Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Goldie Sherwood (1882-1960) was a Holly, Michigan resident. Descriptions of activities and family letters.

Descriptions of activities of young adolescent girl; and miscellaneous letters of other family members.

University of Michigan professor of economics and accounting, businessman, U-M regent; papers include biographical material, topical files, correspondence, publications and speeches, audio-visual material, and scrapbooks.

The papers of Robert P. Briggs document aspects of his career as educator and administrator at the University of Michigan, and his experience as businessman and advocate for business. The papers are arranged in seven series: Biographical/Family Material; Topical files; Correspondence; Publications, Speeches, and Addresses; Audiovisual Material; and Scrapbooks.

This collection consists of reminiscences (written about 1919?) of Hodnett's experiences in France during World War I; a diary (1913-1918) of his father (name unknown), an army clerk in the Philippines and later along the Mexican border, a genealogical notebook of the Oram family, and photographs. The photographs are portraits, some of which are in uniform.

Naturalist and historian at the Nankin Mills Nature Center near Westland, Michigan. Nankin Mills was also used by Henry Ford in the manufacture of automobile parts. Nankin Mills files including notebook with research notes and jottings about the Nankin Mills area, newspaper clippings, and deeds; collected historical material including child's diary, 1902-1903, and Pontiac, Michigan family papers containing essay about women's suffrage, 1881; photographs of the Nankin Mills and related areas in western Wayne County, Michigan; copy prints of Pike's Peak, Colorado, 1887.

The Mary Ellsworth papers consist of two types of materials: 1) papers which relate specifically to Nankin Mills and to her work as naturalist, and 2) historical materials collected or received by Mary Ellsworth.

Governor of Michigan, writer, businessman; papers include correspondence, business records, speeches, writings, visual materials, diaries.

The Osborn collection consists of correspondence, diaries, business papers, scrapbooks, photographs, and other materials accumulated during his life. Materials prior to 1889 are scarce possibly because of a fire which destroyed Osborn's home; thereafter and up to the time of his death in 1949, the Osborn papers are voluminous, documenting each of this man's varied activities. Although his career as elected public official was limited to one term as governor, the collection reflects the importance of his life in areas beyond politics alone. His voice was heard, in letters and speeches and monographs, speaking out on the issues of the day - prohibition, conservation, the New Deal, and of course his life-long interest in the development of Michigan's Upper Peninsula economy and natural resources.

University of Michigan staff photographer, 1913-1947 and commercial photographer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Collection includes some manuscript material but is primarily photographic prints and negatives made by Swain. Photo subjects include university buildings, faculty, and student activities, archeological expeditions to the Near East and, Ann Arbor scenes and landscapes form his travels in the western United States and Canada.

The papers and photographs of George R. Swain mainly document Swain's accomplishments as university photographer at the University of Michigan from 1913 to 1947. Researchers should note, however, that this is only a sampling of the photographer's work during these years. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan has an extensive collection of Swain's archaeological negatives and prints, and researchers interested in his full career will want to also look at the Kelsey collection. The Bentley Library material, while including several folders of fine photographs Swain made on his travels with Professor Frances Kelsey, for the most part documents Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.

The collection at the Bentley Library consists of three series: Miscellaneous Papers; Photographers Log; and Photographs (prints; negatives; and lantern slides. Since the bulk of the collection is comprised of early twentieth century images of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the materials will be of most interest to researchers searching for visual documentation of this part of the state in that time period. There are very few materials beyond the visual, although the lengthy captions attached to many overseas images and the essays, diaries, and letters, are extremely interesting and offer insight into how Swain approached his craft, both as a professional photographer and in his personal work.

Papers collected by Minnie C. M. Fay of Battle Creek, Michigan. Genealogical, and family records, and photographs.

The Minnie Fay collection consists of genealogical and family records, family photographs, and a diary, 1857-1858 probably of a Henry Chandler.

The Blanchard family papers document the lives and careers of several members of the Blanchard, Cobb, and Proctor families from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. Includes visual materials, publications, personal writings, and extensive correspondence files.

The Blanchard Family Papers document the professional achievements and personal lives of several generations of a scientifically minded and artistically gifted family. The papers focus heavily upon the eminent plant pathologist and nematologist Nathan A. Cobb, his wife Alice Vara Cobb, their daughter, biologist Frieda Cobb Blanchard, and her husband, herpetologist Frank Nelson Blanchard (the latter two of whom were professors at the University of Michigan). In addition to the photographs, drawings, correspondence, journals, and writings of these four individuals, the collection is rich in family correspondence, diaries, and personal papers from other members of the Cobb and Blanchard families (and their forebears and branches, including the Bigelow, Proctor, Ross, White, and Randall families). The Blanchard Family Papers will be of value to researchers interested in a variety of topics: scientific endeavors and methodologies (and in particular those related to agronomy, nematology, botany, and herpetology); the visual arts and the development of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; colonial and provincial life in Australia and Hawaii (respectively); and the daily affairs of American (and Michigan) families throughout the twentieth century. The Blanchard Family Papers consist of seven series: Nathan A. Cobb, Alice Vara Cobb, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Frank Nelson Blanchard, Blanchard and Cobb Family Letters, Other Family Members, and Isaac G. Blanchard.

Resident in China from Farwell, Michigan; papers concern her family life in Farwell, and missionary activities; include letters, diaries, and accounts of father, Josiah L. Littlefield, Farwell lumber dealer and visitor to China, 1916-1917; letters, 1918-1928, of husband, Dr. Dennis V. Smith, medical missionary to China, describing in part Chinese politics and civil war, 1918-1920; letters and other papers of Hazel Littlefield Smith, including materials concerning various European travels, and manuscripts of writings about Irish author Lord Dunsany, her father, and Farwell, Michigan; and photographs. Other correspondents of Hazel Smith include world-renowed scientists (Edwin Hubble and William Beebe), from Chinese Princess Der Ling, and from distinguished European writers and actors (Pierre LaMure, Selma Lagerlof, Brian Aherne, and Ronald Colman).

This collection was accumulated by Hazel Littlefield Smith and consists of materials concerning her career and interests and those of her family, specifically her husband, Dr. Dennis Smith, and her father, Josiah Littlefield (1845-1935), a pioneer lumberman and businessman in Farwell, Michigan.

The collection is particularly valuable for three topics: early days (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) in Farwell, Michigan; missionary life in China in the period ca. 1915-1928; and the travels and writings of Hazel Littlefield Smith. The materials include correspondence, compositions and business-related materials of Josiah Littlefield; correspondence and other materials of Dr. Dennis Smith, Hazel Littlefield Smith (and Josiah Littlefield) concerning conditions in early republican China; and correspondence and other materials of Hazel Littlefield Smith concerning her travels in Europe (1920s-1950s), her management of the family farm near Farwell, Michigan (1940s), and her essays, poetry and other publications, including Lord Dunsany: King of Dreams.

The three principal figures in the collection--Hazel Littlefield Smith, Dennis Smith and Josiah Littlefield--were highly perceptive observers of persons and events. Their letters are rich in detail, whether describing travel experiences or everyday life in rural northern Michigan.

The collection is arranged into six series: Littlefield Family, China-related materials, Hazel Littlefield Smith, Miscellanea, Dr. Dennis V. Smith, and Visual Materials.

Michigan family from Adrian and Flint, Michigan. Family papers, sound recordings, and photographs.

The collection is arranged by family name: Tomlinson, Pomeroy, and Raab. The earliest item is an account maintained by Alexander Tomlinson of Sherwood, Michigan. Within the Raab family papers are diaries, 1891-1892, of Florence Raab concerning her life in Adrian, Michigan. In addition, the collection includes papers and audio-tapes of Irving T. Raab reminiscing about his student life at the University of Michigan in the years before 1900. These tapes also concern his life in Flint and career as Presbyterian clergyman. The photographs in the collection are of family members.