Search

This collection is made up of correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to multiple generations of the Parker, Thorington, and Nash families, particularly James Thorington (1816-1887), his daughter Ella, and Ella's daughter Louise. The materials pertain to life in Davenport, Iowa; Colón, Panama; Staten Island, New York; and other locations in the 1870s to 1900s.

This collection (0.75 linear feet) is made up of correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to multiple generations of the Parker, Thorington, and Nash families, particularly James Thorington (1816-1887), his daughter Ella, and Ella's daughter Louise.

The bulk of the collection consists of letters and newspaper clippings once housed in a 147-page scrapbook (now disassembled). Louise Nash Sanger compiled the volume and occasionally made notes on the materials, sometimes including brief biographical or contextual information. She contributed additional genealogical information, such as family death registers. The earliest materials include prayers written by Asa Rogers in the early 1800s and correspondence regarding the Parker family. One letter from Jonathan Parker to his sister Mary warns her about an unknown man, possibly her future husband, James Thorington (February 1, 1842).

Many scrapbook items relate to James and Mary Parker Thorington and their children, particularly Ella, Jessie, and Monroe. Ella received letters from members of her immediate family and from aunts, cousins, and friends, who provided family and local news from Davenport, Iowa, and other locales. Monroe Thorington discussed his experiences while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in the early to mid-1870s. Some of his acquaintances wrote to the Thorington family after his death at Fort Keogh, Montana Territory, in 1878. Members of the Thorington family also wrote to Ella about their lives at Aspinwall (Colón), Panama, where the elder James Thorington served as United States consul.

Other materials from the late 19th century relate to the family of Francis B. and Ella Thorington Nash, including many letters to their daughter Louise. Louise's correspondents included "Flora" and "Brette." Flora lived in Staten Island, New York; several items, including telegrams, pertain to her death. Brette wrote about life in Florence, Nebraska, and later discussed his life in New York City, where he became an adherent of the Bahá'i faith. Louise received additional letters from aunts, uncles, and other family members and acquaintances, often concerning personal news such as family news and deaths. Louise Nash Sanger and other family members collected newspaper clippings relating news of births, marriages, and deaths in the Parker, Thorington, and Nash families, including those of James Thorington's children and grandchildren. Some articles pertain to palmistry and to Ella Thorington Nash's instructional lectures in cooking, which she gave in Chicago in the late 19th century. One group contains printed letters from members of the Thorington family living in Panama. Additional scrapbook materials include fine pencil drawings of unidentified homes and incomplete family death registers.

Loose (non-scrapbook) items include letters and telegrams related to members of the Thorington and Nash families, and genealogical registers tracing Sanger family ancestors into the early 18th century. A small number of military commissions pertain to the career of Henry Sanger in the mid-19th century. The collection includes poems, an engraved portrait of James Thorington, invitations, programs, and a manuscript map of a quartz mine. Other items of note are a clipping from a Davenport paper regarding the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth (April 28, [1865]) and a letter from "Burdett" to an unidentified recipient about a journey from Galena, Illinois, to Mackinac Island (August 5, 1844).

Alpena, Michigan lumber company; minutes of stockholders' meetings, financial records, and time books.

The record group consists of financial records, time books of company employees, and articles of incorporation and minutes of stockholders.

Family papers include correspondence, financial, business and legal papers, photographs, daguerreotypes, photograph albums, biographical materials, scrapbooks, genealogical materials, poetry, publications, and miscellaneous.

The Thurston Family Papers, ranging from 1823 to 1974, consist of correspondence; a diary; financial, business, and legal papers; photographs, daguerreotypes, biographical materials, and a scrapbook of advertising cards. The papers fall in to six groupings, Genealogy, The John Gates Thurston Family, The Francis H. Thurston Family, The George Lee Thurston II Family, George Lee Thurston III, and Visual Images. The folders in each grouping are arranged alphabetically.

Genealogy contains genealogical material and several drafts of The Thurston Chronicle, a history of the Thurston family, by George Lee Thurston III.

The John Gates Thurston Family material includes legal papers and records from the Massachusetts House of Representatives, an 1824 letter describing Lafayette’s visit to Alexandria, a 1836 diary of John’s trip to Chicago, Civil War letters from his son George L. Thurston I and Henry Nourse, and a passport from a trip to Europe in 1839.

The Francis H. Thurston Family material includes articles by Francis on such topics as Michigan trivia, Civil War memories, building a canvas canoe, and descriptions of the excellence of Michigan. Letters from his mother (1862, 1963) include Civil War news, details of his brother’s death following the war, and marriage advice. In an 1897 letter from his son, George, Francis learns that George had to put in a telephone because the competing lumber mill had one and was getting more business. A letter (1907) to Francis’ recently widowed daughter-in-law Lenore gives her nearly word for word financial advice given to him in 1886 by his friend E. H. Russell when William McNeil had a breakdown and nearly financially destroyed Francis.

The George Lee Thurston II Family material is more eclectic than the rest of the collection because of the variety of people and materials in this grouping. Included is correspondence of the Mohrmann family (George married Lenore Mohrmann) written in German and a German report card as well as both the original and transcript copies of William’s suicide poem “Pallida Mors.” George Lee Thurston II’s publication, the Intermediate Valley contains facts about Michigan, ads, and humorous stories. Letters from his Uncle Dud (1879, undated) are humorous and encourage George to develop his writing--both style and content. Letters written in 1879 from his boyhood friends in Ohio talk of the yellow fever epidemic and of the diphtheria epidemic in Michigan. Frederick Crandall Thurston’s (George’s son) correspondence includes letters he wrote to his family while he was looking for work in New York, 1930-1931, describing railway travel and his negative reaction to radios. The copies of the 1934 editions of the Remington News (Culpepper, Va.) indicate depression-era prices and an unusually progressive attitude (for the South) towards blacks which contrasts with an 1856 receipt for the sale of Hannah (a Negro) for $50 (the connection with the Thurston family is unclear).

Visual Images include photographs, photograph albums, daguerreotypes, and a scrapbook of advertising cards. Identified daguerreotypes and photographs include many family members and friends whose names appear in the Thurston papers. Among these are E. H. Russell, William McNeil, and Mary B. Thurston Nourse. The unidentified daguerreotypes include two images of a man with his dog and one image of a woman kissing a baby. The unidentified daguerreotypes are labeled with a number; the same number followed by a letter (ie 5a, 5b), indicates different daguerreotypes of the same person. A folder with a photograph of a Lee Thurston is in the Clarke’s Biographical Photographs File. The scrapbook includes only one Michigan advertising card, the rest being from New York (State) or other states.

Railroad fireman, 1882-1887, and engineer, 1887-1934, for the Michigan Central Railroad. Miscellaneous personal and collected material relating to his interest in railroads, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and his work with the Michigan Central Railroad; include membership cards and certificates, clippings, time tables, ca. 1870-1905, tire report, 1893, wage agreement, 1887, and photographs.

The Wholihan collection is a small collection of miscellaneous materials accumulated by Wholihan as fireman and engineer with the Michigan Central Railroad. There are three small series in the collection: Miscellaneous; Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; and Michigan Central Railroad.

Branch County and Ann Arbor, Michigan, family. Family papers, reminiscences of Russell and Ralph R. Tinkham, and other papers relating to studies at the University of Michigan and elsewhere.

The collection includes papers relating to the Tinkham and Huxtable families of Branch County, Michigan. The bulk of the papers concerns Russell Tinkham and includes letters, 1875-1877, written while a student in Germany. Also in his papers are reminiscences of his life to 1868, and a notebook, ca. 1920's, containing drafts of letters and other writings. This notebook includes obituaries of University of Michigan class of 1872 classmates, drafts of legal documents, letters to state representatives from Ann Arbor concerning legislative issues and other matters. The reminiscences of Ralph R. Tinkham relate to his career as Chief Engineer for the U.S. Lighthouse Service and Chief of the Civil Engineering Division of the U.S. Coast Guard. His work took him to many places in the Great Lakes area, as well as Alaska, the Gulf Coast, and Hawaii. These reminiscences also concern his life as a student at the University of Michigan and his experiences during World Wars I and II.

Family of Fred P. Todd and his son, J. Beecher Todd, officers with National Loan and Investment Company in Detroit, Michigan, and its successor institutions, Surety Savings and Loan Association, and Surety Federal Savings and Loan Association. The collection consists of personal papers, files relating to their activities with savings and loan institutions, and photographs.

The Todd Family Papers consist of three series: Personal, Savings and Loan Institutions, and Photographs.

The Toll-Mitchell-Clark family photograph album includes photographs of residences belonging to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families in upstate New York and Los Angeles, California, as well as studio portraits of various family members. The album also contains deeds, financial records, and other manuscripts related to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families.

This collection is comprised of a photograph album and three groups of manuscripts related to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families of upstate New York and Los Angeles, California.

The photograph album (27cm x 32cm) contains 30 photographs: cabinet cards, card photographs, and photo postcards laid into the volume. The first several images are exterior views of Toll and Mitchell family homes in Baldwinsville and Memphis, New York, sometimes with family members present. Other images show the Baldwinsville cemetery, the interior of A[sabel] K. Clark's music store, and interiors of the Clark family home in Los Angeles, California. The remaining items are mounted studio portraits of Toll and Mitchell family members; photographs of Truman Mitchell, Sarah Hyde Toll, Sophia Hinman Mitchell, and Abel Hyde and Sarah Mitchell Toll with manuscript wills mounted on the back, dated as early as 1856 and as late as 1893. Two images are duplicated: a portrait of Abel Hyde and Sarah Mitchell Toll (2 copies) and a photographic postcard featuring an unidentified residence (7 copies). The album's purple cloth cover originally had the title "Photographs" stamped front and back; the text is now faded.

The remaining items are approximately 34 manuscripts related to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families, including deeds, bank checks, financial records, wills, and correspondence. The deeds relate to land in upstate New York, and a few items pertain to estate administration. Personal letters from Laura F. Clark of Los Angeles, California, to her father are also present, as is a marriage certificate for Mariah Mitchell [sic] and Oliver Glass.

A significant manuscript collection of Michigan and the Old Northwest Territory. The major series of the collection are Manifests, American Fur Company, Circulars and Correspondence of the U.S. Treasury Department and Collector of Customs with subseries of Marine Hospital Money Returns and Registry of Vessels; Miscellaneous, U.S. Payment Vouchers, Bids for the Construction of Lighthouses with subseries Bois Blanc Lighthouse, Chicago River Lighthouse, St. Joseph Lighthouse, South Manitou Island Lighthouse, Miscellaneous Lighthouses, Treasury Circulars, and Pottawattamie Lighthouse; Light Boat Reports and Scrapbooks.

This is a significant manuscript collection of Michigan and the Old Northwest Territory. The collection consists of some 928 individual items and 20 volumes, 1802-1971, and relating to the conduct of the fur trade and commerce at Michilimackinac and Sault Ste. Marie, and lighthouses and maritime activities on the Great Lakes.

The collection is organized chronologically and alphabetically. The major series of the collection are Manifest, American Fur Company, Circulars and Correspondence of the U.S. Treasury Department and Collector of Customs with subseries of Marine Hospital Money Returns and Registry of Vessels; Miscellaneous, U.S. Payment Vouchers, Bids for the Construction of Lighthouses with subseries Bois Blanc Lighthouse, Chicago River Lighthouse, St. Joseph Lighthouse, South Manitou Island Lighthouse, Miscellaneous Lighthouses, Treasury Circulars, and Pottawattamie Lighthouse; Light Boat Reports and Scrapbooks.

In the descriptions, few changes have been made in spelling although for the sake of clarity some consistency has been imposed. Variant spellings of names have also been entered. However, when the identification of a particular name was in question, the spelling as recorded by the file clerks at Michilimackinac or Sault Ste. Marie (and usually cited on the verso of the document/letter) is given.

Titled “Manifests,” Boxes 1-2 actually consist of manifests, bills of lading, clearance papers guaranteeing protection for vessels bound to and from Canada (particularly St. Joseph=s Island, cited herein as St. Joseph), documents certifying duties paid on entering goods, and other papers relating to commodities entering or departing from Michilimackinac. Since Box 1 includes pre-War of 1812 documents, they are of particular value because many of the commodities entered or shipped out were done so on behalf of the American Fur Company through their various agents. In addition, these documents also prove valuable for information on the numerous schooners, sloops, and brigs traveling the lakes, in particular the “Hunter,” “Thames,” “Nancy,” John Jacob Astor,” “Saguina,” “Contractor,” “Ranger,” “Adams,” and “Montreal.” Names of individuals and companies which frequently occur are Rocheblaue and Portier, Isadore LaCroix, Daniel and David Mitchell, Jr., Tousaint Pothier, Giasson and Berthelot, Lafromboise and Schindler, Josiah Bleakley, George Gillespie, and The Michilimackinac Company.

Dating from 1838 to 1847, the American Fur Company papers which make up the remainder of Box 2 complement the numerous collections, in original manuscript or on microfilm, which the Clarke holds relating to the company. Certainly from the perspective of commerce, domestic and foreign markets, domestic manufacturers, transportation, and the problems encountered by American Fur Company agents in the field, these papers provide detailed information. The majority of them relate to incoming and outgoing correspondence from John R. Livingston, head of the St. Mary’s Outfit at Sault Ste. Marie, and deal with various accounts, problems incurred by agents in the field, transportation of supplies, and concern over a decreasing market. Market problems, both domestic and foreign, relating to furs and fish are well covered in the correspondence from Ramsay Crooks and George Ehninger in the New York central office to Livingston. Early mining efforts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and problems of transporting goods to and from their sites are also to be found in the letters of the Union Mining Company and the Eagle Harbor Mining Company to and from Livingston.

The circulars and correspondence between the U.S. Treasury Department and the Collectors of Customs (usually Abraham Wendell at Michilimackinac) contained in Box 3 are divided into four major subseries: marine hospital money returns; registry of vessels; general information sent to the collectors; and miscellaneous documents. The section on hospital money returns is important for the detailed information on the number of men on board the various great Lakes vessels, their names and time of service, and the amount of hospital tax paid by each. The material relating to the registration of vessels in general tends to be printed documents communicating Congressional acts concerning registry, registry forms, duty rates, etc. Several of the items are actual registration documents filed with the Collector by masters of the various vessels. The third section, general information and communications, deals with duties, laws covering the Collectors, and problems with certain imports. The three miscellaneous documents relate to land transactions.

Box 3 also contains circulars and correspondence from the Treasury Department to the Collectors of Customs and communications with the Superintendents of Lighthouses (usually Abraham Wendell). This series is divided into four subseries: miscellaneous materials; circulars and correspondence from the Treasury Department to and from the Superintendents of Lighthouses; U.S. payment vouchers; and bids submitted for construction of lighthouses. The miscellaneous materials include questions regarding duties and annual and quarterly reports, and certain treasury notes. The superintendents of Lighthouses material deals with reports submitted, questions relating to these reports, allocation of funds, and general instructions to Superintendents and Keepers. Payment vouchers are included for wages paid to the various Deputy Collectors, Aids to the Revenues, and government suppliers. The materials on construction bids include those submitted to the Superintendent for the proposed lighthouses at White Fish Point, Detour, and Copper Harbor as well as several bids to furnish supplies and fuel for various light boats.

The Bois Blanc and Chicago River Lighthouses material in Box 3 is particularly important as it concerns both daily operations of these lighthouses and quarterly inventories of property and supplies on hand as well as those expended during the period in question. Various procedures, storms and requisitioned supplies, are discussed in the letters.

Similar information is in Boxes 3 and 4 which deal with the Saint Joseph River, South Manitou Island, miscellaneous lighthouses, Pottawattomie Lighthouse, Light Boat reports, Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse, Presque Isle and Bois Blanc lighthouses, and the schooner “Sparrow.” Boxes 5-7 contain scrapbooks on such subject as Alcona, Iosco, and Presque Isle Counties, Mackinac Island, and the Rogers City centennial.

Researchers are encouraged to consult other collections in the Clarke. Since a majority of the Trelfa Collection originates from the period of Abraham Wendell’s tenure as Collector of Customs and Superintendent of Lighthouses, the Abraham Wendell Papers should be used to gain a more comprehensive picture of commercial and maritime life on the Lakes. Similarly the collections of the American Fur Company (in original or on microfilm) and the Henry Rowe Schoolcraft Papers, the Henry Hastings Sibley Papers, the George Johnston Papers, and the Lawrence Tafiaferro papers (all of which are on microfilm) should be used. There is also a Fred R. Trelfa Photograph Collection of photographs relating primarily to Alpena and Alpena County history.

Tom Van Zoeren was a park ranger at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. His collection contains oral history interviews relating to the history of the Sleeping Bear Dunes region and other Michigan localities.

The Van Zoeren collection contains oral history interviews conducted between 1979 and 2010, and includes copies of scanned photos and supporting documents. The interviews are available variously on audio cassette tapes and online. Transcripts or summaries are found in the collection for many of the interviews. The Van Zoeren collection is organized in two sections by format.

The first section contains analog files and audio cassette tapes. This section is arranged in series by family interview: Basch/Lanham/Van Zoeren oral history interviews, 1993-2000; George Burfiend oral history interviews, photo collection, and farm tour, 2005-2008; DeKorne family oral history and photographs, 2006; Doan family oral history interview, 2006; Dottie (Ashmore) Lanham oral history and photograph collection, 2003-2008; Alfred and Loraine (Olsen) Mason oral history interview and photo collection, 2001-2004; Leonard Thoreson oral history interview and photos, 2005-2006; and Frederick and Margretha Werner Farm oral history interview and photo collection, 2006-2007. These series contain information related to the families and interviews in the form of text, scanned and printed images, and audio and video recordings.

1. Basch, Laura (Oleson), of the Port Oneida, Michigan, area (audio cassettes and online)
2. Burfiend, George, relating to Burfiend farm and Port Oneida (online)
3. DeKorne, Jack relating to the family of Boudewyn and Kate DeKorne of Grand Rapids and Glen Lake, Michigan (online)
4. Fargo, Judy Carole and Ruth Ann Doan Jones, relating to the Frank and Alma Doan family of Croswell, Michigan ( online, filed under Doan family)
5. Lanham, Dottie, relating to her life and to Burdickville and surrounding area (online)
6. Lanham, John, of Burdickville, Michigan (audio cassettes and online)
7. Mason, Alfred and Lorraine [referred to as 'Loraine' in some collection materials] (Olsen), relating to their families, the family farms and the Port Oneida community (online)
8. Miller, Charles, relating to the Frederick and Margretha Werner farm in Port Oneida (online, filed under Werner)
9. Stuber, Mary Lou, relating to the Frederick and Margretha Werner farm in Port Oneida (online, filed under Werner)
10. Thoresen, Leonard, relating to his family, the family farm and the Port Oneida community (online)
11. Thoreson, Leonard, relating to the Frederick and Margretha Werner farm in Port Oneida (online, filed under Werner)
12. Van Noord, Trudy, relating to the family of Boudewyn and Kate DeKorne of Grand Rapids and Glen Lake, Michigan (online, filed under DeKorne family)
13. Van Zoeren, Jay, of Vriesland, Michigan, 1948 graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School (audio cassettes and online)

Additional files relating to these and other persons are available online.

The second section consists of one series of digitized material, oral histories, photos, and other historic materials from the Sleeping Bear Dunes region. The digital files were created or assembled by Van Zoeren and were received on an external hard drive. This series is further divided into subseries by type of material: Information on Farms, Families, etc.; Oral History Audio Files; Historic Images; Video Recordings; Genealogies; Census and Cemetery Records; Historic Maps; and Other Resources. Some of the content may be digitized versions of items in the analog portion of the collection.

This photograph album contains pictures taken during trips to Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Michigan around the turn of the 20th century. Subjects include Native American homes, dress, and customs; western scenery; and Midwestern waterfronts and steamships.

The Tourist photograph album (15 x 21 cm) contains approximately 245 pictures from around the Southwest and Midwest United States taken by an unknown photographer around the turn of the 20th century. Southwest photographs include mission churches in California and New Mexico, rock formations, cliff dwellings at Canyon de Chelly and Mesa Verde, Balanced Rock in the Garden of the Gods, and a pueblo. Several photographs feature Native Americans, including: women with traditional squash blossom hair styles; a man carrying a small child in a sling on his back; a woman in a shop with baskets, wool and dry goods; a woman seated in front of a loom with partially finished cloth; a man sitting in a white-washed interior with skeins of wool, holding a spindle with a hand carder at his feet. One photograph shows mummified human remains posed next to a bottle of whiskey and skull, indicating likely tomb desecration. Also included are unidentified Southwestern streets, beach scenes, and the storefront of J.M. Archuleta in Colorado. Midwest photos include images of the Palace of Fine Arts (Museum of Science and Industry) in Chicago, Mackinac Island, the Marquette Monument in St. Ignace, Soo Locks, and the Great Lakes steamer North Land, and a lake and cottage. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the SS Chief Wawatam are also pictured. Many photographs are significantly faded. Some manuscript captions are included.

The album includes two cyanotypes and a postcard with a cartoon satirizing the Brigham Young's polygamy.

The album has a half bound pebbled leather cover and is stored in a three-part wrap with brown cloth spine.