the years 1827-1989 and makes up around one quarter of the collection. It is subdivided by family into the "Townshend Subseries" and "Dodge Subseries," and arranged chronologically, with undated items at the end. The series contains correspondence to and from prominent Ohio politicians, such as Salmon P. Chase; who wrote 34 letters to Townshend; William Medill; Rutherford B. Hayes; and notable agricultural educators, including James Sullivant and John Klippart. Correspondence among family members is also voluminous, and documents a wide variety of issues during the mid-19th to early-20th centuries, including social and family life, courtship, women’s work and viewpoints, travel, and attitudes toward education. For an index of correspondents, see "Additional Descriptive Data."

The Joel Townshend papers series (Box 10) brings together documents by and related to Norton Townshend’s father, Joel Townshend (1780-1864). It includes a few religious writings, as well as financial and legal documents that shed light on the family’s life in Northamptonshire, England, and Ohio. Most items date from 1810 to 1830, with the exception of a biography of Townshend written in the 1930s or 1940s by his great-grandson, H. Percy Boynton.

The Norton S. Townshend papers series (Boxes 10-26) is the largest series in the collection and contains diaries, published and unpublished writings, printed materials, clippings, broadsides, biographical materials, and other items relating to nearly every facet of Townshend’s adult life. These materials document Townshend’s political involvement, particularly in local and national antislavery, in agricultural movements, and in the U.S. House of Representatives. The series also includes papers about his educational career, family life, Civil War service, and religious views and work. Townshend frequently worked and reworked his ideas on paper, and both his published and unpublished writings are a rich source of intellectual and reform history. Townshend was also an inveterate collector and preserver of interesting items, including materials relating to northern Ohio’s Liberty Party, his admission tickets to medical courses and the World Anti-Slavery Convention, an application to the Ohio State Asylum for the Education of Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, of which he was a trustee, and dozens of fliers and handbills for lectures given by himself and others.

The Margaret Bailey Townshend papers series (Boxes 26-27) is comprised of two diaries, a rich autobiographical writing entitled "Genealogy," describing her childhood and education, a small number of clippings, and materials relating to her education and career as a teacher in Illinois and Ohio in the 1850s. Many items in the Realia series (below) also relate to Margaret Bailey Townshend.

The Other Townshend family members’ papers series (Boxes 28-30) contains materials relating mainly to Townshend’s children and their spouses, but also includes James B. Wood (Townshend’s father-in-law), Harriet Wood Townshend (Townshend’s first wife), Margaret Wing Dodge (Townshend’s granddaughter), and several other relatives. The bulk of this series is made up of their writings, which are autobiographical, religious, and cultural in subject. Also of interest is biographical information on family members, including articles on Townshend’s children, who were early students of Ohio State University, and a number of obituaries of these family members.

The Dodge family papers series (Boxes 30-34) consists of materials produced and collected by the Dodges of upstate New York, from 1839 to approximately 1970, and documenting their family life, travels, hobbies (in particular the outdoors and canoeing), financial and legal transactions, and civic engagement. Incorporated are some writings by various family members, including Levi R. Dodge, F. Isabella (Donaghue) Dodge, Homer Dodge, and family friend Lydia Sayer Hasbrouck; topical files, the bulk of which are 20th century; biographical materials such as obituaries and clippings; and periodicals on topics of interest to the Dodges.

The Genealogical research series (Boxes 35-37) reflects the family’s interest in its own history and consists of correspondence, family trees, historical essays, as well as commercially produced family histories for some lines. The materials reflect a particular interest in finding links between various family members and such prominent figures as the Townshends of Raynham Hall, the Green family of Vermont, and General Grenville Dodge. This series pertains mainly to the 20th century and is arranged by family, except for the correspondence, which is arranged chronologically.

The Collection-related materials series is made up of documents and articles that shed light on the outreach efforts made on behalf of the collection, particularly for the Easterly items, prior to their accessioning by the William L. Clements Library. The series is comprised of fliers, museum publicity materials, and articles on exhibits. Materials date from the late 20th century, particularly the 1990s.

The Books series contains three items that are housed with the collection: Sermons on Various Subjects by the Late Rev. Thomas Strange, Kilsby, Northamptonshire, with Some Memoirs of His Life (1807); the Townshend Family Bible (with manuscript notes on births, deaths and marriages); and Robert W. McCormick’s 1988 self-published biography of Townshend: Norton S. Townshend, M.D. Antislavery Politician and Agricultural Educator. The rest of the books, including books from the personal libraries of Norton Townshend, Joel Townshend, Margaret Bailey Townshend, and the Dodge family, are housed in the Book Division of the Clements Library; for the list of titles, search for "M-3437" in the University of Michigan's library catalog.

The Visual materials series is arranged by type of item and then by subject. This includes daguerreotypes by prominent daguerreotypist Thomas M. Easterly, other photographs, drawings/prints, and maps. The materials range from the 1840s to the 1970s. See also Realia series below.

The Realia series contains approximately 8 linear feet of objects, including items from the childhood and teaching career of Margaret Bailey Townshend, intricate hairwork jewelry and a hair wreath made with the locks of at least 16 family members, geological materials and fossils collected by Norton Townshend and possibly Thomas Easterly, and other three-dimensional objects such as a glass vial for medicine, ribbons from the Ohio State Fair, and decorative objects. Also noteworthy are a number of paper objects, such as Civil War era chromolithograph animal toys, a Japanese paper lantern, and an alphabet game for children.

The Dodge Photographic Slides series includes eight cubic feet of photographic slides, totaling approximately 22,000 slides, attributed to Homer L. Dodge. They document travels around the southwest United States and to countries such as Japan, Canada and Sweden.

The Miscellaneous series contains envelopes without accompanying letters, blank letterhead, and a binder of transcriptions of select letters from Harriet Wood Townshend to Sarah Wood Keffer.

The HM Sloop Penguin collection contains watercolor illustrations, photographs, a crew member's letter, and a journal, all related to the British cruiser that was sunk by the American Navy, just after the end of the War of 1812.

The HM Sloop Penguin collection consists of 4 watercolor illustrations, 2 photographs, 1 letter, and one journal.

The Watercolor illustrations series contains four scenic views, presumably of St. Helena or Tristan da Acunha, tall ships in a small harbor, two distinct land masses, and a small settlement with fortifications.

The letter, dated February 18, 1815, is from a HM Sloop Penguin crew-member, writing to his sister, Mrs. Samuel Trigge, in Chelsea, England. The letter recounts many of the Penguin's movements as they search for an American privateer that had recently captured an English ship. The letter describes the Penguin's upcoming trip, which they did not complete, from the Cape of Good Hope to St. Helena, then on to the Island of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and finally back to the Cape of Good Hope. The letter describes the author's employment prospects and the possibility of returning to England, as well as his observations of life at the Cape of Good Hope.

The photographs are reproductions of a silhouette of a military man, presumably James Dickinson, and of a fine pen and ink drawing of a ship in a storm.

The journal has a monogram on the spine reading "S B." The volume's 81 pages (148 blank pages) document the Penguin's voyages from August 17, 1814-March 22, 1815. The author dutifully noted wind and weather conditions and often included important events on the ship and ashore. The journal's daily entries vary from a few lines to an entire page, and ends on March 22, just one day before the Penguin's capture.

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.

The Benjamin Brown collection is made up of correspondence, documents, and artifacts related to the showman's career as a circus owner in the early 1800s. Many of the letters relate to his journey to Egypt between 1838 and 1840, as he attempted to procure giraffes for an American menagerie company; to his other travels; and to the contemporary American circus industry.

The Benjamin Brown collection is made up of correspondence, documents, and artifacts related to the showman's career as a circus owner in the early 1800s.

Letters, documents, and printed materials concern Brown's early ventures as a show owner, including correspondence and financial records pertaining to his travels in the Caribbean and to the northeast coast of South America in the early 1830s. These materials document the difficulties of transporting exotic animals by sea, the type of equipment necessary to run a circus, and other logistical issues.

A later group of letters and documents reflects Brown's experiences in Egypt, where he traveled as an agent of the June, Titus, Angevine & Company, attempting to purchase giraffes. Many of these letters are from Stebbins B. June, who was also in Egypt at the time, and several items relate to George R. Gliddon, United States consul in Cairo. Brown's friend Gerard Crane wrote about Brown's business affairs in New York, and frequently reported the increasingly frail health of Brown's father. Benjamin Brown received a letter from P. T. Barnum, who asked him to find a pair of fortune tellers for Barnum's museum. He also inquired about locating a pony small enough to accommodate his performer Tom Thumb (June 29, 1843). While in London, Brown frequently received letters from his sister, Eudocia Brown Noyes, who wrote of the Brown family farm and provided other news from Somers, New York.

The collection includes playbills and broadsides advertising Brown's circus; Brown's marriage license (March 20, 1841); a pencil sketch of Brown; two passports; and three fragments of an Arabic-language scroll, offering protection to the bearer. Later material includes newspaper clippings from 1879, 1880, and 1931, on Brown's life and career, as well as an audio tape of an interview with his grandson, Benjamin Brown.

Box 2 of the collection includes correspondence, documents, printed items, photographs, and audio recordings related to the history of Benjamin Brown, the circus, and Somers, New York. Principally organized around the career and research of Carrie Brown Rorer (1903-1969), President of the Somers Historical Society and Benjamin F. Brown's great-grandaughter, the material provides insight into public history, memory, and research on the circus. Included is a typed document, "Circus History: Recollections by Benjamin Brown (1877-1962) as told to Carrie Brown Roher, (1903-1969), who was one of his three daughters," which details memories of Benjamin F. Brown and family stories about him.

• Two shoes, [1800s]
• Burnoose, [1800s]
• Black circus jacket, [1800s]
• Pipe stem and bowl
• Two rocks
• Fragments from an ostrich eggshell
• Canopic jar lid
• Two small boxes
• Ushabti figure
• Harpocrates figure

The Egyptian figures may date to around 600 BCE.

Graduated from Berkshire Medical Institute ca. 1810; joined U.S. Navy ca. 1816; first tour of duty in 1818; retired from the Navy in 1852 from post of chief Surgeon of the Boston Navy Yard. Journals, letter book, medical notes, correspondence, and essays of Benajah Ticknor, doctor and surgeon with the U.S. Navy. Of primary importance are the journals which describe journeys made by Ticknor with the Navy to South America, the Far East, and Europe.

The Ticknor collection consists of photocopied and microfilmed papers from various institutions with Ticknor materials. The materials were gathered together by individuals involved in the restoration of Ticknor's Ann Arbor home, now known as Cobblestone Farm. The collection, subsequently donated to the Bentley Historical Library, includes Biographical material, journals, a letter book, writings, letters to his friend Congressman Elisha Whittlesey in Ohio, and State Department records from his diplomatic missions to the Far East.

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.

New York State and Ann Arbor, Michigan family; family correspondence, business papers, student notebooks, photograph albums.

The Patterson family papers have been arranged as much as possible by family member name. To avoid confusion and because the name George Washington Patterson was passed down from father to son, the series names have been given a Roman numeral to distinguish one family member from another.

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 geology and paleontology at the University of Michigan, director of the Michigan Geological Survey, and chancellor of Syracuse University, popular lecturer and writer on scientific topics and as a Methodist layman who worked to reconcile traditional religious beliefs to nineteenth-century developments in the fields of evolutionary biology, cosmology, geology, and paleontology. Papers include extensive diaries, field notes and maps from travels and geological expeditions, correspondence, speeches, articles and other publications and photographs.

The papers of Alexander Winchell are those of an orderly man who carefully documented his own life through well-organized correspondence, diaries, notebooks, and scrapbooks. Winchell kept thorough evidence of his activities, writings, lectures, and thoughts, for most of his life. The only area that seems poorly documented is his university teaching. The collection does not appear to include significant material relating to relationships with students in the classroom.

"Alexander Winchell, an editorial tribute," published in The American Geologist (Feb. 1892, MHC call number DB/2/W759/A512), includes a year-by-year account of Winchell's life, based on the papers, and probably written by his brother N. H. Winchell. Although there are no footnotes in this work, it provides a useful summary of Winchell's activities and clues to the existence of documentation in the collection.

The collection is divided into six major series: Biographical, Correspondence, Diaries and journals, Writings and lectures, Reference and research files, and Scrapbooks; and three smaller series: Visual materials, Processing notes, and Card files.

Winchell's bibliography is located in Box 1 (the most complete copy is in the "Permanent memoranda" volume), and drafts of many of his writings are found in Boxes 8-14. Copies of many, but not all, of Winchell's publications are found in the MHC printed collection. The card catalog includes details for all separately cataloged items. There are also three collections of pamphlets that are not inventoried: two slightly different bound sets prepared by N. H. Winchell after Alexander Winchell's death (MHC call numbers DA/2/W759/M678/Set A and DA/2/W759/M678/Set B) and a two-box collection of pamphlets collected by the University Library (MHC call number Univ. of Mich. Coll./J/17/W759).

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.

Letters to his wife, Mary Soule, written while serving as an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War; Civil War diary, 1863-1865; a letter from Byron Stoddard of the Sixth Michigan Infantry; correspondence, 1890-1904, with J. C. Leonard who collected materials for University of Michigan Museums throughout the western part of the United States; literary manuscript of Annah May Soule; and photographs.

Portraits and photographs of Soule and his wife, Maryy Soule; group photograph of the officers of Company D, Sixth Michigan Infantry, 1861; and album, ca. 1865, of Civil War soldiers, most of whom were members of the Sixth Michigan Infantry.

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.

Professor of German at the University of Michigan and Columbia; mostly correspondence of Thomas with his family, professional colleagues, publisher, etc.; also some correspondence of his wife after his death; speeches, lecture notes, biographical sketches; papers include material on language studies at Michigan and Columbia, attitudes of academia toward Germans in World War I, accounts of European travels in 1877, 1896, and 1900; Civil War letter of Steven Thomas, Calvin's father.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical/personal material; Correspondence; Lectures and addresses; Journals/diary; Scrapbooks; Other family members papers; and Publications.

Ann Arbor, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois family. Correspondence of Elihu B. Pond, editor of Michigan Argus, his sons, Chicago architects, Irving Kane and Allen Bartlit Pond, founders of firm of Pond & Pond, and other family members; include materials concerning family affairs, architectural projects, Jane Addams and the work of Hull House, European travels, politics especially as relates to period of the Civil War and the election of 1896; also photographs, architectural drawings and other visual materials.

The Pond Family papers consist primarily of correspondence and other materials of architects, Irving Kane (1857-1939) and Allen Bartlit Pond (1858-1929) documenting family matters, European travels, their involvement in the civic and social life of Chicago, and professional activities. The collection has been divided into four subgroups: Allen B. Pond papers; Irving Kane Pond papers; papers of other family members and miscellaneous; and visual materials.

Correspondence comprises the bulk of both the Allen and Irving Pond subgroups. This correspondence consists almost exclusively of exchanges between the brothers when they were separated because of travel, and with their parents and sister. There is little correspondence with clients, professional associates, or others outside of the family. The letters, however, are often detailed and revealing of the thoughts and activities of the Pond brothers. In addition to the usual descriptions of landscapes and social events when traveling abroad, their letters contain many comparisons of European and American trends in architecture, housing, the development of cities. To their family and with each other, the brothers also wrote of their non-professional interests: Chicago politics, social settlements in the city, humanitarian causes, and their involvement with various literary groups. Of note in the Allen Pond papers are letters containing references to Jane Addams and her work at Hull House. There are also accounts they received from family about Jane Addams and her talks when visiting Ann Arbor. Letters concerning Jane Addams are dated Sept. 1896; Jan. 1898; Sept. 18, 1898; Jan. 22,1900; Mar. 1901; May 28,1901; June 15,1901; undated 1901; Apr. 21,1902; July 7,1902; Aug. 18,1902; Feb. 16, 1903; Jan. 12,1904; Jan. 23,1905; Feb. 1905; May 29,1907; Mar. 1908; and Apr. 1908.

Their sister, Mary Louise and their mother, Mary Barlow (Allen) Pond wrote weekly of family affairs and the social and cultural events of Ann Arbor. Both comment extensively on the ideas and activities of many of the leading intellectual and literary figures of the day - William James, John Dewey, Kipling, Wharton and Shaw - as well as on their daily interactions with Angells, Cooleys and other prominent Ann Arbor families. Unfortunately, there are few surviving letters from Allen and Irving to the family in Ann Arbor. Much of the information in the collection about their work is therefore by indirect reference only.

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.