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

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, financial records, legal documents, photographs, speeches, and ephemera related to Ziba Roberts of Shelby, New York, and his family. Much of the material concerns his service in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, veterans' pensions, reunions, genealogy, and estate administration.

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, financial papers, legal documents, photographs, speeches, printed items, and ephemera related to Ziba Roberts of Shelby, New York, and his family. Much of the material concerns his service in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, veterans' pensions, reunions, genealogy, and estate administration.

The Correspondence series (approximately 110 items) includes a group of 17 items (1826-1852) related to the family of James Harland, an ancestor of Cynthia Dewey Roberts. Harland, who lived in Manchester, New York, received letters from his son William, who moved to Clarksfield, Ohio, around 1839. Shortly after his arrival, William described local marshes and discussed his land and the prices of various crops. His later letters concern his financial difficulties and his Christian faith. A letter of September 3, 1841, includes a small manuscript map of property lines.

The remaining correspondence pertains to Ziba Roberts and, to a lesser extent, his wife and children. The first item is a letter from his sister Henrietta dated March 14, 1858. Roberts regularly corresponded with family members and friends while serving in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment between January 1862 and April 1863. In his letters home (around 20 items), he described aspects of military and camp life, including food, hygiene, illness, long marches, and general boredom; several items concern his experiences in occupied Winchester, Virginia, in the spring of 1862 and his treatment after his release from Confederate prison. He sometimes commented on news of the war, expressing confidence in a Union victory. During this period, Roberts occasionally received letters from family members at home, who discussed farming, religion, and family news (5 items).

The Roberts correspondence resumes in 1886 and continues as late as 1937; most date between 1889 and 1912. Roberts received a series of letters from William W. Eastman in South Dakota, who wrote at length about his financial difficulties. Most of his late correspondence concerns Civil War veterans' affairs, particularly related to pensions and reunions. Some writers complained about the difficulty of receiving a pension, the health issues that affected former soldiers, and Roberts's own disability claim. One printed circular contains reminiscences by members of the 28th New York Infantry Regiment (printed and distributed in May 1892). In 1912, Ziba Roberts received letters from fellow veterans regarding the 28th Regiment's annual reunion; most expressed or implied a lasting sense of comradeship with their fellow veterans, though many declined the invitation on account of poor health or other circumstances (with some reflecting on whether deaths would put future reunions in jeopardy).

The latest correspondence, written in the 1920s and 1930s, concerns the Grand Army of the Republic, insurance policies, and Roberts and Sanborn family genealogy. One correspondent returned an essay written by Ziba Roberts in December 1916: "A Brief History of the Methodist Episcopal Church at East Shelby" (enclosed with letter dated February 27, 1924). Minutes of the 28th Regiment's 68th reunion, held in May 1929, note the death of Ziba Roberts and other soldiers.

Ziba Roberts wrote two Diaries between November 14, 1861, and December 31, 1862. His daily entries concern aspects of his service with the 28th New York Infantry Regiment in Maryland and Virginia, including his imprisonment in 1862. He wrote about marches, guard duty, drills, health, and rations.

The Documents and Financial Papers series (74 items) includes legal documents and financial papers dated 1864 to 1940. Correspondence, indentures, and mortgages pertain to land ownership, management of decedents' estates, and a legal dispute between William W. Dewey and Seneca Sprout in the 1890s. Four items are Grand Army of the Republic commissions for Ziba Roberts, dated between 1918 and 1922. One group of tax receipts pertains to payments made by Ziba and Cynthia Roberts as late as 1940.

The collection's account book originally belonged to Ziba Roberts in the late 19th century. Roberts recorded around 35 pages of accounts between around 1884 and 1919, including records related to everyday purchases of food and other goods, a female domestic worker's wages, road construction, and estates. A later owner recorded tax payments for the years 1922-1944.

The Photographs series consists of 2 photograph albums and 8 loose items. Together, the photograph albums contain around 120 cartes-de-visite, tintypes, and cabinet cards. These items consist of studio portraits of members of the Roberts, Dewey, Wolcott, and Sanborn families, as well as additional friends and family members. Most of the pictures, which feature men, women, children, and infants, were taken in New York.

The loose items are made up of photographs of Ziba Roberts, including a heavily retouched portrait and a corresponding print of the original image; portraits of soldiers in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment; pictures of Colonel Dudley Donnelly's tomb; and a group of soldiers posing by the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument at Gettysburg. Additional items show a group posing for a souvenir photograph after a "balloon route trolley trip" in Los Angeles, California, and members of the Sprout family standing in front of their home.

The Speeches, Printed Items, and Ephemera series (30 items) includes Civil War materials, such as scores for the songs "We're Marching on to Richmond," "The Passing of the Veteran," "We Old Boys," and "Have You Got the Countersign"; and a printed booklet of war songs issued by the Grand Army of the Republic and related veterans' societies. Other items pertain to veterans' reunions and reminiscences. The series also includes two typed carbon copies of postwar speeches given by Ziba Roberts, "Seeing Lincoln" and "Lecture on Army Prison Life."

Additional pamphlets and ephemeral items concern New York political reforms, cholera, and a meeting of the descendants of Henry Wolcott. One newspaper clipping describes the career of William Ziba Roberts. The series includes a biography of George Dewey and history of the Dewey family (Adelbert M. Dewey, 1898). The final items are World War II-era ration books, with many stamps still attached.

The Genealogy series (21 items) is comprised of records related to the Roberts and Dewey families, and to the ancestors and descendants of Ziba and Cynthia Dewey Roberts. A manuscript volume contains approximately 35 pages of family trees; registers of births, marriages, and deaths; and the military service of Daniel Roberts (Revolutionary War) and Ziba Roberts (Civil War). Other items include additional registers, death notices, and notes.

The Zelona Eaton journal is the diary of a Baptist minister from Troy, Ohio, who was active in the local anti-slavery and temperance movements. The volume is composed of a diary, in which Eaton discussed his ministerial duties and local issues concerning abolition, temperance, fornication, and sodomy (1843-1844); 3 pages of accounts for house-building materials (1843-1844); 9 philosophical essays with an introduction (undated); and 2 letters addressed to Lottie Churchill of Washington, Vermont (1823).

The Zelona Eaton journal is the diary of a Baptist minister from Troy, Ohio, who was active in the local anti-slavery and temperance movements. The volume is composed of a 95-page diary that Eaton kept from October 31, 1843, to September 17, 1844; three pages of accounts for house-building materials (December 1843-January 1844); 8 philosophical essays with an introduction (undated); and 2 letters addressed to Lottie Churchill of Washington, Vermont (1823).

In the diary, Eaton wrote about his daily life (health, food, family, and building a new house) and the activities of his church community in Troy. He wrote descriptions of his ministerial duties, such as travelling to meetings and conferences, visiting parishioners, performing marriages, lecturing, leading prayer meetings, raising funds for missionary work, and writing sermons. Eaton also described his intellectual and spiritual life in Troy. He attended a Millerite lecture (November 15, 1843), a lecture on phrenology (November 9, 1843), and multiple anti-slavery lectures (November 29, 1843; January 19, ,March 2 and 10, April 1 and 27, 1844). He often read the Cross and Journal and the anti-slavery paper The Emancipator, which some of his friends had procured for him. In the fall of 1843, he recorded thoughts on his own spiritual health, writing that he was, "Greatly distressed about my situation in temporal things...I have reason to think God is against [me]" (November 17, 1843). Eaton also kept track of some of his finances, which he worried about frequently, and often noted food and daily house work. He mentioned making sausages and vinegar, and purchasing coffee, cinnamon, buckwheat flour, eggs, rice, and apples.

Much of the journal concerns African Americans and the anti-slavery movement. On at least two occasions, Eaton interacted with two free African Americans: he visited a man named Mr. Newsome and loaned him money, and purchased items from another man named Mr. Smith. Registering the intensity of anti-slavery activities in his community, Eaton described the many anti-slavery lectures, debates, and prayer meetings that he attended. At the meetings, they discussed questions such as whether Congress should abolish slavery in Washington D.C. without the consent of the city's inhabitants, and what people who lived in free states could lawfully do to end slavery in the slave states (December 10, 1843). Eaton also served as the secretary for a group of women who formed a "ladies Society to educate colored persons" (December 3, 1843). He traveled one hundred miles to Brown County to visit what he described as a "Colored Association," perhaps a settlement of free African Americans, reporting, upon his return, that he "was much interested at the Association, mostly by the talent exhibited. They showed about as much attention to me, as an Association would have shown to one of their ministers (September 8, 1844)."

Eaton also recounts several controversies surrounding sex in his community. On March 14, 1844, Eaton wrote that he felt "exceedingly afflict[ed]" to have "Learned of an aggravated case of fornication by two of the members" of his church. A month later he excluded two parishioners from church service "for lewdness" (April 29, 1844). Eaton also gave an account of a case of "buggery." Minister T.A. Warner had "been accused of buggery, but not proved guilty [in a church trial]" and claimed to Eaton not to be guilty (July 25, 1844). Before his church, however, Warner had "Confessed the attempt & attributed it to a habit contracted when a boy." Eaton and a Brother Whitman informed Last Creek Church of the incident "because [they] thought, such a thing had much better go before a man than to come after him" (March 2, 1844) Eaton clearly felt disturbed by Warner’s purported behavior but what is especially noteworthy is the matter-of-fact tone Eaton used in writing about the situation.

Starting at the back of the volume, Eaton wrote 8 "dissertations," with an introduction and a transcript of a letter, that explore moral, religious, and philosophical questions (pages 162-98). Eaton's goal was to "attempt to enter into the immaterial world, & investigate the properties of spirit" (page 160).

• Dissertation 1: Methods, What is meant by a Faculty of the mind? What is meant by a principle of mind?
• Dissertation 2: Understanding
• Dissertation 3: Taste
• Dissertation 4: Will
• Dissertation 5: Liberty
• Dissertation 6: Natural & Mortal Agent
• Dissertation 7: Good and Evil: Dr. Hendrick's Lecture on Good and Evil
• Dissertation 8: Difference between Natural good and evil & Moral good and evil

Many of the essays have commentary labeled "Dr. Henricks Remarks" or "Professor's Remarks." These are brief notes and criticisms of the essays.

The two letters are addressed to Lottie Churchill, wife of Arthur Churchill, of Washington, Vermont (1923). One is from her cousin Cretia from Walla Walla, Washington (3 pages), and the other is from her friend Estella, from Morrisville, Vermont (8 pages). Both letters focus on personal news and mention food and cooking.

This collection is made up of letters that Captain W. T. Ennis wrote to "Nell" while serving in the United States Army Transportation Corps during World War II. Ennis discussed military life in Great Britain, his leisure activities, and news of friends in the United States.

This collection is made up of 3 letters that Captain W. T. Ennis wrote to "Nell" while serving in the United States Army Transportation Corps in August and September 1942. Ted discussed his leisure activities, which included eating at restaurants and attending musical shows; on one occasion, he reported the cancellation of a scheduled appearance by Al Jolson. He also mentioned an opportunity to purchase lemons from a chaplain and his attitude toward dances, which he attempted to avoid on account of his advanced age. Ennis sometimes referred indirectly to the war, noting that the streets became deserted at night and advising Nell not to send clippings or news that might imply the location(s) of large concentrations of American military personnel. In his final letter, dated September 15, 1942, Ennis reported his reassignment to the newly formed transportation corps and hoped to travel in the British Isles.

The Wright family collection consists primarily of correspondence related to the Morfit family and to Wilbur and Orville Wright's uncle, John Wright.

The Wright family collection consists primarily of correspondence related to the Morfit family and to Wilbur and Orville Wright's uncle, John Wright. Several of the items in the collection relate to Henry Mason Morfit, John Wright's attorney, and to his son Campbell, including a series of letters from mid-1853 chronicling Wright's attempt to secure a patent for improvements to reapers and mining machines. Also included is a document dated May 26, 1852, in which Wright formally gave Morfit power of attorney in the matter. Other Wright items include a letter from Danforth P. Wright to Henry Wright, dated October 24, 1842, asking for genealogical information to be added to a history of the family. In addition to the John Wright letters, the collection also holds several items written to Campbell Morfit, Henry's son, mentioning his academic work at the University of Maryland. Later material in the collection includes a 1919 letter detailing the provenance of the John Wright papers, written on stationary from the Aero Club of America, and a 1940 letter composed by Orville Wright's secretary, confirming the Wright brothers' appreciation for the work of Lilienthal and Chanute.

The Wood family papers contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Much of the content pertains to education, family news, and politics.

The Wood family papers (4 linear feet) contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.

The Correspondence series comprises almost all of the collection. Early items are incoming letters to James A. Wood, Rebecca D. Pillsbury (later Wood), and their daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood, from family members and acquaintances. James A. Wood's siblings wrote with updates on their lives, such as Caroline E. Wood's teaching career in numerous towns throughout New York. Rebecca D. Pillsbury also received letters from her brothers and sisters, and both Wood's and Pillsbury's correspondents discussed family matters, religion, and local news. Margaret Ann's letter of December 3, 1860, concerns her affection for a deceased baby sister, and an unidentified author's letter of September 4, 1861, describes the recent death of a grandmother. James A. Wood received an increasing amount of business-related correspondence, including letters from Charles W. Pierce, in the 1870s.

After the 1870s, most letters are addressed to Rebecca D. Wood and her daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood. Rebecca's children often wrote letters to their mother, and Helen received letters from cousins and friends from around the East Coast. George P. Wood, Helen's brother, often shared stories of his young son James and of his life in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D. C.; and Peekskill, New York. In one letter, George included a map showing the location of his home in Washington, D. C. (November 13, 1899).

In addition to family and social news, letters occasionally referred to current events. "Dana," one of Helen E. Wood's cousins, wrote from his United States Army post during World War I (December 28, 1917), and other friends discussed the impact of the war. Among Helen's correspondents were Ida McCollister of New Hampshire and Harry Sawyer, an old friend who shared news of his life in Kearney, Nebraska. In one later letter, George P. Wood expressed some of his political views about the 1924 presidential election (October 27, 1924). Correspondence was less frequent after Helen E. Wood's death in 1933, with most incoming letters addressed to Winchester R. Wood of Lynn, Massachusetts, a member of the family's Connecticut branch. Undated items include similar family correspondence, as well as one letter written on a printed program for the Public Meeting of the Philadelphian Society at Kimball Union Academy at Meridian, New Hampshire, on June 12, 1878.

The Essays series includes an "Autobiography of a Sofa," written by R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury, as well as a manuscript draft of the "Common School Repository...Published semi-monthly by L. J. Boynton & R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury," containing 8 pages of short pieces attributed, often only by first name, to various contributors.

Among the six Receipts, addressed to A. Wood (1 item) and Helen E. Wood (5 items) are two receipts for Helen E. Wood's educational expenses and two slips crediting her account at Citizens National Bank, Boston.

Maps and Blueprints comprise 7 items. These are several drawings of house layouts, one map showing the locations of two buildings, and two blueprints.

The Newspaper Clippings series has 6 items, one of which is an article entitled "What They Say: How Girls of Various Cities Behave When They are Kissed."

The Ephemera series contains 52 Christmas cards, greeting cards, postcards, calling cards, programs, and other printed items. Specific items include 2 Red Cross membership cards, a pamphlet advertising The Art of Living Long by Louis Cornaro, and a blank order sheet for Sears, Roebuck and Co. from the 1920s.

This collection consists of 31 letters that Woodbury and Ellen M. Hardy received from friends and family members between 1856 and 1868. From 1856 to 1860, Woodbury Hardy received 13 letters from acquaintances, cousins, and his brother in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; South Danvers, Massachusetts; Palatine, Illinois; and Meridian, Michigan. He and his wife collectively received 6 letters written during the Civil War and 4 written between 1866 and 1868. The collection also holds 8 undated letters. Writers commented on family and social news, agriculture, aspects of life in the Midwest, the Civil War, and the impact of the military draft.

This collection consists of 31 letters that Woodbury and Ellen M. Hardy received from friends and family members between 1856 and 1868. From 1856 to1860, Woodbury Hardy received 13 letters from acquaintances, cousins, and his brother in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; South Danvers, Massachusetts; Palatine, Illinois; and Meridian, Michigan. He and his wife collectively received 6 letters written during the Civil War and 4 written between 1866 and 1868. The collection also holds 8 undated letters. Writers commented on family and social news, agriculture, aspects of life in the Midwest, the Civil War, and the impact of the military draft.

Woodbury Hardy's friends and cousins in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, shared social news with Hardy when he lived in South Danvers, Massachusetts, in the mid-1850s, and in the Midwest during the early 1860s. They commented on weddings, education, agriculture, and family health. Woodbury's brother, Samuel Hardy, and an acquaintance, Levina Williams, wrote of their lives in Illinois, often mentioning agriculture, local news, and separation from family members on the East Coast. Woodbury's cousin, also named Woodbury Hardy, wrote a similar letter from Meridian, Michigan, discussing local history, crops, and schools (March 9, 1860). Woodbury and Ellen Hardy continued to receive similar personal letters from male and female correspondents throughout and after the Civil War.

Of the 6 letters written during the Civil War, 5 comment directly on the effects of the war in South Danvers, Massachusetts. Ellen Hardy's "Uncle Moses" wrote an 8-page letter on July 6 and 9, 1862, sharing his thoughts on the war's causes and progress and on a woman named Sarah Jane, who feared the loss of a loved one in a recent battle. Other letters mention the effects of the draft and names of local volunteers. J. Clough, of Nashua, New Hampshire, wrote a final war-era business letter to Woodbury Hardy regarding a shipment of freight from New Hampshire to Chicago (May 26, 1862).

Family letters of interest include Sanford Hardy's account of his railroad journey from Nashua, New Hampshire, to Chicago, Illinois, in early 1857 (May 28, 1857). He compared first and second class accommodations, and shared his strong negative reaction to other passengers in second class. In one letter, Carlos Hardy, Woodbury's cousin, discussed a recent scandal involving Samuel Hardy and his wife Abby, who reportedly married under duress (December 17, 1858). Two letters by Lydia Ann include mention of a family member and a friend who had been prisoners of war at England's Dartmoor Prison during the War of 1812 (July 23, 1860, and January 10, 1868). Among the undated letters is a letter John Price wrote to his great-grandson, Arthur Hardy, and a letter from Arthur's sick 5 year-old cousin "Frannie" (written by an adult). One later undated letter addressed to Ellen anticipates Woodbury Hardy's imminent return, along with other Civil War veterans.

This collection contains letters that Woodburn Shrewsbury wrote about friendship among soldiers, courtship and marriage, and Presbyterian ministers visiting Madison, Indiana, in 1864 and 1865. Shrewsbury wrote his first letter from Madison House Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, during his service in the 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry Regiment.

During and just after the Civil War, Woodburn Shrewsbury wrote 3 letters (14 pages) to his friends Charles, with whom he had served in the 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry Regiment, Company H (January 8, 1864), and Will (September 27, 1865, and October 19, 1865). Shrewsbury wrote to Charles about his experiences at Madison House Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, and discussed his beliefs about the strength of friendships formed during military service. He also reported on the flooding of the Alabama River. In each of his letters, Shrewsbury commented on women, courtship, and marriage. Upon hearing of Will's desire to marry, Shrewsbury cautioned him against marrying before the age of 30. He also told Will of his future plans, including the possibility of purchasing oil lands in Kentucky, and shared his opinion of a group of Presbyterian ministers who had just visited Madison, Indiana, where he lived with his parents.

This collection of 22 items bearing printed letterheads from various women's suffrage organizations. A portion of the collection is blank stationery. The correspondence relates to expenses, event planning, donation solicitations, and advocacy efforts. The majority originated from organizations based in Boston, Massachusetts. One letter has an anti-suffrage tone.

• Bay County League of Women Voters (Bay City, Mich.)
• Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage
• The Empire State Campaign Committee (New York, N.Y.)
• Equal Suffrage League
• Leslie Woman Suffrage Commission, Inc. (New York, N.Y.)
• Leslie Woman Suffrage Continuing Committee (New York, N.Y.)
• Marcus Ward Company Incorporated
• Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association
• National American Woman Suffrage Association (New York, N.Y.)
• New York State Woman Suffrage Association
• Springfield Equal Suffrage League
• Suffrage Referendum State Committee
• Suffrage Study Club (Sea Cliff, N.Y.)
• The Woman's Journal and Suffrage News

The Women, Gender, and Family collection contains miscellaneous individual items relating to women, gender, and family primarily in America, between 1678 and 1996.

The Women, Gender, and Family collection contains miscellaneous items relating to women, gender, and family between 1678 and 1996. The bulk of the collection ranges in from 1800 to the early 20th century and is geographically focused on the United States of America. Topics include marriage and divorce, childrearing and motherhood, household management, and consensual and coerced sex. Other areas of interest cover women’s various forms of labor, legal restitution for paternity suits and financial support, and education for women and children. While not as heavily represented, multiple items detail women's engagement in politics, slavery and abolition, and women's rights.

This collection is made up of correspondence, scrapbooks, and advertisements related to W. L. Cummings, who was a doctor in Syracuse, New York, during the early 20th century. The material largely pertains to traveling doctors and patent medicines.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) is made up of correspondence, scrapbooks, and advertisements related to W. L. Cummings, who was a doctor in Syracuse, New York, during the early 20th century. The material largely pertains to traveling doctors and patent medicines.

The Correspondence series contains 10 letters that W. L. Cummings received from September 16, 1912-August 31, 1928, and on January 22, 1941. Trevey Slack, a traveling doctor, wrote 6 letters to Cummings from September 16, 1912-May 26, 1913. He described his experiences in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Missouri, and provided information on medical treatments, other traveling doctors, and the medical profession. In his letter of November 25, 1912, he commented on doctors who put on vaudeville performances. Other letters include formulas for a liniment and a stomach remedy (March 22, 1918, and January 22, 1941).

The Speeches series includes 2 speech drafts concerning the effectiveness of patent medicine and a medicine called "Sangvine."

Cummings's 1905 Account Book contains dated records of his income and expenses.

Two Scrapbooks contain recipes, printed advertisements, newspaper clippings, labels, and other items related to medical ailments and treatments, medicines, and household products. The first scrapbook (144 pages), dated November 5, 1914, includes items from and related to A. W. Lithgow, such as recipes for medicinal formulas and household cleaners, as well as a "pedler's license" issued to Lithgow by the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The second scrapbook (approximately 40 pages) contains printed items related to medicines and household cleaners.

The Printed Items series (36 items) includes advertisements for medicines and related products. Some items are mounted on cards with other advertisements. Broadsides, notices, and other items relate to medical remedies and patent medicines, including an advertisement for "Perfecto Hair Tonic and Dandruff Remover" produced by W. L. Cummings in Unadilla Forks, New York. Also present are blank contract forms for potential distributors of products of the Cooperative Chemical Company. Other material pertains to vaudeville performances, life insurance, and a contest. The Pamphlets subseries (15 items) contains 4 pamphlets that Cummings wrote from 1910-1925: 3 about household formulas, and 1entitled "The Pathway to Prosperity." This subseries also includes pamphlets about patent medicines and women's diseases, as well as Lydia E. Pinkham's "Letters to a Young Housewife."