Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Founded in 1865, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Ann Arbor has a history of social activism and involvement with the University of Michigan community. The records contain church files and annual reports, sermons and correspondence of church ministers, and church publications--including the weekly newsletter. The papers also include materials of minister Kenneth Phifer regarding his views on assisted suicide and Jack Kevorkian, and also the issue of racial justice with the Ku Klux Klan rallies in Michigan.

The records of the First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Ann Arbor have been divided into seven series: Church History, Record Books; Church Reports; Yearly Files; Church Publications; Topical Files; and Ministers' Files.

Michigan-born lawyer, judge, politician and diplomat, served as Detroit Recorder's Court Judge, Mayor of Detroit, Governor General of the Philippines, Governor of Michigan, U. S. Attorney General and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Papers include extensive correspondence, subject files, Supreme court case files, scrapbooks, photographs, newsreels and audio recordings, and other material.

The Frank Murphy Collection documents in detail the life and career of one of Michigan's most distinguished public servants. Through correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, visual materials, and other documentation, the collection traces Murphy's life from his years as Detroit judge, later Mayor, to his service in the Philippines, his tenure as governor, his stint as U.S. Attorney General, and culminating in his final years as U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

The Frank Murphy Collection consists of eight series: Correspondence, Other Papers, Supreme Court Case Files, Speech File, Speech Material, Miscellaneous, Visual Material, and Newsclippings/Scrapbooks.

Prominent Detroit area businessman and University of Michigan alumnus who served as Regent from 1967-1968. Leader in efforts to bring the Olympic Games to Detroit from the 1950s through the mid-1970s. Correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, reports, financial documents, and photographs.

The Frederick C. Matthaei Jr. papers (24 linear feet, 2 oversize boxes, 1 scrapbook and 2.20 GB) contain the materials of University of Michigan alumnus and Detroit area businessman Frederick C. Matthaei Jr. The materials highlight Matthaei's personal background, interests, philanthropic and outreach work, and his dedication to the University of Michigan. The collection been divided into three series:

The Personal Materials series contains bibliographical information, personal correspondence, scrapbooks, and photographs.

The Projects series contains materials from Matthaei's work with a number of different organizations including the Detroit Olympics Project, the Economic Alliance for Michigan, and the Detroit Renaissance project.

The University of Michigan series includes materials related to Matthaei's term as Regent of the University of Michigan, his involvement in alumni organizations, and general records from the University of Michigan.

Student Honorary Medical Society at the University of Michigan Medical School, conducts annual "Tag Day" fund-raising campaign in support of its charitable activities and produces the Smoker, an annual musical parody produced and performed by medical students; papers include minutes and other organizational records, historical sketches of the organization, photographs documenting the founding and growth of the society and audio-visual recordings of Galens Smoker

This Galens Medical Society record group documents the activities, goals, and membership of the organization from 1914 to 2011. It reveals the changing purpose and membership of the society, its traditional social functions, and its contributions to the medical school, university hospital, and Washtenaw County groups that benefit children. The record group is arranged in nine series: Minutes, Officers' Records and Reports, Activities and Funds, Histories and Constitutions, Membership, Audio-Visual Material, Funds, Service Activities, and Smoker.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, Landscape architect, speaker and lobbyist on behalf of conservation and beautification, president of the Michigan Parks Association, and member of the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Recreation and Natural Beauty during the Johnson Administration. Correspondence, reports, oral history interviews, and other materials concerning her interest in state and national conservation legislation; and photographs.

The Genevieve Gillette collection documents Gillette's concern for the development of Michigan's parks and outdoor recreation opportunities, and her work to promote scenic roads in Michigan and nationwide.

Among the issues most fully documented are the fight to establish and develop Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, acquisition and development of Sylvania Recreation Area and McCormick Experimental Forest, threats to wilderness in the Porcupine Mountains State Park, the controversy over the proposed Mill Creek Metropark, the financing of Michigan's state park system, especially the 1968 campaign to approve recreation bonds, and the development of the Rouge River floodplain near the University of Michigan--Dearborn.

The work of the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Recreation & Natural Beauty (1966-1968), the Michigan Parks Association (1959-1975), and the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission and predecessor organizations (1960-1974) are also documented.

The collection includes very little documentation of Gillette's professional work as a landscape architect, and includes almost nothing relating to her parks and recreation work before the late 1950s.

The collection is divided into three major series--Personal, Correspondence, and Topical file--and two small series--Photographs, Audio tape cassettes.

George H. Forsyth (1901-1991) was an archeologist, architectural, and art historian who led archeological expeditions to Angers, France, Mount Sinai, Egypt, and countries in the Near East including Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Forsyth was a professor at the University of Michigan, chairman of the History of Art Department and director of the Kelsey Museum. The collection is comprised of personal materials, teaching materials, and extensive documentation of George's personal travel and archeological expeditions to Europe and the Near East such as correspondence, field notes, and visual materials.

The George H. Forsyth papers primarily document Forsyth's career. The collection includes personal materials, biographical information, daybooks, family photographs, teaching and lecture notes, and extensive documentation of George's personal travel and archeological expeditions to Europe and the Near East. Material related to expeditions includes field notebooks, photographs, negatives, architectural drawings, correspondence, and manuscripts of various publication activities.

George Forsyth died prior to completing the publication of his landmark drawings of Saint Catherine's Monastery (Mount Sinai, Egypt). Publication efforts were continued posthumously by his wife, Dr. Ilene H. Forsyth, an art historian and professor at the University of Michigan.

Researchers should note that a scrapbook in this collection contains visual material with racist content; specific information is included at the item level.

Engineer on various Great Lakes steamship, photographer and collector of photographs; includes photos and some glass negatives depicting Grand Army of the Republic encampment in Detroit in 1891; photographs of war bond rally in Detroit, ca. 1918; photographs of downtown Detroit buildings and street scenes; some of the photographs of Belle Isle other water views.

The Merrill collection consists of photographs (with some glass negatives) depicting public events associated with a meeting of the Grand Army of the Republic organization in Detroit in 1891; photographs of war bond rally in Detroit, including patriotic displays, ca. 1918; photographs of downtown Detroit, including views of commercial buildings, modes of transportation, and people on the street; and some of the photographs of Belle Isle other water views.

The Grand Hotel records comprise documents, photographs, audio and videographic material collected about the hotel by its management. The strength of the collection is in its documentation of the guest experience at the hotel, and the evolution of amenities offered by the hotel during the mid-to-late 20th century. A small number of items also provide a glimpse of the hotel's earliest days as a summer resort.

The Grand Hotel records are arranged in six series: Printed Material, Miscellaneous, Press Clippings and Publications, Photographic Material, Audio Material, and Videographic Material.

Conscientious objector during World Wars I and II and founder of the farming cooperative Saline Valley Farms. Correspondence, diaries, notebooks, and other materials relating to all phases of his career, including his work as Y.M.C.A. worker in England, 1916-1917, and as teacher at Central China University, Wuchang, China, 1922-1926; also family correspondence of Philip H. and Almena S. Gray, 1874-1926; also photographs and motion pictures.

The Harold Gray papers have been divided into seven series: Correspondence; World War I era activities; Personal and Miscellaneous; Printed, clippings, and miscellanea; Family and genealogical; Saline Valley Farms; and Visual Materials (photographs and motion pictures). The great strength of the collection are correspondence, administrative files, diaries, and visual materials documenting the operation of the Saline Valley Farms. There is significant, though smaller quantities of papers detailing Gray's opposition to serving in the military during World War I and his career as a teacher in China in the 1920s.

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.