Collections

Digitized letters, legal documents, notes, honors, awards, certificates, ecclesiastical notes, sermons, small publications, images, and other materials created by or about Fr. Gabriel Richard, biographical materials, and project administration materials.

In 2018, at the behest of the Archdiocese of Detroit (AD), the Clarke Historical Library digitized letters, legal documents, notes, honors, awards, certificates, ecclesiastical notes, sermons and documents, small publications, images, and other materials created by or about Fr. Gabriel Richard. During processing the paper copies printed from the combined digitized project resulted in 16 boxes (7.75 cubic feet) of materials. Original manuscripts were in the Early Church Records and Gabriel Richard Collection, 1735-1835, 4 manuscript and 2 oversized boxes, housed at the Archdiocese of Detroit (AD) Archives, and the collection of Monsignor Edward J. Hickey, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, 1767-1976, 4 cubic feet, housed at Sacred Heart Major Seminary Archives (SHMSA), Detroit. This resulting collection also includes biographical material on Richard; finding aids for both original paper collections; spreadsheets (file naming lists) which list and describe the folder contents of both original collections linked with digital file folder numbers; and paper prints created from the watermarked JPEG files which were converted to PDF files. Please note that three folders listed on the spreadsheets were not given to the Clarke for digitizing, including: SHMSA Box 2 folders 1-2 and Box 8 folder 1. Part of the agreement with the AD is that the Clarke has permission to allow researcher’s access to the digital project collection paper prints only in our reading room, not online. The collection is mostly in English, although there are numerous letters and documents in French. Hickey transcribed letters in his collection from French into English. Some of the publications are in various combinations of English, French, Latin and German. The Clarke also has many hardcopy versions of most of the publications about Richard found in this collection. There is also a list of legal terms in Latin and a letter that might be in Dutch. There are some inconsistencies due to spelling in original documents. Copyright questions should be referred to the AD.

The collection is organized alphabetically by the name of the original collection. The folder labels are AD 1-1 or 1-2, indicating the first two folders in the original AD or SHMSA collection. Further description of each folder content has been added to this box and folder listing from the original finding aids to assist researches, but is not found on this collection’s labels in the boxes. Original folder listing continues in this collection’s boxes. For example, in this collection, Box #7 includes the last AD folders originally from AD Box 2. AD 2-30 through 2-33, and the beginning of the first Hickey box SHMSA 1-1 through 1-9.

Originally oversized materials were housed out of order in oversized boxes in both AD and SHMSA. As a result of digitizing all prints now fit into legal-sized folders. For example, oversized AD-13 is in folder AD-13, not in a separate folder or box marked as oversized items.

The Early Church Records and Gabriel Richard Collection, 1735-1835, 4 manuscript and 2 oversized boxes, is housed at the Archdiocese of Detroit (AD) Archives. The collection contains some of Father Richard’s papers as well as papers of other Detroit settlers. The appointment of Frederick Rese as the first bishop of Detroit is in the collection, as are documents relating to the parishes of St. Antoine in Monroe and St. Felicity in St. Clair Shoes. The collection documents the growth and development of the Catholic Church in Detroit in the late 18th and early 19th century.

In addition, the collection includes books thought to have been printed on Richard’s press and a few items that belonged to Father Richard.

The collection is organized in five series: I.Correspondence and Legal Documents, 1782-1834; II. Financial Records, 1802-1832, This series contains materials relating to the financial and business transactions of GR (both personal and on behalf of the Church of St. Anne) as well as private citizens in the Detroit area. Included are such items as promissory notes, ledger and accounting records, receipts and bills of sale.; III. Personal Papers and Notes, undated, The series has material relating to GR’s discussions of the theories and principles of various academic subjects.; IV. Printed Materials, 1735-1831, This series contains printed materials relating to GR’s work in the community as well as Detroit history. Included are US Congressional bills with provisions regarding efforts to educate and care for deaf-mutes.

The collection of Monsignor Edward J. Hickey, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, 1767-1976, 4 cubic feet, is housed at Sacred Heart Major Seminary Archives (SHMSA), Detroit. This material was transferred to the AD in 2017 and is on deposit there from SHMSA. The collection includes: artifacts and documents related to Father Gabriel Richard and the early history of the Diocese of Detroit. The collection may only be accessed with the permission of the SHMSA Library Director. Monsignor Hickey transcribed numerous original letters of Father Richard in French, and then translated them into English. There are also texts of speeches and talks given by Monsignor Hickey on the subject of Father Richard; pamphlets and articles by others on the life of Father Richard; a list of the books in the private collection of Father Richard; paintings, photographs and prints of Father Richard and important places in his life; and other material pertaining to Monsignor Hickey and his family. The collection mostly follows the original organization by Father [Earl] Boyea. The collection was inventoried by Steve Wejroch, Archivist for the Archdiocese of Detroit, in August 2017.

The collection is organized in eight series: Box 1: Articles on Gabriel Richard; Box 2: Gabriel Richard’s Correspondence; Box 3: Honors to Gabriel Richard, 1929-1948; Box 4: Honors to Gabriel Richard, 1949 – Present; Box 8: Richard Correspondence – Originals

This collection consists of personal information, journal entries, poems, and correspondence of Gene Stratton-Porter, 1904, 1914 - 1924, 2019, and undated.

This collection consists of personal information, journal entries, poems, and correspondence of Gene Stratton-Porter, 1904, 1914 - 1924, 2019, and undated, .5 Cubic Feet (in 1 box). The collection is organized alphabetically. All the correspondence is photocopies.

A large portion of the collection consists of letters sent from Gene Stratton-Porter to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cochrane, close friends of hers. These letters talk about her writing, surroundings (people, objects), and the environments (nature) she was in. There are also journal entries, where Stratton-Porter makes observations about the world around her. The box also includes poems with markings and edits that were probably made by Gene Stratton-Porter herself. At times, the markings themselves appear to be in another’s handwriting other than Stratton-Porter, in which the reader can make out through the content notes. Topics in her poems typically are nature and emotions. Gene made frequent mention of what her writing meant to her and how it made her feel. This correspondence helps to understand Stratton-Porter on a deeper, more emotional level. Some collection highlights include “A Collection of Poems” by Gene Stratton-Porter, edited poems and short stories, and letters revealing a deeper understanding of her love for nature. Most of the letters are typed. Some letters, from her later life, are addressed from California, her final permanent residence, to various parts of the country, including Arkansas, New York, and Indiana. Most of the letters, however, do not contain a location.

Processing Note: One folder of duplicates was withdrawn from the collection during processing.

Collection documenting Custer, the 7th Cavalry, the Battle of the Little Bighorn and resulting National Park and Cemetery, Native Americans, Reno's court martial and reburial, monuments, memorials, Custer family member, Custer's horse, and related topics.

The George A. Custer Collection covers a wide variety of material documenting Gen. George A. Custer, members of the 7th Cavalry, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and the Battle of the Little Big Horn National Park and Cemetery, and Native Americans involved in the battle, in articles, clippings from newspaper and periodicals, maps, organizational materials, newsletters, photographs, postcards, drawings, broadsides, manuscripts, drafts of publications, song lyrics, and other materials that Frost, Kuhlman, Luther, and other Custer authors wrote, collected, researched, and discussed in their personal correspondence with each other.

The major Custer authors are well documented in this collection, including: Fred Dustin, Lawrence A. Frost, Tal Luther, and Charles Kuhlman. Biographies, obituaries (when available), and lists of their books from the CMU catalog have been included in their biographical folders to assist researchers.

There are so many interesting items in the Custer Collection, that it is hard to select a few for further discussion here to benefit researchers. It must be said that the collection covers every possible aspect of the Battle of the Little Big Horn and the roles of Custer and various Native Americans in it. Memorials, monuments, paintings, drawings, and plays about Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn are also documented. The materials in the collection varies from romantic, pro-Custer materials that are wholly to partially inaccurate, to book manuscripts and correspondence of authors offering a critical analysis of the actual facts as determined from personal observations of the battlefield and years of methodical research.

Some unique items of interest are a copy of the bill granting Mrs. Custer a pension, 1877 (from the Congressional Record); clippings on Custer Movies and TV Programs (for a laugh); articles about the artwork in the collection and the drawings and paintings (prints of) themselves; notes on and the Transcripts of the Reno Court of Inquiry, Stenographic Reports of Testimony (3 volumes in 3 folders); and various clippings and other materials regarding Custer’s horses, fellow officers and troopers, and Reno’s trial and eventual reburial. Manuscripts of books and the correspondence between Custer researchers and authors are also of interest to the serious Custer researcher.

An item of particular interest is the March 24, 1930 letter to Mr. Bruce from R.G. Custer, suggesting that Mr. Bruce not publish his “Comments” on the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Custer’s reason for this was that “Mrs. Custer is living-the same- Poor woman, she has suffered enough, “ It is obvious from this letter that serious Custer researchers knew by 1930, if not earlier, that the myths surrounding the Battle of the Little Big Horn were a joke. Yet, to avoid hurting Mrs. Custer feelings, and probably to avoid recriminations by the pro-Custer press and public, critical analysis of the battle and Custer’s role in it were, for the most part, suppressed until after Elizabeth Custer died in 1933.

Most of the Custer Collection in the Clarke Historical Library came from Tal Luther. His Custerania collection included: posters, drawings, prints, photographs, correspondence, notecards, the Kuhlman and Luther Papers, manuscripts and drafts of various publications by various authors, maps, periodicals, including oversized newspapers, and miscellaneous items. The vast majority of Custer-related books, now cataloged separately in the Clarke, also came from Luther.

Many of the newsletters and some periodicals in the Custer Collection were purchased separately by the Clarke on a subscription basis for a few years, after the bulk of the Luther collection had arrived.

Additional information on Custer related topics, not in this collection, may be found in the Clarke’s general vertical files and Lewis vertical files, and the postcards, photographs, and biographical portrait collections in the Clarke.

The collection is organized alphabetically and chronologically. Abbreviations and incorrect spellings in article titles are faithfully represented in the box and folder listing. For example, Little Bighorn is sometimes spelled Little Big Horn.

Processing Notes: Due to the extreme physical deterioration of many of the periodicals and articles in this collection, as well as some of the draft manuscripts of books and other materials, many items have been photocopied and the originals withdrawn from the collection.

A small collection of Mrs. George A. (Elizabeth) Custer’s was donated to the Clarke as part of Luther’s collection. When it was accessioned in 1983, the Elizabeth Custer collection was separately cataloged.

Most of the published books and serials that were part of the collection have been cataloged separately.

Papers consist mostly of drafts of Stengren's translation of Kierkegaard's Relation to Hegel, by Dr. Niels Thulstrup.

The papers, 1972-1980, 1985, and undated, consists mainly of handwritten and typed drafts of Prof. Stengren’s translation of Kierkegaard’s Relation to Hegel by Niels Thulstrup (1980). Also included is Professor Stengren’s correspondence concerning this book with Dr. Niels Thulstrup of the Soren Kierkegaarde Selskabet, Copenhagen, Denmark, and the editors at Princeton University Press. Some of Dr. Thulstrup’s correspondence as well as miscellaneous notes and citations are in Danish. Some of the Danish material has been translated into English.

Processing Notes: Duplicate copies of handwritten drafts and several galley proof drafts were withdrawn from the collection during processing.

Collection, 1864, 1975 and undated, consist mostly of Poor’s correspondence and writings.

Collection, 1864, 1975 and undated, consist mostly of Poor’s correspondence and writings. Papers include: biographical materials; certificates; correspondence with his friend, Carl Berlin, 1942-1975, and information written by Poor about Berlin’s life and adventures in Alaska; Poor’s correspondence about his retirement, 1973-1974 and undated; a diary of his sophomore year at Olivet College, 1927-1928; class notes from Olivet College, 1927-1929; a cassette tape from Poor’s retirement dinner at Central Michigan University (CMU) in 1973; term papers he wrote as a student at CMU and the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D. dissertation; and several of his professional books and teaching materials, 1968, 1974, and undated. The collection is organized mostly alphabetically and chronologically.

A plaque from his 1973 retirement dinner noting the establishment of a scholarship in Poor’s name at CMU,1973, and his writing, Of Nations, Schools, and Pedagogues, Education in Western Civilization, 1968, were transferred to the CMU Museum in 2017.

The collection includes reports, brochures, bylaws, directory, and historical information.

The collection includes biographical materials, images of Rogers City and Belknap, Michigan, churches, a house in Presque Isle County, Michigan, and plumbing forms from World War II.

The papers include papers of Charles O. and Gerrit S.Ward, and the Ward and Ely families.

The collection includes genealogical materials for the Ward and Ely families of Alma, Michigan; Ward family photographs (19th-20th centuries), including some of Charles O. Ward in uniform and in local bands. The materials of Gerrit S. Ward include correspondence to/from Gerrit S. Ward to/from family, 1860-1897, and about his various business interests including banking, mines, and timberlands, 1886-1916; deeds and correspondence to Alma and Montcalm County lands, 1883-1911; Gerrit S. Ward’s estate records, 1916-1917 (copy, 1940); an annual report of the First Bank of Alma (illustrated with pictures of the bank and its staff and officers), 1916; legal papers, mostly regarding land, 1886-1910; Civil War artifacts and pension materials, 1862-1928; miscellaneous; and correspondence re: the Roanoke Rapids Paper Manufacturing Company, 1907-1910.

Materials for Charles O. Ward include Spanish-American War military certificates, 1898-1899; correspondence, mostly between Charles and Gerrit S. or Hugh E. Ward, 1898-1960; and numerous deeds and related legal papers concerning his real estate businesses in Alma, 1887-1961.

The materials of Josephine Ely Ward include correspondence, 1916-1917; estate records, 1940; and the Ely family genealogy.

Also included is an 1820 certificate of military appointment for Sardis Ward as a cornet player for the 6th New York Cavalry.

Two Oversized scrapbooks complete the collection. Volume 1, 1885-1961, mostly consists of newspaper clippings on the Spanish-American War, 1898. It includes telegrams about Charles O. Ward’s health and hospitalization at St. Joseph’s hospital in Philadelphia, November 1898, with typhoid. Telegrams were sent between T.S. Ward, G.S. Ward, Charles Spicer, Sarah Ward, and Josie Ward.

Scrapbook Volume 2, 1885-1941, includes many articles on Charles O. Ward and his wife, and the Ely and Ward families. Two memorial booklets for William Sisson Turck, (August 7, 1839-September 19, 1912), Mason, Major of the 26th Michigan Infantry Regiment, Alma Supervisor, County Treasurer, Michigan Representative, President of Alma, and member of the Board of Managers of the Michigan Soldiers’ Home in Grand Rapids are also included. Volume 2 also contains an Alma College commencement program, June 22, 1888; Hugh Ward’s recital program, 1918; and a memorial resolution from the Alma Order of the Eastern Star for Electra Brewbaker (died November 20, 1932 at age 81).

Both scrapbooks are quite acidic, but Volume 2 is very acidic, fragile, with detached covers and spine.

The collection consists of photographs, mostly of school children Cornell taught in Weidman and possibly in Mecosta, Michigan, 1928, 1950, and undated.

The collection consists mainly of photographs taken by Cornell of her students and neighbors, and some of Cornell with students, including: formal and informal class photographs of kindergarteners through second graders, children playing on school swings and teeter totters, girls with their dolls, children and a family swimming, and girls posing in nice dresses and boys pulling small wagons at the Boyer’s home, 1928, 1935-1936, and 1948-1950. Some of the groups of children in classes and some individuals are identified. Also included are photographs of a terrible winter storm in Weidman, Michigan, in 1936; Grandma Hayes’ 90th birthday with flowers and a large birthday cake with candles, undated; an unidentified river, undated; Mecosta, Michigan’s one block downtown, Methodist Episcopal Church, and high school; and students posing by the Weidman Elementary School, and the building itself, 1928, and 1935-1936.

The photographs are all in good condition. Some were or still are attached to black, loose photograph album pages. The photographs vary in size from large 1948 class photographs measuring 8 inches x 10 inches, to individual portraits of students, circa 1928, measuring 1 inch x 2.5 inches. All the photographs are black and white, and some have a sepia tone.

Glass-plate negatives (74) include views of Beulah and Elsie, Michigan, undated, and Ohio in 1909.

The collection consists of 74, mostly undated, glass-plate negatives, all measuring 4 inches x 5 inches. The collection is organized alphabetically by topic. Some of the views are of Beulah and Elsie, Michigan, undated, while others are of Ohio in 1909. The other topics in the collection include animals, buildings, carriages, the Corrigan family, families, field views, groups of people, machinery, river views, and women. The collection is in good physical condition.

Photographs, negatives, and war papers of a Catholic nurse from Adrian (Mich.) who served in World War II in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, and Bureaun, The Philippines. Also documented are her family, friends, medical staff, a convent and nuns in Louisiana.

The original part of the collection (Boxes 1-4) is organized into two series, Negatives and Photographs and then alphabetically by topic. The images are mostly undated, but date from the 1940s through the 1960s.

The majority of this part of the collection (1.25 cubic ft.) consists of undated Negatives, mostly of Grace’s relatives. There are many images of a family with four girls playing, eating, celebrating birthdays, going to school, being baptized, preparing for First Holy Communion, with Easter baskets, on vacation, and with extended family. The family traveled overseas, as well as to camp and enjoyed speed boating and fun with a jeep, during the 1950s-1960s. A family dog is in several negatives as well as the girls’ swing set. There are a number of images of a family with two boys, probably also relatives, playing, at a summer camp, and with family members.

There are numerous negatives a nun, who was a family member, first as a novice, and later as a professed nun, by herself, but more often with other nuns or family members, most often the four girls, their parents, and probably the nun’s mother, at church, the convent, visiting shrines, and at family gatherings. A number of the photographs clearly show the address of the convent as 717 Orleans Street. She was a member of the Holy Family Convent in New Orleans (Louisiana). [This information is from an e-news article in the Clarion Herald (the) Official Catholic Newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Vol. 42, No. 14, July 2, 2003. According to the article, the convent moved to another location in 1955 after 80 years at 717. A convent, novitiate, and high school, St. Mary’s Academy, were once located at 717.]

Grace’s niece wrote to the archivist that a close family friend, Sr. Mary Matthew (a black nun) was from New Orleans. Francis’ daughter, Margaret Kelly’s sister, is also a (white) nun, Sr. Ruth Anne Kelly, an Adrian Dominican.

A priest is often in the family photographs, particularly with the family of four girls and with the nun. He may have been a family member as well.

Older negatives show the four girls’ Grandma, a boy often wearing knickers, and other senior family members wearing 1920s-1930s era clothing. Grandma apparently lived in her house, as the four girls visited her there with their parents. Grandma’s backyard, with her birdhouse and swing, with numerous large family gatherings, is featured in many negatives.

One folder of negatives shows Grace and various men in military uniforms with family members before leaving to serve in World War II. A common element in the negatives is the large pile of concrete blocks in the backyard.

Additional negatives show animals, buildings, trips, cars, and flowers, trees, etc.

The rest of the collection consists of Photographs (.5 cubic ft.). Most of the Photographs date from World War II and document Lieutenant Grace Kelly’s nursing experience and training at Fort Custer (Battle Creek, Michigan), in October 1943, in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, in 1944, and in Bureaun, the Philippines, in 1945. The barracks, housing, operating room and equipment, island natives, nurses (working, relaxing, fooling around, on ship, in trucks, hauling equipment, and sightseeing), doctors, medical corpsmen, soldiers, prisoners, patients, animals, scenic wonders, as well as vehicles are documented.

Other photographs document later family barbecues and children in August 1960, and there is one photograph of a nun (Grace’s sister?) with a little girl (Grace’s niece?), dated September 1956.

A few additional, undated photographs of crowds at a Grand Stand, and people in an arena or stadium with loud speakers complete the collection.

All of the negatives that match photographs have been filed with the appropriate photograph.

The 2015 addition, Box 5 (.5 cubic feet) to the collection is a mix of incomplete materials, mostly papers, including U.S. Army special orders and other forms regarding Kelly’s enlistment, transfers, equipment, leave, hospitalization, demobilization, and clearance forms, receipts, and an application for pension. There is also information about how to set up a hospital and what equipment and supplies are necessary for such a hospital. There are some maps of hospital camp layouts, including one that is unidentified and one of Leyte Bay. There is a newspaper article about Kelly, which probably dates from the end of the war. There is also a newspaper image with text about the Angels of Bataan, nurses who were POWs of the Japanese. Kelly was not a POW. Also of interest are some poems, clearly authored by Americans serving in the Pacific. One poem is from a newsletter. Authorship of the poems is unknown.

It is likely that most of the photographs and pamphlets were the property of at least one of her brothers as they are European in nature. Most of the photographs are unidentified and only three are dated, all 1945. The photographs are pretty general in nature and include various civilian buildings and people, soldiers, planes in formation high overhead, various boats, and tents. Several photographs are identified as images taken in England, near the Elbe, along the Rhine, and in Munich. There is one photograph of an unidentified group of nurses. Ralph Kelly, who served in Bavaria, is identified in two images. There is an interesting sequence of four images showing several men practicing a life boat drill.

One item that is definitely that of Francis P. Kelly’s is an invitation to Eisenhower’s inauguration (copy), 1953.

Processing Notes: Many of the forms and the inaugural invitation were extremely acidic and were copied. Originals were removed from the collection. Also removed from the collection were several general publications about the war.