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The Giles family papers document an American family through various generations and locations, though the focus of the papers is on Elizabeth Shipton Giles of Maryland and New York City.

The Giles family papers document an American family through various generations and locations, though the focus of the papers is on Elizabeth Shipton Giles. Her 13 letters to Aquila and to sons Henry and George are literate and engaging, depicting a strong-willed woman who did not lose her spirit and sense of humor in the face of life's trials. Writing in 1780, as a flirtatious young woman enjoying the attentions of an army officer, she accuses her "pretty Major" of flirting with other women: "Upon my word tis a high joak, I should be very glad to know what right you have to dispose of your pretty Person in this manner? ... I'll not endeavor to soften any misfortunes you bring upon yourself so I give you fair warning."

It must have been difficult to descend from youthful romance into the harsh realities of a financially-pinched existence, enduring separation from family, the early deaths of most of her children, and estrangement from the two surviving daughters. But Eliza pinned her hopes on son George, reminding him in 1817 that "your life and mine hang on the same hinge..." and that his father, "tho' he provides for all your necessities, leaves me still the Guardian of your comforts and where will such true comforts be found as in an Honest Heart, and Virtuous Mind." She urges him to imitate his namesake, "the greatest man that ever lived," and become "an ornament to the World, an able Statesman and defender of your countrys Laws, and Rights." Fearing that George's temper may "blast my hopes in you or bring me in sorrow to the Grave," his mother begs him to learn restraint, and to look to God, so that he may seek her in heaven after she is separated from him, whom she regards as "heaven's last, best Gift" on this earth.

The nature of Eliza's relationships with other family members is not readily apparent, except in the case of daughter Elizabeth Thorne, who married well and evidently took pride in showing off, which her mother resented. In one instance the haughty Mrs. Thorne agitated to be given Mrs. Giles's most prized possession, a portrait of husband Aquila. Eliza described the dispute in an 1817 letter to son Henry, declaring that the painting had been her companion, never out of her sight, for 7000 miles of travel and four years of separation, "and I have often fancied I wiped tears from its eye." Her daughter, she felt, merely wanted to display it "over her fine sideboard." But Mrs. Thorne sent a servant to remove the painting the next day, and her mother vowed never to look at it again.

Eliza Giles did not live long enough to see son George married and successfully established, and her life was difficult until the end, but she never ceased to see better days ahead. Writing to George in 1820, two years before her death, she tells him not to worry about his parents, assuring him that "God willing I trust we shall live to see better days. The prospect dawns. So keep your spirits and health to meet the cheering ray."

The other correspondence in this collection is scattered. Two courtship notes from Aquila Giles to Eliza in 1780 exhibit youthful charm, while one letter to Eliza in 1815 and two to son George in 1819-1820 dwell on good intentions thwarted by bad debts. A series of letters to George and Elizabeth Giles in Europe from children and other family members, dating from 1838-1840, comment on the children's schooling and on family health and social matters. An interesting product of that trip is Elizabeth Giles's journal of their visit to Spain and France en route to Madeira, which features detailed description of buildings and art in Seville. Two 1823 New York City court depositions, evidently made to establish property claims of the surviving Giles children, reveal the sad fates of their siblings.

Collection includes 264 glass-plate negatives of people, some identified as living in Clare or Isabella County, Michigan, and some miscellaneous images, undated [1880-1920].

Collection of 264 glass-plate negatives measuring either 4 inches x 6 inches or 4 inches x 5 inches, mostly unidentified, and all undated [1880-1920]. Included in the collection are portraits and group images of men, women, and children, as well as some buildings, instruments, a band, camping with tents, and horses and buggies. A few identified images are Godon Ripenburg of Clare, Michigan, the Clare Bakery, two Fish family gravestones of Isabella County, Michigan, John D. Oren of Michigan, and the ferry "Manistee." The creator is unknown. There are also two positive images, one of a seated woman cut down into an oval shape on a broken glass plate. The other is a small, partial black and white print of a church and factory taken from negative #97.

Federal census for Michigan show John D. Oren (born about 1868) lived in Duplain, Clinton County, Michigan, in 1910 and in Seneca, Lenawee County, Michigan, in 1930; David Fish (born about 1833) lived in Denver Township, isabella County, Michigan, in 1900; and Gordon Ripenburg (born about 1883) lived in Clare, Michigan, from 1910 to 1918.

Glenn Ruggles is an oral historian based in Walled Lake, Michigan. His collection consists of audiocassettes, photographs, and supporting material from his oral history projects.

The collection is divided into series corresponding to particular oral history projects, followed by a Personal series and a Collected materials series.

Voices on the water : an oral and pictorial history of Antrim County's chain of lakes was published in 1998, with a second edition published in 2005. The series contains recordings of oral history interviews conducted in the preparation of the book along with photographs: original and copy prints of vintage views, some modern views, and snapshots of interviewees.

The library has release forms only for the interviews with Jo Anne Beemon, Warren Daane, Lena Stalker, and Byrnece White.

This collection holds 2 volumes of meeting minutes and 1 volume of dividend payment records documenting the affairs of the Gloucester Manufacturing Company of Gloucester, New Jersey. Also included are related enclosures, including receipts, accounts, and correspondence.

This collection holds 2 volumes of meeting minutes (approximately 550 pages total) and 1 volume of dividend payment records (approximately 70 pages) documenting the official affairs of the Gloucester Manufacturing Company of Gloucester, New Jersey.

The first 2 volumes (13.5"x8"x2" and 13"x8"x2") contain approximately 550 pages of minutes from meetings of the Gloucester Manufacturing Company's directors and stockholders, compiled between December 4, 1850, and April 20, 1909. The first volume begins with a manuscript copy of the company's charter, followed by 3 brief administrative notes and meeting minutes recorded between December 4, 1850, and June 25, 1894. The second volume contains meeting minutes recorded between November 10, 1894, and April 20, 1909. Most meetings were held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Minutes document the company's internal affairs, such as its finances and elections of its board of directors and other personnel. Many sets of minutes include financial statements about the company's assets and liabilities, often printed or written on enclosures pasted or laid into the volumes. Several records made during the Civil War allude to the war's impact on manufacturing, such as the effects of new commercial legislation and the depressed economy. The minutes made in the spring of 1909 concern aspects of the company's dissolution, such as the sale of its equipment and other property. Both volumes of minutes contain several enclosures, primarily related to the Gloucester Manufacturing Company's financial affairs. These include a printed pamphlet containing its original charter and by-laws, printed in 1862; convertible loan documents; receipts and payment notices; reports on profits and losses; and typed sets of minutes, integrated into the main chronological sequence.

The third volume (15.5"x6"x.75", approximately 70 pages) holds records of dividends the Gloucester Manufacturing Company paid to its stockholders between July 1, 1859, and March 24, 1909. Each record consists of the check number, recipient's name, amount of stock held, amount of dividend due, date of payment receipt, and recipient's signature. Many items are laid or pasted into the volume, such as receipts and payment notices. Several late items, all dated March 24, 1909, document the company's purchase of its stock from shareholders prior to its dissolution.

Governor of Michigan 1949 to 1960, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1961 to 1965, and Michigan Supreme Court justice from 1970 to 1986 and leader in state and national Democratic Party. Papers document his public career and aspects of his personal and family life and include correspondence, subject files, staff files, speeches, press releases and news clippings, photographs, sound recordings, films and videotapes.

The G. Mennen Williams Papers consist of official and personal files arranged into six subgroups: 1) Gubernatorial papers, 1949-1960 (681 linear ft.); 2) Non-gubernatorial papers, 1883-1948 and 1958-1988 (107 linear ft.); 3) Visual materials, ca. 1911-1988 (ca. 25 linear ft.); 4) sound recordings, 1950-ca. 1988 (5 linear ft.) Scrapbooks, 1948-1987 (43 vols.) and State Department Microfilm, 1961-1966 (23 reels).

As part of its own control system, the governor's office maintained a card index to the correspondents in many of the subgroups and series within the gubernatorial papers. This card file is located in the library's reading room. In addition, Nancy Williams and her staff compiled an extensive and detailed run of scrapbooks covering the Williams years. There is a separate inventory to these scrapbooks in a separately bound volume.

Strategy for Use of the Gubernatorial Papers: Although the Williams gubernatorial collection consists of hundreds of linear feet of material, the file arrangement created by the governor's staff is a fairly simple one to understand and to use.

The bulk of the collection falls within specific functional groupings, corresponding to the various activities and responsibilities that Williams performed as governor. Thus, if the researcher is uncertain of what portions of the collection might be relevant to his/her research, he/she is advised to think in terms of gubernatorial function. Does the proposed research concern the workings or area responsibility of a state board? If so, the Boards and Commissions series would be the most likely place in which to find material. The election of 1954? Then Democratic Party/Campaign Papers should be first choice. The passage of a specific piece of legislation? Here, Legislative Files is an obvious choice. The possible choices (called subgroups and series) that the researcher has are listed in the Organization of the Collection section. A description of the contents of each of these subgroups/series is provided below.

If, at first, unsuccessful in finding material on any given topic, the researcher might consider these additional strategies:

1. Refer to the Williams card index (located in the library's reading room). Sometimes, the name of an individual associated with a subject provides the easiest point of access into the collection. This file is arranged alphabetically and lists the dates of letters between an individual and the governor's office. This file only indexes the larger series and subgroups in the collection. It does not index the staff files, or parts of the Democratic Party/Campaign subgroup. Nevertheless it is an invaluable tool, and can uncover important material otherwise buried.

2. Refer to the various series of staff papers. Staff members were often closely involved in a specific subject areas (Jordan Popkin and aging, for example) and thus their files are frequently rich in source material.

3. If only partially successful in locating desired material, the researcher should think of an alternative subgroup or series. The governor's office, for a variety of reasons, often filed related material in different locations depending upon the source of a document. Thus, information relating to a strike might be filed both under the Labor Mediation Board in Boards and Commissions, and Strikes in General Subjects. Furthermore, if the strike influenced a specific piece of legislation, there could be material in the Legislative Files.

This collection is made up of personal letters addressed to the family of Frances Godown of Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Indiana. The bulk of the correspondence is letters from Frances Godown and her daughter, Charlotte Godown Kelley, to Frances's other daughter, Mary Godown McLaughlin, and granddaughter, "Katsey" McLaughlin.

This collection is made up of 106 personal letters addressed to the family of Frances Godown of Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Indiana. The first two items are letters that Frances received from a friend in Lowell, Massachusetts, who discussed the influx of foreign mill workers (May 22, 1881) and from her mother, who shared recipes ([October 28, 1892]).

The remaining items largely consist of letters to Mary Godown McLaughlin and her daughter "Katsey." Mary received 3 postcards from her husband Harry during his trip to New Mexico and California in October 1915. Her most frequent correspondents were her mother, Frances Godown, and sister, Charlotte Godown Kelley, both of Indianapolis. Godown frequently offered advice to her daughter and granddaughter, and usually reported news of family members and friends (often related to illnesses and deaths). She occasionally discussed her religious beliefs, particularly near the end of her life. She also remarked on politics, especially around the time of the 1932 presidential election. Kelley's letters refer to the difficulties she faced while caring for her ailing mother, who suffered from physical and mental deterioration, and coping with her husband's prolonged unemployment in the early years of the Great Depression. In her final letters, written in 1936, she described the grieving process following her mother's death. A small number of items were sent with newspaper clippings, usually obituaries, enclosed. The final item is a postcard that Mary Godown McLaughlin received from an acquaintance in 1946.

Chelsea and Dexter, Michigan family. Letters of Nellie Gorman with her husband James, 1886-1892, while he served in the Michigan State Senate (1887-1891), and the U. S. House of Representatives (1891-1985); family letters; miscellanea relating to Gorman's estate; papers of son Galbraith Gorman, Dexter, Michigan, funeral home director; and photographs.

The collection begins with a genealogical chart of the Gorman family compiled by Mrs. M.L. Sias of Chelsea. The correspondence is largely that of Nellie Gorman with her children, but letters from 1886 to 1892 between James and Nellie Gorman give interesting details of James' term in the House of Representatives. The collection also includes papers pertaining to the disposition of Gorman's estate and cursory records of the cases apparently handled by Galbraith Gorman's funeral home between 1953 and 1961. The collection includes photographs of James and Agnes Gorman, members of the Bingham family, and some unidentified.

Professor of anatomy and dean of the Graduate School at University of Michigan. Professional and personal correspondence largely relating to his activities in the medical school and graduate school; also diaries and University of Michigan student notebooks.

The Huber collection consists of professional and personal correspondence largely relating to his activities in the medical school and graduate school. Most the letters written before 1900 are of a personal nature between Huber and his wife Lucy Parker Huber, including letters of her family. Worthy of mention are the letters Huber wrote while studying in Berlin, 1891-1892. Correspondence from later years is with professors and doctors in the United States and abroad and reflects Huber's professional interest in medicine and scholarly writings. Other materials in the collection are diaries, medical notebooks, and photographs. Huber's notebooks as a student are from classes taught by Edward S. Dunster, Alonzo B. Palmer, Volney M. Spalding, Joseph B. Steere, and Victor C. Vaughan.

This collection is primarily made up of correspondence between and addressed to members of the Gough family of Gort, Ireland, including George Stephens Gough; his wife, Jane Arbuthnot; and their children, Hugh, George, Rodolph, and Eleanor ("Nora"). The Gough family directly descended from Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough. Most of the letters pertain to the education and military career of the younger George Gough. The collection also includes a travel diary, documents, financial records, and notes.

This collection is primarily made up of correspondence between and addressed to members of the Gough family of Gort, Ireland, including George Stephens Gough; his wife, Jane Arbuthnot; and their children, Hugh, George, Rodolph, and Eleanor ("Nora").

The Correspondence series (740 items) largely consists of incoming personal letters addressed to Jane Gough, Viscountess Gough, and her son George. George Gough frequently wrote to his parents (most often his mother) throughout the 1860s, describing aspects of his education at Woodcote House in Henley-on-Thames, England; Eton College; and the University of Cambridge. He also commented on family news and his desire to join the military. George's later letters, written from the 1870s-1890s, concern his career with the British Army, which included service in England, India, and Africa; some of his letters from 1881 refer to political relations around the time of the First Boer War. He also wrote letters from Dresden, Germany, and from Switzerland.

Jane Gough received additional letters from acquaintances, including a group of letters expressing sympathy after George was wounded at the Battle of Abu Klea in January 1885. George Gough received letters from his siblings Hugh, Rodolph, and Nora, and from school friends and other acquaintances. One frequent correspondent, "Hubie," wrote throughout the 1860s, telling Gough about his experiences at Eton College and University College, Oxford.

The Diary (147 pages) recounts George Hugh Gough's travels in Canada and the United States during the fall of 1888. The volume covers the entirety of the trip up to Gough's return departure for Ireland, including ocean travel between Ireland and North America and railroad travel throughout Canada and the United States. Gough's entries regard daily activities, the scenery, historical context about places visited, and current events (such as the United States presidential election of 1888). The first page contains a list of visited locations and the distances between them. The final four pages contain a list of expenses incurred between September 28, 1888-November 15, 1888. A menu for passengers on the "'Allen' Line" of "Royal Mail Steamers" is pinned into the volume.

• Québec, Québec
• Montréal, Québec
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Toronto, Ontario
• North Bay, Ontario
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• Victoria, British Columbia
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco, California
• Yosemite Region, California
• Ogden, Utah
• Denver, Colorado
• Chicago, Illinois
• New York City, New York

The Documents series (11 items) contains military appointments for Hugh Gough (March 15, 1843, and May 1, 1861) and George Stephens Gough (January 5, 1849), a document authorizing the recipient to raise a number of men for a military regiment (November 5, 1804), and 7 accounts for purchases made by G. V. H. Gough in March 1914. Gough paid for automobile repairs, shoe repairs, medical supplies, and food.

The Photographs series (11 items) includes nine black-and-white prints showing soldiers at leisure, soldiers with horses, and a military encampment. The remaining items are a carte-de-visite portrait of an unidentified boy and an informal outdoor picture of a boy with a dog.

The Writings, Lists, and Genealogy series is made up of 12 items. Writings include a small notebook containing French poetry, a sheet containing limericks and drawings, and an item titled "Liber secundus." Extracts and notes pertain to a House of Lords commission respecting forfeited Irish estates around the turn of the 18th century, to an "Index to the "Prerogative Wills of Ireland," and to a poem entitled "The Migration of the Sons of Umor." Lists include a "Catalogue of a Collection of Minerals and Geological Specimens arranged and sold by J. Tennant" in London, a list of clothing belonging to a member of the Gough family, a list of men involved in a cricket match, and a list of words made for an unidentified purpose. A family tree traces the descendants of Hugh Gough, great-grandfather of Hugh Gough, first Viscount Gough. One group of papers was intended to be used to record purchases in February 1862, though it contains only a heading.

Two items in the Printed Items series (11 items) pertain directly to Viscount Hugh Gough: a poem addressed to Gough and his wife during their visit to Bath on April 1, 1850, and a document regarding the construction of a memorial to Gough following his death (May 21, 1869). Other items include a "Map of the Northern Uaso Nyiro" (1914), three scorecards from cricket matches held at Lord's Cricket Ground in 1868 and 1780, and newspaper clippings pertaining to wineglasses, a funeral, and the Franco-Prussian War. The collection includes two books: a pocket-sized Book of Common Prayer that belonged to George Gough (1872) and a Catalogue of Pictures at Basildon Park, Berkshire (1910).

The Personal Stationery and Family Crests series (62 items) includes a drawing of a jester and numerous drawings and crests, most cut out of personal stationery belonging to a variety of individuals and families.