Collections

Philo E. and Fannie E. Pettibone Wright family of Detroit, Michigan. Personal papers of Fannie Wright with her husband Philo, her brother Sherman Pettibone, her daughters Virginia, Maude, and Evelyn, her son Philo S., and other members of the family, concerning family affairs and the genealogy of the Wright and Pettibone families.

The collection has been arranged by name of family member. Included is personal correspondence of Fannie Wright with her husband Philo E., her brother Sherman Pettibone, daughters Virginia, Maude, and Evelyn, son Philo S., and other members of the family, concerning family affairs and the genealogy of the Wright and Pettibone families. There are also fifty-seven volumes of Fannie E. Wright's diaries, 1863-1925, recording family news, social events, and home activities in Detroit, Michigan. Also of interest are account books of the Sherman Pettibone farm of Tallmadge, Ohio, and account books of Philo S. Wright, 1893-1913. Photographs in the collection consist of individual and group portraits of family members; photographs of family homes; and photographs of boating on the Detroit River.

The Johnson collection consists primarily of letters between W. D. Johnson and his wife, Jane, during the Second World War, but includes letters from family and friends as well. The collection provides perspectives on both the home front and the European war front.

The Johnson papers consist primarily of letters between W. D. Johnson and his wife, Jane, during the Second World War, but includes letters from family and friends as well. Johnson also kept a few miscellaneous issues of Stars and Stripes, a map of northeastern France, and a journal in which he wrote sporadically.

Both Johnson and his wife are keen and intelligent writers and observers. Their letters show the anxiety and concern for each other, but also give insight into the larger picture of the home front, the war, and family and friends.

This collection has two main points of interest. First is the home front, described eloquently by Jane. She went to work immediately after Johnson left for training in Missouri, and quickly found a reasonably well-paying job at the Katharine Gibbs School. Although her salary was far less than that earned by women working in the war plants, Jane still brought home $160 per week. Her letters are filled with discussion of the effects of rationing and the constant scramble to find consumer goods and foodstuffs. Her letters also suggest how women whose husbands or boyfriends had been sent overseas banded together to create tight-knit social circles.

The second area of interest is the war front. Johnson writes to his wife frequently, though he rarely speaks of the horrors of the front. Partly because the Army censored his outgoing mail, Johnson rarely mentioned specifics about military events, but his journal and manuscripts chronicle his experiences in France and Belgium, and provides some useful information on the battles he survived, including the Battle of the Bulge. The contrast between his letters to his wife and his journal makes an interesting and useful comparison.

Johnson's letters indicate a dislike of different nationalities, particularly detested the French: "Gee, I love the French. They're so lazy, so dirty, so unworthwhile, they whimper and whine." Elsewhere, he wrote "The French have thoroughly sacked the country, we're perfect gentlemen compared to the Russians and the French." After witnessing the atrocities at Nordhausen, he concluded that the Germans were completely unworthy of sympathy. Letters received from Johnson's friend, Lt. Col. J. B. Coolidge stationed in the Philippines, provide insightful commentary on racial perceptions of the Japanese and Koreans. "The Jap is not so much hated for what he does but he is despised as a human being. His own ruthlessness and his inhuman methods so that the passion has become an automatic reaction."

The W. D. Johnson collection also illustrates the attitudes of enlisted men toward officers. Johnson considered his officers among the worst pillagers in France and Germany, and opined that the "Army suffers inefficiency beyond imagination because it does not enjoy sufficient public sanction to go all the way with its measures -- must continuously compromise."

Internationally recognized librarian; director of the University of Michigan Library. Correspondence and subject files relating to professional activities.

The Bishop papers consist of personal and professional files documenting William Warner Bishop's activities apart from his work as librarian at the University of Michigan. The librarian's files were separately received and continue to be maintained as part of the records of the University of Michigan Library.

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The items include diaries, financial records, a newspaper clipping scrapbook, and a photograph album.

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family.

The D. Abeel Williamson Diary, composed in a pre-printed pocket diary, contains David Abeel Williamson's daily entries about his life in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from January 1, 1862-May 25, 1862, and about his experiences with the 7th New York Militia Regiment from May 26, 1862-August 27, 1862. His early entries mainly record the weather and his social activities; he mentioned his admission to the bar in his entries of May 21, 1862, and May 22, 1862. A newspaper clipping about the surrender of Fort Donelson is pasted into the entries for February 16, 1862, and February 17, 1862. During his time in the army, Williamson noted the hot weather near Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, and mentioned other aspects of military service, such as guard duty, marching, and reviews. A commuter's ticket for the "New Jersey Rail Road" is laid into the volume's pocket.

The Hattie S. Williamson Memorandum Book contains financial records of collections that the Second Reformed Dutch Church Sunday School of New Brunswick, New Jersey, received from November 26, 1865-June 16, 1867. The amount of each donation is recorded next to the donor's name. Other records pertain to the Sunday school's accounts with the Novelty Rubber Company and the church's efforts to raise money for an organ.

The Clara Gurley Account Book, kept from July 9, [1875]-April 16, 1880, contains accounts for Gurley's purchases of items such as books, ribbon, fabrics, and buttons. A piece of fabric is pinned onto the book's final page.

The first Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, written in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, covers the year 1905. Williamson began writing in Dresden, Germany, where she had lived with her children since late 1903, and recounted her daily activities and news of acquaintances. In April, she and her children took an extended tour of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Holland, where Williamson remarked on visits to museums and other points of interest. The entries from August concern the family's return to the United States on the Holland-American Line steamer Ryndam and their first months back in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Williamson kept a record of letters written and received and acquaintances' addresses in the volume's memoranda section. She laid newspaper clippings, a letter, calling cards, small photographs, stamps, and other items in the volume. The final page of the diary contains a newspaper clipping about the Williamsons' return to the United States and intention to relocate to Indianapolis.

The Mary Williamson Diary recounts the author's travels through Europe from April 10, 1905-August 11, 1905. Williamson described her daily activities and sightseeing in cities such as Prague, Munich, Venice, Rome, and Paris, as she visited museums and places of historical importance with her mother and sister. The diary includes a list of books Williamson read from 1907-1908 and a list of addresses of European hotels.

The Ruth A. Williamson Diary pertains to the author's experiences and travels in England from June 7, 1909-September 3, 1909. She spent most of her time in London; some later entries mention travels around southern England and to Edinburgh, Scotland. Williamson most frequently wrote about sightseeing and visiting famous landmarks, but also commented on other activities, such as shopping. Ruth A. Williamson's calling card is laid into the volume.

The second Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, also in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, contains daily entries about Williamson's life in Indianapolis, Indiana, from January 1, 1918-April 2, 1918. Williamson commented on her social activities, her health, and news of her friends and family members, especially her children. She occasionally mentioned news of the war, such as the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 22, 1918). Financial records and instructions for knitting a "Kitchener sock" are written in the back of the volume. Items laid in include a calling card for Charles G. Williamson containing his military address, a cloth United States flag mounted on a small wooden dowel, and clippings about the deaths of Henry Janeway Hardenburgh and Douw D. Williamson. A postcard with a painting of Waikite Geyser in New Zealand, addressed to A. Parsons in London, England, is also laid into the diary.

The Scrapbook (1860s-1880s) is comprised of newspaper clippings about numerous topics, including biographies of William Gurley and biographical notices about other members of the Gurley family, such as Clara Gurley Williamson and Esther Gurley Cook. Some clippings feature prominent individuals such as Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Dickens, and Louisa May Alcott. Items report national news, news from Troy, New York, and stories about Emma Willard and the Troy Female Seminary. Additional topics include poetry, international travel, and stamp collecting.

A Photograph Album contains 42 carte-de-visite photographs, 2 lithographs, and 1 tintype print. Most of the photographs are studio portraits of men, women, and children, including many members of the Gurley family and related families. Most of the pictures are dated 1866-1880, though the album includes a 1902 photograph of Charles G. Williamson in a military uniform.

A. L. Williams family of Owosso, Michigan. Personal and business correspondence of A. L. Williams, Owosso, Michigan pioneer, railroad entrepreneur, and spiritualist; and personal letters of other members of the family, including May Williams Dewey, wife of E. O. Dewey (Thomas E. Dewey family); and miscellaneous newspaper clippings, business ledgers, and personal and business diaries concerning business affairs and daily activities; "spirit messages" received from departed family and others; also photographs.

The Williams Family [Owosso] collection consists of 2 linear feet of material. It includes the personal and business papers of four generations of Williamses from 1838 to 1953. However, the bulk of the material relates to the family of Alfred Leonzo Williams between 1860 and 1890.

William R. Ringer was a student at the University of Michigan Law School from 1920 to 1922. Collection consists of three volumes of detailed diary entries interspersed with ephemera collected while a student.

The William R. Ringer papers document his time as a law student at the University of Michigan from September 1920 to June 1922. The papers are organized into two series Diaries and Background.

Presbyterian clergyman, longtime pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1934-1951; correspondence, copies of essays and book reviews written for religious periodicals, sermons and addresses, mimeographed study notes of talks given in Detroit before the Men's Club for the Study of Religion, religious and literary notebooks, and travel journals.

The series in the collection are: Biographical; Correspondence; Writings; Speeches, sermons, lectures; Miscellaneous notes; Scriptures; Literary Studies; and Scrapbooks, journals, etc.

Livingstone was a Detroit, Michigan businessman, banker, and newspaper publisher. He was an advocate of improving shipping on the Great Lakes, helping to found the Lake Carriers' Association. Livingstone successfully lobbied Congress for funds to construct a channel in the lower Detroit River (the Livingstone Channel). The collection consists of manuscript and visual materials, some of which were collected by later family members. Included are diaries and account books, 1871-1882 (scattered) and 1925; correspondence and newspaper clippings; subject files pertaining to the Dime Savings Bank and the Lake Carriers' Association; and a speech book containing draft of speech written for James G. Blaine, presidential candidate in 1884. Visual materials include photographs and drawings.

The papers of William Livingstone consist of manuscript and visual materials, some of which were collected by later family members. The papers include diaries and account books, 1871-1882 (scattered) and 1925; correspondence and newspaper clippings; subject files pertaining to the Dime Savings Bank and the Lake Carriers' Association; and a speech book containing draft of speech written for James G. Blaine, presidential candidate in 1884. Many of the letters in the collection were personal communications sent to Marion Scherer from family and friends while she was away at school. Visual materials include family photographs and drawings. The collection is organized into three series, William Livingston Jr. Topical Files, Correspondence, and Visual Materials.

Civil War officer, banker, Republican State Representative and Senator from Jackson, Michigan. Correspondence, special orders, notes, business papers, and miscellaneous items, primarily relating to his Civil War service as Colonel of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, and to a possible appointment to the U.S. Senate in 1894; also notes on the management of the Withington & Cooley Manufacturing Company, 1895-1903, diary of a European trip, 1897, and photographs.

The papers of William H. Withington consist of correspondence, special orders, notes, and miscellaneous items relating to his Civil War service as Colonel of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry; business records of the Withington & Cooley Manufacturing Company, correspondence and other material concerning his political career as Republican state legislator and state senator.

This collection is divided into four series: Civil War Activities, Personal Papers, Withington & Cooley Manufacturing Company Records, all of which are arranged chronologically, and Newspaper Clippings.

Saginaw, Michigan, lumberman and businessman, and Michigan State Tax Commissioner, 1912 and wildlife conservationist and sportsman. Papers include extensive correspondence files, business records and photographs.

The William Mershon collection consists of correspondence dealing with Mershon's various activities as a lumberman, Saginaw businessman, and member of the State Tax Commission in 1912. Subjects included in the papers are Michigan wildlife conservation, the Michigan Sportsmen Association, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Michigan State Tax Commission, Michigan politics, the Democratic party, personal business investments, lumbering and mining interest, and personal affairs.

The collection also includes diaries, a book of notes on hunting and fishing trips, and various business records such as cash books, time books, ledgers, and journals. These primarily concern his investments and lumbering business. Many of the business records are available on microfilm. The collection also includes photographs.