Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Lawyer at Coldwater, Michigan, Civil War officer, U.S. Marshal of Eastern District of Michigan and Minister to Belgium. Correspondence from family, friends and associates regarding personal and business affairs, military matters, and Democratic politics; miscellaneous other materials and photographs.

The John G. Parkhurst collection consists of correspondence from family, friends and associates regarding personal and business affairs, military matters, and Democratic politics; miscellaneous other materials and photograph. the collections has been divided into the following series: Correspondence; John G. Parkhurst Civil War service; John G. Parkhurst diplomatic and other activities; and Other family materials, business records, and miscellaneous.

Marshall, Calhoun County, attorney, Republican state senator, 1878-1882; contain correspondence, legal files, diaries and financial records concerning business and family affairs and the history of Marshall; also family papers, including Civil War letters of brother, Philo D. Patterson, student letters from the University of Michigan of son, Frank D. Patterson, 1892-1894, and records of business partner William H. Brown.

The John C. Patterson collection is divided into the following series: Correspondence; Letterpress books; Legal files; Diaries; Miscellaneous business records; John C. Patterson personal; and Other family members and miscellaneous. Much of the correspondence is addressed either to Patterson or to William H. Brown and pertains to their law practice. Other correspondence relates to family matters, politics, and Hillsdale College. Included in the correspondence are nine letters of Philo D. Patterson written while he was serving in Company H, Ninth Michigan Infantry, February-September 1865. Two of the letters reflect on the assassination of President Lincoln. There are also letters from Frank Dean Patterson, 1892-1894, when he was a student at the University of Michigan.

Physician from Matherton, Michigan who served as medical steward and assistant surgeon with the Second Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. Diaries and correspondence concerning his Civil War service and two letters, 1863, from Sarah E. Edmonds Seelye, woman Civil War soldier who served under the alias Frank Thompson; also photographs.

The Jerome J. Robbins papers, consisting principally of journal and diaries, document his service as medical steward and assistant surgeon with the Second Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. The collection also includes some correspondence and other material relating to his civil war service and several portraits of Robbins. The collection has been organized into three series: Journals, Other Papers, and Photographs.

Resident of Wooster, Ohio (later of Bedford, Iowa); 1862 graduate of the University of Michigan Department of Medicine and Surgery; surgeon in the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Civil War letters, diaries, newspapers, miscellanea and photographs; Civil War letters of his brother John Guthrie, also with the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry; and manuscript biography written by Helen Stephenson Guthrie.

The collection consists of school records, and correspondence and other documents relating to his Civil War service and activities.

Eight letters of recommendation for Fisher from fellow officers relating to his Civil War service; correspondents include Melvin Brewer (Sept. 18, 1863), John W. Geary (June 31, 1863), W. D. Mann (Aug. 27, 1863), Angelo Paldi (Oct. 7, 1863), C. H. Town (Oct. 17, 1863), and C. I. Walker (Aug. 13, 1861); also one letter (April 21, 1863) from George C. Gordon of Company I, 24th Michigan Infantry. Collection also includes a typescript of excerpts from Fisher's diary describing a Michigan boat trip from Detroit to Ontonagon via Sault Ste. Marie in 1850, and student days at the University of Michigan in 1860; also diary of an overland trip to California in search of gold and the return trip by sea, with comments on mining; three University of Michigan student notebooks on courses by James V. Campbell, Thomas M. Cooley, and Charles I. Walker; and notes on the James Fisher family by Max Fisher.

James and Sybil (Hunter) Irwin were early setters of Washtenaw County, Michigan. Their two sons, John E. and (James) Leman Irwin, fought in the Civil War as volunteer members of the 20th Michigan Infantry. Correspondence, diaries, and ledgers from these and other branches of the family are preserved in the Irwin family papers.

The James and Sybil Irwin family papers feature letters written from various Civil War battlefields and encampments by the brothers John E. and (James) Leman Irwin. There are four additional Civil War letters from cousins Samuel H. Row, James H. Irwin, S. Baker, and S.H. Loveland, as well as a transcription of William B. Irwin's journal. The collection also provides insight into the lives of Michigan farmers in the second half of the 19th Century and early 20th Century by way of letters, ledgers, photographs, and diaries. In addition, the correspondence record details the experience of prospectors on the Minnesota Iron Range and life on a Great Lakes freighter. Also extant are sketches by Harriet (Hattie) Irwin, poetry by Harriet and Civil War veterans John E. Irwin and Samuel H. Row, and some early documents pertaining to the North Sharon Methodist Episcopal Church.

The James and Sybil Irwin family papers are divided into the following series largely as maintained by the donor: Civil War Materials; the Baker-Rice and Irwin Families; the individuals Amy (Rice) Irwin, Fred C. Irwin, Harriet S. Irwin, Isaac Irwin, James and Sybil (Hunter) Irwin, John E. Irwin, Max H. Irwin, (James) Leman Irwin, and Max H. Irwin; the North Sharon Methodist Episcopal Church; Miscellaneous items; and Postcards.

Professor of English at University of Michigan. Correspondence, essays, a diary, and photographs.

The Demmon collection is comprised of the following series: Correspondence; Manuscripts; Essays and addresses; Other papers; and Photographs. The correspondence is both professional exchanges and personal letters among family members. Included are Demmon's student letters from Butler University and The University of Michigan, and two Civil War letters (1864) written while he was serving with 132nd Indiana Infantry. Among his professional correspondence are letters from James B. Angell, William L. Clements, Martin L. D'Ooge, Karl E. Guthe, Henry B. Joy, James McMillan, Moses C. Tyler. There are also lecture notes and other papers pertaining to his teaching duties; three volumes of personal accounts (1899-1920); a diary (1869) kept while he was a professor at Alliance College, Ohio, in which he mentions Mark Twain and John A. Bingham. The photographs include portraits, family photos and tintypes; photos of Demmon in the classroom, and of Demmon's residence in Ann Arbor.

The collection includes two diaries, for 1864 and 1865. In the 1864 diary, Dean tells of directing and supervising men in erecting and operating sawmills and building storehouses, hospitals, bridges, etc. around Lookout Mountain and Chattanooga. He also writes of the move from there to the siege of Atlanta and the occupation of Atlanta; of deserters, prisoners, destruction of railroads, regimental inspections, and camp life in general; and of the return march to Chattanooga in six and one-half days. The 1865 diary (Jan.-June), kept while he was in Chattanooga, tells about the weather, building barracks, duties, social activities, the surrender of Lee, death of Lincoln, and mustering out. Also includes miscellaneous citations, commissions, legal documents relating to his military service and his work as regent, and a statement (notarized by Dean) of Victor C. Vaughan pertaining to the Douglas-Rose dispute, 1878.

Flint, Michigan industrialist; governor of Michigan, 1865-1868. Correspondence concerning land speculations, lumbering, and political activities; correspondence of his son primarily relating to estate and land holdings; speeches, notes and other papers detailing his gubernatorial administration; deeds and other papers concerning land purchases in Ohio, Iowa, and Michigan; newspaper clippings, biographical material and obituaries; journals, diaries, notebooks, letter book, political scrapbook, 1866-1869, executive journal of state of Michigan, 1865-1867, farm records and accounts; and photographs.

The Crapo papers have been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Personal and Biographical; Political; Business records; and Miscellaneous (mainly financial). The collection relates primarily to the career of Henry H. Crapo with the files dating after 1869 pertaining to the business activities and political activities of his son W. W. Crapo.

In 1992, the bulk of the Crapo papers was microfilmed. This finding aid begins with a listing of the contents of the microfilm followed by a container listing of those portions of the collection which were not microfilmed. For reasons of preservation, the researcher should use the microfilm copy. Access to the original materials will be limited to the unmicrofilmed portions of the Crapo papers.

A diary (Jan. 1, 1862-Apr. 30, 1863) kept while he was serving in Company D, 9th Michigan Infantry as corporal and sergeant (1861-1864), mostly in Tennessee. The brief entries tell of guard and picket duty and other daily activities in camp and on the march, of an occasional skirmish with the enemy, the weather, and church attendance. He also describes the battlefield of Stones River. Also includes miscellaneous papers relating to his military service and an address to the Grange, ca. 1870.