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The Fish Family papers contain the personal letters of Harry S. Fish of Williamson, New York, and his children who, over the course of the 19th century, scattered throughout the United States, fought in the Civil War, and suffered sickness and poverty during the postwar period. Also present are letters to J. Clifford Robinson from his mother and sister, and letters written annually from Franc Edith Aldrich Arnold to her friend Maud Bradley Robinson, from 1887 to 1933.

The Fish family papers (417 items) contain the personal letters and writings of a family from Williamson, New York, whose members, over the course of the 19th century, scattered throughout the United States, fought in the Civil War, and suffered though sickness and poverty during the postwar period. The bulk of the letters (336 in all) concern Harry S. Fish and his children: Dan, Carlton, Selby, and Julia Fish. Also present are letters to J. Clifford Robinson from his mother and sister, and 47 letters written annually from Franc Edith Aldrich Arnold to her friend Maud Bradley Robinson, spanning 1887 to 1933. The collection also contains 25 calling cards, 9 social invitations, 2 documents, 1 essay, 13 miscellaneous items, and one lock of hair.

Correspondence series :

The Fish family letters subseries (336 items) largely document the lives of Dan, Carlton, Selby, and Julia Fish. Throughout, the siblings discuss their deep animosity toward their father. The first four letters (1847-1850) are between Wright R. Fish, in Poughkeepsie, New York, and his father Isaac Fish, in Williamson, New York. Letters written during the Civil War-era include 18 letters from Carlton, 27 from Selby, 14 from Daniel, 9 from Judson Rice (all addressed to Julia), and 49 letters from Julia to Carlton (with 3 additional, post-war letters). These include descriptions of the Peninsular Campaign (Yorktown and the Seven Days Battles, particularly Gaines's Mills) by Selby, and Judson Rice's account of 1st Winchester. Both Selby and Carlton commented on their regiment’s occasional ill discipline and low morale. Selby described his experience in army hospitals and sometimes reflected on death, war, and the hard life of a soldier.

Dan’s letters, written mostly from California and Oregon, provide commentary on the life of an itinerant (and sometimes vagrant) traveler in the gold fields of the Far West. Julia described local events and family news, frequently discussing family strife. She occasionally discussed the politics and society in Williamson. In a particularly notable incident onJuly 17, 1864, Julia consulted a psychic to diagnose Carlton’s mysterious illness, which appeared during the siege of Yorktown in May 1862. Many Civil War era letters contain illustrated letterheads.

The collection contains material concerning southern perspectives of the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction eras, including 59 letters written to Julia Fish by Selby Fish and/or his wife, Josephine, from New Orleans (1864-1871); 7 letters from Selby to Carlton (1867-1869); and letters from Carlton to Julia: 7 written from Grant City, Missouri, (1868-1869); 27 from New Orleans, Louisiana (1869-1883); and 3 from San Antonio, Texas (1883). Of note are two letters written by Carlton from Grant City, Missouri, in which he described the surge of population in a "back woods" town in northwestern Missouri, as post-war westward expansion peaked (October 18, 1868 and October 24, 1869). Also of interest are Carlton’s accounts of his struggles with poverty and unemployment (November 8, 1889), and Dan’s report on joining the Good Templars in 1867; he described a wild ceremony that featured riding a goat backwards and climbing a greased pole with bare feet.

The J. Clifford Robinson letters consist of 63 letters and postcards, written to J. Clifford Robinson by his mother and sister Gertrude in 1895 and 1896. These offer a perspective on an intensely close mother-son relationship in the 1890's, and contain many remarks of motherly advice.

The Fish family letters subseries ends with 13 condolence letters addressed to Maud Bradley, comforting her on the death of her mother, Julia Fish Bradley, in 1905.

The Arnold-Robinson letters subseries contains 47 letters written annually, on New Year's Day, by Franc Edith Aldrich Arnold to Maud Bradley Robinson, reflecting on the events of the year, and reminiscing about their childhood together in Pultneyville, New York (1887-1933). These letters were written every year from 1887-1933, from their teenage years through retirement. In these, Arnold discussed her concerns about remaining unmarried, her inability to have children, and her desire to adopt a child.

The Ephemera, Photographs, and Miscellaneous series (55 items) is comprised of 5 items of ephemera concerning Julia Fish Bradley and her relatives; 25 calling cards from friends of Julia Fish Bradley; 9 invitations to parties and balls addressed to J. Clifford Robinson, (1890's); 13 miscellaneous writing fragments; and 3 cartes-de-visite of Selby Fish (c. 1869), Joseph E. Johnston (c.1863), and Nathaniel Lyon (c.1861).

The Fisk-Chalker family collection is made up of letters, land indentures, tax receipts, tintype photographs, and a tavern keeper's license, related to the Fisk and Chalker families of Junius, New York; Livingston County, Michigan; and (briefly) Chamberlain, South Dakota. The collection includes five Civil War letters, with content on the Michigan First Regiment of Engineers and Mechanics; and three letters by Sarah J. Fisk Chalker following her arrival on Bailey's Ranch near Chamberlain, South Dakota, January 1890.

The Fisk-Chalker family collection is made up of 36 letters, 10 land indentures, 42 tax receipts, 2 tintype photographs, and 1 tavern keeper's license, related to the Fisk and Chalker families of Junius, New York; Livingston County, Michigan; and (briefly) Chamberlain, South Dakota.

The Correspondence is largely incoming and outgoing letters of John Fisk, his brother Sumner Fisk, his wife Judith "Judah" Fisk, and his daughter Sarah J. Fisk Chalker. Five Civil War date letters include two letters by Sumner Fisk (August 4, 1862, and June 20, 1864), in which he offers news on Seneca County, New York, soldiers Charley Bush and Capt. Ira Munson (probably of the 126th New York Infantry). John Fisk received two letters from Private George Turk of the First Regiment Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, Company A (June 18, 1864, and July 23, 1864), with content on soldiers' pay, camp life, and augmenting his military wages by chopping cord wood for the railroad in Calhoun, Georgia, and Bridgeport, Alabama.

In the early days of January 1890, Sarah J. and John Chalker moved to the newly organized state of South Dakota and settled on the Bailey Ranch on the Missouri River, near Chamberlain. In three letters to her mother, Sarah described their arrival, their house, the terrible "gumbo" mud, and other aspects of the "disagreeable country." She wrote of a visit with "an old squaw and Indian" for meat and coffee in their teepee near the Bailey Ranch stable--"the old squaw smoked while we was in there. She carried her pipe on her back." After a month, they received fewer visits from Native Americans. In summation, she wrote "Mother, I would not live here and make it my home for all the land in Dakota." John and Sarah returned to live in Putnam, Michigan.

The Documents series includes 10 land indentures dating between 1849 and 1884 (bulk 1849-1851) largely for property in Seneca and Ontario County, New York. Forty-two receipts for John and Judith Fisk's property taxes in Putnam, Michigan, 1865-1892, and John Fisk's Junius, New York, tavern keeper's license (May 1, 1854) complete the series.

The collection's photographs depict the parents of Sarah J. Fisk and of John G. Chalker. One tintype portrait shows John S. and Judith "Judah" Fisk and another tintype shows Abner and Deliah Patterson Chalker.

This collection is largely comprised of letters from Flora F. Lowe to her friend Annie Wood, while working as a teacher for the Fairlawn School (for African Americans) in Savannah, Georgia, 1877-1880; for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1888; and for the newly formed Oakland Institute for Presbyterian Learning in Asheville, North Carolina, 1890.

This collection is largely comprised of letters from Flora F. Lowe to her friend Annie Wood, while working as a teacher for the Fairlawn School (for African Americans) in Savannah, Georgia, 1877-1880; for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1888; and for the newly formed Oakland Institute for Presbyterian Learning in Asheville, North Carolina, 1890.

Flora F. Lowe wrote the first eight letters in the collection while teaching at the Fairlawn School for African Americans on East Broad Street in Savannah, Georgia, 1877-1880. In these letters she discussed her god-child Amanda Curley's and Addie's progress at an Episcopal school in Baltimore, remarking on Addie's clothing, Amanda's unhappiness about learning washing and needlework ("I am very glad the girls are taught such things, for to have them brought up useless 'fine ladies' is far from my desire," November 5, 1877), and dangers of Catholic indoctrination. She also described local African American religion, society, and scholarship. She praised, for example, the educational successes of Fannie Reynolds, while writing disparagingly about local religious activities/beliefs, discussing young women's prayers, stories told to her by an older black woman, the "shout" (a dance and singing of a "negro melody"), and baptisms. She also commented on matriarchal family dynamics (November 5, 1877). Lowe's goal was to send as many of her students as possible to Northern schools, where she believed they would be trained in Northern churches to improve their morals and, hopefully, return to South to help educate "people of their own color." She particularly praised (and described) her students Nettie Ingliss, Claudia Dereaux, Susie Brown, James Erwin, Mack King, Amanda Curley, Fannie Reynolds, and Susie Brown (December 5, 1877). On February 27, 1878, she described the Bowen Mansion, hired for use by the school board, and the death of a friend and fellow teacher. Flora's letters of 1879 and 1880 include discussions of Addie's desire to return to her family in Savannah and her progress in school, a shipboard injury sustained by Flora's father, oppressive heat in Savannah, the death of student Lynch Ingliss, teachers' wages, a Centennial Day celebration, class issues, and the health and sickness of Professor Cole's children.

Flora Lowe sent two letters from the Carlisle Indian School in the spring of 1888. In them, she wrote of the death of Basil, a 13-year old Apache boy, a visit by a band of San Carlos Apache chiefs, her exasperation with rebellious and "incorrigible" students, and an upcoming trip to England for her health. Two letters from 1890 describe work at the Oakland Institute for Presbyterian Learning, the unhelpful 23-year old matron, the music teacher who insists on teaching in her quarters rather than the music rooms, the sewing teacher who "murders the King's English," and health issues. Two of the remaining letters pertain to the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, and the remainder are personal letters from New England.

The Florence Romaine collection is comprised of correspondence, documents, genealogies, photographs, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings related to the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and to the acting career of Florence Smith Romaine.

The Florence Romaine collection (1 linear foot) is comprised of correspondence, documents, genealogies, photographs, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings related to the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and to the acting career of Florence Smith Romaine.

The Correspondence series (59 items) contains personal letters between members of the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families; many are written in French. Most of the material is dated from 1843-1907; the collection also includes 3 early letters to members of the Brossard family, as well as postcards that Florence Smith Romaine wrote to Grace Maxwell from 1962-1963. The series includes letters to Claude Ferdinand de Brossard from various correspondents; to Ferdinand de Brossard and Jenny de Brossard Draper from their mother, Elizabeth de Brossard; to Elizabeth Brossard from her sister-in-law, Julie de Brossard; to Jenny de Brossard Draper from Seth Enos Smith; and to Florence Smith Romaine from her mother, Jenny Draper Smith, and grandmother, Jenny de Brossard Draper. Other items include 6 letters to C. C. Randall.

The Writings series consists of 3 items by Florence Smith Romaine: a rumination on night written around 1905, a play entitled "The Silver Bell of Hat-Shep-Sut's Cat," and Whistling Bill, a children's book published in 1937.

Documents are divided into three subseries: Legal Documents (7 items), Business Documents (3 items), and Awards and Diplomas (2 items). Legal documents include birth certificates, marriage certificates, and passports related to Claude and Elisabeth Brossard and their descendants, as well as a copy of Florence Smith Romaine's will. Business documents are related to Brossard family accounts. The award and diploma concern Jenny Draper's academic achievements at the Chegaray Institute and a Brossard family member's receipt of the Fleur de Lys.

The Photographs series has two subseries: Photograph Album and Loose Photographs. The photograph album (26 pages) contains 104 cartes-de-visite and tintype studio portraits, including portraits of members of the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families. Two pages from a photograph album of the Romaine family are housed separately. Loose photographs (32 items), including 2 cased items (one housed in the Graphics Division), mostly show Florence Romaine in theatrical costumes; several photographs show members of the Smith and Draper families.

Two Scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, programs, notes, and other items regarding Florence Romaine's acting career, as well as articles, children's stories, and puzzles that she wrote for The Christian Science Monitor in 1924 and 1925. The Newspaper Clippings (3 items) concern the career of Worthington L. Romaine and the deaths of Seth and Seth E. Smith.

Genealogies and Family Histories consist of a pamphlet about the descendants of Henry and Elizabeth Smith, including Seth Enos Smith and Florence Smith Romaine; manuscript and typed notes pertaining to the Draper and Stull families and to the life of Florence Romaine; and pages from Thomas Waln-Morgan Draper's 1892 genealogy The Drapers in America.

Miscellaneous Items and Fragments (17 items) include notes and poetry (in French), 2 invitations, a copy of a recommendation letter for Father Marie-Joseph de Geramb to the governor of Cairo, and a promotional pamphlet for "Florence May Smith."

This collection contains correspondence, documents, newspaper clippings, and other items pertaining to the personal and financial affairs of actor Edwin Forrest, his close friend James Lawson, and members of the Lawson family.

This collection (1 linear foot) contains correspondence, documents, newspaper clippings, and other items pertaining to the personal and financial affairs of actor Edwin Forrest, his close friend James Lawson, and members of the Lawson family.

The Correspondence series (268 items) largely consists of personal correspondence between Edwin Forrest and James Lawson. Forrest discussed his theatrical career and his travels in the United States, England, and Ireland; Lawson provided financial and personal advice, sometimes regarding Forrest's marital difficulties. Few of the letters from the Civil War period mention the conflict; in one letter to Lawson, Forrest commented on the possibility of reconciliation between the North and South. After 1865, Forrest's letters focus primarily on his declining health, though he continued to travel into the 1870s. Catherine Forrest also wrote occasionally to James Lawson about finances.

The series also contains letters that James Lawson wrote to his daughter Nellie after Edwin Forrest's death, as well as other Lawson family correspondence. James Lawson's letter of August 10, 1885, describes a funeral procession honoring Ulysses S. Grant. Others wrote about family news and deaths.

An undated Speech (21 pages), unsigned and delivered to an unidentified audience, concerns the history of Yonkers, [New York].

The Legal and Financial Documents series (33 items) contains accounts, an account book, receipts, insurance records, legal documents, and legislative resolutions related to the financial affairs of Edwin Forrest and James Lawson. Some items pertain to real estate transactions between Edwin Forrest and a religious group, and others concern the establishment of the Edwin Forrest Home. A series of legislative resolutions and a group of court records document disputes over Forrest's estate, sometimes involving his ex-wife, Catherine Norton Sinclair. An undated copy of James Lawson's will is also present.

The Photographs series (13 items) contains card photographs and cartes-de-visite of members of the Forrest and Lawson families. One item provides details about items present in Cornelia B. Lawson's home in Yonkers, New York.

Newspaper Clippings (44 items) include obituaries for members of the Lawson and Sandford families, articles about Edwin Forrest's theatrical career, and articles about disputes over Forrest's estate.

The Ephemera series (9 items) contains name cards, advertisements, the back part of a notepad with postage rates printed on it, a blank coloring page, and a printed map of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, marking several lots within the Blackwell estate.

Fragments (8 items) include manuscript notes about Lawson family genealogy and other subjects.

This collection is made up of correspondence and other items related to United States Navy Admiral Frank H. Schofield and his wife, Claribel. The bulk of the collection consists of personal letters that Frank and Claribel Schofield received from acquaintances, family, and each other between the mid-1910s and the early 1920s.

This collection is made up of correspondence and other items related to United States Navy Admiral Frank H. Schofield and his wife, Claribel.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, largely consists of personal letters that Frank and Claribel Schofield received from 1913-1923. Frank wrote to Claribel while stationed in Italy, Mexico, Washington, D.C., and other locations; in 1914 and 1915, he served on the Delaware along the East Coast and in Veracruz, Mexico. His letter of March 26, 1918, pertains to military developments during World War I. Frank Schofield's incoming correspondence includes many letters from personal and professional acquaintances, who discussed his career, navy personnel and affairs, the U.S. Naval War College, and nonmilitary subjects. Perry Schofield occasionally wrote to his father about his schooling and everyday life. In July 1923, Frank Schofield received several letters of congratulation after the announcement of his promotion to rear admiral. The series includes an early letter from Anna L. Peck to her cousin Mary (July 6, 1891) and a letter by E. L. Schofield about family genealogy (March 16, 1935). Some of the letters are in French.

The Receipts, Printed Program, and Cards series contains a group of receipts from the Army and Navy Club restaurant and barber, a list of lecture courses and conferences offered by the Institute of Politics in the summer of 1923, cards from friends, and an invitation to a reception at the U.S. Naval War College. One item includes pencil drawings of Frank H. Schofield's monogram.

The collection includes three Scrapbooks. The first volume (85 pages) contains newspaper clippings, with articles about science and medicine, horses, Shakespeare, Swedenborgianism, opium usage, and American history. A large number of clippings are poems about various subjects, sometimes related to religion. Manuscript quotations were written directly onto the first few pages. Visual materials include portraits of members of the Polk family, historic homes and churches, horses, and the stages of development for trilobites. Several items pertain to Frank H. Schofield, including an article about his travels with the navy, photographs from his trip to Guam in 1903, and informal portraits of his wife and son. M. H. P. Cox received the volume from "Miss McGill" in April 1887.

Two large scrapbooks, both with canvas colors, bear the titles "U.S. Fleet Visit to Melbourne, August 1925" and "U.S. Fleet Visit to Lyttelton and Christchurch, New Zealand, August 1925." Each contains programs, invitations, visiting cards, and other ephemera related to the voyage, commanded by Frank H. Schofield. The bulk of each volume is newspaper articles and entire newspapers concerning the fleet's destination. The clippings frequently include information about the sailors' relationships with local residents. The New Zealand volume includes clippings from The Star, The Press (Christchurch), The Sun, and The Lyttelton Times, as well as a full issue of The Weekly Press and N.Z. Referee. The Australia volume contains full issues of The Sun, Punch, Table Talk, The Leader, and The Australasian. The New Zealand album also contains images of native Maoris and others in Maori costume.

This collection consists of letters Fred Bach wrote to his wife and children in Delaware while he lived in Havana, Cuba, where he worked with the assistant auditor of customs accounts. He described his journey to the island, local culture and foods, as well as his daily life.

This collection consists of letters Fred Bach wrote to his family in Delaware while he lived in Havana, Cuba, where he worked with the assistant auditor of customs accounts. He wrote most frequently to his wife Anna, and also wrote to his daughters, Ethel, Barbara, and Winifred. In February 1899, he travelled to South Carolina prior to his departure for Cuba, and shared his impressions of the local people and scenery in Charleston and Orangeburg. Throughout August 1899, he composed a lengthy composite letter in which he described his journey to Havana, and after his arrival he concentrated on his daily activities, which frequently included reading and listening to music. He also wrote of the foods he ate and of the local buildings and culture. One letter from 1892 documents Bach's request for a transfer to the United States Post Office Department, where he had worked before leaving for Cuba. Also included is a public letter of recommendation for Mr. Abraham L. Lawshe for the position of first assistant postmaster general, addressed to the editor of the Star in Washington D.C. (August 21, 1900). In another letter, addressed to Joseph L. Bristow, the fourth assistant to the postmaster general, Bach provided examples of how partisan politics affected his position, and in the same letter he shared his desire to leave Cuba (September 21, 1900), though he did not submit a formal transfer request until April 15, 1902. The collection additionally holds several undated letter fragments, a short poem, and an essay entitled "In Perpetua," about the longevity of republics. Anna Bach also wrote two letters to her husband, dated February 14, 1899, and August 12, 1899.

This collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial records, and other material related to the family of Frederick Kislingbury, who died during Adolphus Greely's expedition to the Arctic in the early 1880s. The majority of the material pertains to disputes over Kislingbury's estate, the custody of his children, and his sons' later lives.

This collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial records, and other material related to the family of Frederick Kislingbury, who died during Adolphus Greely's expedition to the Arctic in the early 1880s. The majority of the material pertains to disputes over his estate, the custody of his children, and his sons' later lives.

The Correspondence and Documents series (around 500 items) comprises the bulk of the collection. Before embarking on Adolphus Greely's Lady Franklin Bay Expedition in August 1881, Frederick Kislingbury signed several personal checks, received postcards from the Army Mutual Aid Association, and corresponded with acquaintances about his finances. On August 17, 1881, he wrote a letter to his sons about his upcoming voyage, and he marked the expedition's proposed landing point on a printed map of the Arctic regions. Soon after his father's departure, Harry H. G. Kislingbury received letters and legal documents regarding a package that his father had sent to him before leaving for the Arctic. Several other letters pertain directly to the expedition. In a letter to Kislingbury dated January 20, 1882, Adolphus Greeley criticized Greely's sleeping habits during his "enforced stay with this command" and discussed the circumstances that led to Kislingbury's initial dismissal for insubordination in 1881. A copied letter from Captain W. M. Beebe about the Neptune's attempted rescue mission (July 17, 1882) and a printed letter confirming the failure of the 1883 relief expedition (September 14, 1883) are also present.

The bulk of the series is made up of incoming letters, legal documents, and financial records to Charles Lamartine Clark, a Detroit resident who served as Kislingbury's estate executor. The material primarily concerns the estate's finances and the custody of Kislingbury's sons. Clark often corresponded with the Army Mutual Aid Association, and the collection has a copy of its 4th annual report (1883). John P. Kislingbury and William H. Kislingbury, Frederick Kislingbury's brothers, wrote to Clark from Rochester, New York. They argued over custody of the Kislingbury children, their brother's funeral and burial, and his financial affairs, though their later correspondence was more cordial toward Clark. Clark also owned an account book covering Kislingbury's relationship with Riggs & Co. from 1881-1884. Some items from 1885 concern a pension that the United States Congress awarded to his sons and related efforts to certify their ages.

After 1885, Harry H. G. Kislingbury wrote letters to Clark about his experiences at the Michigan Military Academy in Orchard Lake, Michigan. Clark also received letters about Harry's conduct from the school's superintendent. Harry later wrote about his life in San Francisco, California, and Flagstaff, Arizona, in the late 1880s.

Wheeler Kislingbury wrote several lengthy personal letters to Charles L. Clark in 1913 and 1914, mentioning his life in San Francisco, California, expressing regret over his uncles' actions following his father's death, and discussing the possibility of publishing his father's diary. Additionally, one letter describes an encounter with Adolphus Greely in which the officer refused to talk to Wheeler after discovering that he was Frederick Kislingbury's son (May 7, 1913). Douglas E. L. Kislingbury wrote a brief personal letter to Clark from Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1917, and Wheeler wrote 2 letters to Clark's wife from Winslow, Arizona, in 1919.

Henry H. G. Kislingbury kept a Diary (100 pages) while traveling from New York to San Francisco onboard the St. Mark between December 6, 1886, and April 22, 1887. Kislingbury wrote about the ship's crew, the weather, the scenery, and the captain's family, who were passengers on the voyage.

The Cass School (Detroit, Mich.) and Michigan Military Academy Papers pertain to the education of two of Frederick Kislingbury's sons. Two report cards from the Cass School in Detroit, Michigan, provide information on Walter Kislingbury's academic progress in 1883. The remaining 25 loose items are report cards and receipts concerning Harry H. G. Kislingbury's academic progress, conduct, and finances during his time at the Michigan Military Academy, 1884-1886. He also kept an account book while attending the school.

The Photographs series (5 items) contains portraits of Charles L. Clark, his wife Georgina Frazer Clark, and a group portrait of Clark with Walter Frederick Kislingbury and Wheeler Kislingbury. Frederick Kislingbury carried the carte-de-visite of Charles L. Clark during the Greely expedition.

A manuscript Menu lists the meals consumed by the Greely expedition on each day of the week.

The Printed Items series is comprised of 2 items: a copy of the Sunday Morning Herald with an article about Frederick Kislingbury's death (July 20, 1884) and Harry H. G. Kislingbury's copy of Emory Upton's Infantry Tactics Double and Single Rank. Adapted to American Topography and Improved Fire-Arms (Revised edition, 1884).

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. At least one volume was kept by an African American man, Lewis G. Mosebay. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

This collection contains correspondence and other materials related to Richard and William Fulcher, natives of Norfolk County, England, who moved to St. Joseph County, Michigan, in 1835. The brothers received around 100 letters from their friends and family in England, who provided them with family and local news, discussed the effects of transatlantic separation, and commented on political events, such as the American Civil War. Photographs, an extract from a will, and bank checks are also included.

This collection contains correspondence and other material related to Richard and William Fulcher, natives of Norfolk County, England, who moved to St. Joseph County, Michigan, in 1835. The brothers received around 100 letters from their friends and family in England, who provided them with family and local news, discussed the effects of transatlantic separation, and commented on political events, such as the American Civil War. The collection also includes an extract from Thomas Fulcher's will, Richard Fulcher's bank checks (9 items), 9 photographs of the Fulcher family and other subjects, and a newspaper clipping.

The Correspondence series (100 items) is primarily comprised of William and Richard Fulcher's incoming correspondence, which they received after emigrating from England to Michigan in 1835. Friends and family members wrote about their lives in Old Buckenham and Hingham, England, and commented on topics such as their social lives, family health, crops, and local news. Many letters, particularly the earlier items, mention the effects of separation. Thomas Fulcher, curate and vicar for the Old Buckenham Parish Church, and Sophy Moxon, the Fulcher brothers' niece, wrote around 33 letters to William and Richard. Richard's wife Esther also corresponded with her English and American relatives. Later items are occasionally addressed to Ada Fulcher, Richard and Esther's daughter. During the Civil War, Thomas Fulcher and other correspondents commented on political and military developments in the United States. Postwar letters contain some description of travel around England and Wales. The final letters in the collection include several that mention family deaths; a letter dated July 10, 1888, for example, contains a newspaper obituary for Thomas Fulcher and a lock of his hair.

The Extract from Thomas Fulcher's Will (3 pages), dated 1888, concerns his farm and payments to several of his relatives, including Esther Fulcher, Richard's widow.

The Checks series is comprised of 9 printed bank checks drawn on the First National Bank of Three Rivers. Each is signed by Richard Fulcher.

The 9 Photographs are modern reproductions and enlargements of 19th and early 20th century images that depict numerous members of the Fulcher family, including Oriel Fulcher's daughters, Sophia (or Sophy) Moxon, Esther Bridgman Fulcher, Thomas Fulcher, Eliza Fulcher, Bessie Fulcher, and Richard Fulcher. One item depicts the Old Buckenham Parish Church.

A Newspaper Clipping from the Three Rivers Commercial shows 2 photographs of Richard Fulcher's home in Three Rivers, Michigan.