Collections

This collection contains the incoming and outgoing correspondence of Charlotte and Martha Wray, sisters who lived in Washington County, New York; Detroit, Michigan; and Iowa in the 19th century. The letters span Martha's time as a schoolteacher in Detroit, Michigan; Charlotte's work as a teacher in Albany, New York; and Charlotte's experiences in Iowa prior to the Civil War.

This collection contains approximately 110 letters, of which Charlotte Wray wrote about 90 to her sister Martha. Additionally, Martha and Mary Jane Wray each wrote 1 letter, and Charlotte and Martha Wray received about 18 letters from cousins and other family members. Charlotte's letters discuss her experience as a schoolteacher and her life in Albany, New York, and in Iowa, where she lived after the late 1840s. Charlotte's letters also include content on the arrival of new immigrants, her declining health, and her husband's medical practice during the Civil War.

The earliest items in the collection include a 1-page essay by Mary Jane Wray, Charlotte and Martha's sister, titled "of Solitude" and dated September 18, 1839, and a poem Charlotte wrote about her sister. The correspondence begins on May [15], 1842, with a letter from Martha about her arrival and teaching in Detroit. When Mary Jane traveled to Detroit in 1844, she wrote home about the birth and first weeks of her son Van (August 25, 1844).

Charlotte wrote approximately 20 letters to Martha after moving to Albany, New York, around October 1845, where she taught school. She gave news about her life and friends in Albany, such as her intent to turn down a marriage proposal (January 19, 1846) and student expenses at the New York State Normal School (March 15, 1846). In a later letter from Albany, written around the summer of 1846, she explained her reasons for leaving the school, based on the belief that she could earn more money sewing.

After June 22, 1847, Charlotte wrote approximately 70 letters to Martha describing her married life with Thomas. They moved to Garnavillo, Iowa, in the summer of 1847. She informed her sister about life in Iowa, including her travels, the experiences of other new immigrants, and her homes in Garnavillo, Farmersburg, and Monona. Charlotte also discussed married life and her husband's medical practice. She reflected on the Civil War in two letters, mentioning the draft, financial aspects of the war, and her husband's wartime medical practice (August 21, 1862, and February 1863). Following Charlotte's death around March 1863, Martha received 7 letters from her brother-in-law, who described Charlotte’s final sickness and death (March 31, 1863) and the devastating impact on the family.

The Detroit News was a prominent daily newspaper founded by James Edmund Scripps in 1873. The success and expansion of the paper is largely attributed to Scripps' son-in-law, George Gough Booth. The collection contains photographic materials including glass plate negatives, film negatives, and photographic prints of various sizes as well as scrapbooks of newspaper clippings from the Detroit News.

The Detroit News records, 1856-1991 (164.5 linear feet) consist of photographic materials including glass plate negatives, film negatives, and photographic prints of various sizes as well as scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings from the Detroit News. The arrangement of the collection is alphabetical and maintains original order as far as could be discerned. In instances where multiple formats were stored together, they have been rehoused separately for preservation purposes. Researchers are encouraged to review the entire container list of this finding aid to identify corresponding materials of different formats within the collection, which have been indicated.

The researcher will find that a significant portion of the photographic materials depict interior and exterior views of the Detroit News building designed by Albert Kahn and erected in 1917. Additional topics of photographic materials include the radio station, WWJ and various events hosted by the News. Images of the Scripps and Booth families as well as employees of the Detroit News are also present among the collection. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, which present a broad range of subject matter as covered by a daily metropolitan newspaper. All of the glass plate negatives and a selection of film negatives have been digitized and can be viewed by following the links in the container list of this finding aid.

Eight letters of recommendation for Fisher from fellow officers relating to his Civil War service; correspondents include Melvin Brewer (Sept. 18, 1863), John W. Geary (June 31, 1863), W. D. Mann (Aug. 27, 1863), Angelo Paldi (Oct. 7, 1863), C. H. Town (Oct. 17, 1863), and C. I. Walker (Aug. 13, 1861); also one letter (April 21, 1863) from George C. Gordon of Company I, 24th Michigan Infantry. Collection also includes a typescript of excerpts from Fisher's diary describing a Michigan boat trip from Detroit to Ontonagon via Sault Ste. Marie in 1850, and student days at the University of Michigan in 1860; also diary of an overland trip to California in search of gold and the return trip by sea, with comments on mining; three University of Michigan student notebooks on courses by James V. Campbell, Thomas M. Cooley, and Charles I. Walker; and notes on the James Fisher family by Max Fisher.