Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

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Collection

Alexis St. Martin collection, 1879

10 items

This collection is made up of correspondence and newspaper clippings by or related to Alexis St. Martin, a French-Canadian man who underwent medical experimentation and observation after surviving an open stomach wound.

This collection is made up of correspondence and newspaper clippings by or related to Alexis St. Martin, a French-Canadian man who underwent medical experimentation and observation after surviving an open stomach wound.

Eight letters and postcards, July-September 1879, pertain to James H. Etheridge's proposals to Alexis St. Martin, requesting that he visit Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, for observation. Alexis St. Martin (3 items) and Henry F. Harris (4 items) wrote about St. Martin's possible involvement and financial compensation. Two newspaper clippings, written before 1880, concern St. Martin's wound, his later life, and Dr. William Beaumont's experiments on St. Martin's stomach. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for information about each individual item.

Collection

Alfred C. and Cordelia Arnold papers, 1862-1865

26 items

The Alfred C. and Cordelia Arnold papers consists of Civil War-era correspondence that provides an intimate glimpse into the relationship of a young Connecticut couple, separated by the war.

The bulk of this collection consists of letters between Alfred “Charlie” Arnold and his wife Cordelia “Delia” Arnold. These letters offer little information on Arnold’s military activities, but do provide a glimpse of an intimate, loving relationship between a husband and wife separated by the war. The letters from Alfred trace his movements from New London, Connecticut, in 1862-1863, to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1864, and to Baltimore, Maryland, and City Point (now Hopewell), Virginia in 1865. They discuss family and friends, money issues, weather and health, and their feelings for one another.

Letters to the Arnolds from friends and family include one from Francis E. Arnold to her daughter-in-law; one from Delia's father to Alfred, and letters from Sister Jenny and their close friend Eliza.

Collection

Alfred P. Sawyer letters, 1875-1878 (majority within 1877-1878)

20 items

This collection contains letters that Alfred P. Sawyer wrote to his parents in Franklin, New Hampshire, during his senior year at Dartmouth College (1877-1878). Sawyer commented on his coursework, social life, and Republican Party politics.

This collection contains 18 letters that Alfred P. Sawyer wrote to his parents in Franklin, New Hampshire, during his senior year at Dartmouth College (1877-1878). He commented on his coursework, social life, and Republican Party politics. Two additional letters pertain to boarding arrangements and to Sawyer's earlier college years.

In his first letter to his parents, Sawyer anticipated a visit home and reported that he had no examinations (June 10, 1875). Between September 2, 1877, and May 19, 1878, he wrote about life as a senior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He commented on his coursework in literature, history, religion, political economics, medicine, and other subjects, occasionally noting the names of his professors and lecturers. Sawyer's assignments included an essay on slavery, which he delivered orally on at least two occasions. In one letter, he discussed the relationship between scientific advancements and Christian theology (March 3, 1878). Some of Sawyer's letters pertain to his political beliefs and to the 1878 elections, in which he planned to vote a straight Republican ticket; Sawyer also described political cartoons by Thomas Nast (November 19, 1877) and mentioned New Hampshire party politics (January 7, 1878). Sawyer's letter of May 5, 1878, pertains to the transit of Mercury across the sun, and he discussed his preparations for viewing the event and the possible existence of an innermost planet ("Vulcan"). The final item, an undated letter from Mrs. N. A. Cook and Mrs. S. M. Turner in Hanover, New Hampshire, concerns the availability and cost of rooms and services in a boarding house.

Collection

Alfred Schaller letters, 1917-1919

17 items

This collection is made up of 17 letters that Alfred Schaller wrote to his sister and mother while serving in the United States Army during World War I. Schaller discussed his life at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and described his travels in the South.

This collection is made up of 17 letters that Alfred Schaller wrote to his sister and mother while serving in the United States Army during World War I. In his first letter, Schaller described his journey to Fort Worth, Texas, and remarked on the large number of African American people he encountered. From January 1918-September 1919, Schaller primarily wrote about his experiences at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he served with F Troop of the 14th Cavalry Regiment. He occasionally transcribed his daily schedules and sometimes mentioned activities such as guard duty, K. P. duty, and drilling. On one occasion, he recounted a story about a soldier who had obtained a leave based on a false telegram from home.

On September 30, 1918, he mentioned the hanging of African American soldiers for their participation in the Houston Riot of 1917, though he did not directly witness their execution, and, on November 12, 1918, he described San Antonio's victory celebrations after the armistice. Schaller's letter of January 30, 1919, includes a detailed account of a lengthy hike from an unknown location to Fort Sam Houston, and a letter from March 1919 pertains to other travels in the South. When composing his final letter, on September 16, 1919, Schaller anticipated his arrival home in a few days.

Collection

Alice and Hazel Williams correspondence, 1917-1919

9 items

This collection is made up of letters that Chelsea Williams and William C. ("Bill") Williams wrote to Chelsea's family while serving with the United States Army's 1st Engineers, Company D, during and just after World War I. They commented on their health and aspects of their service in France and Germany.

This collection is made up of 9 letters that Chelsea Williams and William C. ("Bill") Williams wrote to Chelsea's family while serving with the United States Army's 1st Engineers, Company D, during and just after World War I. Chelsea Williams wrote to an unidentified sister (September 14, 1917, and October 7, 1917), to his father (May 17, 1919), and to his sister Hazel (June 26, 1919). He mentioned his inability to provide details about the war, described his leisurely life in occupied Germany in 1919, and responded to news from home, including news of his father's ill health. In his letter of June 26, 1919, he told Hazel that he was not surprised to hear of returning soldiers consuming large amounts of alcohol, as "the first six months over here was enough to make the best of men fall." In his letters to Hazel Williams (4 items, April 11, 1918-June 14, [1919]) and Alice Williams (1 item, January 12, 1919), William C. ("Bill") Williams provided news of Chelsea, who was wounded in July 1918.

Collection

Alicia A. and William G. Bakewell letters, 1845

3 items

This collection is made up of 3 letters exchanged by Alicia A. Bakewell and her husband, William G. Bakewell, in and around 1845. They discussed medical remedies and Alicia's health, Alicia's time with the Audubon family in New York City, and steamboat travel on the Ohio River.

This collection is made up of 3 letters exchanged by Alicia A. Bakewell and her husband, William G. Bakewell, in and around 1845. William wrote to Alicia on August 11, 1845, expressing his concerns about her recent medical complaints and discussing various courses of treatment; he strongly advised her not to take calomel and suggested that she adopt a different diet or take numerous baths to relieve her suffering. Alicia wrote twice to William. Her letter of August 19, 1845, responds to his concern about her illness, which had improved significantly despite lingering back pain, and contains news of the Audubon family, with whom she was staying in New York City. She also reported that bathing had been suspended on account of the presence of sharks. Alicia's undated letter regards her journey on an Ohio River steamer from Ohio to Pennsylvania. She mentioned the ship's propensity for running aground, a fellow passenger who was a musician, and her fear that people in Louisville would approach her husband with unfounded claims of debts against her.

Collection

Allaire-Gibbons papers, 1822-1963 (majority within 1822-1856)

28 items

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Correspondence series (16 items) consists primarily of business correspondence addressed to Thomas Gibbons, William Gibbons, and James P. Allaire. The earlier material in the series (1822-1837) is related to the Gibbons family's business affairs and often pertains to the legal disputes between Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden. These include several letters from William Gibbons to his father, in which he discusses the impending court case as well as his own personal affairs. The majority of the series consists of later material (1837-1849) related to James P. Allaire's business interests, including the manufacture of steamboat engines. Interspersed with these items are receipts for parts related to Allaire's industrial operations.

The Documents series (12 items) contains receipts related to steamboats owned by James P. Allaire as well as 20th-century material about the early steamboat industry and the town of Allaire, New Jersey. The series includes 5 receipts for steamboat supplies (1828; 1856), including material for the Swan, the Thistle, and the Emerald, all Gibbons-owned ships whose engines were supplied by Allaire. The series also includes a document signed by the crew of the Swan affirming the receipt of their wages for April 1828. Later material in the collection includes two postcards of watercolor pictures of Allaire, New Jersey, and two articles, from the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society (January 1949) and American Heritage (October 1963), respectively. These relate to the early steamboat business, and to the role of Thomas Gibbons in its development.

Collection

Allaire papers, 1762-1873 (majority within 1782-1831)

0.25 linear feet

The Allaire papers contain business correspondence, legal documents, and financial documents related to New York City resident Peter Alexander Allaire and his children, Calicia Allaire Wood and George Young Allaire. The collection also includes an anonymous account book from the 1830s, possibly kept by Pennsylvania merchant Thomas Wood.

Several early items in the collection relate to the post-Revolution business and legal affairs of Peter Alexander Allaire, and include a French document authorizing the shipment of several ingredients, including alkali and soap, for the manufacture of white lead (1783). The majority of the collection consists of material related to the financial interests of Calicia Allaire (m. Thomas Wood) and George Young Allaire. Many of these items reflect ongoing financial disputes between the siblings and Calicia's husband, and involved a third party, Cornelius Bogart. In addition to correspondence, financial records, and indentures related to the Allaire family, the collection includes scattered personal items. Also part of the collection is an account book, possibly kept by Thomas Wood, in which the author recorded financial information, including several accounts for everyday goods, "Farming Concerns," and items "Arrived from Foreign Ports." Many of the book's accounts relate to wood and a few mention stock held jointly with George Young Allaire.

Collection

Allen family papers, 1814-1893

0.25 linear feet

Online
The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of Northborough, Massachusetts, preacher John Allen. Allen and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters, including slavery and abolition.

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of John Allen, a preacher in Northborough, Massachusetts. He and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters of intellectual concern, including slavery and abolition.

The Correspondence series (260 items) consists primarily of personal correspondence between family members. Thomas Prentiss Allen composed many of these letters, though his brothers and their sister Elizabeth also contributed. The well-educated Allens discussed a wide range of personal and political topics, and their letters provide a vivid picture of the politically charged antebellum era. They often shared opinions on local and national politics, emphasizing the conflicts over slavery that eventually erupted into secession and Civil War. Notably, Thomas Prentiss Allen expounded at length on Daniel Webster's famous speech urging support of the Compromise of 1850 and offered his own opinions on the political issues involved, including the Wilmot Proviso (March 24, 1850). Other letters of particular interest concern the Free Soil party and the Fugitive Slave Act (December 10, 1850 and January 9, 1851). Elizabeth Allen wrote a majority of the later items in the collection to Joseph Allen, her father, communicating a view of her life on the home front during the Civil War and occasionally mentioning the war and domestic politics.

The Pamphlets series (2 items) contains the following two items:
  • Fathers and Children, containing manuscript essays based on Biblical verses (September 1842)
  • A Discourse on Occasion of the Death of Hon. John Quincy Adams..., by Joseph Henry Allen (1848)

The Photographs series (2 items) contains two 19th-century portraits printed on thick cards.

The Miscellaneous series (5 items) contains a newspaper clipping regarding the death of William Francis Allen, as well as four manuscripts about various topics.

Collection

Alvan Boyden papers, 1806-1828

19 items

This collection contains official U.S. Army documents and correspondence received or written by Alvan Boyden from his time in the United States Army's 45th Regiment of Infantry.

This collection contains official U.S. army documents and correspondence received or written by Boyden. These include regimental inventories, letters reporting inventories, and recruiting accounts. Post-war documents include two professional certificates: one for teaching and one for serving as a justice of the peace.

The donor has collected, arranged, transcribed, and annotated each document and has written a well-researched collection description.