Search

We’re not sure what section of the finding aid you were looking for; you've been redirected to the collection main page. Please contact us if you cannot find what you're looking for.

Back to top

Search Constraints

Start Over You searched for: Date range 1892 Remove constraint Date range: 1892
Number of results to display per page
View results as:

Search Results

Collection

John Maulbetsch scrapbooks, 1890-1950 (majority within 1914-1916)

6 volumes (5 volumes in 2 outsize boxes.) — 0.3 linear feet

Scrapooks and photographs primarily related to University of Michigan football 1914-1916 and the career of John Maulbetsch, All-American halfback in 1914 and Michigan team captain in 1916, with some material on campus social life and the Maulaubetsch family. One of 1914 scrapbooks mainly relating to football, was compiled by Ida E. Cappon, Maubetsch's future wife

Scrapbooks containing clippings and photographs largely relating to the University of Michigan football team, 1914-1916, also game programs and other athletics memorabilia, as well material relating to Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and campus social life. The scrapbooks include extensive coverage of the 1914 Harvard and Penn games in which Maulbetsch starred and gained a national reputation. The photos include formal and informal team photographs, posed shots of individual players, and game action images. Many of the scrapbook photographs have annotations and comments by Maulbetsch. One of 1914 scrapbooks mainly relating to football, was compiled by Ida E. Cappon, Maubetsch's future wife. The 1911-1912 volume documents his one year on the Adrian College football team. The 1950 scrapbook consists of letters, telegrams, and sympathy cards to Ida Cappon Maulbetsch following her husband's death. The Photographs series includes additional football photos (including an Ann Arbor High School photo and an Adrian College team photo), portraits and family photos, and photos of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house (then located at 621 S. State St.)

Collection

John M. Johnston collection, 1820-1939 (majority within 1820-1892)

0.25 linear feet

This collection contains 65 letters, financial records, and legal documents related to John M. Johnston, a Native American language interpreter who lived in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and to Native Americans in Michigan during the 19th century. Henry R. Schoolcraft and Ramsay Crooks contributed letters and documents to the collection.

This collection contains 65 items related to John M. Johnston, a Native American language interpreter from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and to the history of Native Americans in Michigan during the 19th century. Included are 21 letters, 32 documents, and 12 notes and other items; most material is dated between 1820 and 1892.

John M. Johnston received personal letters from family members throughout the 19th century, including a letter from his sisters written during his time at school in New York (1831) and a letter his brother William wrote about the death of his son in the Civil War (January 23, 1863). Other items directly related to the Johnston family include 5 appointments for military positions in the 16th Regiment, Michigan State Militia; Eliza Johnston's stock certificates for the St. Joseph Manufacturing Company; an early receipt addressed to Johnston's father in Dublin, Ireland; and items regarding the division of John and Susan Johnston's property following their deaths. Also included are a printed proclamation of the United States' declaration of war on Mexico, May 13, 1846; a picture postcard of the Johnston family home in Sault Ste. Marie; and manuscript notes on the Johnston family.

The bulk of the remaining material directly concerns Native Americans in Michigan, particularly the Ojibwa (Chippewa) tribe, including 7 letters from Henry Schoolcraft to Johnston and Major W. V. Cobbs, 1835-1844; 4 letters by American Fur Company president Ramsay Crooks, 1835 and 1839; a document signed with the marks of 10 Native Americans regarding hunting and fishing rights and white persons trespassing on their lands, October 2, 1837; a letter from five natives, July 1839; one temperance pledge signed by 46 persons at the Point Iroquois Mission, October 20, 1877, with another blank, partially printed pledge; and additional items related to the economic relationship between European settlers and Native Americans in the Upper Peninsula.

Collection

John Morin Scott family papers, 1679-1893 (majority within 1800-1846)

3.25 linear feet

The John Morin Scott family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, and other items related to multiple generations of the Scott family, including New York City lawyer John Morin Scott; his son, Lewis Allaire Scott; and his grandson, John Morin Scott, mayor of Philadelphia from 1841-1844.

The John Morin Scott family papers (3.25 linear feet) are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, and other items related to multiple generations of the Scott family, including New York City lawyer John Morin Scott; his son, Lewis Allaire Scott; and his grandson, John Morin Scott, mayor of Philadelphia from 1841-1844.

The collection's Personal Correspondence series (approximately 750 items, 1767-1889) is comprised primarily of letters between John Morin Scott and Mary Emlen Scott (whom Scott often addressed as "Bonny") from 1816 to the 1850s. During business trips to cities such as Harrisburg and Easton, Pennsylvania, John Morin Scott discussed his legal career, his work in the state legislature, political issues, and personal news; Mary Emlen Scott wrote about her life in Philadelphia. John Morin Scott also received letters from his children and from individuals respecting his term as Philadelphia mayor. Other correspondence includes an early series of letters to Mayor Richard Varick of New York City.

Lewis A. Scott's correspondence (132 items, 1868-1893) relates to the Scott family genealogy. Lewis A. Scott corresponded with family members about their ancestors and wrote to authors and publishing houses about printed accounts of the family lineage. Some letters pertain to Scott's attempts to locate documents about his early ancestors.

The collection's Legal Correspondence, Documents, and Financial Records series (approximately 800 items, 1764-1893) regard property, finances, and the legal affairs and estates of the Scotts and related families. John Morin Scott's legal correspondence (333 items, 1812-1844) contains business letters to Scott about court procedures, decisions, and financial matters. At least one item mentions a reward offered for the return of a captured slave (May 20, 1822). Documents include legal and financial contracts and agreements, financial accounts, bank checks, indentures, letters, and estate administration papers. Many items concern property in New York and one small group pertains to Revolutionary War surgeon Charles McKnight.

One small account book tracks the owner's expenses, and includes notes about the author's travels and activities, around 1850. A notebook contains a list of the Scott family silver in Mary Emlen's possession in 1874.

The Maps seriesincludes 19 surveyors' maps for land in Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and other locations. Many of the surveys relate to members of the Scott family and allied families; some pertain to Philadelphia real estate. Three undated survey notebooks pertain to land in "Orange County" and "Deer Park," and include notes about deeds and surveys conducted in these areas.

The Genealogical Materials series (47 items, [1887-1891]) largely concern members of the Scott family and they include essays, extracts from published histories, notebooks, loose notes, a family tree, and applications for the Pennsylvania Sons of the American Revolution. At least 2 items relate to the Emlen family. Sketches of two coats of arms are accompanied by descriptions.

The Printed Items series includes 2 advertisements for genealogical and historical works, Mary Scott's reprinted will, a poem by W. T. Meredith titled "Ancrum's Cross," and 12 newspaper clippings. The clippings are obituaries and biographical articles about the younger John Morin Scott, including an account of an assassination attempt during his term as mayor of Philadelphia (1843).

Collection

John Paul Jones collection, [ca. 1864?]-1944

3 volumes

This collection contains 3 volumes of typescripts about Captain John Paul Jones and his service with the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. One group of documents concerns his attempt to kidnap Douglas Dunbar, 4th Earl of Selkirk, at his home in St. Mary's Isle, Scotland, in April 1778.

This collection contains 3 volumes of typescripts about Captain John Paul Jones and his service with the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. One group of documents concerns his attempt to kidnap Douglas Dunbar, 4th Earl of Selkirk, at his home in St. Mary's Isle, Scotland, in April 1778.

The first volume contains around 97 pages of typescript letters and extracts from the log of the Ranger, which Jones commanded during his raid against the Earl of Selkirk's home. Helen Selkirk, the earl's wife, recollected her experiences in letters to her family, recalling how Jones and his men took the family's tableware after discovering that the earl was not home. Jones later corresponded with Lord Selkirk about his attempts to return the stolen items, and apologized for his crew's actions. Several items are laid into the volume's front cover, including newspaper clippings about the later location of the tableware and about a flag that Jones once owned; reproduced photographs; and items related to Hazel Schermerhorn, who transcribed the letters during a visit to Scotland in the 20th century.

Volumes 2 and 3 are typescript copies of Richard Filkin's transcriptions of, and footnotes about, correspondence and documents related to John Paul Jones's naval career, particularly during the American Revolution. Most of the material is comprised of extracts from newspaper columns; the volumes also include letters, dispatches, and other documents. Some of the reprinted items are in French. The first 30 pages of Volume 2 are copied in manuscript handwriting; together, these volumes contain around 465 pages of typed material. Each individual section of around 30-50 pages is indexed.

Collection

John P. Cook Photograph Collection, ca. 1870s-1915

9 photographs

The John P. Cook photograph collection contains 9 photographs associated with U.S. Army officer John Pope Cook, including 7 images given to Cook by Dakota Territory-based Indian trader Charles Philander Jordan.

The John P. Cook photograph collection contains 9 photographs associated with U.S. Army officer John Pope Cook, including 7 images given to Cook by Dakota Territory-based Indian trader Charles Philander Jordan.

Among the photographs that were given to Cook by Jordan are a heavily retouched cabinet card studio portrait of Sitting Bull and a stereograph view on a cabinet card-sized mount captioned "No. 45 Spotted Tail's Tepee," both taken by photographer W. R. Cross; a studio group portrait of Red Cloud and Charles P. Jordan on a mount of Washington, D.C.-based photographer John Nephew bearing the verso inscription "To my most esteemed friend Gen. John Cook. C. P. Jordan July 9/89"; and five studio portrait photographs taken by John Alvin Anderson of six of Jordan's children born to his Lakota wife Julia Walks First Jordan (1859-1913; a niece of Red Cloud's, also known as Winyan Hoaka, True Woman, Weah-Wash-Tay, The Beautiful One), identified through verso inscriptions as "Mary J. Jordan," "Everard Cady Jordan," "Collins Custer Jordan," "Edwin E. & Wm Ward Jordan," and "Ella Adaline Jordan." The date and location of the portrait of Red Cloud and Jordan may point to the possibility of that image having been produced while the subjects were in Washington, D.C., during the 1889 Sioux Land Commission negotiations.

Also present are two photomechanically-illustrated postcards that date to the early 20th-century. One postcard bearing an advertisement for the Northern Pacific Railway was postmarked June 11, 1915 and addressed to John P. Cook's daughter Nina Cook in Frontier, Michigan, with the message "Dear Nina: I am on my way wish you were with me love Fred." The second postcard bears a profile view of the U.S.S. Nebraska and appears to have been postmarked August 1, 1910 and was addressed to Cook at his residence in Ransom, Michigan, with the message "Dear cousin sorry to make you all wait so long for ans (sic) to your kind letters but can't be helped this is a photo of one of the ships with the Atlantic fleet."

Collection

John Rodgers papers, 1796-1908 (majority within 1801-1836)

1.5 linear feet

The John Rodgers papers contain naval Commander Rodger's professional correspondence from shortly before his first naval commission through the end of his career. The papers provide a wealth of information on nearly every aspect of Rodgers' career, from his blockading and diplomatic activities during the Barbary Wars through his brief tenure as Secretary of the United States Navy.

The John Rodgers papers contain Rodger's professional correspondence and documents from shortly before his first Naval Commission through the end of his career. The collection holds 719 letters, 39 legal documents, 1 letterbook, and 2 genealogical items. These provide a wealth of information on nearly every aspect of Rodgers' career, from his blockading and diplomatic activities during the Barbary Wars through his brief tenure as Secretary of the Navy. In addition to documenting Rodger's career, the papers are also a source of information on the administration and political workings of the United States Navy in the early 19th century.

The Correspondence series (719 items) contains letters about Rodger's naval career, including his role in the Barbary War, his part in the War of 1812, his return to the Mediterranean after the war, and his tenure as administrator of the Navy Commissioner's Office.

The Barbary War materials contain important information on the activities of the United States' fleet off Tripoli and on the attitudes of the United States officers toward the Barbary States. These include intelligence documents used during naval operations and Barbary treaty negotiations. Many of the items are from the Navy Department, including letters from the highest rank of naval officers in Washington and the officers stationed at the Philadelphia and New York navy yards. Of note are:

  • Several navy circulars from 1808, which discuss the embargo laws
  • A letter from New York Congressman, Killian Van Rensselaer (1763-1845) about a deserter from the John Adams (July 1808)
  • A 60-page diatribe from Rodgers addressed to William Eaton, the acting Navy agent for the Barbary Regencies, which berated Eaton for impugning Rodger's name in a report to the secretary of the navy on the negotiations with Tripoli (1806). This document includes copies of letters from Samuel Barron (May 18, 1805), and Tobias Lear (May 19, 1805), used to support Rodger's viewpoint.

Letters from the War of 1812 period concern Rodgers' command of the naval forces in the northern Atlantic, which attempted to blockade the British shipping efforts in North America. The collection contains a few important accounts of engagements with British warships; approximately 30 reports of ships boarded by United States gunboats in the Atlantic; and intelligence on British naval activity around New York, Washington, and Baltimore. Of particular interest is a letter from a low-ranking navy member named Amos Brown, who was impressed by the British in Halifax, and wrote to Rodgers to request clearance to return to New York (June 9, 1812). Brown had served with Rodgers, but described his physical appearance to help jog Rodgers memory, in the hopes of obtaining his freedom. Also of note are a report from Paul Hamilton on the consequences of the Little Belt Affair (May 23, 1811), and a letter from his brother George Washington Rodgers, who wrote of family and navy matters (February 23, 1814).

The post-War of 1812 portion of the collection provides documentation for the peace-time operations of the United States Navy, including: ship building, harbor maintenance, regulations, and military discipline. From 1815-1824, Rodgers was the president of the Navy Commission in Washington D.C. He received frequent letters, marked "private," from Howes Goldsborough (1816-1824), and in 1823 received several letters from New York Congress Member Cadwallader David Colden.

Rodgers was stationed in the Mediterranean from 1824-1826, and served on the Navy Board of Commissioners from 1827-1837. Most of the letters from these years are administrative in natures. Of note are:

  • Nine letters from Rodgers to the fleet captain of his Mediterranean Squadron, Daniel Todd Patterson, of the USS North Carolina and the USS Brandywine (1825-1826). These include instructions on protocol, qualifications for officers, and general orders for ship maneuvering.
  • A 16-page report from the Navy Commissioners on the restructuring of the navy (November 23, 1829).
  • A private letter from Matthew Calbraith Perry with news of his son and the mission in the Mediterranean (February 11, 1831).
  • Eight letters from Rodgers addressed to James Barron, commander of the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Though the collection is largely made up of official naval materials, it also contains content related to Rodgers’ family life. Frederick Rodgers, who was also in the navy, wrote two letters to his father (March 9 and April 5, 1828). Rodgers received a letter dated April 6, 1828, from one of the crew of the USS North Carolina, informing him that Frederick had died while heroically trying to save one of his shipmates after their boat sunk. Minerva Rodgers' sister Eliza wrote to her on August 17, 1828, to console her on the loss of her son).

The bulk of John Rodgers' family letters, written after his death, are dated between 1840 and 1908. These include letters between Minerva and her sons John and Henry, as well as an item to eldest son Robert Smith Rodgers, a civil engineer, and a few unsigned items. An unsigned letter from March 14, 1877, relates tensions between the North and South and news about the Hayes administration. Another item of interest is a January 9, 1872, incomplete and unsigned letter from Wusong, China, addressed to "Brother," likely from Rodger's grandson, John Rodgers, who served in the navy until his death in 1882. The writer described his time in Japan and commented on Japanese cultural practices. He wrote of his experiences in a bath house:

"the people of Japan are kind and amiable, but they are strangely careless of modesty -- they have no idea of it. Girls said to be proper and good girls and very pretty ones, came into the room where I was Bathing and wanted to scrub my shoulders with soap -- As I had no bathing dress on, you can guess how much I was horrified."

He mentioned his audience with the Mikado, and also provided information about the landscape and architecture. He admired their paper screens, which "have some advantages over our windows."

The collection also contains several letters from Rodgers’ grandson, Colonel Robert S. Rodgers, to friends, family, and colleagues.

The Letterbook series is a single volume, containing five letters by Rodgers while aboard the U.S.S. North Carolina in 1825. Three of the letters are addressed to Secretary of the Navy Samuel L. Southard and concern a court martial, various matters relating to the ship's crew, and his support for promotions. Another letter is addressed to Charles Morris and briefly mentions the ship's crew and their imminent departure to the Mediterranean. The final letter, addressed to Howard March & Co. from Gibraltar, concerns an order of Madeira wine.

The Documents series (39 items) consists of general orders, circulars, courts martial opinions, reports, and lists of ships stores. The earliest item is a list of 44 guidelines, written by Rodgers, to be followed on board the U.S. Maryland, including instructions for exercising cannons (August 29, 1799). The series contains a number of materials related to sickness, dating from 1825-1828, including doctor's letters excusing service members from their posts, as well as reports relating to illnesses onboard navy vessels. Of particular interest is a report on the causes of yellow fever on board the frigate Macedonian, which the two investigators attribute to sudden changes in climate during the voyage, poor diet and clothes, the "offensive state of the hold," and an error in treatment methods by the ship's doctor (August 23, 1823). Other notable material includes:

  • A court of inquiry document concerning the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair (1807).
  • A formal petition to Secretary of State James Monroe from 15 prisoners of war in the Melville Prison in Halifax requesting relief, (August 30, 1812).
  • An article of agreement with Charles Washington Goldsborough in a Washington-based lumber and brick-making business (October 30, 1815).
  • 30 reports documenting vessels boarded by US Naval squadrons and gunboats while enforcing the Embargo Act of 1807. These records contain the date of the boarding, the name of the vessel, the ships’ master and owner, its origin and destination, the cargo, and additional remarks.

The Genealogy series (3 items) contains two pages (followed by 11 blank pages) of notes, written by Rodgers, relating to his early life at school and as a young sailor. The series also holds a four-page document from the Sons of the American Revolution tracing Rodgers' family lineage to Captain George Denison's and a five-page photocopy of genealogical information on Rodger's family. Both items are undated.

Collection

Johnston Family Papers, 1822-1936

0.75 linear feet

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, family. Correspondence, photographs, and other papers of John Johnston, fur trader, son John McDouall Johnston, Indian interpreter for Henry R. Schoolcraft, and other family members; including letters containing impressions of Indian life and historical materials concerning Indian grammar and folklore, and the history of the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, region. Includes letter, Jan. 24, 1822, from John Johnston to Lewis Cass discussing Indian affairs.

The Johnston family papers contains approximately seven inches of correspondence, writings, clippings, and photographs. The collection falls into three series: Johnston family papers, Collected historical and Indian materials, and Photographs.

Collection

John Ted Moffit papers, 1884-1947

1 linear foot

Alumnus of the Law School of the University of Michigan, and Iowa attorney; files relating to his alumni activities.

The Moffit collection consists of correspondence and other papers largely relating to his activities as secretary of the class of 1886; include reunion materials, treasurer's files, membership materials, and miscellanea.

Collection

John V. Lansing papers, 1842-1917 (majority within 1842-1880)

131 items (0.5 linear feet)

The John V. Lansing papers document the life of Lansing, particularly his medical education and work in New York State Asylums.

Although a small collection, the Lansing papers contain a varied array of materials: 38 pieces of correspondence between Lansing and various family members, journals of his trips to Europe and to South America, journals of his medical training, assorted poems and Valentine poems by Lansing, his sketchbook and several loose pencil sketches, the text of his graduation speech from Rutgers, a lecture on "thought and thinking" which he delivered in 1848, his estate inventory, a few receipts and business letters, miscellaneous correspondence between other family members, an autograph book and theme book which probably belonged to a niece, 11 unidentified photographs, part of a magazine article depicting the Lansing family homestead, and a few pieces of peripheral miscellany. (The sketch book, autograph book, and European diary have been removed to a separate pamphlet box.) Also included in an introductory folder are obituaries of Lansing, his article on frogs, and published proceedings of the Albany Medical Society which record his participation.

This collection is not as rich in research potential as one would hope, given the subject's varied travels and career changes as documented in the manuscripts. Most of the correspondence and journals are revealing of Lansing's personality, opinions, and philosophy rather than abundant with details on places, people, and activities. One comes to know the man intimately, but not to be able to place him very confidently in a social and professional context.

Probably the greatest value of the papers is in the information which can be gleaned from them on medical education and practice in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Lansing's medical school journals, especially the section covering his training at Bellevue Hospital in New York City (1853 June 27-December 17), are full of details on medical lectures, learning how to diagnose and treat various diseases and conditions, the performance of autopsies, surgical procedures (especially gynecological operations), and pharmacology. Given Lansing's analytical and opinionated nature, these depictions are often both informative and insightful as to the nature of medical science during this era. He writes on August 2, 1853: "I attended a part of Motts Clinique at the University and saw some noteworthy cases. He ordered a plaster over a sore breast and said when the patient had retired that was always his way when he didn't know what a thing was to cover it up with plaster and spoke of it as a rule to be adopted in life to cover up what we don't understand with plasters. I don't exactly like the principle." Lansing also includes in this journal segment a horrifying description of a woman's death of gangrene of the intestines after surgery for an ovarian tumor -- highly evocative of the primitive nature of surgery and infection prevention in this period.

The European and South American journals also contain some material on hospital conditions and medical training and practice, specifically in Paris, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires. There is an interesting account of Lansing's unsuccessful treatment of a tuberculosis patient while ship's physician on the "Seaman," and of the man's subsequent death and burial at sea. The correspondence covering Lansing's years of practice as physician at two insane asylums and at Clinton State Prison are disappointing in their lack of detail on medical practice; only a few general descriptions and anecdotes on patients and incidents are provided. Published accounts of his participation in the Albany County Medical Society, however, are more informative, for they present case studies which illustrate typical diagnoses and treatments of various illnesses.

Interesting minor sidelights of the collection are descriptions of the manufacture of an artificial arm for Lansing's brother-in-law, and some technical details about a candle making process involving lard-oil which, through his studies in chemistry, he was helping a friend to develop. Lansing's poetry also constitutes a minor but entertaining resource, for it exemplifies the sentimental nature of social and literary expression in this era, as well as revealing the author's wit and style.