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

This collection is made up of correspondence, military records, photographs, newsletters, scrapbooks, and other items pertaining to the military career of Charles H. Foster, who served in the United States Navy from 1898-1934.

The Charles H. Foster collection consists of correspondence, military records, photographs, newsletters, scrapbooks, and other items pertaining to the military career of Charles H. Foster, who served in the United States Navy from 1898-1934.

The collection's correspondence (144 items) primarily relates to Foster's naval service after 1902. Letters, memorandums, orders, and reports concern his ship assignments and work at the Naval Gun Factory (Washington Navy Yard) during World War I. One group of letters from the early 1920s relates to the acquisition of dependent's pay for Foster's mother. A series of World War II-era documents respect Foster's fitness for active duty. After World War II, he received letters from military acquaintances and veterans of the Spanish-American War.

Charles H. Foster's 1918-1919 diary concerns his travel on the Huron between the United States and France. Notes, newspaper clippings, and a telegram laid into the volume regard deaths, the military, and historical inquiries.

The papers include 4 of Charles H. Foster's scrapbooks, which contain materials related to the USTS Alliance's 1897-1898 training mission; naval ships, personnel, and theatrical and musical programs and performances; the Mexican Revolution and Mexican politics in the mid-1910s; and naval equipment, camps, and weapons tests.

Sixty-three photographs depict U.S. Navy sailors and vessels. One group of pictures show scenes from the Huron's voyage between France and the United States during World War I. The collection also features photographic postcards sent by Charles H. Foster and others from Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, Germany, and Borneo.

Financial records, legal documents, and service records primarily pertain to Charles H. Foster, with a focus on his time on the USS West Virginia in the 1920s and his mother's financial dependency. Documents, blueprints, photographs, and other items relate to devices patented by Charles H. Foster and others. Two service ribbons appear in the collection, mounted onto a wallet printed with "United States Battle Fleet, Sydney, 1925," which also contains a travel pass and membership card for Charles H. Foster.

The collection includes 429 typescripts about early American history, the Civil War, South Carolina Confederate soldiers, the Spanish-American War, aviation, and the US Navy. Rosters of American Navy ships and personnel include information on Union vessels during the Civil War; casualties from the 1898 USS Maine explosion; USTS Alliance naval apprentices in 1898; USS West Virginia officers in 1926; and the names and addresses of members in several naval veterans' associations.

A "Personal Log" by Royal Emerson Foster relates to his service on the SSAC Bedford in early 1919, with descriptions and illustrations of naval equipment, ship construction, signaling, personnel, and other subjects. The navy publication Rules to Prevent Collisions of Vessels also appears in the Log.

US Naval Ex. Apprentices Association materials include copies of Trade Winds, the association's newsletter, from 1939-1964. The newsletters are accompanied by a list of Alliance apprentices in 1898. A copy of Rocks and Shoals, a publication for former crewmen of the USS Memphis, is also present. Other printed works include military publications about equipment and procedures, a handbook on medicine, the Mariner's Pocketbook, A History of Guantanamo Bay, newspaper clippings, a souvenir book from the US Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island, a death announcement, and a map of Arlington National Cemetery.

Notes, reports, and a bound volume concern the history of the Foster, Yates, and Lindstrom families.

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, and other items related to Michigan lawyer and politician Charles S. May, including letters between May and George Willard. The materials pertain to politics, family history, and May's legal career.

This collection (59 items) is made up of correspondence, legal documents, and other items related to Michigan lawyer and politician Charles S. May.

The Correspondence series (47 items) largely consists of incoming and outgoing letters related to Charles S. May, including correspondence between May and George Willard of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, Michigan. Writing to Willard in 1855 and 1856, May discussed his work for the Detroit Tribune and politics; Willard also discussed political issues, such as the presidential election of 1856. Two items pertain to May's service with the 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment in 1861: a letter that May wrote to his wife about his experiences just before the First Battle of Bull Run, including a description of being attacked by enemy fire (July 20, 1861), and a doctor's letter to Captain Dwight May about Charles's affliction with "nervous exhaustion" and other ailments that together rendered him unfit for duty (September 12, 1861).

After the war, Charles S. May wrote to George Willard about his legal career in Kalamazoo, state politics, and his failed political ambitions. He received two letters from United States Representatives William L. Stoughton (April 25, 1870) and Allen Potter (December 15, 1876); Potter discussed the disputed presidential election of 1876. Samuel May of Leicester, Massachusetts, wrote 10 letters to May from 1874-1883, requesting information about May family history and sharing his admiration for Charles's speaking talents. A group of items from the 1890s and early 1900s includes a letter that Charles May received from the Grand Army of the Republic soliciting donations for an exhibition (February 12, 1892).

Legal Documents (8 items) include two sets of undated notes about legal cases, court documents regarding Charles S. May's legal career, a certificate of copyright for May's Wat Tyler: An Historical Tragedy in Five Acts (February 24, 1879), and Civil War pension documents for Eliza E. May (October 12, 1901) and George W. Clark (January 19, 1904).

The Speeches and Printed Items series (4 items) contains undated notes from a lecture about Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton and a printed edition of a speech that Charles S. May delivered during the dedication ceremonies for a library in Leicester, Massachusetts, on July 8, 1896. Several testimonials regarding May's orations are enclosed with the speech notes. The series also includes a group of testimonials and advertisements concerning Charles S. May's speaking engagements and a small broadside advertisement for May's lecture about Patrick Henry, delivered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on February 3, 1876.

From 1860-1862, Franklin C. Stout used this volume to record financial transactions, notes about historical events, and an account of a trip to the Delaware Water Gap.

From December 8, 1860, to the summer of 1862, Frank C. Stout used this volume to record financial transactions, notes about historical events, and an account of a trip to the Delaware Water Gap.

The first 56 pages are comprised of financial accounts dated December 8, 1860, to March 5, 1862, most of which relate to foodstuffs. On several occasions, Stout noted political events, such as the secessions of South Carolina and Alabama from the Union and Abraham Lincoln's visit to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in February 1861. Around 10 pages of additional financial records are written at the end of the volume; some concern social events, such as a festival, a ticketed lecture, and Republican Club activities. Stout's other notes include instructions for loading, firing, and cleaning a gun manufactured by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company. Two newspaper clippings pasted into the volume offer health advice for Union soldiers expecting to serve in the South.

On July 19, 1862, Franklin C. Stout and four companions left Bethlehem for a "pedestrian expedition" to the Delaware Water Gap, a journey that Stout described in detail (12 pages). While walking to their destination, the group visited several acquaintances, and they often spent their leisure time playing games of euchre. At the Delaware Water Gap, Stout commented on the flora and fauna, as well as the group's sightseeing activities.

This collection contains correspondence and other items related to the family of George H. and Mary Spooner of Petersham, Massachusetts, and Clifton, Illinois. George and Mary Spooner corresponded with one another and with many family members between the 1840s and early 1880s. The collection includes a small number of printed materials, poems, writings, and ephemeral items.

This collection (83 items) contains correspondence and other items related to the family of George H. and Mary Spooner of Petersham, Massachusetts, and Clifton, Illinois.

The Correspondence series (67 items) largely consists of letters that George and Mary Spooner received from friends and family members in the mid-19th century, particularly in the 1850s. Their correspondents primarily wrote from locations in Massachusetts, such as Petersham, Worcester, and Deerfield. The writers often provided news of family members and acquaintances, and some discussed social events such as Fourth of July celebrations.

One group of letters, dated in the 1840s, pertains to J. Benjamin Howe, a relative of the Spooner family. Mary and George Spooner exchanged love letters during periods of separation, and George wrote a letter to his grandfather about his life and work in Boston in September 1851. Letters dated after 1858 occasionally pertain to politics and to the Civil War, including a letter from Mary's brother Thomas, who discussed the Lincoln-Douglas debates and expressed his opinions about racial purity (September 22, 1858).

Mary Angela Spooner wrote to George and Mary Spooner about life in Petersham, Massachusetts, during the Civil War, mentioning local casualties and sharing news of J. Benjamin [Howe], a member of the 53rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. George Spooner corresponded with his wife about business affairs and life in "Pekin" during the war years. Postwar items include letters to an unidentified recipient in Clifton, Illinois, and a small number of additional personal letters to George and Mary Spooner. In December 1874, a man named "Fletch" wrote two letters about his experiences at Harvard.

The Writings, Sketch, and Genealogy series (11 items) includes an undated essay entitled "Chronicles of Clifton," poems, a pencil sketch, and genealogical notes. From 1842-1843, J. Benjamin Howe copied or wrote 4 poems, including lines addressed to a pet dog, songs about love, and one titled "The Army Overcoat." Additional poetry includes a similar work about military clothing, unsigned lines in a different hand, and a copy of a poem entitled "Brig Transcript." The series also contains a pencil sketch of the unidentified artist's former residence (November 5, 1848) and four pages of genealogical notes.

The Printed Items and Ephemera series (5 items) consists of a newspaper clipping, two calling cards, an invitation addressed to George and Mary Spooner, and the word "Bible" sewn on plastic canvas (with half or tent stitches).

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, and other items related to New Jersey politician Jonathan Dayton; his son-in-law, Oliver Hatfield Spencer; and Spencer's son-in-law, William Nelson Wood. The materials concern politics, finances, property, genealogy, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of 3 linear feet of correspondence, documents, and other items related to New Jersey politician Jonathan Dayton; his son-in-law, Oliver Hatfield Spencer; and Spencer's son-in-law, William Nelson Wood. The materials date between 1764 and 1892, and they concern politics, finances, property, genealogy, and other subjects. The collection is arranged into groups of Jonathan Dayton papers, Oliver Hatfield Spencer papers, William Nelson Wood papers, and Spencer and Wood family papers.

The Jonathan Dayton Papers are divided into 3 subseries. The Jonathan Dayton Correspondence subseries is made up of Dayton's incoming (over 310 items) and outgoing (approximately 55 items) letters between 1780 and 1824. Dayton corresponded with family members, professional acquaintances, and political figures. Many of the early letters pertain to Dayton's congressional service, national and local politics, and personal matters. A group of 14 letters from 1807 concern the Burr Conspiracy and its effects on Dayton, who was imprisoned in connection with the incident. Some of Dayton's correspondents discussed Native American relations and the Northwest Territory. Others provided family news from Cincinnati and commented on legal and financial issues.

The Jonathan Dayton Financial Documents (15 items, 1774-1830) consist of receipts, accounts, and account books, pertaining to real property, taxes, and other financial matters. The 2 account books (1792-1793 and 1823) concern shipping costs, livestock, debts, and real property. A copy of Gaine's New-York Pocket Almanack for 1775 contains an unidentified writer's manuscript notes and financial records kept between 1775 and 1779.

The Jonathan Dayton Legal Documents (76 items, 1764-1821) include deeds for property in New Jersey, contracts, records pertaining to court cases, and other items.

The Oliver Hatfield Spencer series , divided into subseries of Correspondence (5 items) and Documents (13 items). Letters to Spencer, dated 1820-1821, concern his claims against the estate of "Mr. Evans." Other items, dated between 1802 and 1856, include certificates, deeds, Spencer's will, receipts, and a military commission. These documents relate to Spencer's medical career, his work for the New Orleans Board of Health and the Medical Board of the State of Louisiana, and his memberships in the Medical Society of Philadelphia and the Chemical Society of Philadelphia. Three later items pertain to his estate.

The William Nelson Wood series includes Correspondence (19 items) and Estate Documents (41 items). James Cook informed Wood of his brother's death in a letter dated February 21, 1831. The bulk of the remaining correspondence, written from 1853-1854, concern the estate of Clement Wood, a resident of England. Two letters by Luigi Palma di Cesnola (June 27, 1864, and July 7, 1864) report the death of Wood's son Oliver during the Civil War and discuss the Battle of Trevilian Station. A subseries of Estate Documents consists primarily of claims made against Wood's estate following his death in 1865.

The Spencer and Wood Family Papers (153 items) consist of letters, documents receipts, genealogical notes, autographs, an invitation, and an essay related to the descendants of Jonathan Dayton, Oliver Hatfield Spencer, and William Nelson Wood. Correspondence, Documents, and Receipts include incoming and outgoing letters related to members of the Dayton, Spencer, and Wood families, often concerning family news and legal affairs. The series includes Genealogical Materials for the Dayton, Williamson, Halstead, Spencer, and Ogden families. Eighty-seven Autographs cut from letters include signatures and handwriting of prominent individuals in the late 18th and early 19th century. The final items in the collection include an essay description of Jesus Christ (with an 1847 song "The Hieland Laddies' Farewell" written on the back) and a vellum invitation for Edward Meeker Wood to attend The General Society of the Cincinnati and the Sons of the Revolution commemorative event for the death of George Washington, held on December 14, 1899.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s. Many of the items were once bound together.

The Correspondence series is comprised of around 60 incoming and outgoing letters related to Salem, New York, and to the history of the state of New York. Early letters between residents of Salem and other locales concern a wide range of topics including education, political offices and appointments, and legal cases. After 1856, most items are incoming letters to James Gibson, a native of Salem who was state senator, judge, and president of the Washington Academy. Three letters written during the Civil War concern military commissions and officers. Many of Gibson's incoming letters, particularly later items, relate to his genealogical work; some correspondents offered or requested information about their ancestors.

The Documents series contains over 140 indentures, financial records, petitions, and other items, primarily related to residents of Salem, New York, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the indentures concern land ownership in Washington, County, New York, and personal financial agreements. Other material relates to the Washington Academy, including a list of pupils. Legal orders largely concern private debts, and one document pertains to a local election. Some documents have newspaper clippings pasted onto them, and others were once bound together. One item is a diploma that the Washington Academy issued to James McEl. A group of land indentures is housed in a large bound volume.

The collection's Printed Items include articles, programs, and newspaper clippings. The majority of newspaper clippings concern the Washington Academy in Salem, New York. Other articles concern the "Bench and Bar of Washington County," the Bancroft Public Library, and the family of William Williams. Some clippings are pasted onto large sheets of paper, with manuscript annotations; a small number of complete newspapers are present. The series also has several copies of a program from the dedication ceremony of the Bancroft Public Library in July 1890.

The Photograph, Essay, Notes, and Fragments series is made up of items pertaining to Salem, New York. The carte-de-visite photograph depicts J. B. Steele. The various notes, essay, and fragments pertain to genealogy.

This volume (112 pages) contains Sarah Welles Hunt's reminiscences about her life, as well as occasional journal entries that Hunt composed from July 1, 1851-May 23, 1893. She wrote about her travels in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, and Québec; her encounters with famous individuals; her family; and current events.

This volume (112 pages) contains Sarah Welles Hunt's reminiscences about her life, as well as occasional journal entries that Hunt composed from July 1, 1851-April 9, 1891. She wrote about her travels in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, and Québec; her encounters with notable individuals; her family; and current events.

Hunt began her diary on July 1, 1851, with her recollections about her life from her birth in 1810 to around 1851, including information about her family, travels, and notable individuals she had seen or met. She mentioned attending the Clinton Female Seminary in 1826 and noted the cholera outbreak of 1832 in Utica, New York. Some pages have been cut out of the volume.

From 1851-1891, Hunt occasionally wrote journal entries about her life in New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan. While living in the east, she recounted her visits to family members in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Ashtabula, Ohio; on one occasion, she traveled through New York to Montréal, Québec (1860, pp. 77-78). After moving to Michigan, Hunt sometimes traveled to Ohio and New York. Hunt periodically recorded news about her siblings, parents, in-laws, and children, including dates of births, marriages, and deaths. She also commented on current events, such as European politics in the early 1850s, a railroad accident in Norwalk, Connecticut (May 6, 1853, pp. 46-47), and the Civil War (1864-1865, pp. 80-83). In 1876, Hunt visited the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Genealogical notes and 2 newspaper obituaries for John Alfred Davenport are laid into the volume.

The William Jenks collection consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks.

The William Jenks collection (975 items) consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items, related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks. The collection includes 887 letters (123 undated), 37 official and financial documents, 37 prayer notes and miscellaneous items, and 14 printed documents.

The Correspondence series (887 items) largely consists of personal letters addressed to Jenks and his wife from friends, colleagues, parishioners, and family members. Religious themes are apparent throughout. Many of the earliest items are from Jenks' brothers John, Samuel, and Francis Jenks; other pre-1805 items from colleagues and concerned parents of students concern his teaching career in Cambridge. For example, Sarah Dunlap of Salem, Massachusetts, described a treatment for her son's "bad quincey" (swelling of the throat), so that Jenks could administer it while her son was under his care (June 4, 1800). Other ministry-related items include an invitation to "dance at the house of Mr. Lyman" from the Committee of the Congregational Society in Bath, Maine, received just before Jenks' move to Maine (December 17, 1805). While in Maine, Jenks received letters from his parishioners and other members of Bath society, as well as from his old friends and business colleagues in Boston and Cambridge. One letter from Jonathan Greenleaf states that he wished to send Jenks some of his books so they can be scattered into the hands of individuals, for the sake of religion and literature, and "where they will be read and preserved", rather than sent to a library (December 24, 1813). Jenks wrote a few of the letters in the collection, including a warm and affectionate letter to his wife (September 7, 1811). In another letter, dated April 15, 1812, Jenks implored someone to care for an African-American friend in need of assistance. Jenks also received a letter recommending John Gloucester (the first African-American ordained Presbyterian priest) as a possible leader of missionary work in Africa (January 31, 1815).

The bulk of the letters related to Betsey Jenks are from her sister, Sally Belknap Russell (later married to a man named Pope). Sally discussed the sickness and death of their father Ezekiel Russell, life in Boston, and other personal matters. Particularly after 1808, various brothers, sisters, cousins, and the Jenks children wrote many of the family letters. Though these are warm and affectionate, they also contain news of the deaths of parents, siblings and spouses. For example, the June 24, 1810, item is from Jenks’ sister Abigail Dana describing her husband's suicide. Also of note are three letters regarding a servant who was trying to hide from her abusive husband (October 26, 1807; November 12, 1807; and November 1807).

Letters from the 1820s through the 1840s contain materials related to various speaking engagements in Massachusetts and invitations to the meetings of area historical societies. Also present are business letters and circulars from the many societies and churches in which Jenks held memberships; these concern diverse topics, such as staffing issues and library collections. During this time, Jenks also maintained correspondence with his children and siblings. His son wrote several letters in 1831 about travels in Spain, Marseilles, Malta, and Sicily. Also of note is a letter in which Jenks discussed a sinking ship near the North Pole (December 3, 1829), and another that contains notes on the "correct" version of the English language Bible (July 17, 1835). Jenks discussed Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World, referring to it as being "published immediately after the Witchcraft Excitement in 1693" (June 26, 1841).

Many of the items from the late 1840s through the 1860s, and almost all of the letters written after Jenks' death in 1866, are related to Jenks’ son Lemuel. In one, Lemuel described in detail a religious festival in Manzanas, Cuba (April 5, 1848). In another, Craigie Jenks described his service in the 7th Regiment of the Kansas Militia during the Civil War (October 25, 1864). Five items dated after Jenks' death are addressed to William Jenk's daughter, Sarah Judith Jenks, who married Jerome Merritt. One letter dated April 29, 1856, was written by William Buel Sprague (1795-1876) soliciting input about how to write about Rev. Samuel Williams in his forthcoming book, Annals of the American Pulpit.

The Receipts, Documents, Reports, and Notes series (37 items) contains Jenks’ business documents, speeches, and financial papers.

• Society for promoting historian knowledge (1816)
• Boston Society for the Religions and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1821)
• Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1825)

The series contains addresses delivered to the Delta Young Mens Athenaeum by E. Maxwell Seal (1839) and the Bath Society for the Suppression of Public Vice (undated). This series also holds a copy of the law enacted by the Massachusetts state congress to bring William Jenks and others into the Society for the Religious and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1820) as well as 8 receipts, largely of payments to William Jenks for services rendered. Another item of interest is an 1852 list of Massachusetts church congregations (various denominations) noting increasing numbers of attendance from March 8 and April 12 because of added converts.

The Prayer Notes series (20 items) consists of small slips of paper with prayer requests for sick or recently departed family members of the church community. The minister usually read these during the church service. Though most of the notes are undated, one item is from 1815, when Jenks was at the Bath Congregational Church, and several others are from 1821, when he was at the chapel on Central Wharf.

The Miscellaneous Notes series (17 items) contains a variety of written and visual material. One item is a drawing of the Manana ("Mananas") Island Petroglyph (writing carved in stone by early Native Americans) with a description of the location and the inscription. Another is a two-page description of "Monhegan Island and of the inscription found there" (1851). Other notes include items in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, and one other language that may be Phoenician or Aramaic. The genealogical item traces the line of Nathan Webb of Charlestown, starting with John Webb of Shrewsbury, England, 1531. Images include a plan of houses to be built on Atkinson St. [Boston] (1825), a sketch of a thatched roof cottage drawn by A.M. Jenks (1882), and a drawing of the Manana Island Petroglyph on a rock. A four-page account of travel to Russia, particularly St. Petersburg, is also noteworthy for its description of Russian landmarks and tourist attractions (undated).

The Printed Material series contains 14 items related to the religious, genealogical, and antiquarian societies with which Jenks was involved. Included are the rules and bylaws of the Eastern Society in Bath, Maine (1811); two religious pamphlets encouraging prostitutes to turn to Christianity (1824); a report of the "Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries to its British and American Members" (1836); a poem entitled The Worker, written by Jenks (1857); and The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 5, Number 4 (October 1851), pages 375-486. Images of William Jenkins and Alpheus Hardy, both undated, are also part of the series .