Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Branch of the YMCA; Annual reports, clippings, correspondence, financial records, minutes of meetings, photographs, press releases, published materials, rosters, and scrapbooks; also includes collected branch records for the Railroad branch, 1877-1890, and the Downtown branch, 1890-1909; and publication, Detroit Young Men, 1911-1922.

The records of the Metropolitan Offices of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit consist of annual reports, correspondence, financial materials, minutes (Secretary's records), photographs, published brochures and pamphlets, and scrapbooks. The materials document, somewhat unevenly, the efforts of the YMCA to tend to the spiritual, physical, and social needs of the young men in Detroit. The strengths of this record group are in its minutes (Secretary's records) and photographs, each of which provides detailed and telling insight into the development of Detroit and the YMCA from the nineteenth century to 2006. The scrapbooks created by the YMCA, 1936-1973, are also of interest in that they accurately reflect all newspaper coverage of YMCA events and activities for this decade.

The records have been arranged in four series: Administration, Secretary's Records, Visual Materials, and Scrapbooks.

Philo E. and Fannie E. Pettibone Wright family of Detroit, Michigan. Personal papers of Fannie Wright with her husband Philo, her brother Sherman Pettibone, her daughters Virginia, Maude, and Evelyn, her son Philo S., and other members of the family, concerning family affairs and the genealogy of the Wright and Pettibone families.

The collection has been arranged by name of family member. Included is personal correspondence of Fannie Wright with her husband Philo E., her brother Sherman Pettibone, daughters Virginia, Maude, and Evelyn, son Philo S., and other members of the family, concerning family affairs and the genealogy of the Wright and Pettibone families. There are also fifty-seven volumes of Fannie E. Wright's diaries, 1863-1925, recording family news, social events, and home activities in Detroit, Michigan. Also of interest are account books of the Sherman Pettibone farm of Tallmadge, Ohio, and account books of Philo S. Wright, 1893-1913. Photographs in the collection consist of individual and group portraits of family members; photographs of family homes; and photographs of boating on the Detroit River.

Detroit, Michigan journalist and historian. Correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, book reviews and manuscripts of unpublished writings; also research materials concerning Lewis Cass, Augustus B. Woodward, Gabriel Richard, and Alexander J. Groesbeck, and papers relating to the Civil War in Michigan, the development of Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Free Press, and the building of the Mackinac Bridge.

The Frank B. Woodford papers consist of correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, book reviews and manuscripts of unpublished writings; also research materials concerning Lewis Cass, Augustus B. Woodward, Gabriel Richard, and Alexander J. Groesbeck, and papers relating to the Civil War in Michigan, the development of Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Free Press, and the building of the Mackinac Bridge. The collection is organized into four series: Correspondence; Writings and related material; Scrapbooks and newspaper clippings; and Other materials.

Detroit, Michigan, anti-busing activist. Correspondence, speeches, minutes of meetings, and other materials relating to her involvement with anti-busing organizations, principally Northeast Mothers Alert, Mothers Alert Detroit, and the National Association for Neighborhood Schools; also files detailing involvement with Happiness of Women (HOW) and the 14th Congressional District Republican Committee; and scrapbook containing clippings and photographs relating to anti-busing rallies and activities.

The collection provides a telling insight into Detroit's school desegregation by forced busing. Wohlfield's committed personal involvement offers an important perspective into the antibusing movement. Her responsibilities as executive secretary and president of Mothers Alert Detroit are well documented in the minutes, correspondence, and notes in the collection. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Northeast Mothers Alert; Mothers Alert Detroit; Republican Party 14th Congressional District Committee; and Other Organizational Activities.

African American civil rights activist and Black militant leader in Monroe County North Carolina who came to advocate armed self-defense in response to violence, left the United States in 1961 and lived in Cuba and China until 1969 when he settled in Baldwin Michigan. Papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, audio-visual material, manuscripts, petitions, and government documents documenting the civil rights movement, black nationalism, radical politics in the United States and Williams's experiences in Cuba and China.

The Robert Williams papers, dating from 1951, include correspondence, notes, newspaper clippings, audio-visual material, manuscripts, petitions, and government documents. The collection documents a wide variety of subjects: the American civil rights movement, Black Nationalism, cold war politics, Castro's Cuba, Mao's China, and the radical left in the United States.

As Robert Williams continued to add to his collection following his initial donation in 1976, it was necessary to arrange and describe the materials based on groupings of dates of accessioning. Thus the bulk of the collection is divided into two subgroups: 1976-1979 Accessions and 1983-1997 Accessions with much overlapping of material. In addition, the collection contains a small series of papers collected by his son John C. Williams and a separate series of Audio-Visual Materials.

Scrapbooks of Warren S. Wilkinson, member of the board of the Evening News Association, publisher of the Detroit News. Scrapbooks relate to the life and work of James E. Scripps, founder of the Detroit News, and to the struggle over the sale of the newspaper to Gannett Company in 1985.

The collection contains scrapbooks assembled by Wilkinson relating to the life and work of James E. Scripps, as well as the machinations surrounding the sale of the Evening News Association to Gannett Company in 1985. Most of the scrapbooks have been copied for the library and the originals returned to the donor. The collection consists of photocopies of the scrapbooks along with scanned images of many of the photographs. Scanned photos are identified by the scan number noted on the reverse of the page.

The family scrapbooks document James E. Scripps's personal life and his family, the history of the Detroit News, Scripps family interests including the Detroit Museum of Art, the Scripps home on Trumbull Avenue in Detroit, and Trinity Episcopal Church located at the corner of Trumbull and Grand River Avenues in Detroit one block from the family home.

Wilkinson's scrapbooks titled "The Twilight of the Evening News Association" contain photos, correspondence, trial transcripts, financial charts, and commentary documenting the company's struggle for profitability in the 1960s and 70s, and negotiations and lawsuits over the sale of the company in the 1980s. The first volume in this sequence contains many photos of News operations from the early part of the twentieth century.

Detroit, Michigan trial attorney, Democratic Congressman, 1933-1935, and Wayne County Circuit Court Judge. Correspondence and other materials concerning his term in Congress, national and local politics, and various judicial decisions; miscellaneous diaries, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks concerning his association with the American Turners Association (German-American athletic society), Detroit, Michigan politics, and the election and recall of Detroit Mayor Charles Bowles; and photographs.

The collection consists of correspondence, primarily from the period when Weideman was a member of Congress; files relating to his election campaign and to a few of the issues of the time; and miscellaneous other materials from his career with the Wayne County Circuit Court and as a member of the American Turners. There is also an extensive series of scrapbooks detailing his professional and civic activities and several folders of photographs.

Detroit, Michigan attorney, shell collector and student of conchology. Correspondence, notebooks, and lists relating primarily to his interest in mollusca and shell collecting; also copies of family letters, 1830-1841, written from Buffalo, New York, Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan; a University of Michigan student notebook from a course in physics, 1874.

The Bryant Walker collection consists largely of correspondence from throughout the world with conchologists. There are, in addition, his manuscripts of his writings, various lists, charts, and inventories, and miscellaneous family materials and a University of Michigan student notebook of a class on physics.

Formerly called the Department of Journalism; includes administrative files, records of sponsored workshops, conferences, and lectures; faculty personnel files; and records of internship programs, including reports from students interning at local Michigan newspapers.

The Department of Communication record group consists of ten linear feet of records dating from 1926 to 1995 and processed in four accessions. The pre-1984 accessions document the Department of Journalism. The 1984 accession includes materials accumulated by professor Marion Marzolf. The 1986 accession represents records created through the merger of Journalism with Speech and the records of the new department's chairman after the merger was accomplished. The 1996 accession contains material similar to the earlier accessions with the exception of material relating to the graduate Master in Journalism degree program and the decision to suspend the program.

The original accession (Boxes 1-5) documents Department of Journalism activity from 1928 to 1981 (primarily 1950-1970). The accession has been divided into three series: Administrative Files; Faculty Personnel Records; and Internships, Fellowships and Scholarships.

The 1984 accession consists of three series of records: those from a 1977 conference, "Kerner Plus 10: Minorities and the Media," those from the University of Michigan student chapter of Kappa Tau Alpha, and those from the student chapter of Women in Communications, Inc. (WICI). Both the Kerner conference records and the WICI records reflect the involvement of Professor Marion T. Marzolf in the Department of Communication.

The 1986 accession dates from 1964 to 1986 (primarily 1975-1984). It represents the records kept by Peter Clarke, last chairman of the Department of Journalism and first chairman of the Department of Communication, the files of William E. Porter, who served as chair after Clarke's resignation in 1981, and a few documents of John D. Stevens, who succeeded Porter in 1984. The accession has been divided into two series, Chairman's Correspondence (1964-1985) and a Topical File (1949-1986).

Detroit, Michigan, police officer. Scrapbooks containing material concerning the Detroit Police Department and Ungermann's career; also photographs.

The collection consists of scrapbooks relating to his career, to the activities of the police department, and to civil defense activities. The photographs in the collection are of Detroit, Michigan buildings, streets, people, and activities, especially as they relate to the work of the Detroit Police Department; group and individual portraits and photographs of Detroit Police, and photos of police training; photos of war bond drives and other war work during World War II; and photos of WJR radio broadcasting during the 1930s.

Pioneer Ann Arbor, Michigan family, involved in farming, then real estate, developed the Tuomy Hills area of the city. Papers include personal and business correspondence of Cornelius and Kathryn Tuomy and of other family members; ledger books, 1868-1890, 1911-1938, and diaries, 1920-1921, 1925, 1926, 1936 concerning business and personal affairs; also papers of Kathryn G. Tuomy as president of the Michigan Federation of Business and Professional Women; and photographs.

The Tuomy Family papers document the daily life of three generations of a pioneer Ann Arbor area family. The three linear feet of papers span the years 1840-1966 with the bulk of the material falling within the decades bound by 1905-1945. The papers have been divided into four series, a small set of documents with biographical information, a larger set of personal and business correspondence, and family material arranged as a set of topical files. There is also a box of unidentified family portraits

A strength of the Tuomy Family papers is the documentation of daily life for a prominent Ann Arbor family from 1900 until the 1960's. Kathryn G. Tuomy's materials provide good exposure to the life of an Ann Arbor woman who has a university education and a family business to maintain. The papers are weaker in their coverage of the Tuomy and Tuomy real estate business. There is only marginal documentation regarding Cornelius W. (Bill) Tuomy's time in political office as drain commissioner. The photographs are not strongly backed up by the written documentation regarding the Tuomy and Tuomy real estate office and properties.

Detroit, Michigan lawyer and banker, and alumnus of University of Michigan. Correspondence, essays, and newspaper clippings concerning the Detroit banking crisis of 1933; and biographical and genealogical information on the Church, Benedict and Mahon families; also photographs.

The Orla B. Taylor collection consists of correspondence, essays and other writings, and biographical and personal material. Many of the writings relate to banking in Detroit in the 1930s.

Genealogy and other vital information found in family Bible; travel diaries of Josiah Clark of trips to Canada and New York city; portraits of Tayler, Clark and Farmer family members. Materials documenting the career of Theron C. Tayler, specifically, his rotary kilns research and patented innovations.

Histories, minutes of meetings, treasurer's reports and minutes; records of youth and women's organizations; and yearbooks and church newspaper.

The records of St. Peter's Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, some of which are in Danish, have been organized into the following series: History / Organizational; Minute books of meetings; Financial records and miscellanea; Church organizations; Publications; and Photographs.

Dexter, Michigan, collector of materials relating to the history of railroading in Michigan. Correspondence, subject files, printed matter and photographs; contain material concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, the Manistee and Northeastern Railway Company, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Pere Marquette Railroad, and Ephraim Shay.

The Stoner collection contains about 3,600 photographs and negatives collected by Stoner, relating primarily to Michigan railroads. The collection also contains related manuscript materials.

Stoner's major collecting interests were in the Ann Arbor, Grand Trunk Western, and Pere Marquette Railroads and their predecessors, and in logging railroads, especially Ephraim Shay's railroad and others using Shay locomotives. Along with these lines, the collection contains photos of dozens of other railroads, not all in Michigan.

The photographs most commonly depict locomotives, often with their crews posed beside. Other common subjects are railroad stations (exteriors only), train wrecks, trains in motion, logging operations, carferries, railroad bridges, the Detroit-Windsor railroad tunnel, and street railroads.

Dozens of Michigan cities and towns and a number of places in other states are represented in the collection. Places depicted most often in the photos include Ann Arbor, Cadillac, Detroit, Durand, Frankfort, Harbor Springs, and Howell, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.

The collection is organized into seven series: Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, Unclassified negatives, Papers, Classified negatives, and Duplicate material.

Appended to this finding aid are two indexes, one for railroads and company names, the other for subjects. The indexes contain references to all items in the Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, and Unclassified negatives series.

The index to railroads and company names indexes logging and industrial companies that operated railroads, as well as railroad lines themselves. It does not index locomotive manufacturers, nor does it index the names of railroad museums where some of the photos were taken.

The index to subjects indexes place names and topical subjects. It does not index the term "locomotives" since the majority of the photos in the collection would be indexed under that heading. Place names are indexed if the photo includes a view of some part of the place or of some event at the place. Close-up views of locomotives that do not show any background are not indexed by place, even if the description of the photo identifies where it was taken.

Spalding-Sexton family of Connecticut, Alabama, and northern Michigan. Correspondence, reminiscences, and other materials of William P. Spalding, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan businessman; correspondence, 1887-1901, of Edward Spalding, dental student at University of Michigan, later Detroit, Michigan dentist; and other family papers relating to business affairs, and conditions in the South before and after the Civil War; and photographs.

The Spalding-Sexton Family collection consists of photocopies and microfilm of letters largely collected by Mrs. Miranda Sexton Spalding of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (also of Ellington, Connecticut, Eutah, Alabama, and Ruffin, North Carolina). The collection is arranged chronologically. In the detailed contents list below, description is generally at the folder level, however, some letters of notable content have been highlighted with additional description. Also included are photographs.

Scope and Content (by time period)

In the pre-Civil War era, materials on the Sexton (nee Bartlett) family predominate. Connecticut-born merchants, teachers, farmers, and preachers, the correspondence reflects their activities mainly in Connecticut, Alabama, Texas, Illinois, and New York. It is particularly good on the problems of merchants in Alabama and on life in Texas. It contains comparisons of their new locations with their native Connecticut.

Early Spalding (nee Paine) family material is concentrated around the death of Dr. Luther Spalding in 1825 and his estate. Thereafter, correspondence is sparse until about 1850, when Mary Spalding (Mrs. C.P. Chamberlain) becomes a regular correspondent. Her letters mainly concern family matters and life in New Lisbon, Ohio, and Canisteo, New York.

During the antebellum period, the Collection includes scattered letters from William P. Spalding on business developments and social life at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and his travels through northern Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula Michigan mining areas and to New York City. The letters of his wife, Miranda Sexton Spalding, mainly deal with her early life as a student in Connecticut and as a teacher in Alabama.

During the Civil War, the papers of William P. Spalding predominate. They concern the activities of the 27th Michigan Infantry and developments in Michigan, particularly at the Soo, in the Upper Peninsula mining areas, and in the Thumb. Included are the letters from William Spalding while in service, 1862-1864, and to him from his wife, children, business associates, and members and former members of the regiment (including William Childs letters on activities of the regiment, 1864-1865). Other Civil War soldier letters include those of Miranda Sexton Spalding's brothers: Edwin Sexton, a member of Company l, Delanos Calvary, 2nd Illinois Volunteers, 1861-1864, and John Sexton, a member of an Alabama regiment, Confederate States of America, 1863 (concerning his capture and incarceration by Union forces and the family in Alabama). There are also letters, 1860-1865), to Charles and Mary Sexton, the parents of Miranda Spalding, from friends and relatives in Connecticut about developments there.

From 1866 through 1886, the collection becomes less extensive. It includes correspondence from Miranda Spalding about her life trying to run a plantation in Ruffin, North Carolina, 1869-1874, and from members of the Sexton family on their experiences in Alabama, Texas, and Illinois during and after the war.

After 1886, the collection is almost totally dominated by the immediate family of William P. Spalding, particularly his son: Edward and his wife: Miranda. Edward's letters describe his life as a student at Michigan Normal College, 1887-1889, as a dental student at the University of Michigan, 1889-1892, and as a dentist in Detroit, 1892-1910. Miranda's epistles recount family affairs and life at the Soo. Scattered throughout the period is correspondence from another son, Eugene, on family matters and his medical practice in Luverne, Minnesota. After 1900, Adelle H. Spalding, second wife of son William, writes frequently concerning mining activities in Idaho and Alaska.

Scope and Content (by name of family member)

"Addison" (Joseph Addison) Sexton. (1810-1902). The collection includes letters he received, particularly during the period 1828-45. His own correspondence contains comments on family, education, religion, and the areas where he lived.

Alfred M. Sexton (1815-1895). His letters deal with family affairs and conditions in Alabama.

Charles Sexton, Jr. (1809-1842). His letters describe his marital and financial difficulties.

Charles Sexton, Sr. (-1864). Collection includes the letters he received from family and friends, particularly after he left Ellington in 1860. His correspondence reflects his deep interest in religion (a church deacon), family, farming, and temperance.

Edwin Sexton (1814-between 1895 and 1901). The collection includes his Civil War letters to his sister, comments on life in Illinois and family affairs.

Hannah Sexton (-1848). Her letters comment on her experiences in Alabama and Connecticut.

Henry M. Sexton (-1866). His letters, though few, describe his teaching experiences in New York, contrasting the areas with Connecticut, and comment on his religious convictions.

John M. Sexton (-1873). His letters contain good commentary on the problems of being a merchant in the Deep South and the difficulties of merchants who tried planting. The collection includes the letters he received during the period, 1839-45.

Lorenzo Sexton (1812-1892). His letters are few, but his wife wrote of family matters and of the problems faced by planters.

Mary B. Sexton Lively (1816-1891). Her letters contrast Alabama with Connecticut, describe the problems of settling in Texas, the impact of the Civil War there, and the subsequent re-location to Illinois. They contain some good comments on the problems of being a merchant in the Deep South and the consequences of slavery for the poor whites of Texas.

Otis Sexton (circa 1818-between 1895 and 1901). His letters describe family and conditions in Alabama, his congregations, and his religious beliefs.

Samuel Sexton (-1904). His letters, though few, mainly comment on family matters and farming.

Maria Paine Spalding (-1860). Her correspondence concerns her husband's death and estate and her family (the Paines) in Stow and New Lisbon, Ohio, and Madison, Indiana, as well as Connecticut.

Mary E. Spalding Chamberlain (1825- ). Correspondence mainly concerns family affairs (particularly the health of mother Spalding and her eventual commitment and care) and mutual friends (including Dr. Leonard Hanna of New Lisbon, Ohio, father of Mark Hanna). Some comments on her husband's medical practice.

John Spalding (1820-1887). His letters are few and scattered. They mainly concern business developments at the Soo, in Cleveland, and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan mines.

Miranda Sexton Spalding (1826-1910). Most of her correspondence deals with personalities and developments in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. There are also comments on life in Alabama, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Connecticut.

William P. Spalding (1822- ). His correspondence mainly consists of Civil War letters (both from and to him) and comments on mining prospects. During his service in the war, his associate, R.C. Kibby, sent him regular reports on business conditions at the Soo, and after his resignation, members of his old regiment kept him informed of their activities, both in the war and in civilian life. He was active in the G.A.R. and the Republican Party.

William Spalding, Jr. --"Willie" (1849- ). Her correspondence largely concerns mining in Florence, Idaho, a trip east in search of capital for a mining venture, the journey to Alaska in 1909, and life in the Alaska gold fields. His letters, though few, deal mainly with developments in mining and prospecting.

Alfred Eugene Spalding--"Genie" (1851-1920). Most of his letters concern his medical practice (surgical developments, patient problems, etc.) and family affairs.

Edward Bartlett Spalding (1868-1960). His letters deal with life at the Normal College, 1887-1889, and at the University of Michigan, 1889-1892 (courses, housing, vocal music---including the U. of M. Glee Club, Dental fraternity, and social activities), with establishing and expanding a dental practice in Detroit (financial problems, new techniques, etc.), and with Detroit social, vocal music, and church (Presbyterian, including comments on the Rev. Duffield) activities. There are scattered comments on politics, the Spanish-American War, and his role as a party-time instructor at the U. Of M. Dental School from 1904 through 1908.

Resident of Detroit, Mich., who served as a photographer with the 310th Engineers during the Allied intervention in Russia, 1918-1920, the "Polar Bear Expedition." Collection includes photographs of 310th Engineers training at Camp Custer, Mich., and in Russia, Detroit Fire Dept. personnel and equipment, Detroit waterfront, farming in Roscommon County, hunting and fishing in Roscommon County, logging in Baraga County.

The photograph album has been disbound. It contains photographs of the 310th Engineers training at Camp Custer, Mich., and in Russia, Detroit Fire Dept. personnel and equipment, the Detroit waterfront, farming in Roscommon County, hunting and fishing in Roscommon County, and logging in Baraga County.

Physician involved with peace organizations, notably Physicians for Social Responsibility, an organization opposed to nuclear weapons testing and the construction of nuclear power plants. Files relating to activities with the Physicians for Social Responsibility - Detroit, and with the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.

The Felix J. Rogers papers document Rogers' activities in local peace movements from the 1980s until 2005. The collection has been divided into four series of material which document aspects of Rogers' personal life and the three peace organizations with which Rogers was most closely associated: Physicians for Social Responsibility-Detroit, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, and the Cranbrook Peace Foundation.

Member of the Detroit school board and a leader of the anti-busing movement in Detroit. Correspondence, speeches, clippings, legal brief, organizational miscellanea, and collected pro- and anti-busing materials; also photographs and motion picture film.

The Roberts papers document her activities in the anti-busing movement in the Detroit area in the mid-1970s. The papers include correspondence, speeches, clippings, legal brief, organizational miscellanea, and collected pro- and anti-busing materials. There are also photographs of anti-busing demonstrations and a motion picture film of 1976 anti-busing rally.

Correspondence, writings, research, and collected materials of Vittorio Re, Chief Chancellor of the Italian Consulate in Detroit, and noted author and lecturer on the history and experiences of the Italian-American community in Detroit and the state of Michigan.

The Vittorio Re collection includes personal and professional papers, as well as collected materials, related to Mr. Re's position as Chief Chancellor of the Italian Consulate in Detroit, and his research and writings on the Italian community in Michigan and Detroit. The collection is especially rich with material about life and activities of Italian communities in Michigan, prominent Americans of Italian decent, as well as discrimination and stereotypes faced by the members of Italian American community. The papers are arranged in the following series: Correspondence and Notes; Papers, Speeches, and Research; and Collected Materials.