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This collection contains correspondence, diaries, ephemera, photographs, and other material related to Vashti Detwiler Garwood, a schoolteacher and physician in Ohio, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Michigan. The collection documents her experiences teaching school in Ohio and Massachusetts, as well as her coursework at the Boston University School of Medicine. Also included are additional photographs of her family and a published history of the Novy-Garwood families.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) contains correspondence, diaries, ephemera, photographs, and other material related to Vashti Detwiler Garwood. The material documents her experiences teaching school in Ohio and Massachusetts, as well as her coursework at the Boston University School of Medicine. Also included are additional photographs of her family and a published history of the Novy and Garwood families.

The Correspondence series is comprised of 16 personal letters between members of the Cannon family of Pennsylvania and members of the Detwiler and Garwood families. The Cannon siblings wrote and received three letters between 1862 and 1864, sharing recent news such as local deaths. Isaiah Cannon also informed his brother, D. H. Cannon, of his intention to enlist in the Union Army (February 1, 1864).

The remaining 13 letters relate to Vashti Detwiler Garwood, including several from her mother-in-law, Angeline Garwood (1805-1881), who reported family news from Lewisburg, Ohio. Vashti received a letter from Spencer Willard Garwood, her future husband, written while he served in the 132nd Ohio Infantry Regiment during the Civil War; he provided some of his impressions of the South and shared updates about his regiment (July 7, 1864). In one late letter, W. H. Berkey, editor of the Vigilant, responded to her letter concerning conditions within the Cassopolis Jail in Cassopolis, Michigan; the Women's Christian Temperance Union believed Garwood's previously printed letter a fraud, though a clipping attached to the letter respects the Vigilant's verification of her identity (September 19, 1896).

Vashti Detwiler Garwood kept 5 Diaries and Journals between 1858 and 1868, most of which concern her experiences as a schoolteacher in Ohio and Massachusetts, as well as the early years of her married life in Fort Scott, Kansas. She wrote sporadically until the fall of 1864, when she began composing entries more frequently. Some of the journals document overlapping periods of time. Along with her experiences, she often recorded her thoughts and emotions, frequently related to her religious beliefs and her relationships. Her small pocket journal, kept throughout 1860, also contains quotations, algebra problems, and financial accounts. One late, undated entry in the journal, written between January 1, 1859, and December 31, 1864, is a lament composed after her failed attempt to win admission to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Her final journal, kept between January 2, 1865, and September 8, 1868, occasionally refers to military developments during the Civil War, and contains a brief allusion to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (April 15, 1865). The series also holds a typescript of diary entries written between January 16, 1864, and September 27, 1864, made from a diary in the collection.

The Writings are 4 jokes and humorous anecdotes, including 1 referencing Native Americans; 6 poems, often sentimental in nature; a list of quotations and a set of notes; an 8-page lesson on "The Rainbow," composed in a question-and-answer format; and 2 essays on writing compositions, totaling around 3 and a half pages. One of the latter compositions is signed by Vashti Detwiler Garwood.

The first subseries of Documents and Ephemera holds items related to Vashti Detwiler Garwood's studies at the Boston University School of Medicine between 1880 and 1881, including tickets verifying her membership in the class and permission to attend lectures, an order of lectures for 1880-1881, 2 commencement tickets, and several items attesting to her successful completion of individual courses. Other material includes a printed circular addressed to students, which states the faculty's commitment to the fair treatment of women (February 5, 1882); tuition receipts; and an event program, printed in Latin. Other Documents and Ephemera are three manuscript slips attesting to Hiram Garwood's good conduct in school, funeral notices, invitations, and 3 printed, colorful cards presented to Martha and Vashti Detwiler as "reward[s] of merit."

The Recipes series (5 items) contains several recipes, including 2 individual items and a three-page sheet containing many recipes, a fragment from a food-related account, and a bill of fare.

Visual Material (22 items) includes photographic portraits and snapshots of members of the Detwiler and Garwood families, both identified and anonymous; a photograph of President James A. Garfield; a postcard depicting the University of Michigan's 1908 commencement exercises, with Vashti Detwiler Garwood marked; and a colored illustration of a woman. The collection also contains a cased ambrotype portrait of Christian Detwiler and Vashti, his daughter, taken in the fall of 1853, and a bound "Souvenir of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania" containing several views of the town.

Printed Material (22 items) consists of 16 newspaper clippings, most of which contain poetry or recipes; an educational pamphlet entitled The Family Bible Teacher, number 18 in a series; a newsletter from the Greenwich Academy, which mentions an upcoming visit by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; 1 of Vashti Detwiler Garwood’s calling cards; and 2 small cards printed with memory- and friendship-themed mottos.

Also included is a copy of the Novy-Garwood Family Record and Connections, a book published in 1990.

Artifacts include a leather wallet purchased by Christian Detwiler in 1827, a circular wooden box, a paper doll, and several outfits for the doll.

The collection also holds 6 pages of Genealogy notes.

The Walker family papers (1,962 items) contain the 19th-century letters and documents of the Walker family of Vermont, Illinois, and Minnesota. The bulk of the papers relate to Houghton Walker's mercantile businesses in Illinois. Other topics covered include the Civil War, the Mexican War, migration and settlement in Illinois and Wisconsin, Indian affairs, and religion.

The Walker family papers (1962 items) contain the 19th-century letters and documents of the Walker family of Vermont, Illinois, and Minnesota. The bulk of the collection documents Houghton Walker's business activities; other topics include the Mexican War, the Civil War, migration and settlement in Illinois and Wisconsin, Indian affairs, and Presbyterianism.

The Correspondence series (248 items) consists of three subseries: Walker Family letters, Peck Family letters, and Miscellaneous letters.

The Walker Family letters subseries (199 items) comprise the bulk of the Correspondence series. The various Walker brothers wrote often about business, land sales, financial distress, and business affairs. Lucius and Houghton both discussed their experiences traveling west from Vermont. Lucius, an Indian agent, mentioned his role in Indian affairs, and described the process of writing the Minnesota constitution in the 1850s. Emeline Walker’s letters typically relate to her religious faith and activities in the Presbyterian Church. Reverend William Walker discussed his experiences in Gaboon, and described the climate, food, homes, lifestyles of the Gabonese people, missionary work, and conflicts with the French government (between 1844 and 1882).

• Houghton Walker, 1840: Letter describing witnessing an execution
• Joel Hamilton Walker, August 16-26, 1846, September 1, 1846 and March 24, 1847: Letters concerning his service in the Mexican War, describing his regiment's movements, fights in the camp with bowie knives, a riot among fellow troops, and available food
• Lucius C. Walker, August 1857: Letter discussing constitution writing in Minnesota
• Emeline Walker, August 3, 1862: Letter describing hearing "Douglas the colored barber" lecture on the war; she thought he spoke better on the topic than any white man in the area could
• William Walker, January 18. 1868: Letter containing comments on contemporary politics in the United States
• William Walker, April 10, 1882: Letter containing a history of William Walker's forty-year service as a missionary in Gaboon

The Peck Family letters (42 items) consist of the letters of Caroline Walker Peck, her husband Ebenezer, and their children Charles F, Peck and Sarah Wright, covering from the 1850s to the 1880s. These contain news on family and money issues, and document the business relationship between Charles and his uncle Houghton Walker.

The Miscellaneous letters subseries (7 items) contains letters to and from people outside the Walker and Peck families (1860-1905).

The Colonel Joel Walker Diary series (4 items) consists of a weather diary that contains daily temperature data and occasional notes on agricultural and day-to-day family activities (1837-1855). Also present are manuscript and typed copies of the diary, along with a list of excerpts of the non-weather information. Of note are the entries describing Walker's journey from Buffalo, New York, to Belvidere, Illinois.

The Documents and Financial Papers series (1,633 items) contains the business, financial, property, and estate records of the Walker family. Family members represented include Colonel Joel Walker, Joel Hamilton Walker, Francis Walker, George Walker, Francis H. Walker, Houghton C. Walker, Lucius C. Walker, Alice Houghton Walker, and Emeline August Frost Walker. However, the bulk of the series documents Joel Walker and Houghton Walker's business activities. Included are letters to merchants in the Midwest and New York, invoices, receipts, freight bills, orders, stock notes, promissory notes, treasury reports, insurance applications and policies, legal documents, estate papers, and cemetery and coffin bills. Many of the freight bills are for shipments on the Chicago & North-Western Railway Co.

• Houghton Walker, 1853-1859: Boone County Mutual Insurance Company records, which contain lists of policy-holders’ belongings with descriptions of their homes
• Houghton Walker, 1859-1861: Bankruptcy papers for Alexander Neely, in which Houghton Walker was named as receiver
• George Walker, 1860: Bill from [O']Doul's Restaurant in Springfield, Illinois, documenting nine months of food purchases

The Miscellaneous Materials series (77 items) is comprised of eight subseries, including photographs, scrapbooks, family papers, and genealogical material.

The Photographs subseries (2 items) contains aerial perspectives of Belvidere, Illinois, taken by W. A. Eddy in 1905 with the aid of a kite.

The Walker Scrapbook subseries (1 item) consists of a 33-page disbound volume of newspaper clippings, letters, and other ephemera. The clippings largely concern family members' obituaries and news on the Presbyterian Church in Belvidere, Illinois. Also of note are two newspaper articles written by Francis Houghton Walker in 1916, criticizing the portrayal of historical figures, especially Thaddeus Stevens in The Birth of a Nation. Also of interest are newspaper announcements for the silver wedding anniversary of Houghton and Emeline Walker, along with a list of gifts given to the couple on the occasion of the celebration.

The series contains subseries for miscellaneous items related to the following family members: Colonel Joel Walker, George Walker, Emeline August Frost Walker, Houghton C. Walker, and Francis H. Walker. The bulk of the materials are newspaper clippings that mention family members, calling cards, and fragments of writing. Of note are surveying documents of Joel and Houghton C. Walker, Emeline Walker's notes on missionaries in Africa and religious writings, and a note from Francis H. Walker on seeing Halley's Comet.

The Genealogical Materials subseries (24 items) contains records of the Walker and Houghton families collected by Francis H. Walker, along with two typed transcripts of the material. Also present are letters and genealogical notes compiled by Harry Leslie Walker and John B. Walker in the second half of the 20th century. These trace the Walker family back to the 17th century.

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 .

This collection is made up of letters and financial documents related to William J. Robinson, a tanner in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and Martin Ryan, a farmer in Niantic, Illinois. Ryan composed the majority of the letters, writing to Robinson about farm work and finances during the 1860s. Other items pertain to the business and financial interests of Ryan and Robinson.

This collection is made up of around 125 letters and financial records addressed to William J. Robinson, a tanner in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Martin Ryan, a farmer in Niantic, Illinois, composed approximately two-thirds of the letters, writing to Robinson about farm work and finances during the 1860s. Aside from a few land-related documents sent to Ryan, most of the remaining items pertain to Robinson's other business and financial interests.

Martin Ryan wrote frequently to William J. Robinson between December 1860 and the spring of 1869. He reported on the timber industry, real property, his crops (most frequently corn), cattle prices and purchases, and farm-related finances. In a few letters, he referred to the inherent risks of shipping cattle to Pennsylvania during the war (June 16 and July 7, 1863), and he also discussed monetary policy related to gold and silver standards (July 15, 1861), his desire for his wife to work fewer hours and for his sons to go to school (August 20, 1864), and his difficulties with a manager who often drank (several items, 1866-1867). In 1867 and 1868, Ryan often mentioned a lawsuit, and a few items of business correspondence addressed to him appear interspersed between his outgoing letters from the late 1860s. Ryan's letter of May 27, 1861, encloses an itemized list of costs associated with his farm.

The remaining items are primarily business letters and receipts to William J. Robinson, most of which are dated after 1869 (approximately 40 items). The firm Whitneys & Kingman (also known as Kingman & Whitney) of Chicago, Illinois, inquired about Robinson's willingness to purchase hides and sent numerous invoices and receipts. A few of Robinson's draft replies are present. Robinson received at least 2 letters from his son Edwin in the mid-1870s, and some items from the 1880s are addressed to his son James.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, and other items related to the family of Augustus D. Williams and Julia Ann Chamberlain and to their daughter Fannie. The Williams family lived in Ohio.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, and other items related to the family of Augustus D. Williams and Julia Ann Chamberlain, including their daughter Fannie. The Williams family lived in Ohio.

The Correspondence series (137 items) consists primarily of incoming personal letters addressed to Julia Ann Williams (née Chamberlain) and to her daughter Frances ("Fannie"). Julia corresponded with her siblings and other family members, who lived in New Hampshire and Ohio in the mid-19th century. Her sister Louisa, who married Samuel Durgin and moved to Gustavus, Ohio, in the mid-1830s, wrote often, sharing news of her social life and requesting news of relatives who remained in New Hampshire. After Julia moved to Maumee, Ohio, around 1835, she received letters from her mother Betsy (who married Joseph Baker after the death of Julia's father) and from various siblings. The Baker family lived in Boscawen, New Hampshire. Julia's stepsister Amanda shared social updates from Loudon, Ohio, and news of family health and of her experiences working in a school. On September 28, 1839, Joseph Baker told Julia of her stepsister Elizabeth's recent illness and death, and E. B. White, a friend of Julia's from Maumee, Ohio, included a drawing of a woman in a cloak in her letter dated October 1840.

After Julia's marriage to Augustus D. Williams in late 1840 or early 1841, the couple received letters from his siblings and extended family, including several from Mortimer H. Williams, who lived in Irwinton, Georgia. Sophia Williams, then Mrs. Henry Clark of Maumee, Ohio, corresponded frequently with Julia and Augustus. Other early material includes a letter regarding the estate of Reverend Nathan Williams of Tolland, Connecticut (May 19, 1830), and additional letters written by Williams siblings in New Hampshire and Ohio throughout the 1830s and 1840s.

During and following the Civil War period, most correspondence is addressed to Frances ("Fannie") Williams, the daughter of Julia and Augustus. Letters written by female cousins during the war include one from Memphis, Tennessee (September 3, 1864) and one from Ellen, who mentioned the recent death of a friend, then fighting in Alabama (October 27, 1864). Many of the postwar letters regard careers in education and social news in Wauseon, Ohio, home of Fannie's cousins Ellen and Libbie. Fannie Williams also received correspondence from friends, including a series of 10 letters and 2 postcards from Clara B. Whitton of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, written between October 22, 1887, and December 22, 1891. Fannie's cousin J. A. B. Parker sent a swatch of fabric on January 12, 1892, and a series of letters commencing on November 19, 1890, contains a lock of hair. In 1895 and 1896, Fannie received several items related to John Alexander Dowie of Chicago, Illinois, a practitioner of "divine healing." One of her cousins sent newspaper clippings related to Dowie's trial (February 5, 1895); the same cousin included a ticket for the Healing Room at Chicago's Zion Tabernacle (April 10, 1895). Margaret Snell Parsons enclosed newspaper clippings and a poem about the healing practice (June 30, 1896). Other later items include letters from Louisa Durgin to Julia Williams, written at her home in Wauseon, Ohio, and a few letters Burt Williams wrote to his sister Fannie in 1896.

The Documents and Financial Records series (109 items) contains accounts, receipts, and legal documents related to members of the Williams family, including many who resided in Tolland, Connecticut, and New York State during the early 19th century. Some of the legal documents pertain to real estate. A license signed by Mayor Cornelius W. Lawrence of New York City authorized David B. Williams to keep a tavern (May 31, 1834). One undated item documents Julia Ann Chamberlain's conversion to Christianity. An account book (91 pages) may have belonged to L. B. Williams of Murray's Commercial School in Maumee, Ohio. The decorated title page includes a drawing of a bird, and a second ink drawing of a bird is laid into the volume.

The Compositions series (102 items) consists primarily of essays by Julia Ann Chamberlain, Fannie Williams, and Mary F. Williams; poems and floral drawings are also present. Most of the essays concern moral topics, history, and religion, including multiple essays on topics such as "hope" and "morning." The series contains compositions about Native Americans, Christopher Columbus, and John Smith.

The Photographs series (16 items) includes cartes-de-visite, other card photographs, and tintypes. Most images are studio portraits of men, women, and children. Two larger tintypes (6" x 8") show the exterior of a home and a garden; one shows a group of people standing behind croquet wickets. One group photograph of school-age boys and girls, taken in May 1890, includes the names of each of the children present.

The bulk of the Newspaper Clippings (39 items) are poems, household hints, and recipes. Other items pertain to weights and measures and to Benjamin Harrison's return to Indianapolis after his presidency.

The Ephemera (45 items) includes invitations, notes, visiting cards, holiday greeting cards, and other items; most are visiting cards for residents of Ohio, some with illustrations. A series of 4 colored prints shows children's leisure activities. The series contains a large colored die-cut advertisement for Jacob Folger of Toledo, Ohio, showing a girl holding flowers.