Collections

This artificial collection includes annual reports, reports of mine inspectors, brochures, stock certificates, and an issue of the American Journal of Mining, New York, August 18, 1866.

This artificial collection consists mostly of annual reports of mining companies, reports of mine inspectors, a few brochures or informational pamphlets about the mining companies and mining, stock certificates, and an issue of the American Journal of Mining, New York, August 18, 1866.

The papers include family correspondence about life in Sherburne, New York, and Marion, Michigan. Civil War correspondence of the New York Infantry 61st Regiment Company G reveals feelings of soldiers and civilians about the war and various battles. Also included are family photographs, obituaries, an autobiographical sketch, and an account book.

The collection includes family correspondence relating to farming and life in New York and Michigan, and the correspondence of Bullock and his comrades of the New York State Infantry 61st Regiment Co. G, revealing feelings of soldiers and civilians on the war, superior officers, the armistice, with descriptions of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Harpers Ferry West Virginia, and Sharpsburg, Maryland. Also included are family obituaries, photographs, autobiographical sketch of Bullock, and an account book, 1813-1820, of a carding mill, possibly owned by S. Bullock at New Hartford, Connecticut.

Numerous business records of lumber company and family papers of Millard D. Olds.

This collection consists mostly of the Business Records of M. D. Olds and Co. (Boxes #4-36 and 335 volumes) and some personal Family Papers (Boxes #1-3). All aspects of the business interests of Millard D. Olds, including timberlands, timber, lumber, coal and wood delivery, lumber camps, ferryboats, railroads, poultry and oranges, sugar, apartment buildings, etc. are documented. Also documented are private real estate deals, loans, mortgages, and court cases in which he was involved. There are also materials relating to the estates of several people that Olds was involved with, including Julia and Robert B. Small, Horace N. Olney (who may have been a cousin), and Valentine Fries. He became involved with these estates and with several small businesses because he was financially invested with the deceased person or troubled business. He also advised Lillian Robinson, widow of his one-time business partner, about business matters.

Family Papers (3 boxes or 1.25 cubic ft.) is organized alphabetically by topic. It includes biographical materials, family deeds, house plans, M. D. Olds’ estate materials, two photographs, and personal correspondence. The largest section is the personal correspondence, 1908-1945 and undated (9 folders), which includes letters to and from Olds, Ora, and their daughters and sons-in-law, as well as other relatives.

Business Records is divided by format (Papers and Volumes) and then by function. Papers include Subject Files and Business Correspondence. The Volumes are mostly financial Account Books, although some Non-Financial Volumes are included.

The Subject Files (23 boxes or 11.5 cubic ft.) include: reports, legal records, court cases, estate records, statistics, meeting minutes, and government forms such as accident reports or coal proposals. All of M. D. Olds’ business and legal interests are documented here, as are his Michigan, Ohio, California, and Oregon concerns.

The Subject Files are boxed by size (Legal Size in Boxes #4-18 and Letter Size in Boxes #19-26) to best use limited space. There is an alphabetical run of topics in each set of boxes. In a few cases, related correspondence has been interfiled there.

The Business Correspondence (11 boxes, #27-36, or 5.5 cubic ft.) is organized chronologically by people or companies with lots of correspondence in a given year meriting its own folder(s). Both Art Schupp and Lou Buhrman wrote to Olds about business or legal concerns. Lou wrote about the Pacific and Eastern Railway Court Cases while Art wrote about the Columbia or Paulding Sugar Co.

The Business Correspondence documents various business concerns including lumber camps; Olds’ Scalers, notably John Lyberg; tugboats; government relations; the business interests of Olds’ sons-in-law, and the Olds Bros. General Store (1931). Most of the folders are thin.

The Volumes (335 Oversized volumes or 36 cubic ft.) vary greatly in size. For the sake of convenience, they are housed together. Most of the volumes are Account Books. This subgroup is further divided by function. Each function group is organized chronologically on paper, although they may actually be shelved by size, with extremely heavy or large volumes located on the bottom of a stack of volumes.

The Non-Financial Volumes include: Township Survey Books, 1897-1922, undated; Field Report Sheets, 1919; Real Estate Book, 1894-1903; Letterpress Books, 1901-1907; Telegram Books, 1909-1918, undated; Memo and Steno Books, 1897-1918, 1923

The Account Books include: Account Books, 1898-1921; Apartment Books, 1924-1937; Bank Accounts, 1923-1944; Cash Books, 1904-1931; Companies Olds Purchased, 1885-1924; Lumber Accounts (various), 1893-1936; Ledgers, 1893-1938; Trial Balance Books, 1907-1917; Payroll Books, 1910-1955; Lumber Camp Books (various), 1895-1913; Coal Shipment Books, 1936-1950; Coal and Wood Delivery Books, 1904-1964; Log Scale Book, 1891-1893; Scale Weight Books, 1906-1965, undated; Steamer Books, 1900-1925

Blueprints (8), undated, mostly of the Olds' residence are found in 1 Oversized folder.

Processing Notes: The collection originally included 119 cubic ft. of papers in oversized boxes and 309 volumes. Duplicates, most tax materials, receipts, bills, generic correspondence, publications, and other peripheral materials were returned to M. D. Olds’ descendants as per their request. Also returned were photocopies of all personal correspondence retained by the Clarke. 54 cubic ft. of material (in 36 boxes, 335 volumes, and 1 Oversized volder) has been retained by the Clarke.

The papers include mostly Minnie's diaries, 1901-1905, 1922-1923, 1924-1969; a 1902 embalming course workbook of her husband, E. G. Van Deusen, 1902; R.G. Van Deusen's account book,1842-1849, and meeting minutes of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees Tent 419 (Elsie, Michigan), 1910, 1915.

The collection consists mainly of Minnie’s diaries from 1901-1905, 1922-1923, and 1925-1969. She recorded the weather; her and her family’s daily activities; and local marriages, births, and deaths. Also included are her World War II ration books, 1943-1944; her miscellaneous correspondence; stock certificates; and copies of family-related newspaper clippings, 1899-1944 scattered). E. G.‘s embalming course workbook, 1902; his father’s account book, 1842-1849; meeting minutes of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees Tent 419 (Elsie, Michigan), 1903-1913; and some related correspondence, 1910 and 1915, are also included. E. G.’s brother, Milo R., was Commander and Secretary of Tent 419 from 1903-1913. Some clippings and biographical information on Milo R., Roe G., and E. G. Van Deusen are in the miscellaneous folder.

correspondence, papers, divorce decree, and sermons of Morris Brown.

The collection mainly consists of Brown’s correspondence to his future wife, Maria Smith, and cousin, Emoline M. Whitmore of Hamburg (New York). There are a few letters addressed to Brown from the ladies. The correspondence discusses Brown's legal work, family news, and daily life. Also included is the family correspondence of Eleanor Fitzgerald of New York (NY), which concentrates on the graduation of Eleanor and her sister, Irene, from Smith College in 1908. Other family members represented in the papers include her mother, Daisy, father, Frank T., brother, Gerald, and sister, Edith, as well as cousins, uncles, and aunts and Esleek family members. There are also two sets of divorce papers, 1878-1895, and sermons by an unknown author, 1815-1834.

The Mount Pleasant Mission Organizational Records, 1892-1969, undated, document the history of the Countryside United Methodist Church (CUMC) and mid-Michigan Evangelicals.

The Mount Pleasant Mission Organizational Records, 1892-1969, undated, documents the history of the Countryside United Methodist Church (CUMC) and mid-Michigan Evangelicals. The collection is organized by size and chronologically and alphabetically. Boxes 1 and 2 include annual reports of the Evangelical Sunday School Secretary’s Records, detailing how many people attended, the name of teachers, and weekly donation amounts during each meeting 1937-1950. There are two records of Ladies Aid congregations within the church, Bethel Ladies Aid 1938-1945, and Union Evangelical Church Ladies Aid, 1921-1924. Also included are records of the Mount Pleasant Mission Michigan Conference of the Evangelical Association and Evangelical Association Chippewa Trustees, 1893-1950. Lastly, there is a memorial booklet for the foundation of the organization Memorial Booklet, October 8, 1933.

Evangelical Association Chippewa Trustees, 1893-1950, contains records during the first meeting in the new church building, led by Reverend Warren Brown. The entries that continue the year 1903 in Mount Pleasant Mission Michigan Conference of the Evangelical Association, 1903-1921, are placed in the back of the book.

Material in Union Evangelical Secretary Report, 1926-1929 is very acidic. Otherwise, the collection is in good physical condition.

The oversized material contains the organization’s record book which details the church’s organizational history and changes made during each pastorate, previous members, and records of life events such as marriages, deaths, and baptisms. Also included in oversized material is a printed poster on paper of the 50th Anniversary Jubilee Session of the Michigan Conference Evangelical Association. Lastly, there is a photograph of the First Women’s Society Chippewa Evangelical Church, with members’ names listed on the back.

Papers of Nellie Finley, as a student and a teacher, and her family of Parma, Michigan.

Family Papers, 1881-1978, and undated, measures 25 cubic ft. (in 25 boxes, 1 Oversized folder). It consists of the papers of Nellie Finley and her family, including correspondence, teaching materials she used as a student and a teacher, notebooks, scrapbooks, published materials, photographs, and miscellaneous. The correspondence, in Boxes 1-21 and 25, includes letters, notes, telegrams, greeting cards, and postcards, and may include newspaper clippings and/or photographs, mostly exchanged between Nellie and her friends and relatives, 1881-1934, and undated. It is not always possible to determine the relationships between the correspondents, but this has been noted, when possible. The collection is mostly organized in alphabetical and chronological order with published and miscellaneous items after correspondence. There are also receipts, speeches, miscellaneous materials, certificates, recitation and student notebooks, and a few miscellaneous scrapbooks and recipes. Box 21 consists entirely of greeting cards organized by holiday or occassion. Published items in Boxes 22-24 include pages of partial directories of Michigan teachers, 1886-1903, and a directory of superintendents and principals, 1890-1891. Of note among the published volumes are Michigan poet Will Carleton's Everywhere, January-December 1911, Christoforo’s Method for Mandolin (Music Instruction Book, Copyright 1897 - John Church Co.), and the 77th Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Michigan w/ Accompanying Documents for the Year 1913-1914.

Note: The abbreviations ND stands for Nellie May Davis and NDF for Nellie D. Finley.

Box 25 (Acc# 72943) includes family correspondence, some of Nellie’s early school materials she created as a child, and materials documenting Masonic organizations such as the Order of the Eastern Star, Michigan State Normal School, and Michigan insurance companies.

The Oversized folder includes Nellie and Theron’s marriage certificate, 1912, and Nellie’s Parma High School diploma, 1904. Also included is an oversized, undated, post-Civil gravure print of Orlando H. Moore holding a bugle and wearing a cape in civilian clothes. He does not appear to be related to the Finleys.

Processing Note: Prior to 1997, students and perhaps Clarke staff simply foldered this collection and likely maintained its loose original order. The original finding aid is no longer accessible on the computer due to software changes. Due to other priorities it was decided not to re-process the collection or individually cataloged published materials. Box 25 was a late addition in 2011 which was processed by the Archivist. A formal finding aid with biographical section and scope notes were not created until 2011 by Archivist Marian Matyn.

Processing Note: Eight oversized Masonic certificates of Edgar A. Guest were donated with Acc# 72943. These were added to the existing Guest papers.

Newton family correspondence, last will and testament of William Newton, miscellaneous, and an essay on New York religious settlements.

The collection consists almost entirely of family correspondence, 1812-1924, and undated. The correspondence discusses news of family and friends, and social conditions in England. Later letters, 1902-1924, are to Fannie Newton from her parents, William and Emily J. Newton of Henrietta (New York), discussing the death of William’s son-in-law, Frank Hinds and other family news. A letter from G. Ambrose, a member of Company B, 85th Indiana Infantry discusses the hardships of being a Civil War Soldier, January 19, 1863. The last Will and Testament of William Newton, February 18, 1924 of Henrietta (N.Y.), miscellaneous, and an undated essay on New York religious settlements complete the collection. The will mentions William’s dead daughter, Martha N. Short, and living relatives, son-in-law, Richard B. Short, son, Harold C. Short, and daughters Carrie D. Hindis, Ella N. Mellers, and Alice N. Dewitt.

The collection includes miscellaneous township records of Nottawa and Vernon townships (Isabella County, Mich.) and Shepherd, Mich.

The collection includes Township records for Nottawa Township, Shepherd Village, and Vernon Township Isabella County, Michigan. The Nottawa Township records are school records and include Annual Reports and Census statistics.The Shepherd Village records include a School District Record Book. The Vernon Township records are very incomplete and there are large gaps in years when it was received by the Clarke. The Board of Review papers include minutes. Board of Township papers include meeting minutes, letter to the Board, Resolutions, and Agreements, etc. The Election papers mainly consist of election returns and other related materials. The Highway Commission papers include petitions to, a resolution with map, map of road districts, contracts, correspondence, order for traffic signs, etc. The Miscellaneous papers include a proof of publication, a voided bond from Vernon Township, original bids to build the township hall (which is still standing and in use in 2012) and work on the hall, etc. Oaths of Office papers include oaths and bonds with oaths attached. The Township Clerk papers include letters to, valuation of lands, financial records, minutes, etc. Schools papers Miscellaneous include maps of school districts, a postcard with names of teachers from Vernon Township 1880, Isabella County Teachers Directory, 1907-1908, etc.

Processing Note: During processing, 5 cubic feet of loose papers and 53 Oversized Volumes were withdrawn from the collection as per Michigan local and township records schedules. Publications from the State of Michigan, donated with the collection, are separately cataloged.

Some treasurer’s and tax records were retained as 20th century examples.

The collection documents several generations of the Parker family of Frankfort, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, focusing on N. A. and Dora B. Parker.

The collection documents the Parker family of Frankfort and Grand Rapids, Michigan, particularly captain and lawyer N.A. Parker, and his daughter, Dora B. Parker, later of Los Angeles, California. Most of the collection consists of various types of family photographs in a variety of media, correspondence, legal documents, genealogical materials, publications, verse and poetry, and other materials. Dora’s life and that of women of her period and education are documented by photographs of activities, such as biking and trips, travel journals, and by the Woman’s Lakeside Literary Club (Frankfort, Michigan), Annual Programs, 1896/1897, 1919/1920-1925/1926, of which she was a member. N.A. Parker’s life is documented mostly in photographs, notably in a fine photograph album of the Civil War, mostly of the 20th Michigan Infantry, with carte de visites of officers of the unit, and one composite image of President Lincoln. Many of the photographs are autographed or have annotations on them concerning the officer’s death. N.A. Parker is also documented in post-war GAR reunion materials and in family genealogical materials. Two published books were retained in the collection because of the additional materials and personal dedications in them to Dora. Copies are separately cataloged in the Clarke. Although Mary E. Parker’s obituary notes her early activities as a suffragette, there is no documentation of these activities or interests within the collection.