Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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Collection

Robert W. Schoening papers, circa 1896-1923

0.3 linear feet — 18 GB

Online
German-born resident of Saginaw, Michigan; worked variously as a laborer, mechanic, shop foreman, factory superintendent, and traveling salesman. Includes scattered correspondence and unpublished literary works and essays with details of early cross-country automobile travel on the Yellowstone Trail and Lincoln Highway and perspectives on Michigan's manufacturing economy.

The Robert W. Schoening papers are primarily of interest due to their detailed description of his cross-country automobile trips and extensive traveling through the western United States from 1919 to 1921. Other writings reveal period attitudes towards capitalism, patriotism, and industrialism. The collection includes original manuscripts and correspondence as well as digitized images of these works created by Schoening's family.

The collection also includes a series of digitized photographs from Schoening's trip out west circa 1919 and collected materials related to the Saginaw Cigar Manufacturers and local life in Saginaw and Flint, Michigan.

Collection

Chrystal G. Tibbs papers, circa 1890-2015 (majority within 1960-2013)

9.2 linear feet — 1 oversize box — 1 oversize folder — 7.6 GB (online)

Online
The Chrystal G. Tibbs Papers comprise over a half-century of documents pertaining to Tibbs's membership in various chapters of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and to the history of the sorority at large. Founded at Howard University in 1908, A.K.A. was the first sorority established by African-American women and currently has approximately 250,000 members. The collection's four series contain papers pertaining to Tibbs's personal participation in sorority activities (including those related to her tenure in various administrative posts), materials from several Michigan chapters, sorority publications, and audiovisual materials. In addition, the collection contains work done by Tibbs and family members to document the Powell, Webster, and Winchester family history.

The Chrystal G. Tibbs Papers comprise materials accumulated through Tibbs's participation in Alpha Kappa Alpha conferences, chapter meetings, and special interest groups at the local, state, regional, and national level over a span of fifty years. The activities of Michigan-based chapters are particularly well represented. Materials also include personal and professional documentation directly related to Tibbs and her immediate family. The collection is divided into four series: Personal Papers, Professional Career, Powell Family Papers, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Collection

George Washington Merrill photographs, circa 1874-1918

0.1 linear feet — 78 MB (online)

Online
Engineer on various Great Lakes steamship, photographer and collector of photographs; includes photos and some glass negatives depicting Grand Army of the Republic encampment in Detroit in 1891; photographs of war bond rally in Detroit, ca. 1918; photographs of downtown Detroit buildings and street scenes; some of the photographs of Belle Isle other water views.

The Merrill collection consists of photographs (with some glass negatives) depicting public events associated with a meeting of the Grand Army of the Republic organization in Detroit in 1891; photographs of war bond rally in Detroit, including patriotic displays, ca. 1918; photographs of downtown Detroit, including views of commercial buildings, modes of transportation, and people on the street; and some of the photographs of Belle Isle other water views.

Collection

Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island, Mich.) records, circa 1855-2017 (majority within 1946-2012)

27.5 linear feet (in 29 boxes) — 2 oversize folders — 94.4 GB (online)

Online
The Grand Hotel records comprise documents, photographs, audio and videographic material collected about the hotel by its management. The strength of the collection is in its documentation of the guest experience at the hotel, and the evolution of amenities offered by the hotel during the mid-to-late 20th century. A small number of items also provide a glimpse of the hotel's earliest days as a summer resort.

The Grand Hotel records are arranged in six series: Printed Material, Miscellaneous, Press Clippings and Publications, Photographic Material, Audio Material, and Videographic Material.

Collection

Palmer Family (Pontiac, Mich.) papers, circa 1814-1940

2 linear feet — 1.9 GB

Online
Upper-class Michigan family in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with various business interests including lumbering, mining, and land transactions in Montana, Michigan, California, West Virginia, and British Columbia. The family was also active in the development of the Orchard lake area, especially during in the 1920s through the 1940s. The collection contains both business and personal materials including correspondence, subject files, legal records, maps, blueprints, and photographs.

The Palmer Family papers document the activities of an upper-class family in nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Michigan. The strength of the collection is its documentation of the growth of early business in Michigan. The Charles Henry Palmer (Senior) series contains the bulk of this information, with papers documenting his activities as an investor in mining and railroads in Michigan's Upper Peninsula from the 1850s through the 1880s. The balance of the collection contains both business and personal materials documenting the lives of various Palmer family members. Materials include correspondence, legal materials, business records, photographs, diaries and journals, and newspaper clippings.

Collection

Christina V. Pacosz papers, 1899-2019 (majority within 1961-2012)

15.75 linear feet — 20 archived websites — 1.3 GB

Online
Widely published and award winning Detroit born Polish-American author whose life is at the heart of her poetry, diaries, and publications. The collection primarily consists of correspondence between Pacosz, certain family members, and associates; diaries highlighting pivotal events in her life; creative works; publicity materials; family and biographical information; and photographs.

The Christina V. Pacosz papers gives the researcher an insight into the works and mind of an American born Polish poet. This collection, in which the files are arranged chronologically, spans the years 1899-2019, with the majority of the materials reflecting the years 1961-2012.

The collection comprises of correspondence between Pacosz, her literary cohorts, and family members; published and unpublished anthologies, manuscripts, and poetry; biographical and genealogical records pertaining to Pacosz and her family; works created by her students; personal diaries; photographs of herself, family, and colleagues. The collection also comprises of publicity and research materials.

Collection

Ocha Potter papers, 1898-2008 (majority within 1923-1965)

0.6 linear feet (in 2 boxes)

Online
Ocha Potter was a copper mining engineer and adventurer who also played an important role in the promotion of Keweenaw County, Michigan as a vacation destination during the 1930s and 1940s. Over the course of his career, Potter made important contributions to the field of copper mining, including the development of a safer, more efficient method of stoping and advocacy for the use of the lighter "one-man" alternative to the ubiquitous two-man drill. He also led and undertook many travels and expeditions both for work and leisure, which he documented in photographs. This collection contains three photo albums, documenting Potter's travels to Alaska (1905-1908), Africa and Europe (1930), and national parks in the American West (1923, 1934 and 1936). It also contains a manuscript of his autobiography, family correspondence about the manuscript, and newspaper clippings and ephemera related to Potter's life, career, and involvement with the Copper Country Vacationist League.

Collection contains three photo albums with photographs taken by Potter on his trips to Alaska, Africa, Europe, and the United States. Also newspaper clippings about Potter, ephemera related to Potter's involvement with the Copper Country Vacationist League, family correspondence, manuscript of Ocha's autobiography, and biographical information about him by his granddaughter Julia Fairchild.

Collection

Edward N. Hartwick Papers, 1898-1978 (majority within 1940-1960)

3 linear feet — 25.4 GB (online)

Online
President of the Wayne County Republican Precinct Organization and member of the 14th Congressional District Republican Committee; files relating to political activities; also photographs, motion pictures, and sound recordings.

The papers of Edward N. Hartwick center around his involvement in the Republican party in the Wayne County area, and on the state and national level. The series in the collection are Wayne County Republican Party Activities; State Republican Central Committee; Election of 1952; Miscellaneous Political Files; Personal; Visual Materials; and Sound Recordings.

Included in the collection are meeting minutes, party organizational materials, and other materials relating to his activities within the Wayne County party organization and the Michigan State Central Committee. In addition, there are papers dealing with Hartwick's role as a delegate to the 1952 Republican National Convention. He received many letters urging him to support the various candidates - Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Taft.

Collection

Henry Chandler Cowles lantern slide collection, 1898-1936

104 slides (in 3 boxes)

Online
The Henry Chandler Cowles photograph collection is comprised primarily of lantern slides. As a botany professor at the University of Chicago, Cowles led several field trips to observe ecological environments during the years from 1898 to 1934. The lantern slides in this collection cover the geographic areas of Michigan, Colorado, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois and include photographic subjects such as dunes, plant life, forests, landscapes, and class group pictures.

The Henry Chandler Cowles photograph collection is comprised primarily of glass lantern slides from Cowles's ecology trips covering the years 1898 to 1936 with the majority being unmarked or falling between the years 1900-1912. Captions affixed to the plates are noted when available along with any numbering. Some of the handwriting is difficult to make out as are the Latin names of the plants but every attempt at correct spelling has been made. The collection is divided into seven series: Michigan Photographs, Colorado Photographs, Illinois Photographs, Indiana Photographs, Wisconsin Photographs, Miscellaneous Photographs, and Indiana Transparencies. Each state has subseries of General -- which indicates a many single location photographs -- and subseries of cities for which a group of photographs exists.