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The William H. Lee papers are primarily comprised of correspondence and documents relating to Lee’s service with the 8th Missouri Cavalry and the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry, Union Army. A few items document his family life and career after the war.

The William Lee papers contain 57 items spanning from 1862 to 1955, including 49 letters and 8 documents. The earliest items in the collection are 16 letters written by Lee to family members during his service in the 8th Missouri Cavalry and the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry. In his letters of this period, Lee gave detailed accounts of marches, battles, and skirmishes and shared his opinions on several political subjects. His letter of December 7, 1862, contains an account of the Battle of Prairie Grove: “…we marched up on the right wing of our army & in two hours after our artillery commenced firing the day was ours. This is given up by all to be the hardest fought battle of the west & the most decisive.” Lee’s descriptions were frequently accompanied by numerical counts of forces and casualties.

Also of interest is Lee’s perspective on the conflict between North and South, which he expressed in several letters to his mother. Despite residing in Arkansas at the outbreak of the war, Lee strongly identified with the North, and his sentiments seemed to deepen over the course of the war. He expressed deep anger at Southerners (April 22, 1863) stating, “…if every one of them were today occupying a tract of land 6 by 3 feet under the sod I think they would have their Southern Rights…” He also cheered the changes to the Arkansas Constitution forbidding slavery and Confederate “brushwacking” (January 30, 1864). After his February 4, 1865, honorable discharge, the theme of Lee’s letters quickly turned to the courtship of his future wife, Mary, whom he calls “Mollie.” Included in the collection are six invitations to from Lee to “Miss Mollie,” and a letter written on the morning of their wedding day, April 18, 1865, expressing his wish for “a quiet family thing of it.”

Later letters document Lee’s business travels and family life. A letter from Mary to her mother (January 26, 1876) gives substantial information on the Lee children, the adjustment to living in Tennessee (“the society is not of the best”), and the difficulty of finding a school. The 20th-century letters mainly document efforts to put up a new gravestone for Abner Lee, William Lee’s grandfather.

The “Documents” series contains a variety of materials, including Lee’s army discharge papers, a brief autobiography with clippings on William and Mary Lee, and three photos, one of which may portray Lee as an elderly man.

The bulk of the William R. Day Collection concerns the life and work of William Rufus Day. There are also materials related to other immediate and extended family members. Some of the topics covered in the William R. Day Collection are the Spanish-American War; the United States Peace Commission; the Mixed Claim Commission concerning reparations from Berlin, Germany; and William Day's career as a lawyer and diplomat. Materials represented include correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, and manuscripts.

This collection contains a variety of materials including correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, and manuscripts. Although the bulk of the collection concerns William Rufus Day, there are materials related to other immediate and extended family members. Some of the topics covered in the William R. Day Collection are the Spanish-American War; the United States Peace Commission; the Mixed Claim Commission concerning reparations from Berlin, Germany; and William Day's career.

The Correspondence and Papers series consists of 3 subseries: William Day, Family, and Miscellaneous.

The William Day subseries is organized by date and includes correspondence related to the Spanish-American War, Cuba, Germany and the Mixed Claims Commission. In 1896 there are materials related to the Monroe Doctrine, silver and gold, and Venezuela and Cuba. The 1897 folder primarily has correspondence related to Spain and Cuba. The 1898 folder contains materials related to Cuba, Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The 1899 folder contains congratulations William Day received upon being appointed a judgeship as well as speaking requests. 1900-1911 contains remarks, information about a Day family land transfer, Day's McKinley manuscript, a map of Washington, DC, and a European military map. 1920-1923 has correspondence and papers related to the 18th amendment (prohibition), the Berlin agreement by the Mixed Claims Commission, and Day's retirement from the Commission. Biographical materials include biographies, a genealogy, ancestry from the Mayflower, and a memorial. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings related to William Day's work and life as well as that of his wife, Mary Elizabeth Schaefer, and his son, Luther Day. Topics are related to William Day's political and judicial career including the Spanish-American War, Cuba, and the Philippines, and Luther Days' career as a lawyer and politician.

The subseries Family includes four files. The folder for Luther Day, father of William R. Day, contains correspondence to Luther as well as papers related to him being elected a prosecuting attorney. The folder for Emily Spalding Day, mother of William R. Day, contains letters from her mother, sister, and cousin, as well as one letter from Emily to her mother. The folder for Louis Schaefer, father-in-law of William R. Day, contains letters to Louis from members of the Meiklehaus family and one letter from Louis Schaefer to his daughter on Schaefer's Opera House stationary. The Other Members folder contains letters and papers for other members of the Day family including Ellen Day, Laura Lyman, Frances Day, Lucretia Spalding, Honorable Spalding, Ida Barker, Luther Day (William R Day's son), Asa Spalding, and a pamphlet titled Industrial Peace with Justice which lists Stephen A. Day as the president.

The three miscellaneous folders contain papers and letters whose relationship to the Day family and William R. Day is unknown including a letter written in 1797 by Darius Morgan, a letter from 1795 to Ephraim Root, as well as some additional letters, a memo about being an officer of the United States, information relating to the Hero of Bitche, Red Cross instructions for knitting socks, and a list of names.

The Manuscripts series contains William Day's notebook related to his biographical project on William McKinley, Stephen Day's (William Day's son) notebook related to sales and cases he worked on, the dissertation of Joseph McLean about William Rufus Day submitted to New York University, and a folder of miscellaneous materials including a review of a German newspaper and an incomplete document about patent law and the rights of inventors.

The Newspaper series includes issues of the University of Michigan newspaper The Chronicle from 1868-1870 and an assortment of newspaper clippings from 1894-1950.

The Publications series brings together the published materials within the William Day Collection. They are mostly political in nature and relate to law cases, government documents and procedures, and political opinions. Also included are speeches given by William R. Day.

The Ephemera folder contains two items. One is an envelope for Goldie's Pens that begins "This packet contains as assortment (10) of the Goldie's, the highest grade of writing pens..." There is also a photograph of Robbie Hubbs on the packaging. Inside the envelope is a tissue that contains some unidentified seeds. The other item in the Ephemera folder is a carte de visite printed by Brand Artist. The portrait is undated and the subject unidentified, but it may be a young William R. Day.

The Wolcott P. Marsh family papers contain the correspondence of several members of the Marsh family, between 1844 and 1876, with approximately half of the letters written by Wolcott P. Marsh. They document Marsh family news, business, Civil War service, and religious thought.

The Wolcott P. Marsh family papers are comprised of 13 letters and two miscellaneous envelopes, dating from 1844-1876. Wolcott P. Marsh, a merchant and Civil War captain, wrote seven of the letters, beginning with a letter concerning travel between several mid-Atlantic cities, written on September 21, 1855. On August 10, 1863, Marsh wrote to a cousin from camp at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and described the geography and residents of Fredericksburg. The remainder of his letters shed light on such topics as his support of Lincoln and his business ventures.

Marsh’s relatives wrote an additional six letters, some of which relate the growth of Battle Creek, Michigan (August 17, 1844), and Brooklyn, New York (December 26, 1847: “This village grows larger than it did when you visited. You will be surprised to see many buildings.”), as well as family news and religious advice.