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This collection represents three generations of the Bush family in Michigan. Includes genealogies and biographies of the Bush and Willard families; correspondence; a portrait of F. Willard Bush; papers of Sumner O. Bush and Charles Sumner Bush; unidentified financial records, pamphlets and circulars; and a computer disk containing transcriptions of the letters in the collection.

The collection represents three generations of the Bush family in Michigan. The arrangement reflects this, as it moves from the oldest generation to the youngest.

The first folder provides genealogical information on the Bush and Willard families (The Willard family was the family of Cynthia Melissa Willard Bush.). There are also two clippings from the Battle Creek newspaper containing biographical information on Sumner Orlando Bush and his son, Charles Sumner Bush. The next folders contain letters of Frederick Eli and Cynthia Melissa (Willard) Bush. This includes correspondence with the Bush sons, Bush family members, Willard family members, and friends.

Materials documenting Frederick Willard, Edwin Alvarez, Henry Eli, and Sumner Orlando follow the letters of the Bush parents (Frederick and Cynthia). The bulk of these are correspondence. The letters are grouped in folders according to recipient and arranged in order from the eldest son (Frederick Willard) to the youngest (Sumner). A tintype of Frederick Willard Bush (1858) is also included, (Box 2, Folder 1). The collection then moves to the next generation. Papers of Charles Sumner Bush, son of Sumner, are present toward the end.

Common subjects include family news (e.g., births, deaths, marriages, new jobs, college graduations), business and financial concerns (e.g., mortgages, family farms, insurance, possible career paths), current events (e.g., elections, slavery, the Civil War), health, the weather, and crop conditions. There are also reflections on spiritual concerns and on living life as a Christian.

The collection includes letters that the Bush sons and several others wrote while attending college. Frederick Willard, Henry and Sumner Bush all attended Olivet College and wrote of their experiences there. Willard also attended Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. The brothers received letters from friends and relatives in other colleges. The collection also contains a folder of letters to Frederick and Cynthia Bush from an Olivet College student identified as “Amanda.” (The precise nature of Amanda’s relationship to the Bushes is unclear. The letters do indicate that the family partially funded her scholarship to Olivet.) The college letters describe student life (e.g., classes, rooming conditions, and teachers).

The materials of four soldiers might be of interest to military researchers. Frederick and Samuel Willard (brothers to Cynthia Melissa Willard Bush) and Edwin Bush served in the Civil War, while Charles Sumner Bush served in World War I.

Frederick Willard was stationed in Louisiana during the Civil War. In his letters, he describes troop movements and morale and relates some general thoughts on the war (He describes Copperheads as “traitors” and writes of “defending our beloved country from slavery, disunion and tyranny.”). He also discusses the local environments, and in one letter (February 10, 1864), he describes the affects of the war on Louisiana. There are also two pre-War letters from Frederick. One is dated 1841 and the other is dated 1859. In the 1841 letter, he discusses a recent move and reflects on the recent death of President William Henry Harrison. In the 1859 letter, he reflects on the death of his sister, Lucena.

Samuel Willard enlisted sometime in 1862. He saw action at Gettysburg in July 1863. Afterward, he suffered poor health and seems to have been hospitalized for the remainder of the war. He stayed in hospitals in Annapolis, Maryland; Louisville, Kentucky; and Madison, Indiana. In his letters, Samuel relates war news (the 1864 surrender of Fort Sumter, for example), and discusses troop movements and morale. He often comments on the hospitals in which he stayed. In one letter (July 30, 1863), he describes his experience at the Battle of Gettysburg. In another (October 30, 1863), he mentions a funeral for Confederate prisoners. There is also one post-War letter, dated 1867. In it, Samuel describes the weather and discusses some family news.

Edwin Bush enlisted in Company E, 17th Michigan Infantry on August 12, 1862. He saw action at Antietam and at Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. His unit returned east in 1864. Edwin was shot during the siege of Petersburg, Virginia and died of his wounds on June 18, 1864. In his letters, Edwin describes marches, guard duty, troop morale, the food and various aspects of Army life. He comments on battles and on other troops and some officers (including Generals McClellan and Burnside). He mentions war news and other current events (e.g., Congressional elections).

Charles Sumner Bush, son of Sumner Orlando and Vernellie Daley Bush, was a World War I veteran. Bush, who enlisted at Camp Custer on November 26, 1917, served in the Motor Transport Corps 373, and was promoted to sergeant within a few weeks of enlisting (December 3, 1917). In April, he was transferred to the American Mission Reserve Mallet, American Expeditionary Force. He served overseas in France from February 27, 1918 to June 19, 1919. Bush mustered out of the service on June 25, 1919. His papers contain a black and white photograph of Mrs. Sarah (Rector) Hyslop, whom Charles Sumner married in 1923. The diary, kept by Charles Sumner Bush in 1918, documents his battlefield experiences in France, soldier camps, traveling in Army truck convoys, the weather and terrain, local reaction to American troops, and the Spanish flu epidemic. Also included is a copy of Special Orders No. 50 dating December 3, 1918. This order is signed by Frank O. Robinson, 1st Lt., MTC, USA, Comdg” and lists battles in which Robinson’s unit engaged. While individual names are not listed in the order, it appears that Bush engaged in the 1918 battles outlined by Lieutenant Robinson (e.g., Second Battle of the Somme, Second Battle of the Marne, Third Battle of the Somme, etc.)

The collection ends with a folder of ephemera and a computer disk. The ephemera date from the 19th century and include leaflets and some unidentified handwritten financial information. The disk contains electronic copies of seven transcriptions of letters in this collection. (Printed copies of these transcriptions are filed in the collection with their respective original letters.)

This collection includes correspondence, track blueprints, various schedules, financial accounts, and other materials.

The collection originally was in small packets of related materials which accounts for overlapping chronological sequences. It is organized by format, location, and date into Correspondence, some with Track Blueprints, Movements of Trains, Track Schedules, and various Financial Account Books, 1846-1960.

The Buttolph family collection contains two diaries and an account book chronicling the experiences and expenses of Larnard D. and Florence W. Buttolph of Corfu, New York, in the late 1800s. Florence W. Buttolph's 1872 diary concerns her social life in rural New York, Larnard D. Buttolph's 1873 diary covers his experiences working in California, and an account book reflects Larnard's farm expenses between 1882 and 1890.

The Buttolph family collection contains two diaries and an account book chronicling the experiences and expenses of Larnard D. and Florence W. Buttolph of Corfu, New York, in the late 19th century. Florence's diary (80 pages), kept between March 10, 1872, and September 28, 1872, relates her social life and daily experiences, including visits to neighbors and attendance at school; she frequently helped her mother around the house, and knitted in her spare time.

The first 40 pages of Larnard’s diary contain addresses and a correspondence record, and the remainder of the volume is a daily diary kept between April 8, 1873, and January 15, 1874, reflecting his experiences traveling by train to California and working at a mill in the northern part of the state. The first few entries, dated in April, cover his transcontinental railroad trip, during which he wrote about his impressions of Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming. He reached California by the end of that month, and spent the remainder of the year working various jobs near Sacramento, including mill work and ranching. Though he made some money and was able to travel to San Francisco in December, he decided to return to New York in mid-January 1874.

The final item is Larnard's account book, covering farm expenses between 1882 and 1889, with a few 20th-century items laid in. The first few pages reflect the general state of his finances in 1882 and 1883, and more specific later accounts cover his transactions with local butchers, shearers, and laborers; some record purchases and others sales. Among the items laid in is a printed document for stockholders, entitled "The Pennsylvania Railroad System in 1923" (May 15, 1924).

Visual material includes an ink drawing of a bird and butterfly, as well as tintypes and other photographs of Buttolph family members and anonymous individuals.

The California and Washington holiday photograph album contains approximately 110 photographs related to an excursion on the West Coast made by an unidentified couple.

The California and Washington holiday photograph album contains approximately 110 photographs related to an excursion on the West Coast made by an unidentified couple. The album (18.5 cm x 29 cm) has black cloth covers and is tied with black string. Towards the beginning of the album there are 20 photographs of Native Americans (likely members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation) with tipis at an encampment and on horseback in full regalia during a parade in Walla Walla, Washington; a river view with paddle steamers; and two views of a parade with the marching band from the U.S. Indian School in Chemawa, Salem, Oregon. Subsequent images from further south along the Pacific coast include views of Golden Gate Park; Sutter Fort and the Capitol building in Sacramento, California; the outdoor organ from the Panama-Columbian Exposition in San Diego; Balboa Park; an early Loughead Model G seaplane on a dock with a sign offering passenger rides; and the Santa Barbara Mission and rocky coastline nearby. Also present are views of Multnomah Falls, Oregon, and giant redwoods. Towards the back end of the album are four photographs showing a parade on a suburban street with 5 women wearing uniform caps, possibly factory workers, sitting in an open automobile decorated with American flags and a sign on the back that reads "Doing our bit."

Professor of education at University of Michigan. Correspondence, diary of European trip (1931), manuscripts, lecture notes and articles.

The bulk of the Davis collection consists of manuscripts, lecture notes and articles. Included is his manuscript autobiography entitled "A Country Lad" and "History of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club." The lectures are on educational topics. In addition, the collection has correspondence largely relating to University of Michigan and School of Education affairs, and a diary of a trip to Europe in 1931.

Professor of German at the University of Michigan and Columbia; mostly correspondence of Thomas with his family, professional colleagues, publisher, etc.; also some correspondence of his wife after his death; speeches, lecture notes, biographical sketches; papers include material on language studies at Michigan and Columbia, attitudes of academia toward Germans in World War I, accounts of European travels in 1877, 1896, and 1900; Civil War letter of Steven Thomas, Calvin's father.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical/personal material; Correspondence; Lectures and addresses; Journals/diary; Scrapbooks; Other family members papers; and Publications.

The collection includes Enders' research papers documenting the Ku Klux Klan, mostly the Michigan Klan. Papers include demographics, articles he wrote or published, articles (copies) from various sources, membership cards, photographic materials, and memorabilia.

The papers consists mostly of demographics and articles about the Michigan Klan, including chapters for Cal’s intended book; newspaper articles copied from microfilm and lists of the articles from Michigan and Klan newspapers; and membership information cards. The cards are disorganized and may contain census or local election information, marital status, type of employment, children, and address information. There is a nice variety of black and white and colored photographs and slides of Michigan Klan parades, meetings, a funeral, and the Chicora KKK quilt with members names embroidered on it. Also included are a sheeted figurine and Klan publications, including songbooks and copied articles about the Klan in Indiana and the U.S.

Most of the collection has been photocopied onto acid-free paper.

The collection is unique and valuable for the research of white supremacists in Michigan. It is particularly valuable for the study of average Michiganders, including men and women who joined the Klan up to 1924. There is substantial documentation of the activities of local Klans.

The problems leading to the failures of the 1924 attempt to elect a Detroit mayor and ban private schools are well documented, as are the financial problems and the high profile murders committed by Klan officials.

More Lewis D. Capen material may be found in the Ku Klux Klan (Mecosta County, Mich.) collection and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Millbrook Level Lodge No. 219 (Millbrook, Mich.) organizational records.

Camilla and Ethel Green were mother and daughter who resided in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area from the late 1800s through their deaths in 1955 and 1988, respectively. Both women corresponded prolifically with their family, friends and former students. This collection consists primarily of their letters, which are largely organized chronologically if not already grouped by correspondent.

This collection reflects the papers amassed by Camilla and Ethel Green over nearly a century. It is divided into four series: Family Background and Documents, University of Michigan, Correspondence, Photographs. The bulk of the collection occurs from 1910 to 1955 and features correspondence with various friends and family members; a large portion of the letters has been organized by correspondent and/or the correspondent's family, and the remainder is sorted chronologically.

Professor of Greek language and literature at the University of Michigan. Family and professional correspondence, diaries, notebooks discussing travels and readings, manuscripts of articles, and miscellanea; miscellaneous papers of his wife, Ethel Bonner, and assorted diaries of family members; and photographs.

The Bonner collection consists of correspondence, subject files, writings, professional papers, and photographs. There are also diaries and other papers of his wife Ethel Bonner.