Search Constraints
Start Over You searched for: Repository University of Michigan William L. Clements Library ✖ Remove constraint Repository: University of Michigan William L. Clements Library Formats Address books. ✖ Remove constraint Formats: Address books.Search Results
0.75 linear feet
The Albert E. St. Germain collection (over 190 items) contains correspondence, military documents, and other items relating to the St. Germain family. The bulk of the collection pertains to Albert St. Germain's service in the United States Army's press division in Europe during and just after World War I.
The Correspondence series (28 items) is made up of personal letters related to members of the St. Germain family. Sisters Clarinda (1 item) and M. Clementina (8 item) wrote French-language letters to their parents from the Convent of Mercy in Meriden, Connecticut, between 1894 and 1900. Other convent correspondents included Sister Teresa, who invited the St. Germain family to a ceremony (August 10, 1896), and Sister M. Augustine, who sent a telegram about Sister Clementina's death in November 1900. A woman named "Leontina" wrote 4 letters to Leon St. Germain from Québec in 1905.
Albert E. St. Germain wrote 6 letters to his mother and 2 letters to his brother Oscar while serving in the United States Army in France during and immediately after World War I. He described his travels in France and discussed some of his duties in the press section. In 1919, an acquaintance named J. Morgan wrote Albert St. Germain a personal letter and a letter of recommendation. Later correspondence includes a letter that one of Albert's children wrote to him in 1959, a letter about the 50 reunion of the Bulkeley High School class of 1914, and a World War II-era greeting card from the South Pacific.
The Documents series is divided into two subseries. Military Documents (97 items) are mostly comprised of news bulletins and intelligence summaries providing details about the Allied war effort in France from September 1918-November 1918, as well as 2 copies of Gerald Morgan's recollections about service as Chief Field Censor for the American Expeditionary Forces, written in February 1919. Department of Labor and Personal Documents (15 items) include intelligence tests, Albert St. Germain's employment history, a blank naturalization form, documents related to Leon St. German's estate, and documents regarding field stations during World War II.
The Photographs series (3 items) contains 2 formal card photograph portraits of an unidentified couple and of Albert E. St. Germain, as well as a photograph of Albert E. Saint Germain, in uniform, shaking hands with a French soldier. The latter photograph is enclosed with a copy of the New York newspaper that ran the photograph on August 4, 1918.
The Writings and Pencil Sketch series is comprised of 7 copies of stories that Albert E. St. Germain wrote around the World War I era. The writings include an account of his interactions with a French citizen during the war, a camping trip, and various other subjects; some of the drafts have manuscript notes. The collection has duplicate copies of 2 stories. The series includes a pencil drawing of "Le Vieux Moulin."
- The Cards and Currency subseries (4 items) consists of 3 business cards of Albert E. St. Germain and a French banknote.
- The Maps subseries (5 items) contains printed maps of the Moselle River, the Rhine River, and Bar-le-Duc, France; one of the Rhine River maps was produced for members of the army of occupation. Also included is a blueprint map of properties that Leon St. Germain owned in Waterford, Connecticut.
- The Pamphlets subseries (6 items) has the following items: a retrospective and commencement program related to the Bulkeley School class of 1914, a cover from a copy of The Louis Allis Messenger, a page from a printed recipe book, a pamphlet about the United States flag, and a copy of the United States Constitution with additional information for use in passing the country's citizenship examination.
- The Newspapers subseries (13 items) contains around 10 articles about World War I, the Bulkeley School, Albert E. St. Germain, and army censorship. The newspaper articles originate from papers in Connecticut and France. Three copies of The Stars and Stripes, dated 1918, are also present.
The Address Book and Fragments series (14 items) includes manuscript, typed, and printed fragments, and an address book that Albert St. Germain owned while working for the United States Department of Labor.
The Artifacts series consists of a brown leather satchel.
1 linear foot
The Alexander family papers document the family, life, and early career of pianist Margaret June Alexander (also known as Vonya Alexandre) throughout the early 1900s. The collection consists of two journals kept by her mother, Myrilla M. Anderson, plus approximately 1 linear foot of letters, writings, artwork, family photographs, printed programs, sheet music, books, newspaper clippings, and other materials related to this Decatur County and Indianapolis, Indiana, family.
Margaret's mother, Myrilla Anderson Alexander, wrote two journals during Margaret's early life and stages of her musical career. The first, kept between 1894 and 1896, documents Myrilla's experiences during Margaret's infancy and a list of musical lessons, associated fees, and required books. The second journal covers 1907 to 1917, and focuses primarily on Margaret's musical performances, complemented by enclosed newspaper clippings, correspondence, and programs.
The Alexander family papers include Myrilla M. Anderson Alexander's sketchbook of ink, watercolor, and charcoal illustrations. A hand bound book appears in the collection, written for Myrilla Alexander by R. E. Sylvester, which contains poetry and sketches.
The collection includes 4 letters by Myrilla Alexander, picture postcards, calling cards, 2 blank living wills from the state of Florida, and a 1945 marriage certificate for Carl F. Grouleff and Vonya Kurzhene. A typed document titled "Remembrances of Anna Stover and Edith Surbey" recounts the friends' lives from their early education through their ongoing religious charity work. Other items include a handwritten description of Margaret June Alexander's 1913 performance at Carnegie Hall, a list of quotations, and a certificate regarding the eligibility of Mary Alexander Tarkington and Caroline Anderson Haugh to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Approximately 110 photographs depict Margaret June Alexander, her performance partner Mischel Kurzene, and members of the Alexander, Anderson, and Tarkington families. An address book kept by Myrilla Alexander includes addresses and birthdays of family and friends.
The collection's printed items include programs for musical events, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and two books. Approximately 50 programs reflect Margaret June Alexander's musical career between 1907 and 1927. Obituaries for members of the Alexander and Tarkington families appear within the collection's newspaper clippings. Multiple copies of an undated, printed advertisement for "Dr. Alexander's Effervescing Headache Powders" are also present. The collection's 2 books are G. W. H. Kemper's A Medical History of the State of Indiana (Chicago: American Medical Association Press, 1911) and Joseph Tarkington's Autobiography of Rev. Joseph Tarkington (Cincinnati: Curts & Jennings, 1899).
4 linear feet (approx. 1300 items)
The Crittenden family papers contain the letters and documents of the family of Alexander Parker Crittenden and his wife Clara Churchill Jones Crittenden. The bulk of the collection consists of personal correspondence between members of the extended family, including Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden, seven of their eight (surviving) children, Clara’s parents and siblings (the Jones family), and Mary Crittenden Robinson (Alexander's sister). In addition to correspondence, the collection contains diaries, documents and financial records, and 96 family photographs (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and other paper prints), including one carte-de-visite of Laura Hunt Fair.
The Correspondence series (approximately 1,280 items) covers several topics of interest. The letters by Clara and Alexander Parker Crittenden (hereafter A.P.C.) illustrate the passionate courtship and strained marriage of a couple living in California in the 19th century; Laura Crittenden Sanchez’ correspondence presents a picture of a woman’s life on the 1860s western frontier in California and Nevada; and Ann Northey Churchill Jones’s letters to her daughter Clara provide frank commentary on womanhood. The following summary is a brief description of the collection’s major correspondents and the content of their letters.
The collection includes over 260 letters from A.P.C.to his wife Clara, which span the length of their relationship, from their first meeting until his death. The courtship letters are full of expressions of youthful passion. Especially valuable are A.P.C.'s letters describing San Francisco in the early 1850s, which contain information about the Gold Rush and early statehood, and include discussions about women in California, and troubles he experienced from not having a wife present to care for him. The 1860s letters written from Nevada to Clara in California provide a good account of early Nevada, as well as insight into their deteriorating marriage. However, the twenty letters written during Clara's 1870 transcontinental trip to the East Coast, exhibit an apparently genuine change of heart in Crittenden, who had purchased and redecorated a lavish new home as a surprise for Clara on her return. Almost every letter begs her to cut the trip short and return.
A.P.C.'s eldest son, Churchill, is represented by 62 letters to him from his father, and 62 letters written by Churchill to his parents and siblings, largely from 1858 and 1861, while he was studying at Hanover College. While at Hanover, Churchill developed Union sympathies, which upset his Kentucky-born father. Of note is a letter from A.P.C., who at the time was the leader of the southern wing of the California Democratic Party, to Churchill defending southern rights for secession (December 10, 1860). Churchill wrote six letters while in the Confederate Army. The collection also contains 60 letters from James Love Crittenden. His early letters discuss school life, ante-bellum politics, and family relations. He wrote 10 letters while fighting with the Confederacy.
Clara Jones Crittenden wrote 19 letters in the collection: two to her husband, one to her eldest son, Churchill, and sixteen to her daughter Annie (“Nannie”). The letters to Annie are almost all dated November-December 1864, and reflect the deep gloom Clara felt following the murder of her son Churchill in October 1864.
Laura Crittenden Sanchez wrote 71 letters to her mother, 87 to her sister Nannie, and a few to other family members. They present a view of domestic life on the 1860s western frontier. Of note are Laura’s routine comments that reflect the values of a woman raised to believe in the Southern ideals of gentility and womanhood. However, she also held advanced ideas on women’s rights and divisions of duties in the home. Her husband, Ramon B. Sanchez, shared these beliefs and described his role in housework and his ideas of manhood, in his letter to Nannie Crittenden (July 25, 1862).
This series holds 16 letters from A.P.C. to his daughter Nannie, 6 to her husband Sidney Van Wyck, and many letters of condolence received by the family at the time of Parker’s murder. Van Wyck, who held evangelical beliefs, was deeply concerned about the well-being of his pregnant wife. He sent 117 letters to Nannie between January and May 1870, while she was in San Francisco and was he in Hamilton, Nevada, attempting to strike it rich prospecting for silver. He gave a rich account of life in a snowy Nevada mining town. The collection also includes approximately 40 business letters concerning Sidney's mining interests between 1879 and 1882. After 1874, the collection constitutes letters addressed largely to members of the Van Wyck family, including 8 letters from Nannie's daughter Clara Van Wyck to her brother Sydney Van Wyck, Jr.
Mary Crittenden Robinson, A.P.C.'s older sister, wrote 23 letters to Clara Crittenden, almost entirely in 1863. They are domestic in content, with occasional references to politics and society. Mary also wrote to A.P.C., and to various nieces and nephews, and her children are represented as well: Mary, Kate, and Tod, Jr.
The collection also contains letters from Clara Jones Crittenden's parents and siblings.
Clara's father Alexander Jones, Jr., wrote 5 letters to Clara, including one offering consolation on her husband's murder (November 7, 1870), and 3 to his granddaughter Nannie. Ann Northey Churchill Jones, Clara's mother, sent her seven letters from 1839-1841. She provided a frank commentary on womanhood and discussed childbirth, the proper preparation of breasts for nursing, a mother’s role in fixing children’s values, marital relations and what a wife could do to improve them, and how a woman should deal with an unworthy husband.
Clara's brother Alexander Jones III wrote 21 letters to A.P.C. and Clara (1849, and 1857-1870). These describe frontier Texas, news of the Civil War, and Confederate patriotism. In one notable letter, he described life in Brownsville, Texas, and advised using birth control (January 30, 1860). Clara's sister Mary "Mollie" Farquhar Jones Joliffe wrote 15 letters, 1858-1870, primarily made up of family news. Her wartime letters are a window onto the hardships of Confederate civilian life. William Marlborough Jones is represented by 13 Civil War and Reconstruction era letters, which reflect on the costs of the war to both the family and the nation. Of note is a 12-page account of the war near Jackson, Mississippi (November 7, 1870), and his report on the fall of Vicksburg (July 7, 1863). Sister Rebecca Churchill Jones Craighill, wrote 13 letters (1858-1899) to multiple recipients. In 1866, she composed excellent reflections on the war and criticized a Virginia friend who had eloped with a Yankee officer.
The collection also contains letters from two of Clara’s uncles: 8 from Marlborough Churchill and 2 from George Jones.
The Journals series (2 items) contains an official transcript of a journal of Elizabeth Van Wyck, and a diary kept by Sydney Van Wyck. The Elizabeth Van Wyck journal is a transcript of a reminiscence of her life from age 7 until November 12, 1808, when she was 26. The copy was made in 1925, at the request of Elizabeth's great-grandson, Sidney M. Van Wyck, Jr. The second item is a detailed journal kept by Sydney Van Wyck during his time at school in the 1840s. In it, he described his life at school and many of his family members.
The Documents and Financial Records series is made up of four subseries: Estate Papers, Insurance Papers, Legal and Financial Documents, and Account Books.
The Estate Papers subseries contains 11 items concerning the property of A.P.C. and 24 items related to Howard J. Crittenden. These include A.P.C.'s last will and testament and court records surrounding his murder and the handling of his estate (1870-1875). The Howard J. Crittenden items document Howard's financial holdings at his death and how his estate was divided.
The Insurance Papers subseries (3 items) includes a record of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company (1871) and a fire insurance policy from Pacific Insurance Company for Clara Crittenden (1872).
The Legal and Financial Documents subseries (16 items) consists of bank notes, telegraphs concerning business dealings, receipts for goods and payments, contracts, and personal tax bills. Of note are contracts signing over gold and silver claims in Nevada to Howard Crittenden. These include locations in White Pine, Nevada, such as "Lucky Boy Tunnel" and "Adele mining ground" (1869).
The Account Books subseries (3 items) contains a 12-page account book for A. Hemme (1873), a 20-page account book for S. M. Van Wyck (1873-1874), and a mostly empty National Granit State Bank account book of Thomas Crittenden (1874).
The Photographs and Illustrations series contains 106 photographs of Crittenden family members. These include cartes-de-visite, tintypes, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, cabinet cards, and several modern reproductions. They depict many of the Crittenden family members, including several Crittenden men in Confederate uniform, Clara Crittenden, Clara Van Wyck, and Laura Fair, among others. See Additional Descriptive Data for the complete list.
In addition to the photograph, this collection also contains an ink sketch of the floor plan of a San Francisco cottage (in the letter dated July 4, 1852).
The Miscellaneous series (9 items) contains school report cards, Laura Van Wyck's application to become a Daughter of the Confederacy (which includes a heroic account of Churchill Crittenden's death in the Civil War), Nannie Crittenden Van Wyck's address book (with contacts in Saint Louis, Chicago, Kentucky, New York, and Brooklyn), a newspaper clipping about mining in Nevada, and 3 unattributed writing fragments.
The folder of supplemental material relates to Robert E. Stewart's publication Aurora Ghost City of the Dawn, Las Vegas: Nevada Publications, 1996, including a copy of the book and 10 photographs taken by Stewart of Aurora and the Ruins of the Sanchez home.
0.75 linear feet
This collection is made up of around 150 letters that Eulalia R. Nutter of Minneapolis, Minnesota, received from United States Navy sailors during and just after World War I.
Andrew C. Dickinson ("Dick"), Nutter's most frequent correspondent, wrote about his military experiences between October 1917 and September 1920. Dickinson, a native of Texas, was unacquainted with Nutter before beginning their correspondence; he attended radio training at Great Lakes, Illinois, and at Harvard University, where he occasionally shared his opinions of Boston and the East Coast. In March 1918, Dickinson joined the crew of the USS Bridgeport; he spent most of the war along the Atlantic Coast and in Brest, France. After the war, Dickinson commented on relationships between American sailors and French women in Brest and sometimes discussed political events, such as Bolshevik activity in France. In other letters, Dickinson defended his and other sailors' use of slang (March 24, 1919) and described strained relations between American and British sailors in Brest (April 23, 1919).
Nutter's other correspondents included Mel McLaughlin, who was stationed at the Charleston Navy Yard; Ed W. Fleming, who was stationed in Brooklyn, New York, and Norfolk, Virginia; Neiland K. Barrett, who was stationed at Langley Field, Virginia; and Ray D. Lilley, who was stationed on the Texan, Shoshone, and Great Northern in 1919. The men discussed aspects of naval life and commented on the cities in which they were stationed. Lilley's letters often concern his transatlantic voyages on the Great Northern, a troop transport ship that ferried soldiers home from France. The collection also contains 2 small notebooks in which Nutter recorded soldiers' and sailors' addresses and incomplete lists of letters she wrote and received.
28 volumes
This collection contains 20 pre-printed daily diaries by Maria Jennings Barnard née Gibbs of East Wareham and Onset, Massachusetts, for the years 1865, 1866, 1867, 1869, 1872, 1873, 1876, 1880, 1881, 1914, and 1924-1932. Maria J. Gibbs' diaries pertain to home life (especially cooking, cleaning, sewing, and other housework). In the 1860s and 1870s, while in her 20s, she remarked on her work at cotton mills and sewing establishments in Plymouth and Middlesex Counties as well as her experiences living at various boarding houses. Her 1872 diary includes a two-month trip to Chicago to visit relatives, with content on the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1871. Maria suffered from regular headaches and frequent nearly debilitating sicknesses. At the end of 1876, she married Nantucket sailor Benjamin A. Barnard and the diaries of 1880 and 1881 include content on household labor, child rearing, visits to other areas in the state, and loneliness from her husband's absences. Bernard wrote her later diaries, 1914 and 1924-1932, following the death of her husband in 1895, from Onset, Massachusetts, where she wrote about time with her daughter Nellie Barnard Robbins and grandson Lloyd Robbins, trips around Eastern Massachusetts, annual trips to Florida for the winter, cooking, cleaning, and visiting friends. When the 1932 diary concluded, Maria was 86 years old. The remainder of the collection is comprised of eight diaries, account books, address books, memoranda books, and wallets pertaining to the family of Maria Barnard's granddaughter Mildred Grace Robbins née Adams of Attleboro, Massachusetts, between 1913 and the 1950s.
1.5 linear feet
The Correspondence Series primarily consists of letters sent to Nannie S. Newman, Ida and Jack Palmer, and later descendants of the family. The bulk of the letters were written from the 1880s to 1920s by family members and close acquaintances, and they demonstrate Newman’s extended support network. Immediate family, including her father and brother, wrote to her from Kentucky, describing the family homestead, tobacco farming, and updates on the community (for example, see Mar. 28, 1864; July 5, 1888; Nov. 6, 1890; Dec. 21, 1890; Nov. 28, 1896; Sept. 6, 1907; Feb. 27, 1910; Nov. 7, 1911; Oct. 9, 1912).
Family relationships are a dominant theme in the collection, centering around Nannie's role as a mother to Ida C. Newman, the marriage of Ida to Jack S. Palmer, Ida's death in 1906, the continuing but sometimes fraught bond between Nannie and Jack in the years following, and Jack's eventual death in 1914. On September 26, 1890, Jack wrote to Ida in the months preceding their marriage and mentioned people questioning the wisdom of him going to Colorado, suggesting Nannie Newman's eventual move there was likely tied to her daughter's doing so. Newman also received letters from various members of the extended Palmer family who were based in Titusville, Pennsylvania.
The letters regularly reflect on Newman's work. For many years she worked as a seamstress while living in Kentucky and upon her move to Colorado around 1890, but she continued making dresses and doing alteration in later years even while employed in other jobs. Correspondence touches on dresses she has produced either in a formal capacity or potentially as favors to friends and family. One letter written on May 14, 1891, from Leadville, Colorado, shares details about dressmaking in that town and expected wages, showing that Newman was thinking about the business and salary options in the area. She also received letters from others working in the field, discussing sewing machines and sewing work (see July 5, 1888; Nov. 28, 1892; Nov. 2, 1907).
In 1892, letters begin to reference Newman's work as a matron at the Colorado State Penitentiary. At least one letter appears to have been written by a former coworker at the penitentiary. Emily E. Dudley wrote from Provo City, Utah, on October 12, 1894, referencing various administrators of the prison and incarcerated women. She also wrote of Mormons in the Provo area, their disinclination to mingle with "Gentiles," plural marriages, and more. Other letters reference prison administrators and "the girls," suggesting they were written by coworkers or others associated with the prison, but additional research is required (see Aug. 3, 1895).
Newman corresponded with friends and family of incarcerated women, and the letters demonstrate the writers' gratitude for the care and interest she showed to the inmates, as well as the support she was providing to the families through written communication and occasional gifts. Several letters were written from members of the Jones family in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, who were left without support when the male head of the household was imprisoned. Newman appears to have sent updates and gifts to the wife, Bessie, and her two children, Bessie and Ethel. Their letters in return depict the realities of families struggling in the aftermath of family members' incarceration (Feb. 23, 1895; Mar. 7, 1895; Apr. 1, 1895; June 19, 1895). Newman wrote a character reference for Annie Watson and Lillie Williams who were seeking a pardon (July 23, 1894), emphasizing their respectfulness, attentiveness as mothers, and that a pardon would release the state from the cost of providing for their children. At least one other writer requested her aid in securing a pardon for a family member, assuring Newman "if they should get out I promise you they never will get into any more trouble they will lead an honest life and be respected again" (Oct. 25, 1896).
Particular interest seems to have been shown to an incarcerated woman named Maggie Montgomery (later Loullard or Larillard), who had been sentenced to ten years in prison for the murder of John Gross in 1891. One letter from Jennie Moss, dated June 24, 1892, includes an enclosure to Maggie Montgomery, advising her directly to "have a nice clean record in every respect when your case goes before the Gov . . . For Gods sake & your own do nothing foolish. I know if anything about love came up there, it would go harder against you then any thing else in the eyes of the public." Moss wrote to Newman again two years later, on November 18, 1894, describing how she came to advocate for Maggie, her pleasure with Newman's continued support, and her thoughts on "fallen women." Moss hinted that she had a possible criminal past, noting that she "lived a life of sin in the eyes of the world, But I've lived it 'openly.' I've been no whining hypocrite. The world has punished me for it." Moss reflected on the negative impact of the public's distrust in women's reformation, women's harsh treatment of each other, her fears for Maggie's future, and plans for providing for her. "You know how hard she will be pressed & how every harmless little event, will be made mountains of sin."
An additional letter written by Annie Sears on December 6, 1894, whose association with the prison is currently unknown, inquired after Maggie shortly after she was released, also mentioning an African American man who had formerly been incarcerated, attempting to contact a man for an inmate, and her good regards to the "poor unfortunate women" still imprisoned. At least two letters were written by Maggie Montgomery/Loullard upon her release and relocation to Detroit, Michigan, describing her travels, her memories of friends from the penitentiary, and her current emotions (postmark December 6, 1894; December 14, 1894). Upon requesting updates of the other incarcerated women, Loullard reflected, "I miss them, and at times when I'm lonesome I long for my little cell but I'm glad I'm free."
A group of letters written by Ellen Smith from Salida, Colorado, suggest a partnership between her and Newman to support recently released women as well as some seamstress collaboration (Sept. 15, 1895; Sept. 27, 1895; Apr. 13, 1897; Apr. 17, 1897; Apr. 22, 1897; May 4, 1897; May 9, 1897; May 18, 1897). Smith had been formerly incarcerated at the penitentiary and appears to have run a boarding house, and provided rooms for several women that Newman was helping transition back into freedom. She wrote, "...if a Decent Girl comes here I have rooms where she can be private and by her self and if a girl comes and wants to go on the row and lead a sporting life I have rooms for her to[o]" (Apr. 13, 1897). Her letters provide details about some of the women, their interpersonal dynamics, and their lives post-incarceration. In one she mentioned "Black Ida," suggesting there may have been African American inmates (Sept. 15, 1895). She also referenced two African American men inquiring after Fay, a recently released woman who periodically stayed with her, and hinted at racial tensions (Apr. 13, 1897). Subsequently she discussed firing her African American cook for being romantically involved with some of the girls, and disparaged Black Americans "as they don't count. There Friendship don't count for nothing. I make my own living and do as near right as I can and I don't care what other People says" (Apr. 17, 1897). Smith hinted at some tension between her and the prison warden, declaring, "I don't know what the Warden has against me Miss Nannie and I don't care either. I am Free now and never intend to get in trouble again" (May 4, 1897). She reiterated the feeling in her next letter, "I don't care anything about that Warden or his oppinon [sic]. I am not coming back to the Pen, so he can not have the pleasure of having any say over me. I intend to do as near write [sic] as I know how and don't care for any ones opinion" (May 9, 1897).
Other letters appear to have been written by women who had completed their sentences. They note their new residences, work, or social attitudes they were facing. Sadie L., for example, relocated to Lyndon, Kentucky, and wrote of her travel by railroad, the heavy demands of her new job, and her lonesomeness. She shared that a fellow female traveler speculated that she looked forlorn because "You love a man and he either is not worthy or he has proven false" (Sept. 27, 1895). One written by Fay Love, referenced by Ellen Smith as one of her boarders, discusses conflict with a man who financed a trip to visit Newman, but she ran out of money in Denver. "Someone sent him word that I was in Denver running all over town so he came after me." She noted that she was working "for Banker Plummer's Wife she knows you" ([18]97).
By 1906, Nannie Newman was living in San Francisco, California, and correspondence to her begins to mention her work with beauty products. People inquired how her business was faring (July 4, 1907), were purchasing or commenting on her beauty products (Sept. 9, 1907; Oct. 14, 1907; May 15, 1913; May 8, 1914; Dec. 28, 1917), and were providing advice and support when her business seemed to be slow or struggling (Feb. 1, 1908; Mar. 22, 1908). H. J. McGhan warned that Newman's "sorrowful appearance" following her daughter's death "has a tendency to drive your customers from you," and mused that the location of Newman's shop was not advantageous to business (Nov. 27, 1906). Correspondence also includes suggestions of others involved in the trade, as indicated by various cosmetics letterheads such as "Fanny Briggs Carr Face Preparations" (Sept. 13, 1906) and "Viavi Co. Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Preparations" (Feb. 20, 1908). Several letters written to Newman by Jennie and Nanie Youngblood reference taking beauty courses, cosmetic recipes, and parlors (Apr. 24, 1911; Dec. 18, 1911; Mar. 12, 1912; Jan. 6, 1913). Jennie Youngblood's letter of April 24, 1911, also references passing near Cañon City, Colorado, and seeing the penitentiary, suggesting Newman's ongoing interest in the institution, as well as a description of visiting a Mormon Tabernacle and discussing polygamy with a female Mormon.
Correspondence also reflects on the life and work of Nannie S. Newman's son-in-law, Jack S. Palmer, particularly after 1910. Letters reference his work in the oil industry, his health and travels, and commentary on his relationship with his siblings and Newman. Several indicate a strained relationship (July 21, 1911; July 12, 1912; Mar. 14, 1914). Newman also corresponded regularly with other members of the Palmer family, who provided details on life in Titusville, Pennsylvania, work in oil fields, and various travels in Alaska, California, and elsewhere.
Later correspondence predominantly relates to Thomas Leon Mitchell, who had married into the Palmer family through his wife, Virginia Palmer Davies. Two letters appear to have been written by Tom early in his life from Pleasantville, Pennsylvania (Mar. 22, 1905; [ca. 1905?]), and nine pieces written between 1915 and 1922 relate to his training and service in the United States Navy, as well as military acquaintances in the Panama Canal Zone. These include several letters describing World War I naval operations in the Caribbean, in particular while he was stationed in Martinique and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, in 1918. From the 1920s to 1950s, correspondence primarily relates to the Mitchell family's travels, in particular to Western Canada, Hawaii, Fiji, and Tahiti.
The Documents Series includes receipts and bills, disbound account book pages, deeds and titles, certificates, medical reports and forms, and more. The bills and receipts provide details about Nannie and Ida's lives in Colorado and California, detailing their spending on fabric and sewing goods, room rent, furniture, piano lessons, and more. The disbound account book pages are undated, but they include details of client details relating to dressmaking for "Cripple Creek Ladies," suggesting they relate to Nannie Newman's seamstress work in Colorado in the 1890s. Several items pertain to Jack S. and Ida Palmer, such as an abstract of title to a lode in the Cripple Creek Mining District (1902), deeds and inventories of furniture, certificates for Jack Palmer's standing in the Titusville Council, and the sale of his interest in a patent to his sister Virginia Altamont Davies (1909). Two items relate to health matters, including an Institut Venu Carnis refund guarantee "for the development of the bust" and a typed Iritis Report.
The Writings Series consists of fourteen undated manuscript copies of poems or song lyrics; a manuscript "Endless Prayer Chain" to be copied and sent to nine people to ensure the writer receives "some great joy;" and a seven-page, unsigned manuscript memoir detailing experiences at a camp at the Balfour Mines in Colorado. The memoir describes the town, religious services, efforts to build a church, and reflections on gold and nature. The writer mused that there was "not a single woman in that first meeting… and I have been trying to figure out whether man when turned loose and put back almost into the wild, is such a bad animal after all – or whether the most of us rough fellows were not thinking of some good woman somewhere else."
The Address Book is a blank notebook distributed circa 1894 as advertising by Knight & Atmore of Denver, Colorado, specializing in "Artistic Tailoring, Superb Clothing, Exquisite Furnishings." While unsigned and undated, it was likely kept by Nannie S. Newman or Ida C. Palmer in the mid-1890s. It contains various addresses of men, women, and businesses primarily in Denver, Colorado, but with a number of Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and other states. At least one address, that of Maggie Larillard (elsewhere spelled Loullard) in Detroit, Michigan, is of a formerly incarcerated woman.
The Diary was kept by Jack S. Palmer in 1903 while he was living in Cripple Creek, Colorado. It is a pre-printed pocket diary distributed by Gross' Buffet of St. Louis, Missouri. Entries detail correspondence, travel, hours worked and other business information, and finances. Content relating to his personal life includes mentions of Ida Palmer's health and travel, social events, births and deaths. Several mentions of "Muddie" (Nannie S. Newman), primarily indicate her arrivals and departure. In addition to brief diary entries, the volume includes various notes and memoranda, including many addresses and other contact information. Printed maps of Cuba, the United States, and the "East Coast of China and Philippine Is." are present.
The Memoranda Book is a pocket-sized blank book that is undated but appears to have been kept by Jack S. Palmer. It contains notes about names, addresses, financial details, and matters seemingly related to business. Several entries refer to a Palmer camp stool. The Wallet is made of leather, embossed with a floral design and inscribed on the inside " J. S. Palmer Cañon City Colo."
The Printed Items Series includes various newspaper and magazine clippings, printed postcards, greeting cards, announcements, and advertising ephemera. Several items relate to Nannie S. Newman's business operations, including an advertising broadside for Miss S. N. Herold, of Denver, Colorado, suggesting she may have begun her cosmetic work in Colorado. It advertises "Facial Massage. The New Art. Beauty Developed and Preserved. Keeps the Face Youthful, Plump and Rosy. Only Successful Treatment Known for Wrinkles." One of her business cards from San Francisco is present for her business in "Facial Massage and Face Treatments, Shampooing and Scalp Treatments." Five bottle labels for Newman Face Bleach, Newman Egg Shampoo, and Zymocide Hair Tonic and Dandruff Remedy indicate the types of products Newman was selling.
The Photographs Series consists of twelve cabinet card photographic studio portraits of unidentified men, women, and families; four card photographs of various sizes of unidentified men, women, and children; two real photo postcards of a building exterior and a man with his young son; a 1932 handmade Christmas card featuring three photos of a home interior; and thirteen snapshots of men, women, and groups of people, several depict a cattle ranch and the only identified figure is Minnie L. Mitchell who is shown standing with one leg and crutches. Several photos include a pencil inscription of "Newman?" on the verso suggesting they may be of Nannie S. Newman, but further research is required. This series also contains an empty Photomaton envelope from Ocean Park Pier, California.
The Miscellaneous Series includes fifteen mailing addresses written or printed on various scraps of paper, ephemera, and notes ranging in date from 1895 to 1980. The notes include definitions of card game hands; an idea for an "instant cocktail" in a gelatin capsule (May 1, 1980); travel directions; and culinary and medicinal recipes. Ephemeral items include gift and luggage tags and a library card holder.