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

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Correspondence series (16 items) consists primarily of business correspondence addressed to Thomas Gibbons, William Gibbons, and James P. Allaire. The earlier material in the series (1822-1837) is related to the Gibbons family's business affairs and often pertains to the legal disputes between Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden. These include several letters from William Gibbons to his father, in which he discusses the impending court case as well as his own personal affairs. The majority of the series consists of later material (1837-1849) related to James P. Allaire's business interests, including the manufacture of steamboat engines. Interspersed with these items are receipts for parts related to Allaire's industrial operations.

The Documents series (12 items) contains receipts related to steamboats owned by James P. Allaire as well as 20th-century material about the early steamboat industry and the town of Allaire, New Jersey. The series includes 5 receipts for steamboat supplies (1828; 1856), including material for the Swan, the Thistle, and the Emerald, all Gibbons-owned ships whose engines were supplied by Allaire. The series also includes a document signed by the crew of the Swan affirming the receipt of their wages for April 1828. Later material in the collection includes two postcards of watercolor pictures of Allaire, New Jersey, and two articles, from the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society (January 1949) and American Heritage (October 1963), respectively. These relate to the early steamboat business, and to the role of Thomas Gibbons in its development.

The Allaire papers contain business correspondence, legal documents, and financial documents related to New York City resident Peter Alexander Allaire and his children, Calicia Allaire Wood and George Young Allaire. The collection also includes an anonymous account book from the 1830s, possibly kept by Pennsylvania merchant Thomas Wood.

Several early items in the collection relate to the post-Revolution business and legal affairs of Peter Alexander Allaire, and include a French document authorizing the shipment of several ingredients, including alkali and soap, for the manufacture of white lead (1783). The majority of the collection consists of material related to the financial interests of Calicia Allaire (m. Thomas Wood) and George Young Allaire. Many of these items reflect ongoing financial disputes between the siblings and Calicia's husband, and involved a third party, Cornelius Bogart. In addition to correspondence, financial records, and indentures related to the Allaire family, the collection includes scattered personal items. Also part of the collection is an account book, possibly kept by Thomas Wood, in which the author recorded financial information, including several accounts for everyday goods, "Farming Concerns," and items "Arrived from Foreign Ports." Many of the book's accounts relate to wood and a few mention stock held jointly with George Young Allaire.

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of Northborough, Massachusetts, preacher John Allen. Allen and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters, including slavery and abolition.

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of John Allen, a preacher in Northborough, Massachusetts. He and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters of intellectual concern, including slavery and abolition.

The Correspondence series (260 items) consists primarily of personal correspondence between family members. Thomas Prentiss Allen composed many of these letters, though his brothers and their sister Elizabeth also contributed. The well-educated Allens discussed a wide range of personal and political topics, and their letters provide a vivid picture of the politically charged antebellum era. They often shared opinions on local and national politics, emphasizing the conflicts over slavery that eventually erupted into secession and Civil War. Notably, Thomas Prentiss Allen expounded at length on Daniel Webster's famous speech urging support of the Compromise of 1850 and offered his own opinions on the political issues involved, including the Wilmot Proviso (March 24, 1850). Other letters of particular interest concern the Free Soil party and the Fugitive Slave Act (December 10, 1850 and January 9, 1851). Elizabeth Allen wrote a majority of the later items in the collection to Joseph Allen, her father, communicating a view of her life on the home front during the Civil War and occasionally mentioning the war and domestic politics.

• Fathers and Children, containing manuscript essays based on Biblical verses (September 1842)
• A Discourse on Occasion of the Death of Hon. John Quincy Adams..., by Joseph Henry Allen (1848)

The Photographs series (2 items) contains two 19th-century portraits printed on thick cards.

The Miscellaneous series (5 items) contains a newspaper clipping regarding the death of William Francis Allen, as well as four manuscripts about various topics.

This collection is made up six volumes pertinent to the Civil War service of Captain later Major Alonzo M. Keeler of the 22nd Michigan Infantry. They include an autograph album kept by Captain Keeler while a Confederate prisoner at Libby Prison in Richmond and at Roper Hospital prison in Charleston between May 1864 and February 1865. Also present is the Book of Common Prayer carried by Keeler during his time as prisoner of war, including marginalia related to Sunday services. The remainder of the collection is a block of wood in a custom case purported to be from the original flooring of Libby Prison, Keeler's copy of Silas Casey's Infantry Tactics (3 vols., 1862-1863), and five South Carolina newspapers from 1864.

This collection is made up six volumes pertinent to the Civil War service of Captain later Major Alonzo M. Keeler of the 22nd Michigan Infantry. They include an autograph album kept by Captain Keeler while a Confederate prisoner at Libby Prison in Richmond and at Roper Hospital prison in Charleston between May 1864 and February 1865. Also present is the Book of Common Prayer carried by Keeler during his time as prisoner of war, including marginalia related to Sunday services. The remainder of the collection is a block of wood in custom case purported to be from the original flooring of Libby Prison, Keeler's copy of Silas Casey's Infantry Tactics (3 vols., 1862-1863), and five South Carolina newspapers from 1864.

Alonzo Keeler kept an autograph album of prisoner of war officers over the course of his imprisonment at Libby Prison, the Charleston Jail Yard, Roper Hospital Prison in Charleston, and the "Asylum Camp" in Columbia. The volume has an illustrated title page bearing multiple forms for calligraphic lettering, and a watercolor illustration of the Libby Prison building with two crossed, furled American flags. The full title is "AUTOGRAPHS. US OFFICERS Prisoners of war" and below, "Libby Prison Richmond Va Capt A M. Keeler." Most pages include 4-5 autographs, and the signatures are variously accompanied by the signer's rank, military unit, and home city or state. The contributors to the album were almost entirely infantrymen, though at least two Navy officers, one Veteran Cavalry officer, and one chaplain signed. Their home States included Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maine, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Rhode Island, Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, and Vermont. Michigan soldiers in Libby Prison were from Ypsilanti, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Jackson, Coldwater, Chelsea, and Mount Clemens; Michigan soldiers in the Roper Prison were from Battle Creek, Marshall, Mount Clemens, Lapeer, Saginaw City, and Adrian.

• Pages 1-73: Contains 343 numbered autographs of prisoners.
• Pages 74-75: A brief history of the movement of 600 officers from Macon, Georgia, July 28; to Charleston City Jail Yard July 29; on August 10, the placement of 177 in prison for "confining convict laborers and runaway neg[ros]"; and movement to Roper Hospital building on August 13, 1864. This is followed by a history of the Roper Hospital copied from a piece of marble at the head of the stairs over the library, on the second story.
• Pages 76-86: Contains prisoner autographs numbered 344-390.
• Pages 81-82: Between autograph entries 368 and 369 is a gap containing tabular election returns headed "Official returns of the Presidential Election held in the U.S. Military Prison near Columbia S.C. among the Federal prisoners, Oct 17th. 1864." The columns are States, Lincoln, Johnson, McClellan, Pendleton, Total for President, L. Maj.; total votes cast are present.
• Unnumbered pages: Twenty-four pages intended to be an index of the autograph album, but not completed. Each page has a state name at the top, but only Connecticut has any index information present.
• Laid into the volume is: A. Martin Keeler ALS to "grand father" with appended L. A. Knight ANS, June 9, [?]; Utica. Respecting the sickness/fever of A. Martin Keeler's father; Dr. Knight described the treatments given, effect, and remarks on family.
• Also laid into the volume is a periodical clipping showing an oval portrait of Major and Mrs. A. M. Keeler; and a The Detroit Journal clipping about the Keelers' 58th wedding anniversary and the 35th year of their wedding tradition of a New Years' Eve family party (January 2, 1908).

The collection includes Alonzo M. Keeler's copy of The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments; and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church . . . Together with the Psalter, or Psalms of David. Philadelphia: King & Baird, 9 Sansom Street, [ca. 1852-1856]. It contains an inscription, "A.M. Keeler Libby Prison Richmond Va, 1864." On many Sundays, Keeler wrote the date or other notes in the margins beside the scripture(s) of the day. For, example, he noted that he was in Macon Prison beside various passages on May 22, June 12, 19, 26, and July 3, 10, 17, and 24, 1864. On pages 294-303, beside Articles of Religion, he wrote "Must buy a Bible containing these" next to list of canonical biblical books; then after the 39th article, "In prison at Macon Ga July 10 1864 – Sunday – How different from home – But since its all for the best it is tolerable." Beside Selections from the Psalms of David (page 58-59) he wrote "A good hymn" (Hymn 10. C.M.) and "I subscribe this" (Hymn 11. III.1).

On July 31 and August 7, he made annotations from the Charleston City Jail Yard. On August 7, 1864, he noted, "Shells flying over," and, marking Selection 55 C.M. "approves my heart" (Selections from the Psalms of David, page 18). By the following Sunday, he attended service in the Roper Hospital Prison, Charleston, and again on August 21, 28, and into September. After his move to Columbia, he wrote from the Asylum Prison (February 12, 1865), "A beautiful day – One wishes to join his congregation in public praise at home – How long shall this separation from home & friends last?" (Selections from the Psalms of David, page 43).

On February 26, 1865, Alonzo Keeler reflected on his impending release from Camp Holmes, Raleigh, North Carolina. "A beautiful sabbath day A prisoner still but on parole for exchange Over anxious to be at home yet trusting fully that He who has kept me so carefully these 17 months while in the hands of my enemies, will soon restore to home & friends" (Selections from the Psalms of David, page 5). The same day, "The mind in high expectation of being released from imprisonment by an unfriendly power is quite illustrative of the soul in anxious hope of final deliverance from the power of Satan – too buoyant to entertain deep study & meditation – too joyful to be dismayed from fear – the future is all powerful to charm, the present is powerless to torture or annoy – All packed up waiting for transportation – paroled ready to pass through the lines – All supplied & stored with Christian graces, waiting to be borne away, name in the book of life" (Selections from the Psalms of David, page 104).

The Keeler collection also includes 5.6 x 6.2 x 1.2 cm block of wood in a modern custom traycase. Pasted onto the wood is an eight-edged printed label with a red border: "This piece of wood is a part of the original floor of Libby Prison Building. Jno. L. Ransom, Manager." Also present is Silas Casey's 3-volume Infantry Tactics, for the Instruction, Exercise, and Manœuvres of the Soldier, a Company, Line of Skirmishers, Battalion, Brigade, or Corps d'Armée. New York, D. Van Nostrand, 1862-63. Each of the volumes has a stenciled owner inscription in the front endpapers, "Alonzo M. Keeler, Capt. Co. B. 22nd. M.I."

• The Charleston Mercury, v. 85, no. 12,150. Charleston, South Carolina. Saturday, August 27, 1864.
• Charleston Daily Courier, v. 63, no. 19,857. Charleston, South Carolina. Thursday Morning, September 1, 1864.
• The Charleston Mercury, v. 85, no. 12,160. Charleston, South Carolina. Friday, September 9, 1864.
• Charleston Daily Courier, v. 63, no. 19,875. Charleston, South Carolina. Thursday Morning, September 22, 1864.
• The Daily South Carolinian, v. 15, no. 250. F. G. DeFontaine & Co., Columbia, South Carolina. Tuesday Morning, October 18, 1864.

The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

Envelope A (photographs): includes unmounted oval portraits of Parker’s children Eda and Ray from the early 1900s; studio portraits of Eda and his wife Alice from the 1910s, two of them from the Philadelphia studio of Gilbert and Bacon; an mounted school class photo (ca. 1890s?)

Envelope B (sheet music): includes three examples of World War I songs from the Eagle Publishing Company of Philadelphia with "music by Geo. L. Robertson and lyrics by Al. Parker."

Envelope C (letters, clippings, etc.): includes a letter appointing Dr. Ray Parker head of plastic surgery at a hospital in Johnstown, PA; a magazine article on “Flood Free Johnstown”; letters and clippings about Dr. Ray Parker; article on World War II factory workers; newspaper article on Theodore Roosevelt urging U.S. entry into World War I; and a note from Christmas 1926 from Parker’s grandson Donald addressed to “Ganco."

Scrapbook: The volume (37 x 28) is cloth-bound and has 66 pages total. Materials are not arranged in any chronological or thematic order and so unrelated items often appear together on the same page.

The album begins with photographs of Parker’s family members while the next few pages focus on scenes from his professional life, including a magazine cover from April 1900 and documentation of his break with Willis & Clements in 1910. Portraits of Parker at every stage of his life appear throughout the scrapbook, though not in any chronological order. The earliest is a tintype from the 1850s that shows him as a young boy with his brothers. Many portraits and casual snapshots of Parker's daughter Eda and son Ray from their early childhood into adulthood are included, while a collection of clippings reflects Parker’s pride in Ray's success as a doctor. His delight in playing the doting grandfather is clear from the drawings Parker made for Eda’s son Donald and in the notes that Donald wrote to Parker using the nickname “Ganco.”

A handful of portraits that were taken by Parker show that he was a capable studio photographer in addition to being a successful promoter of platinum photography products while working for Willis & Clements. Requests for his opinions from Eastman Kodak Company, Photo Era magazine, and the Photographers’ Association of New England testify to his recognized expertise. Numerous portraits of Parker in the company of other well-regarded photographers of the day confirm his acceptance in that professional circle.

Many ephemeral items also help illuminate the arc of Parker's career including programs from his minstrel show days; an advertisement for his Australian window blind company; the initial offer of employment from Willis and Clements; business cards from various stages of his career; and an ad for a new camera shutter he invented. Interspersed amongst these items are letters and photographs from various colleagues and employers along with miscellaneous poems, cartoons, programs, drawings, song lyrics, newspaper clippings, and so on.

This collection contains handwritten minutes, many with revisions and excisions, for 49 meetings of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions between 1848 and 1892. Written by multiple clerks, the minutes contain information on attendance, votes, resolutions, current and future missions, letters received, appointees, offers of service, reports from the field, salaries, grants, funding distribution, and other subjects.

This collection contains handwritten minutes, many with significant revisions and excisions, for 49 meetings of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions between 1848 and 1892. Written by multiple clerks, the minutes contain information on attendance, votes, resolutions, current and future missions, letters received, appointees, offers of service, reports from the field, salaries, grants, and funding distribution. Other subjects referenced include Native American tribes, the Dakotas "in the new frontier," the need for missionaries to have wives, death or health concerns related to members, legal or domestic issues with foreign officials, and mission work in Hawaii.

Among the Mission Stations referenced are:

• Cape Town
• Constantinople
• Smyrna
• Beirut
• Oroomiah
• Ahmednuggur
• Canton
• Amoy
• Madras
• Fuh Chau
• Mosul
• Shanghai
• Aleppo
• Peking
• Guadalajara
• San Sebastian
• Prague
• and others