Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Professor of sociology at University of Michigan. Papers contain correspondence, including letters, 1881-1884, written to his family while traveling in Europe, and correspondence with his parents, Mary E. and Thomas M. Cooley, and his wife, Elsie Jones Cooley; addresses, notes, essays, book reviews, notes and material for sociology courses; student notebook, 1893-1894, on lectures given by John Dewey; diary of a trip through the Smokey Mountains in 1883; and journals detailing his personal thoughts and tracing the evolution of his ideas on sociology and democracy; and photographs.

The Charles Horton Cooley papers consist of correspondence, journals, Cooley's notes for lectures, student notebooks, various writings by Cooley, articles about Cooley and reviews of his books and photographs. The papers, particularly the correspondence, reveal much about Cooley's personal and family life. The journals and lecture notes provide insight into the development of Cooley's ideas and his place in the field of sociology. Though the collection includes only a small amount of correspondence with other leading sociologists, the journals and lecture notes record Cooley's comments on and critiques of the theories and methods in the developing discipline.

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.

Member of the Michigan Daughters of the American Revolution; scrapbooks, journals, photograph albums, and genealogical material.

The Clara Hadley Wait collection includes scrapbooks, notebooks on art, travel journals, DAR materials, photograph albums, and genealogical material. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, correspondence, copies of her articles, and other materials relating primarily to her civic activities, including description of her activities with the D.A.R. during World War I. The genealogical material consists of information gathered by Clara Wait about her ancestors. The collection includes a European travel diary, 1893, of her husband, William H. Wait.

Native of Ann Arbor, Mich. and officer in the U.S. Civil War; served as a Regent of University of Michigan and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Collection includes a diary, 1862-1865, written while serving in Co. D, 20th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War and recounting daily activities and the sieges of Knoxville and Petersburg; correspondence, mainly with his mother and wife, while a student at University of Michigan and during the Civil War; papers of other family members; and portraits of Grant and members of his family as well as and water-colors of Civil War.

The Claudius Buchanan Grant papers provide insight into the Civil War as experienced by a Union officer and also document life in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. This collection is comprised of three series: Personal Papers, Family Papers, and Visual Materials.

David Wheeler Palmer was a Bridgewater, Michigan school teacher and farmer. His papers consist of diaries, 1846-1864, 1876-1882, and 1887-1892, concerning daily activities and farm life. There are also papers of other family members, including Emmett Newton Palmer, a Brooklyn, Michigan physician, Fred E. Palmer, a surgeon who served in the Spanish-American War, and Louisa Palmer, who was a teacher in Hawaii.

The David Wheeler Palmer collection consists mainly of his diaries and other papers. These diaries, dating from 1846 to 1892 with some gaps, comment in detail on his life, his family, the weather, financial transactions, and local politics. Other portions of the collection include materials of other family members: Palmer's wife Fidelia Randall Palmer; her brother Roswell Randall, Jr.; Emmett Palmer, the son of David and Fidelia; Fred Palmer, the son of Emmett; and Joseph Palmer, the father of David. Of interest are the photographs accumulated by Dr. Fred Palmer while he was serving in the Philippines. These include images of Hawaii on route to the Philippines and of the Santa Mesa facility in the Philippines. Another family member represented in the collection is Louisa Palmer who taught in Hawaii. She was an inveterate traveler who wrote extensive letters describing places visited for her students and family.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, family. Correspondence and business and legal papers of Julius Coe Denison; diaries, 1886-1890 and 1897-1907, of Julius' wife, Cornelia Carter Denison, describing daily life; and diaries, 1879-1889, of their son, Arthur Carter Denison, concerning in part his activities as student at the University of Michigan in the 1880s.

The Denison Family papers date from 1848 to 1907 and measure one linear foot. The papers document the day to day activities in a segment of the lives of Julius and Cornelia Denison and their son Arthur.

The papers of Julius Coe Denison date from 1848 to 1878 and include correspondence, receipts, land deeds and other papers. The papers of Cornelia Denison (1885 to 1907) and Arthur Denison (1879 to 1889) are principally diaries which contain brief entries about their daily activities, lists of books they read, and lists of expenses. The early diaries of Arthur Denison document his activities at the University of Michigan.

De Witt Clinton Spaulding (circa 1841 or 1842-1926) was a white Michigan resident who served in Company G. of the Union Army's 8th Michigan Infantry regiment during the American Civil War. Included in the collection is Spaulding's physical Civil War diary (which includes comments on his capture and confinement at Andersonville Prison), a transcription of the diary with additional information and images, digitized copies of Spaulding's military service and pension records, scattered physical correspondence and miscellanea, and a DVD-R containing related materials.

The De Witt C. Spaulding papers (0.1 linear feet and 42.5 MB) include scattered correspondence and miscellanea, digitized copies of Spaulding's compiled military service and pension records from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, and Spaulding's diary. The physical diary—dated from 1861 to 1864—provides information about Spaulding's Civil War experiences, including his capture and confinement at Andersonville Prison. A digital transcription of Spaulding's diary by Clare M. Cory is also present in this collection. It contains additional biographical and genealogical information, as well as images of Spaulding and his relatives.

Finally, the collection includes a DVD-R containing a transcription of the diary with additional biographical information and photos.

Collector of books, maps, artifacts primarily relating to the Harbor Springs area of Michigan. Artifacts include black ash baskets, porcupine quill and birch bark boxes, and miscellaneous stone and metal implements; and miscellaneous collected material.

This finding aid only describes the artifacts and historical documents collected by Earl De La Vergne. The many books he collected have been individually cataloged. The artifacts in the collection include Native American black ash baskets and quill boxes, as well as various stone and metal tools and hardware. The collected documents include a diary of an 1879 trip from Kent County, Michigan, to Emmet County, Michigan, by Etta Carpenter [mimeograph of typescript]; 1902 list of birds seen near Harbor Springs, by O. Widmann and Judge Stephenson; notes relating to Michigan history; photographs; and a citation.

Elizabeth Sparks Adams was a member of the Michigan Historical Commission from 1941 (when she was appointed as the first woman commissioner by Governor Murray D. Van Wagoner) until 1996. She and her husband, Judge Donald E. Adams, were also active in the Democratic Party, specifically in Oakland County and Waterford Township. Mrs. Adams also actively researched and collected materials on family and local history. The collection consists of files accumulated throughout her life, particularly during her service with the Michigan Historical Commission and the Michigan Democratic Party. Also included are clippings, correspondence, legal documents, and photographs related to family and local history.

The papers are divided into seven series: Personal Papers, Michigan Historical Commission, Michigan Historical Collections, Miscellaneous, Democratic Party, Compiled Information, and Collected Materials.

Governing body of the Episcopal church in western Michigan, established in 1874; records include bishops' files, diocesan organization and committee files, photographs, scrapbooks, diocesan historian files.

The records of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan are a rich resource of material, not only for the programs and activities of the Episcopal Church in western Michigan, but also for their documentation of the role of the church in the life of the various communities served by the diocese.

Records from the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan first came to the Bentley Historical Library in 1972. Since then, the diocese has made several significant additions to their records. In 1999 the record group was reprocessed with the aim of drawing together like materials. The record group now consists of twenty-two separate series. These are: Bishop's Files, Chancellor, Treasurer, Diocesan Historiographer, Standing Committee Files, Miscellaneous Files, Diocesan Record Books, Publicity Files, Defunct Parish and Mission Churches Files, Diocesan Committee Files, Diocesan Organization Files, Diocesan Financial Records, Visual Materials, Sound Recordings, Scrapbooks, Western Michigan University (WMU) Ministry Files, Women's Organizations, Miscellaneous office and staff files Bulletins of Church Services, Church of Christ the King, Miscellaneous parish materials, and Miscellaneous diocesan materials.