Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Roger Barney was an Episcopal priest serving first in New Hampshire, later as a Navy chaplain during World War II, with Parishfield Community in Brighton, Michigan, and as associate rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor. Jane Lockwood Barney worked with the Institute of Gerontology and as advocate on behalf of the elderly. The collection includes personal correspondence, sermons, and subject files relating to their education, his service during World War II, and their ministry at Parishfield.

Roger Barney's papers date from his youth in the late 1920s up to his death in 1978, and document his personal interests and activities, his education, his time in the armed forces during World War II, and his professional life as an Episcopal minister. Likewise, the papers of Jane Barney date from the 1930s to the early 2000s, and document her education, her family life, and her work with the University of Michigan's Institute of Gerontology and other organizations concerned with senior citizens. The collection is comprised of the following series: Roger Warren Barney Files, Jane Lockwood Barney Files, and Correspondence.

Papers of the Rev. James A. Brown, Michigan Methodist minister, and his wife Winifred Croel Brown. Correspondence, diaries, sermons, photographs and other materials relating in part to their pastorate in Elsie, Michigan, life during the depression; include comments on farming conditions, politics, and the effects of prohibition.

The James Brown collection consists of papers of James Brown, his wife Winifred Croel Brown and several relatives of James Brown. It includes correspondence, diaries, sermons, photographs and other materials relating in part to their pastorate in Elsie, Michigan, life during the depression. In addition to information on family and church matters, the papers include comments on farming conditions, politics, and the effects of prohibition. The collection has been arranged into three series: the papers of James A. Brown, Winifred Croel Brown, and the extended Brown Family.

Methodist clergyman, pastor of the Centre Methodist Church in Malden, Massachusetts, the Elm Park Methodist Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Central Methodist Church in Detroit, Michigan. Correspondence, 1938-1958, subject reference file, ca. 1902-1966, name reference file, 1938-1958, sermon file, 1925-1958, scrapbooks, 1928-1958, church bulletins and newsletters from church at which Crane pastored, sound tape recordings of messages preached by Crane, and visual materials consisting of photographs and motion picture film. The Crane papers document an interest in, and activities with, various liberal and progressive organizations, and his association and friendship with other clergy and individuals with similar pacifist and activist backgrounds.

The files of clergy are often narrow in scope encompassing only the activities of an individual within the setting of his/her own church. Henry Hitt Crane was more than the pastor of Central Methodist Church in Detroit. He was a nationally known speaker, eloquent in his advocacy of pacifism and civil rights. The Crane collection reflects the scope of his activities both within the churches he pastored, within the city of Detroit as an influential church leader, and nationally within larger Methodist circles and among other advocates of liberal causes similar to his own. Through his correspondence, articles, and published messages, we see Crane as representative of that class of nationally known clergymen, respected for their opinions, champion of progressive causes, and willing participants in the often contentious debates that followed World War I on matters of morality, politics, and social justice.

The Crane papers, with some exceptions, cover the period when Henry Hitt Crane first entered the ministry during the years of World War I and continuing past his retirement, until approximately 1964. There is decidedly less material from the years before his coming to Central Methodist Church in 1938; by far the largest bulk of documents date from 1938 to 1958 when Crane pastored this metropolitan church. The exceptions to the basic span dates of 1917 to 1958 are files collected by Crane of sermons, published pamphlets, and other materials of his father and uncle, also Methodist clergymen. There are also materials that date after 1958, mainly copies of messages received from other clergy with some correspondence.

The Crane papers have been maintained in the order as created by Crane and his secretarial staff at Central Methodist Church. The series in the collection are Correspondence, Subject Reference Files, Name Files, Sermon Files, Scrapbooks, Church Bulletins and Newsletters, Visual Materials, and Retirement Files.

Popular novelist, author of The Robe and Magnificent Obsession, and minister of the First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Correspondence with his family, publishers and other authors concerning his work and including comments on national politics, Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and World War II; also manuscripts of addresses, articles, sermons, and novels; scrapbooks; and photographs.

The Douglas papers consist of material collected by his daughters, Virginia Douglas Dawson and Betty Douglas Wilson Herman, in the preparation of their biography of their father, The Shape of Sunday. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Ministerial Activities; Literary Career; Miscellaneous and personal; and Scrapbooks.

Billie Louise Edwards was a feminist, activist, lesbian, motorcyclist, co-parent, Metropolitan Community Church preacher, and clinical psychologist; she was also co-director of the University of Michigan Lesbian-Gay Male Programs Office (LGMPO) from 1987 to 1993. The Edwards papers include her educational materials and writings, training materials and correspondence from the LGMPO, audio cassettes from her ministry, and a photographic portrait.

The Billie Edwards papers document her work as a lesbian-gay rights activist and co-director of the University of Michigan's Lesbian-Gay Male Program Office and her work as a minister in Metropolitan Community Church in Oklahoma City. The papers are organized into five series: Miscellaneous Personal Papers, Writings, Research Material, LGMPO Training, and LGMPO Miscellaneous.

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.

Clergyman, minister of the Grosse Pointe Memorial Presbyterian Church. Scattered correspondence, reminiscences of Henry Ford, sermons and other addresses concerning in part the issues of the day, notably international and domestic affairs, the depression, World War II, and relations with Russia.

The Frank Fitt papers are arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material. Of most interest to the historian should be Reverend Fitt's Sermons, Addresses, Reviews, and Memorials. Comprising the majority of the collection, they are arranged in two ways, by topic and by date. Particularly in his sermons, Fitt spoke often to the issues of the day. The researcher will find many interesting references to domestic and international affairs, including the depression, World War III and relations with Russia. Of further interest should be Mr. Fitt's reminiscences of Henry Ford, a friend of his for many years.

Minutes and other records of the church's governing board; pastors' files, including sermons, addresses and publications; and administrative records of the church office, including reports, publications, treasurer's files, correspondence, and subject files; also photographs.

The records of Fountain Street Church are divided into three groups: (1) the files of the governing board, (2) the records of various pastors, and (3) the church's office files. Taken together these documents give an excellent view of the congregation's history since 1869. There is also a small series of photographs.

Benzonia and Ann Arbor, Michigan; papers of individual family members, detailing in part activities in the Philippines, 1907-1912. The collection also contains photographs and albums of images from the period when they lived in the Philippines.

The Hubbell Family Papers date from 1859 to 1983 and measure one linear foot. Included in the collection are genealogical material, and correspondence and other papers of individual family members.

Presbyterian clergyman, longtime pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1934-1951; correspondence, copies of essays and book reviews written for religious periodicals, sermons and addresses, mimeographed study notes of talks given in Detroit before the Men's Club for the Study of Religion, religious and literary notebooks, and travel journals.

The series in the collection are: Biographical; Correspondence; Writings; Speeches, sermons, lectures; Miscellaneous notes; Scriptures; Literary Studies; and Scrapbooks, journals, etc.