Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Eleazar Smith biographical sketch is Thomas A. Dickinson's 1881 transcription of Smith's memoir, originally written in 1828. Smith described his experiences as a militiaman during the Revolutionary War, as well as his work as an inventor and machinist in Medfield and Walpole, Massachusetts.

The Eleazar Smith biographical sketch (54 pages) is Thomas A. Dickinson's 1881 transcription of Smith's memoir, originally written in 1828. Smith described his experiences as a militiaman during the Revolutionary War and his work as an inventor and machinist in Medfield and Walpole, Massachusetts.

The first 2 pages consist of Dickinson's introduction to the manuscript, including a history of the original document and the date and place of Dickinson's transcription. A paper laid into these pages describes one of Smith's clocks, which ran until at least 1883. Pages 3-50 contain the transcription; the original manuscript's first 2 pages, lost prior to 1881, are not copied. Smith's biography consists of reminiscences and stories about his professional life, but he also discussed his finances and business relationships with men in Medfield, Walpole, and Boston. He frequently commented on his lifelong affinity for the clocks and other machinery that he repaired and made, and the memoir includes a detailed description of a nail-making machine he created (p. 32). Pages 12-18 pertain to Smith's time in a militia regiment during the Revolution, including his imprisonment on suspicion of counterfeiting and his decision to desert. The biographical sketch is followed by a poem about "General Smith," thought to include contributions by Eleazar Smith (pp. 51-52); brief notes about Mrs. Adams of Medfield, Massachusetts, one of Eleazar Smith's neighbors (p. 53), and a card tooth machine (p. 54); and a copy of Eleazar Smith's epitaph from his grave at the Walpole Rural Cemetery (p. 54).

The Jacob Nagle journal pertains to the life and adventures of the Revolutionary War veteran, who sailed in both the American and British navies between 1775 and 1824.

The Jacob Nagle journal pertains to the life and adventures of the Revolutionary War veteran, who sailed in both the American and British navies between 1775 and 1824. Nagle wrote the 161-page document, entitled "A Sketch or Journal of Jacob Nagle from the Year 1775," on July 22, 1840, near the end of his life. He began the journal with a brief history of his family, mentioning his father's commissions in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Just sixteen when he joined his father in various Pennsylvania regiments, Nagle served with the artillery and encamped at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778; this portion of the journal includes illustrations depictions of several military actions from the viewpoint of an ordinary soldier. Following his infantry service, Nagle entered the navy and spent most of the rest of his life at sea, serving in the American and British military and merchant navies over the course of several decades. The majority of the journal describes Nagle's adventures both at sea and on land, which included encounters with fellow seamen and with prostitutes. During his long naval career, Nagle saw much of the world, including the Caribbean, Asia, and Australia. His account provides a rare firsthand glimpse into the life of an everyday sailor during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

This collection is made up of autobiographical manuscripts, correspondence, documents, and family photograph albums related to James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of the items pertain to Pond's service during the Civil War and both father and son's lecture business.

This collection is made up of autobiographical manuscripts, correspondence, documents, and family photograph albums related to James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of the items pertain to Pond Sr.'s service during the Civil War and both father and son's lecture business.

The Pond Family Papers series includes one box containing miscellaneous correspondence ranging in date from 1896-1932, Civil War related material, autobiographical sketches, family photographs, and personal photograph albums.

The Civil War related material includes a few items relating to James Pond's Civil War service in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, among which are a typescript of official reports relating to the massacre at Baxter Springs, Kansas, a printed poem on the massacre, and a printed notice of the death in the 1880s of William T. Brayton of the 3rd Cavalry. Pond also collected other reminiscences of the war, including an autobiographical account of Mrs. Horn, wife of a Missouri surgeon, which includes a description of Quantrill's raiders pillaging town and taking her husband prisoner, and a memoir of Edward P. Bridgman, a soldier in the 37th Massachusetts Infantry who served with John Brown in 1856, and may have known Pond.

More than half of this series consists of autobiographical manuscripts, parts of which, at least, were published as magazine articles. Most of these focus on his early years (prior to 1861) when he and his family were living a marginal existence in frontier Wisconsin and when he was a young man in search of a livelihood. The collection includes three major manuscripts, each present in several copies or versions, all of which are related to each other - "A Pioneer Boyhood," "The American Pioneer: My Life as a Boy," and "Pioneer Days" - plus there are less polished manuscripts of childhood and Civil War reminiscences. All appear to have been written initially in 1890, though some copies were apparently made several years later. In addition, there is an autobiographical sketch "How I got started in the Lecture Business" in which he describes his part in Anna Eliza Young's "apostatizing" and entering onto the lecture circuit.

The collection also contains 5 photograph albums. These volumes contain over 800 personal photographs taken between 1896 and 1902, including many pictures of family members at leisure both indoors and outdoors and Pond's business acquaintances from his lecture agency. Travel photographs include views of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as a group of pictures taken during a visit to England, Switzerland, and Germany in 1901. European items include a series of colored prints, located in Volume 4. The albums contain images of locomotives, railroad cars, and steamships. Volume 1 contains images of the inauguration of William McKinley and Volume 2 contains images of crowds gathered for a GAR parade in Buffalo, New York. Throughout the albums are glimpses of various lecture tours and clients including John Watson (Ian Maclaren) and Anthony Hope in Volume 2 and Francis Marion Crawford in Volume 3. Other notable figures include Sam Walter Foss and William Dean Howells in Volume 1, Charles W. Blair and Edward William Bok in Volume 3, and Sir Henry Morton Stanley, Charles William Stubbs, Robert Stawell Ball, Horace Porter, Frank Thomas Bullen, and Israel Zangwill in Volume 4. In addition to the albums, there are loose photographs of family, James B. Pond Jr., and the Adventurers' Club of New York. Oversized photographs are housed in Box 3.

The Pond Lecture Bureau Papers series consists of one box containing client files (arranged chronologically), loose photographs, and ephemera. Much of the content consists of correspondence between clients/prospective clients and photographs of clients (likely for promotional material). This series spans from 1877 to the 1940s covering periods of ownership from both James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of these clients are as follows: Henry Ward Beecher, Reverend Joseph Parker, Thomas DeWitt Talmage, Leon Pierre Blouet, Reverend John Watson (Ian Maclaren), William Winter, Edward Rickenbacker, Harry A. Franck, Gunnar Horn, Maurice Brown, and Major Radclyffe Dugmore. Unidentified oversized photographs and a scrapbook are housed in Box 3.