Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Correspondence and other materials concerning life in Germany and Civil War service; and record book, 1868-1877, listing German settlers in the Dieckerill section of Niles brought to the United States by Brethschneider. Three letters written in July 1861 and one in November 1861 are chiefly love letters to his wife. But he also speculates on possible offensives and the end of the war; then writes of the casualties after the battles,saying: "It is sad to see thousands slaughtered through the ignorance of their leaders, but the Americans have to learn and pay for it. All our fancy officers here are sick or not worth the powder it would take to shoot them." However, he expresses a very high opinion of himself and his worth as an officer. The letters are written in German, and the collection contains the originals and translations, as well as his commission, dated April 25, 1861 and application for invalid corps dated June 23, 1863. The collection also includes a letter from Colonel Francis Quinn of the12th Michigan Infantry (May 2, 1862) and affidavits of James Vandemark and Robert Hardy, also of the 12th Infantry (June 4, 1862) relating to the Battle of Shiloh

The Robert Crouse papers consist of Civil War Era correspondence, including letters from soldiers describing camp life and other war-time activities. There is also letters received from businessmen in Michigan and New York state relating to business transactions. These letters date from the 1850s and 1860. Finally, the papers include business invoices and express and railroad receipts.

Residents of Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Civil War reminiscences and other papers of James D. Rowe, soldier in the 1st Michigan Cavalry; Civil War letters of Spencer D. Lee, related family member, also in the 1st Michigan Cavalry; business records of Grant and Carrie Jackson Rowe, publishers of the Milford Times; sermons of Samuel Simpson Marquis as transcribed by Mrs. G. S. Rowe; collected materials largely concerning Milford and Highland Township history; and miscellaneous photographs and Civil War print.

The collection is divided into three series: Rowe Family Papers, Milford Historical Materials, and Milford Times Records. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, genealogical material and reminiscences relating to the Rowe family. The Civil War years are particularly well documented in letters written by in-laws: William Putnam, brother of Helen; the wife of James Rowe; and Spencer Lee, who married Helen's sister, Sarah. The Milford Times Records series contains business correspondence and records of the Milford Times, a newspaper published and edited by members of the Rowe family from 1890 to 1950. Carrie Jackson Rowe, who ran the Times for 46 years with her husband, Grant, was interested in Highland County local history; her writings on historical topics, as well as the historical documents she collected, form the Milford Historical Materials series.

Grand Rapids, Michigan family, involved in furniture making and other businesses, also active in local state and Republican Party politics and businessmen's associations. Papers include family papers and correspondence, business records, scrapbooks and visual materials.

The Sligh family collection consists of the personal and business papers of the four generations of Slighs mentioned in the biographical introduction: James W. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Jr., and Robert L. Sligh. Although there is some overlap, the files have been arranged into seven series, one for each of these three Slighs, one for the Sligh Furniture Company and related family businesses, and one each for Newspaper clippings and Scrapbooks, and Visual Materials.

The Smith-Parker-Hicks-Winegar Family Papers document the history of several branches of the family who settled in Southern Michigan in the mid-1830s. The collection's seven series contain genealogical records, biographical materials, financial and business records, family correspondence, travel papers, military papers, as well as collected news clippings and scrapbooks about the Detroit Tigers.

The Smith-Parker-Hicks-Winegar Family Papers comprises the papers of various family members collected and maintained by Dr. George and Mrs. Lois Winegar. The collection is divided into seven series: Genealogical Papers and Miscellaneous Family Records, the Robert R. Smith papers, the Blanche Smith Parker papers, the Lois V. Parker Hicks papers, the W. J. Bryan Hicks papers, the George and Lois Winegar papers, and the Detroit Tigers Scrapbooks and Collected Material. The collection is organized around individual family members except for the first series, which contains genealogical and personal papers of multiple people from various family branches.

Albion, Michigan, family. Papers of Barton Stout Taylor, Methodist clergyman; diaries of his wife, Elizabeth Gurney Taylor, detailing her everyday activities; papers of Ralph Wendell Taylor, alumnus of University of Michigan and teacher in the Philippine Islands, 1901-1908; and other family materials.

The Taylor family papers consist of correspondence Barton Stout Taylor, Methodist clergyman; diaries of his wife, Elizabeth Gurney Taylor, detailing her everyday activities; papers of Ralph Wendell Taylor, alumnus of University of Michigan and teacher in the Philippine Islands, 1901-1908; and other family materials. The collection is arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Family miscellaneous, Barton S. Taylor; Elizabeth Gurney Taylor; and Other family members.

Church originally established by German immigrant families to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Quarterly and annual reports of the church, records of church boards and commissions, Sunday School minutes and reports, subject files, publications, visual materials, and sound recordings.

The West Side United Methodist Church (Ann Arbor, Mich.) record group contains all extant records of the West Side United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor from its founding as the Erste Deutsche Methodisten Kirche in 1847 up to the 1990s. All records dating prior to World War I are in German, those from later time periods are in English.

Records from the German period are not complete, but do include quarterly conference meeting minutes (1847-1867 and 1883-1916), official board minutes (1897-1908), Sunday School board meeting minutes (1876-1915), Sunday School attendance and contribution records (1901-1918), a record of baptisms (1857-1901), minutes of meetings of the leaders (1901-1908), Epworth League minutes (1900-1917), and records on receipts and expenditures (1879-1893).

Records from the years since World War I vary in completeness depending on the time period. Records from the years prior to the move to the church on Seventh Street in 1952 are less complete than those for the most recent decades. For the period from World War I to 1952, the collection contains quarterly conference reports for most years; official board minutes (1922-1931 and 1944-1952); Board of Christian Education minutes and correspondence (1943-1952); Ladies Aid/Women's Society for Christian Service records (1935-1952); Sunday School board minutes and records on attendance, contributions, and expenditures (1923-1952 - incomplete); letters from former pastors and their wives upon celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Jefferson Street church (1934); photographs of the church building and activities of the congregation, yearbooks (1946-1952), and correspondence concerning the sale of the Jefferson Street church and the construction of the Seventh Street church (1949-1952).

The records for the years since 1952 are relatively complete and quite extensive. Included are quarterly (more recently annual) conference reports, minutes and correspondence of major boards and commissions (Administrative Council, Board of Trustees, Education, Evangelism, Finance, Memorials, Council on Ministries, Missions, Nominations, Outreach, Staff-Parish Relations, United Methodist Women, and Worship) plus various short-lived temporary committees and task forces, correspondence chronological files, subject files on special projects and events, church newsletters, Sunday bulletins, directories, and photographs of the church building and activities of the congregation.

The record group is arranged in six series: Quarterly and Annual Reports, Boards and Commissions File, Sunday School File, Topical File, Publications File, Photographs File, and Audiotapes, Films and Video.

Researchers interested in baptismal and marriage records should contact West Side United Methodist Church.

Mayor of Charlevoix, Michigan, editor and publisher of the Charlevoix Courier 1890-1920, secretary of the state lodge of the Knights of Pythias. Includes correspondence and miscellaneous papers relating to the Knights of Pythias; and Civil War reminiscences and letters of his father, Carlos Hampton, surgeon with the Michigan 4th Infantry; and his mother's account of her Civil War experiences in Hunt County, Texas.

The Will Hampton papers consist of correspondence, poetry, speeches, and historical reminiscences of Will Hampton as well as poetry and reminiscences of his mother Cornelia C. Hampton and correspondence of his father Carlos D. Hampton relating to his service in the Civil War. The collection is arranged in three series: Cornelia C. Hampton, Carlos D. Hampton and Will E. Hampton.

Saginaw, Michigan, lumberman and businessman, and Michigan State Tax Commissioner, 1912 and wildlife conservationist and sportsman. Papers include extensive correspondence files, business records and photographs.

The William Mershon collection consists of correspondence dealing with Mershon's various activities as a lumberman, Saginaw businessman, and member of the State Tax Commission in 1912. Subjects included in the papers are Michigan wildlife conservation, the Michigan Sportsmen Association, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Michigan State Tax Commission, Michigan politics, the Democratic party, personal business investments, lumbering and mining interest, and personal affairs.

The collection also includes diaries, a book of notes on hunting and fishing trips, and various business records such as cash books, time books, ledgers, and journals. These primarily concern his investments and lumbering business. Many of the business records are available on microfilm. The collection also includes photographs.

William Montague Ferry served as missionary to Indians at Michilimackinac, Michigan for the United Foreign Missionary Society, 1822-1834 and as clergyman in Grand Haven, Michigan. William Montague Ferry, Jr. served in the 14th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War, as University of Michigan Regent and later moved to Park City, Utah where he was active in Democratic Party politics. Thomas W. Ferry served as congressman, 1865 to 1871, and as U.S. Senator from 1871 to 1883. Papers include correspondence describing missionary work of William M. Ferry, Sr., civil war letters of William M. Ferry, Jr., some political correspondence of Thomas W. Ferry, and letters of Amanda White Ferry, wife of William Sr.

The Ferry family collection consists of letters and typescripts of letters from William Montague Ferry and his wife Amanda White Ferry describing their trip from Ashfield, Massachusetts, to Mackinac Island and their missionary work among the Indians; letters, 1862-1901, of Colonel William M. Ferry, University of Michigan regent, particularly to his wife and other relatives while serving in the Fourteenth Michigan Infantry during the Civil War; speeches and letters from contemporary politicians to Thomas White Ferry, lumberman and U.S. Senator; and two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings on the Ferry family. Correspondents in the collection include: Susan B. Anthony, Henry P. Baldwin, Zachariah Chandler, Schuyler Colfax, William M. Evarts, Hamilton Fish, Rutherford B. Haye, Whitelaw Reid, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton