Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Lawyer, Member of Michigan Supreme Court, 1842-1846, Democratic Governor of Michigan, 1846-1847, and holder of numerous other public offices; papers include correspondence and other papers documenting his career in public service.

The Alpheus Felch papers details the active life of this nineteenth century Michigan public servant. Not only are public issues discussed in the correspondence files but the researcher will also gain an understanding of some of the personal problems associated with public service. The collection also includes several files of other family members.

The Henry B. Joy Historical Research (HBJHR) was an office established and funded by Detroit businessman Henry B. Joy in 1928 to do original research into the life and career of James F. Joy; the series in the collection are James F. Joy Papers, Railroad Enterprises, John W. Brooks Papers, Abraham Lincoln Research, and Office Correspondence.

The materials accumulated by The Henry B. Joy Historical Research organization consist largely of copied documents from historical repositories. The vast bulk of the collection was taken from the James Joy papers on file at the Burton Historical Collection. The source of other copied material is not readily apparent but might have come from the archives of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad which since 1943 has been at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The HBJHR must have had a considerable budget as the collection consists of many hundreds of photostatic copies (both positive and negative) as well as typescripts for many of the same materials.

Norris family of Ypsilanti and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Papers of Mark Norris, Ypsilanti businessman and postmaster; papers of his wife, Roccena Vaill Norris, local teacher and woman's rights advocate; papers of their son, Lyman, attorney and regent of the University of Michigan, 1883-1884; papers of Lyman's son, Mark Norris, Grand Rapids attorney and Grand Master of the Knights Templar in the United States; papers of Lyman's daughter Maria Norris, Grand Rapids physician; papers of Mark's son, Abbott Norris; and related papers of other family members, notably the Whittelsey family of Connecticut.

The Norris family papers consists of three linear feet of correspondence, business papers, and scrapbooks. The bulk of the papers are letters among various family members which contain a wealth of information about 19th century daily life, social conditions, business affairs, and local and state politics. This collection is especially useful in researching: women's history; Norris family and kinship interrelationships; early area settlement and local history; university student life at the University of Michigan and elsewhere; 19th century economic conditions and political issues; and 20th century Freemasonry.