Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Materials collected by Helen Blair Lamar and subsequently donated to the Blair Society for Genealogical Research and pertaining to the Austin Blair family of Michigan and related family lines, the Hanks family and the North family. The collection, arranged by family name and then by individual, includes original with some typed transcripts of family letters, diaries, legal documents, poetry, personal items, and visual materials.

Helen Blair Lamar kept the papers of the Blair, Hanks and North families for many years. After her death they were given to the Blair Society for Genealogical Research, which in turn donated them to the Bentley Historical Library. This collection exemplifies the slightly random character of family papers accumulated over several generations. There is a wide variety of material on a large number of individuals. In an attempt to keep things as clear as possible, the majority of the papers--manuscript, typescript and printed--have been arranged by FAMILY GROUPS which are subdivided by Personal Name and arranged by generation. This is followed by a small second series of miscellaneous PRINTED MATERIALS. A substantial third series of VISUAL MATERIALS includes Scrapbooks, Photographs, Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes, Tintypes and Glass Plate Negatives.

Professor of economics at the University of Michigan, director of the Center for Research on Conflict Resolution, fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and participant in the Society of Friends, the National Council of Churches Department of the Church and Economic Life, and peace and disarmament groups. Correspondence, notes, writings, photographs, recordings, and topical files; also materials concerning his wife, Elise Boulding, and his parents, William and Elizabeth Boulding.

The Boulding papers, consisting of approximately 46 linear feet, fall into the following series and sub-series.

1. Correspondence (boxes 1-10)
2. Miscellaneous clippings and printed materials (box 10)
3. Lecture and reading notes (boxes 11-13)
4. Published and unpublished writings (boxes 14-18)
5. Family and personal files (boxes 19-22)
   • Elise Boulding (boxes 19-21)
6. Topical files:
   • Economics (boxes 23-24)
   • Social Sciences (boxes 25-30)
     • California Water Resources Study, 1958-1959 (boxes 24-26)
   • Religion (boxes 30-31)
     • National Council of Churches of Christ, Department of the Church and Economic Life (boxes 30-31)
   • Peace, Conflict Resolution and Disarmament (boxes 32-38)
     • Center for Research on Conflict Resolution (boxes 32-34)
   • University of Michigan (boxes 39-42)
   • Travel (box 42)
   • Foundations (box 42)
7. Speaking Engagements (box 43)
8. Financial Records (boxes 44-45)
9. Sound recordings (box 46)
10. Photographs (box 47)

Ann Arbor, Michigan, family. Correspondence, other papers and photographs of Arthur Brown, Ann Arbor attorney and mayor, and officer and director of the Washtenaw Abstract Company; also papers of his wife, Cora Pulcipher Brown, largely concerning work with Americanism Committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution during World War II.

The Brown family collection is unfortunately a fragment of materials with very few of the papers created by either Arthur or Cora Brown surviving. What remains relate almost exclusively to the legal career of Arthur Brown, in particular to his service to various persons as a collector of bad debts, and to Cora Brown's work with the Americanism Committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution during World War II.

Carr-Stearns family of Whitehall, Muskegon County, Michigan, and Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan; family correspondence, including Civil War materials.

The collection includes letters, diaries, and a memoir of Ezra Stearns relating to his Civil War service. There are also letters and other miscellanea of Marvin S. Carr written while a student at Michigan State Normal College, Ypsilanti, and later as a cadet at the United States School of Military Aeronautics at Champaign, Ill., Dallas, Texas, and Mount Clemens, Michigan during World War I. The photographs in the collection are of the family farm, with some high school photographs made in Whitehall public schools.

Librarian of University of Michigan. Correspondence, including material on library administration, collection development, opening a new library in 1883, and the exhibition of University of Michigan professor's books at the 1893 World's Fair; also family correspondence, including letters discussing travels and Civil War service of family members; and photographs.

The collection includes correspondence; files relating to his career as chief librarian of the University of Michigan; personal and biographical materials; and speeches, essays, and writings.

Paulus den Bleyker family of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Papers of Paulus den Bleyker, his son John, John's wife, Anna Balch den Bleyker, and other family members relating to family and business affairs.

The collection includes the correspondence and business papers of Paulus den Bleyker, papers of his son John den Bleyker and John's wife Anna Balch, Paulus' daughter, Martha, and other family members and descendents. Much of the correspondence is in Dutch, but an English calendar of these letters (in box 1) has been prepared by Harry DeVries and Effa Zwier.

Many of the papers for the years 1828-1851 are on affairs in Holland and the den Bleyker settlement near Kalamazoo. For the years 1851-1856, the correspondence deals with personal affairs, the building of a flour mill and a saw mill and land transactions. For the years 1856-1857, there are many letters from family and friends but the bulk of them concern den Bleyker's real estate dealings. For 1872 to 1936, the correspondence is of John and Anna Balch den Bleyker and relates to family and business.

Of special significance in the collection is the file of letters exchanged between Paulus den Bleyker and A.C. Van Raalte, the founder of the Dutch community in Holland, Michigan.

Papers of Benjamin Douglass and his sons, Samuel T. Douglass, Detroit attorney and jurist, and Silas H. Douglas, professor of chemistry at the University of Michigan, and member of Douglass Houghton's Northern Michigan survey. Correspondence, scrapbooks, letter books, and miscellanea concerning family affairs, business and university activities; also contains records of the Douglass and Walker and Campbell Law Firm; and papers of individual members of Silas Douglas’ family, including his wife Helen Welles Douglas, their children Samuel T. Douglas, Marie Louise Douglas, and Catherine Hulbert Douglas, and other Douglas and Welles family members; and photographs.

The Douglass Family collection spans the period 1812-1911 and comprises eight linear feet of manuscripts, one linear ft. of photographs, three outsize volumes, and 1 folder of oversize materials. The collection include the papers of Benjamin Douglass and his two sons, Samuel T. (1814-98) a lawyer and Detroit judge, and Silas H. (1816-90), a professor at The University of Michigan. Although Silas came to use the family name of Douglas rather than Douglass, the paper indicate that there was little consistency.

The collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, letterpress books, business and legal papers, scrapbooks, photographs, and family materials. The collection, except for series of photographs and maps, is arranged by family member name.

Student at the University of Michigan, 1865-1867, later Decatur, Michigan, sheep breeder. Diaries describing student life at the University of Michigan, 1865-1867; later diaries include brief comments on weather and mundane daily events and activities; and photographs.

The Arthur W. Haydon collection consists almost exclusively of diaries kept by Arthur from 1865 to 1878 and 1888 to 1915. The diaries are simply collections of Arthur's thoughts. The earliest entries are more fulsome than those for his later life.

Of particular interest are the two volumes, 1865-1866 and 1866-1878. The first of these was written while Arthur was away at school in Ann Arbor. He attended the University of Michigan for two years, 1865/66 and 1866/67. The entries show Arthur's love of school. Not only does he describe his days with great detail and emotion, but the style in which they are written reveals a young man who truly enjoys life. There are no diaries for the years 1879-1887. After 1878 there is a volume for each. The prose becomes much simpler. Haydon describes the weather for the day, the chores he performed, and the everyday events of his life, Only occasionally are the diary entries for these years revealing of Haydon's thoughts and emotions.

In addition to the diaries there is a folder containing miscellaneous newspaper clippings he saved about events important to him as well as a few family mementos. The photographs are of his house and farm buildings.

Papers of Michigan family including Joseph Comstock Jones, school superintendent and textbook publisher; Alice Van Hoosen Jones, teacher in East Saginaw, Michigan, and daughter of Van Hoosen farm owners Sarah Taylor and Joshua Van Hoosen; papers of Elisha Jones, half-brother of Joseph and professor of Latin at University of Michigan. Collection primarily comprised of correspondence, 1860-1950, and photographs, circa 1860s-1910.

The Jones family papers are comprised of correspondence, photographs, genealogy material, and other family papers. The bulk of correspondence is that of Alice Van Hoosen Jones, 1876-1950. She corresponded with her sister, Dr. Bertha Van Hoosen, her parents, Sarah and Joshua Van Hoosen, among other friends and family members. The papers also include correspondence of J.C. Jones, 1860-1902; papers of Elisha Jones, 1871-1888, including correspondence related to his European travels and legal papers; and photographs of J.C. Jones, his sister, Sarah, and Alice Van Hoosen Jones.

The Ludwig Family Papers document the lives of members of the Ludwig family from the time of their arrival in the United States of America in 1733, through 1985. This collection includes family histories, scrapbooks, and family photographs. Also included in the collection are both personal and professional papers of Claud Cecil Ludwig, Frederick E. Ludwig, and Ruby Newman Ludwig.

The Ludwig Family record group covers a period of time from the 1850s to the 1980s. The collection of information documenting the history of the Ludwig family includes family histories, ancestral charts, and a large collection of photographic materials. The diaries and scrapbooks included in the collection describe everyday life during the periods covered. The collection is particularly strong in documenting the lives of Claud Cecil Ludwig and Frederick E. Ludwig.