Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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Collection

Adelaide J. Hart papers, 1948-1980, 1995 (majority within 1948-1970)

11.5 linear feet

Vice chairman of the Democratic Party State Central Committee, primarily during the gubernatorial administration of G. Mennen Williams. Office files concerning party conventions, election issues, and the work of the state central committee, particularly the role of women in the party and the Women for Humphrey organization during the election of 1968; and scrapbooks and photographs.

The Hart papers consist almost entirely of files created in her capacity as Democratic vice chairman and as member of the Democratic party 17th congressional district. The files have been maintained in their original order by topic. National Democratic Conventions; State Democratic Conventions; Election Campaigns; State Central Committee General; State Central Committee Women's Activities; Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner; Topical Files; Conferences; Program Service; Correspondence; Memoranda; and Scrapbooks and Photographs.

Collection

Albert D. English papers, 1839-1957

2 linear feet

Manchester Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, farmer. Material concerning farming activities, English's work with the Southern Washtenaw Farmers' Club, local Democratic Party affairs, his work as clerk of the Iron Creek (Manchester Township) Free Will Baptist Church; correspondence; miscellaneous account books of family members, notebooks containing reference information, and reports of the overseer of highways for Manchester Township; and photographs. Correspondence includes a letter from Thomas English of West Virginia, who was formerly an enslaved person. The collection also includes a diary of Lucy English, Albert D. English's sister.

The English collection documents different phases of his life and provides the researcher with material for the study of Manchester, Michigan between 1880 and 1910. In addition to correspondence, the collection includes notebooks containing the newspaper columns on local affairs which English wrote for several county newspapers. There are also 18 "Ready Reference Books" containing lists of local, state, and national political candidates and office holders, Manchester property owners, lists of school teachers and graduates, church leaders, as well as other information gleaned from almanacs and newspapers over the years. Included are also several farm journals of Albert English and his father Benjamin English, and a personal diary and a scrapbook of Albert's sister Lucy English (in marriage, Lucy Simmons). Much of the correspondence files concerns the Free Will Baptist Church. Correspondence includes one letter from Thomas English of West Virginia, a formerly enslaved person, whom Albert English apparently contacted in regard to the family genealogy. There is no record of continued correspondence on this subject.

Collection

Alpheus Felch Papers, 1817-1896

6 linear feet — 6 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder

Lawyer, Member of Michigan Supreme Court, 1842-1846, Democratic Governor of Michigan, 1846-1847, and holder of numerous other public offices; papers include correspondence and other papers documenting his career in public service.

The Alpheus Felch papers details the active life of this nineteenth century Michigan public servant. Not only are public issues discussed in the correspondence files but the researcher will also gain an understanding of some of the personal problems associated with public service. The collection also includes several files of other family members.

Collection

Arthur J. Lacy Papers, 1891-1975

10 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1 oversize volume

Detroit, Michigan, attorney and judge, Democratic candidate for governor in 1934. Correspondence, legal case files, family materials, speeches, essays, diary notes, financial materials, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, and transcript of oral interview.

The Arthur J. Lacy collection consists of correspondence and other papers documenting his political activities within the Democratic party and career as a Detroit attorney. The collection has been divided into the following series: Biographical information; Personal letters; Professional correspondence and related papers; Lacy Family papers; Speeches; Early personal materials; Writings, essays, etc.; Financial files; Miscellaneous; Newspapers clippings; Photographs; and Legal files.

The Lacy Collection documents particularly well Lacy's major legal cases (Wilson vs. White, the Ford Stock Tax Case, Mary A. Rackham Estate) and his transition from conservative Democrat to conservative Republican. His letters home from Valparaiso, Indiana and Ann Arbor and his letters to his future wife Beth Garwick give a detailed picture of college life in the 1890's. Major subjects covered in the public papers are the Detroit Domestic Relations Court, problems of taxation and banking in the depression, Lacy's friendship with James Couzens, and the campaigns of 1932 and 1934. A series of notes Lacy wrote to himself from 1915-1928 and 1946-1956 reveal his political ideals, personal morality, and his relationship to his family.

Within the Professional Correspondence and related papers series, the researcher will find correspondence with many notable political and business figures. These include John W. Anderson, William R. Angell, Art Baker, Arthur A. Ballantine, C.C. Bradner, John V. Brennan, Thomas E. Brennan, Prentiss M. Brown, Wilber M. Brucker, George E. Bushnell, Daniel T. Campau, Harvey J. Campbell, John J. Carson, E.R. Chapin, John S. Coleman, William A. Comstock, Calvin Coolidge, Grace G. Coolidge, Frank Couzens, James J. Couzens, John D. Dingell, Patrick J. Doyle, William J. Durant, Henry T. Ewald, Mordecai J.B. Ezechiel, James A. Farley, Homer Ferguson, Woodbridge N. Ferris, Clara J.B. Ford, Edsel B. Ford, Joseph Foss, Fred W. Green, Alexander J. Groesbeck, Edgar A. Guest, James M. Hare, Herbert C. Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, Kaufman T. Keller, Stanley S. Kresge, David Lawrence, Arthur F. Lederle, John C. Lehr, Fulton Lewis, Percy Loud, William G. McAdoo, William McKinley, George A. Marston, Eliza M. Mosher, Frank Murphy, George Murphy, William J. Norton, George D. O'Brien, Elmer B. O'Hara, Hazen S. Pingree, Mary A. H. Rackham, Horace H. Rackham, Clarence A. Reid, George W. Romney, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alexander G. Ruthven, W.M. Skillman, Albert E. Sleeper, Edward D. Stair, Arthur E. Summerfield, William H. Taft, Joseph P. Tumulty, Arthur H. Vandenberg, A. VanderZee, Murray D. Van Wagoner, Henry F. Vaughan, Carl Vinson, Matilda R.D. Wilson, Clarence E. Wilcox, and R.A.C. Wollenberg.

The Lacy Family papers are rich in detail about life in Michigan in the nineteenth and early twentieth century; the surviving letters document family crises and Lacy's role in them as the oldest and most successful child and later, as family leader. Lacy was the family genealogist and he collected and preserved the family correspondence of his uncles and aunt, some of which date back to the 1850's.

Collection

Benjamin C. Stanczyk papers, 1944-1975

3 linear feet — 12 oversize volumes

Judge of Common Pleas. Correspondence and other materials relating to politics and to Polish-American interests.

The collection relates primarily to his interest in the Democratic Party in Michigan and to his involvement in Polish-American activities and organizations.

Collection

Blair Moody Papers, 1928-1954 (majority within 1934-1952)

27.5 linear feet (in 29 boxes) — 29 film reels — 60 phonograph records — 37 GB (online)

Online
Detroit newspaperman and United States Senator from Michigan. Correspondence chiefly concerning his 1952 senatorial campaign and his newspaper work in the United States and abroad during World War II; scrapbooks of newspaper articles written by Moody and published for the most part in the Detroit News and Barron's; tape recordings of public affairs radio program; photographs and motion pictures of public affairs interview programs.

The Blair Moody collection documents the career of a Washington-based newspaper correspondent and columnist and United States Senator. The collection covers the period 1928 to 1954, though the bulk of materials date since the mid-1940s. Much of the collection pertains to that period of time when Moody was in the Senate or was running for election to the Senate, although his newspaper career is also well documented. The collection has been divided into the following series: Biographical; Correspondence; Personal/Family; Newspaper Career; Gridiron Club; Senatorial Papers; Speeches; Scrapbooks; Sound Recordings; and Visual Materials.

Collection

Carl M. Levin papers, 1938-2015 (majority within 1964-2015)

1116.5 linear feet (in 1122 boxes) — 1.2 TB (online) — 2 archived websites (online)

Online
Democratic senator from Michigan, the longest-serving U.S. senator (served between 1979 and 2015). The collection documents Carl M. Levin's 36-year career in the U.S. Senate including his service on the Senate Armed Service Committee, Government and Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Great Lakes Task Force, among other leadership positions. Papers include correspondence, speeches, writings, newspaper clippings, legislative and committee files, campaign materials, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other records documenting his personal life and political career.

The collection documents the personal life and political career of Carl M. Levin including his 36-year career as U.S. Senator from Michigan (1979-2015). The papers include school activities, personal correspondence, materials from Levin's work on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and Detroit City Council, and campaign materials such as speeches, interviews, platform and planning documents, constituent research, candidate research, financial documents, correspondence, photographs, and audiovisual materials.

The bulk of papers document Levin's tenure in the U.S. Senate including legislative and committee files, correspondence, memoranda, briefing books, background information, schedules, bills, printed materials, press clippings, speeches, writings, photographs, Levin's archived website, social media, and audiovisual materials.

Collection

Carl M. Weideman Papers, 1921-1972 (majority within 1932-1934)

3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 2 oversize volumes

Detroit, Michigan trial attorney, Democratic Congressman, 1933-1935, and Wayne County Circuit Court Judge. Correspondence and other materials concerning his term in Congress, national and local politics, and various judicial decisions; miscellaneous diaries, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks concerning his association with the American Turners Association (German-American athletic society), Detroit, Michigan politics, and the election and recall of Detroit Mayor Charles Bowles; and photographs.

The collection consists of correspondence, primarily from the period when Weideman was a member of Congress; files relating to his election campaign and to a few of the issues of the time; and miscellaneous other materials from his career with the Wayne County Circuit Court and as a member of the American Turners. There is also an extensive series of scrapbooks detailing his professional and civic activities and several folders of photographs.

Collection

Carolyn S. Burns papers, 1943-1968

8 linear feet

Files relating to her work with Italian-American organizations, especially the American committee on Italian Migration, the American-Italian Business and Professional Women's Club, and the Piemontese Ladies Social Club; papers concerning her interest in U. S. immigration law and the problems of displaced persons and refugees; files relating to her Catholic faith and work for Catholic missionary organizations, notably the Friends of Sts. Peter and Paul Missionaries; and files concerning Democratic Party politics and her work during the 1966 senatorial campaign of G. Mennen Williams.

The papers of Carolyn Sinelli Burns portray a woman with many interests and talents. Particularly gifted as an organizer and fund raiser, Carolyn Burns involved herself with the problems of displaced persons and refugees, with Catholic missionary societies, with immigration law reform, and with Democratic Party affairs. Unifying her many diverse interests is a belief in the dignity of all mankind, a belief she received as part of her Catholic faith.

The Burns' collection is divided into six broad categories: ethnic organizations; immigration reference file; United Nations material; religious material; the 1966 G. Mennen Williams senatorial campaign; and a miscellaneous file.

Collection

Democratic Party of Michigan records, 1932-2008 (majority within 1950-1994)

97 linear feet (in 99 boxes) — 1 film reel — 18.4 GB (online)

Online
Files of state chairs, Neil Staebler, John J. Collins, Zolton Ferency, Sander Levin, James McNeely, Morley Winograd, Olivia Maynard, Richard Wiener, F. Thomas LeWand, and Gary Corbin; files of deputy state chair, Billie S. Farnum, vice chairs Adelaide Hart and Olivia Maynard, and vice chair Robert Mitchell; files relating to state constitutional convention, and to state and national political campaigns, since 1950; sound recordings and visual materials.

The records of the Democratic Party of Michigan have come to the library in several accessions beginning in 1967 and periodically thereafter. The record group is comprised of files mainly from the Lansing office of the Democratic Party of Michigan. The files are of the officers of the party: state chair, vice chair, deputy chair, and secretary among others. As might be expected, the records relate to the day-to-day operation of the party, the management of political campaigns (i.e. selecting candidates, defining issues, raising funds, getting out the vote, etc.). In addition, much of the records concern the state organization's relationship with the National Democratic Party and its participation in the national convention to select a presidential nominee. Because of inconsistencies in how files were maintained and used, the files of one party officer might also include materials of his / her predecessor. Thus the researcher should be examine the entire finding aid for material on any given topic or time period.

The records of the Democratic Party of Michigan has been arranged into the following series: (1) Earlier records, prior to 1965; (2) State Chair, Democratic State Central Committee files; (3) Other Party Officers; (4) Headquarters files; (5) Detroit Office Files; (6) Topical Files; (7) State Central Committee Meeting Minutes; (8) State and National Convention files; (9) Appeals Committee; (10) Publications and miscellaneous; (11) Visual Materials; (12) Sound Recordings.

Collection

Department of History (University of Michigan) student papers, 1930-1987

7 linear feet (263 papers)

Student papers, 1930-1987 prepared for classes in history at the University of Michigan (primarily Michigan history class taught by Lewis G. VanderVelde, but also including research papers for classes taught by Sidney Fine and others); topics concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; and local community history.

The student papers are organized alphabetically by author in two series, which are similar in date range and topics covered. Topics of papers concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; local community history and University of Michigan history. A topical index to the papers is available in the first box of the collection.

Collection

Don Binkowski papers, 1910-2013 (majority within 1958-1975)

11.4 linear feet (in 13 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 122 MB (online)

Online
District judge from Warren, Michigan. Correspondence, campaign materials, and other papers concerning his work as delegate to Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962, as Warren city councilman, and as attorney and judge; papers concerning local and state Democratic politics, and his activities with Polish-American organizations and his interest in Polish American history and personages. Also includes digital images.

The Don Binkowski collection consists of correspondence, campaign materials, and other papers concerning his work as a delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962, as Warren city councilman, and as attorney and judge; also papers concerning local and state Democratic politics, and his activities with Polish-American organizations.

Collection

Douglas Ross Papers, 1967-2002

8 linear feet — 0.6 MB (online)

Online
Douglas Ross (1942- ) is a Michigan political figure. He has been active in many political organizations and the Democratic party and served as Michigan Director of Commerce and United States Assistant Secretary of Labor. He also ran, unsuccessfully, for governor of Michigan in 1998. Ross' main concerns are economic policy and education. He currently runs a charter school in Detroit, Michigan. The papers cover most of his career, especially as Michigan Senator and at the Department of Labor, and include his notes and articles, correspondence, publications, and videotapes.
Collection

Edward William Staebler papers, 1870-1952 (majority within 1922-1944)

4 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan businessman and Democratic mayor of the city, 1927-1931. Mayoralty files; papers, 1922-1926, concerning the Ann Arbor Board of Education; also papers, 1922-1952, of Staebler and Son, automobile dealership.

The Edward W. Staebler papers consists primarily of correspondence and subject files from the period when he was mayor of Ann Arbor. Smaller portions of the papers concern the family automobile dealership, Staebler and Son, and his involvement with the Ann Arbor Board of Education.

Collection

Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers, 1861-2001 (majority within 1930-1970s)

9.25 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Elizabeth Sparks Adams was a member of the Michigan Historical Commission from 1941 (when she was appointed as the first woman commissioner by Governor Murray D. Van Wagoner) until 1996. She and her husband, Judge Donald E. Adams, were also active in the Democratic Party, specifically in Oakland County and Waterford Township. Mrs. Adams also actively researched and collected materials on family and local history. The collection consists of files accumulated throughout her life, particularly during her service with the Michigan Historical Commission and the Michigan Democratic Party. Also included are clippings, correspondence, legal documents, and photographs related to family and local history.

The papers are divided into seven series: Personal Papers, Michigan Historical Commission, Michigan Historical Collections, Miscellaneous, Democratic Party, Compiled Information, and Collected Materials.

Collection

Eugene Gressman papers, 1935-1967

1 linear foot

Law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Frank Murphy, and Washington, D.C. attorney. Diary, 1943-1944, relating to the Supreme Court, and miscellaneous notes, correspondence and newspaper clippings; also papers of Justice Murphy collected by Gressman, including notes of cabinet meetings, and of conferences and telephone calls; and correspondence, 1937-1949, between Frank Murphy and Felix Frankfurter.

The collection consists of two kinds of materials: papers of Frank Murphy that Gressman accumulated as clerk to the Supreme Court Justice; and Gressman's own papers. The greater part of the collection are the papers of Frank Murphy, dating from 1935 to 1948, with the bulk of the files falling in the period of 1939 to 1941, when Murphy was US Attorney General and the first year of his tenure on the Supreme Court bench. Always conscious of history, Murphy made valuable notes on the cabinet meetings he attended and his meetings and conversations with various public figures. These individuals include Hugo Black, Louis Brandeis, William J. Donovan, Carter Glass, Charles E. Hughes, Cordell Hull, Joseph P. Kennedy, John L. Lewis, Sir Robert Menzies, Manuel Quezon, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Francis B. Sayre, Harlan F. Stone and Sumner Welles. Also of importance are the several files of letters exchanged between Frank Murphy and Justice Felix Frankfurter.

Gressman's own papers are much smaller, but these also relate to his association with Frank Murphy, including notes that he made preparatory to writing a proposed biography of Murphy. Gressman's diary on his time spent as Murphy clerk of the Supreme Court is dated July 1943 to April 1944.

Collection

Frank Murphy papers, 1908-1949

166 microfilms — 24 linear feet (in 28 boxes) — 7 oversize volumes — 2 oversize folders — 474 MB (online) — 18 digital video files (online)

Online
Michigan-born lawyer, judge, politician and diplomat, served as Detroit Recorder's Court Judge, Mayor of Detroit, Governor General of the Philippines, Governor of Michigan, U. S. Attorney General and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Papers include extensive correspondence, subject files, Supreme court case files, scrapbooks, photographs, newsreels and audio recordings, and other material.

The Frank Murphy Collection documents in detail the life and career of one of Michigan's most distinguished public servants. Through correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, visual materials, and other documentation, the collection traces Murphy's life from his years as Detroit judge, later Mayor, to his service in the Philippines, his tenure as governor, his stint as U.S. Attorney General, and culminating in his final years as U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

The Frank Murphy Collection consists of eight series: Correspondence, Other Papers, Supreme Court Case Files, Speech File, Speech Material, Miscellaneous, Visual Material, and Newsclippings/Scrapbooks.

Collection

G. Donald Kennedy Papers, 1928-1968

6 linear feet (in 7 boxes) — 14 oversize volumes

Civil engineer, served as Michigan state highway commissioner, chairman of the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority and president of Portland Cement Company. Papers primarily document work with highway commission and Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority.

The papers, 1928-1968, of G. Donald Kennedy document his career in civil engineering, his participation in professional organizations, his activities as a state official, and as a supporter of the Michigan Democratic Party. The collection Includes correspondence, speeches, minutes, reports, articles, clippings, and photographs. The files relate to his work as municipal engineer in Pontiac, Michigan, with the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority, the American Association of State Highway Officials, the Automotive Safety Foundation, and the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. The collection also includes papers relating to highway and airport construction, to economic mobilization during World War II, the Willow Run Bomber Plant, state Democratic Party matters, particularly the campaign visits of President Roosevelt to Michigan in 1936.

Collection

George Murphy papers, 1911-1961

15 linear feet — 1 volume — 1 oversize folder

Judge of the Recorder's Court in Detroit and Frank Murphy's brother; contain correspondence, legal briefs, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning Detroit politics, 1935-1961, the grand jury investigation of Detroit street railways, 1936, arbitration of labor disputes, 1936-1941, investigation of the Charles Street housing project, 1939-1940, as well as materials illuminating the careers and personal affairs of both George and Frank Murphy, especially in relation to Detroit and the Philippine Islands.

The George Murphy papers, which encompass the years 1911 to 1961, are most comprehensive for the decade following 1932. During this period - the most politically active in Murphy's career - the correspondence is especially useful in illustrating George Murphy's role in his brother's emergence as a politician, especially his role as dispenser of patronage in the depression years. The papers, of course, illuminate the social function performed by the Recorder's Court and contain voluminous correspondence with state and federal judges, attorneys, prisoners, prison officials, probation officers, etc. Judge Murphy also maintained close contact with affairs in his home town, Harbor Beach. Included in the collection are significant materials on affairs in the Philippines during his brother's governorship there, particularly correspondence during the years 1933 to 1936 with his sister, Marguerite, Eleanor Bumgardner, and with leading Filipinos concerning conditions there.

Collection

George Wahr Sallade papers, 1952-1993

5 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan, attorney and local Democratic Party activist. Political files relating to his various campaigns for office (Ann Arbor city council, Michigan House of Representatives, U.S. Congress, and Michigan State Senate among others); papers relating to his service in the state House, 1955-1958; his activities with Washtenaw County, Michigan, and Second Congressional District Democratic affairs; also letters received from Lt. Lee M. Cecil, 1952-1954, describing his experiences as a soldier during the Korean War; and photographs.

The George Wahr Sallade papers, although limited in quantity (five linear feet), are of interest to the researcher of Michigan politics in the post-World War II era. They can be used to gather information on the "Young Turks," a group that in the 1950s foreshadowed the more moderate nature of the Michigan Republican party of the 1960s and 1970s. They provide insight into issues that were of concern to the Washtenaw County and Second Congressional District Democratic parties - including Vietnam, race, party reform, and the economy - in the troubled years of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The ideological positions of the two local parties, relative to the state party as a whole, can be determined by comparing the resolutions they passed with those of the state party and its platform. Finally Sallade's campaign files can be used to determine the issues of concern to the local electorate in the years in which he ran for public office. His 1968-1972 campaigns are fairly well documented from an issue standpoint (particularly his 1972 race for county prosecutor), and, therefore, can be used to determine whether and to what extent national events affected the conduct of state and county races. Sallade's papers should be supplemented by use of the Detroit News - Lansing Bureau index; the papers of Governor G. Mennen Williams; and those of the state central committees of the Michigan Democratic and Republican parties. All of these are at the Michigan Historical Collections. The Collections also has a complete run of both Good Morning Michigan and "Michigan Around and About."

The Sallade papers have been arranged in three series: Personal; Political: and Photographs.

Collection

Gerhard L. Weinberg papers, 1957-1973

7 linear feet — 1 phonograph record

Professor of history at University of Michigan; Democratic Party files and records of his University of Michigan activities.

The Gerhard L. Weinberg collection is comprised of two series: Democratic Party activities and interests, and University of Michigan activities. The Democratic Party papers concern Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and state politics. Issues documented include the passage of a fair housing law in Ann Arbor, and his interest in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, 1964-1965.

Collection

G. Mennen Williams and Nancy Quirk Williams oral history project, 1980-1982

3 linear feet — 52 digital audio files

Online
Oral history project of the Michigan Historical Collection to document politics and government during the gubernatorial administration of G. Mennen Williams; transcripts of interviews, sound cassettes, and administrative records of the project.

This is a collection of oral history tapes and interviews relating to the history of the gubernatorial administration of G. Mennen Williams. Interviews have been arranged alphabetically and include Paul Adams, Michael Berry, Geraldine N. Bledsoe, Ernest R. Boehm, Raymond Clevenger, John D. Dingell, Tom Downs, Alfred B. Fitt, Hicks and Martha Griffiths, Adelaide Hart, Jane B. Hart, Erma Henderson, Stella Lecznar, Wade H. McCree, Louis Mezzano, Victor G. Reuther, Horace Sheffield, Otis Smith, Paul W. Weber, Nancy (Quirk) Williams, Joseph L. Wisniewski, and Leonard Woodcock. Project files also include questionnaires (but not interviews) from other individuals associated with G. Mennen Williams.

Collection

G. Mennen Williams papers, 1883-1988 (majority within 1958-1980)

843 linear feet — 42 oversize volumes — 147 audiotapes (3 3/4 - 7 1/2 ips; 5-10 inches; reel-to-reel tapes) — 46 audiocassettes — 30 phonograph records — 42.1 GB (online)

Online
Governor of Michigan 1949 to 1960, under-secretary of state for African Affairs from 1961 to 1965, and Michigan Supreme Court justice from 1970 to 1986 and leader in state and national Democratic Party. Papers document his public career and aspects of his personal and family life and include correspondence, subject files, staff files, speeches, press releases and news clippings, photographs, sound recordings, films and videotapes.

The G. Mennen Williams Papers consist of official and personal files arranged into six subgroups: 1) Gubernatorial papers, 1949-1960 (681 linear ft.); 2) Non-gubernatorial papers, 1883-1948 and 1958-1988 (107 linear ft.); 3) Visual materials, ca. 1911-1988 (ca. 25 linear ft.); 4) sound recordings, 1950-ca. 1988 (5 linear ft.) Scrapbooks, 1948-1987 (43 vols.) and State Department Microfilm, 1961-1966 (23 reels).

As part of its own control system, the governor's office maintained a card index to the correspondents in many of the subgroups and series within the gubernatorial papers. This card file is located in the library's reading room. In addition, Nancy Williams and her staff compiled an extensive and detailed run of scrapbooks covering the Williams years. There is a separate inventory to these scrapbooks in a separately bound volume.

Strategy for Use of the Gubernatorial Papers: Although the Williams gubernatorial collection consists of hundreds of linear feet of material, the file arrangement created by the governor's staff is a fairly simple one to understand and to use.

The bulk of the collection falls within specific functional groupings, corresponding to the various activities and responsibilities that Williams performed as governor. Thus, if the researcher is uncertain of what portions of the collection might be relevant to his/her research, he/she is advised to think in terms of gubernatorial function. Does the proposed research concern the workings or area responsibility of a state board? If so, the Boards and Commissions series would be the most likely place in which to find material. The election of 1954? Then Democratic Party/Campaign Papers should be first choice. The passage of a specific piece of legislation? Here, Legislative Files is an obvious choice. The possible choices (called subgroups and series) that the researcher has are listed in the Organization of the Collection section. A description of the contents of each of these subgroups/series is provided below.

If, at first, unsuccessful in finding material on any given topic, the researcher might consider these additional strategies:

1. Refer to the Williams card index (located in the library's reading room). Sometimes, the name of an individual associated with a subject provides the easiest point of access into the collection. This file is arranged alphabetically and lists the dates of letters between an individual and the governor's office. This file only indexes the larger series and subgroups in the collection. It does not index the staff files, or parts of the Democratic Party/Campaign subgroup. Nevertheless it is an invaluable tool, and can uncover important material otherwise buried.

2. Refer to the various series of staff papers. Staff members were often closely involved in a specific subject areas (Jordan Popkin and aging, for example) and thus their files are frequently rich in source material.

3. If only partially successful in locating desired material, the researcher should think of an alternative subgroup or series. The governor's office, for a variety of reasons, often filed related material in different locations depending upon the source of a document. Thus, information relating to a strike might be filed both under the Labor Mediation Board in Boards and Commissions, and Strikes in General Subjects. Furthermore, if the strike influenced a specific piece of legislation, there could be material in the Legislative Files.

Collection

Harold Norris papers, 1946-1971

3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention. Correspondence and other papers concerning his professional and public service activities.

The bulk of the collection concerns Norris' work as an officer with the National Lawyers Guild and as a delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962.

Collection

Harriett Phillips papers, 1952-1978

2 linear feet

Michigan Democratic Party worker; political papers, scrapbooks, and photographs.

The collection consists of political papers (arranged chronologically), files relating to her opposition to state aid to parochial schools, photographs, and scrapbooks.

Collection

Harry H. Bandholtz Papers (Microform), 1890-1937 (majority within 1899-1925)

12 microfilms — 1 map — 2 oversize folders — 10 folders

Career military officer, served in the Philippines ca. 1900-1913, chief of the Philippine Constabulary, 1907-1913; papers include correspondence, constabulary reports, diaries, topical files, visual materials, and scrapbooks.

The Bandholtz collection, covering the period of ca. 1890 to 1925 (with some later papers of his wife Inez Bandholtz), consists mainly of materials accumulated while Bandholtz was stationed in the Philippines, 1900-1913. Except for this time in the Far East, Bandholtz was always on the move with ever changing assignments, and consequently his files covering his work on the Mexican border, for example, or the 1921 West Virginia coal miners strike (also known as the Battle of Blair Mountain) are substantially thinner. But in the Philippines, because he was a provincial governor and head of the indigenous military force, Bandholtz was at the center of affairs in this period of Philippine history. And beyond that, he made an effort to maintain and preserve as much documentation from his service here as he could.

The Bandholtz papers came to the library in three separate accessions in 1965, 1994 and 2005. The first accession includes the following series: Correspondence (1899-1913), Invitations, Miscellaneous, Published Materials, and Philippine Constabulary Reports (1906-1913). The second accession includes the following series: Biographical-Personal, Correspondence (1895-1925), Diaries (1900-1923), Topical Files, Visual Materials, Scrapbooks, and Inez Bandholtz papers. Although there is some overlap (especially in the two Correspondence series), the two accessions have been kept separate, and not interfiled, so that researchers who examined the first accession might read from the new material without having to go through the entire collection. This encoded finding aid treats the correspondence as a single series although it has not been interfiled. the third accession consists of correspondence (1903-1912), chiefly confidential letters between Bandholtz and Luke Wright and Leonard Wood, concerning major military an political issues in the Philippines.

Collection

Helen W. Berthelot papers, 1948-1996

35.2 linear feet

Campaign manager for G. Mennen Williams and official of the Communications Workers of America. Correspondence, schedules and publications concerning politics, election campaigns, 1954-1976, labor, communications satellites, the Democratic Party, and the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

The papers of Helen Berthelot have been arranged into seven series by date and topic. The files arranged primarily by date are largely unprocessed and relate to her activities in the Michigan Democratic Party and as a lobbyist for the Communications Workers of America. The strengths of the collection is the material relating to the various campaigns of G. Mennen Williams for governor, 1948 to 1958, the Presidential campaigns of 1960 and 1964, and Williams's campaign for the United States Senate in 1966. The collection also includes correspondence, photographs, and material related to the publication and reception of Win Some, Lose Some: G. Mennen Williams and the New Democrats.

Collection

Irene Ellis Murphy papers, 1917-1984

3.2 linear feet — 502 MB

Online
Birmingham, Michigan, businesswoman, Democratic Regent of the University of Michigan; contain materials relating to her life and interest in the Philippines, especially during the administration of Frank Murphy, during World War II, and during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos; papers relating to her interest in University of Michigan history; and photographs.

The Irene Murphy collections has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Murphy family; University of Michigan Board of Regents; Philippines interests and activities; Other topics; Scrapbooks and clippings; Sound recording; and Photographs.

Collection

Isaac M. Weston Papers, 1859-1899

6 linear feet — 3 oversize volumes

Grand Rapids Michigan businessman and politician, active in lumbering and banking in Wisconsin and Michigan, Democratic party official, head of Board of World's Fair Managers for Michigan, overseeing state's exhibits at 1893 Columbian Exposition. Collection primarily documents business activities with some material on World's Columbian Exposition, as well as personal and family material.

The Weston collection primarily documents the career of Isaac M. Weston. Included are smaller series of papers of his brother and father. The collection includes correspondence, topical files, business and legal papers, and photographs. Of note are materials concerning Michigan's exhibit at the World Fair in 1893 and papers concerning lumbering and land interests in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Collection

James G. O'Hara papers, 1958-1987 (majority within 1958-1976)

53.5 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes

Democratic congressman from Michigan, member of the House committees on Education and Labor, Interior and Insular Affairs, Budget, and the Joint Committee on Congressional Operations; and chairman of the Democratic Study Group, 1967-1968, and chairman of the Democratic Party Commission on Rules, 1969-1972. Congressional files, political files, Democratic Party materials; photographs; and post-congressional materials.

The James G. O'Hara Papers, 1958-1987, comprise 53.5 linear feet of material documenting his career as a member of Congress, his 1976 campaign for the Senate nomination, his service on various commissions and committees of the national Democratic Party, and his various activities and interests after leaving the House of Representatives. The collection has been organized in two subgroups: Congressional Papers and Post-Congressional Activities with most of the papers accumulated during his years in Congress. The papers include correspondence, staff memoranda and background papers, speeches, press releases, campaign brochures and literature, texts of bills sponsored or co-sponsored by O'Hara, transcripts of hearings and minutes of meetings, a diary kept by O'Hara from April to August 1969, newspaper clippings, photographs, audio and video tapes, and scrapbooks.

Collection

James J. Blanchard Papers, 1982-2002

356 linear feet — 9 oversize volumes — 3.66 GB (online) — 50 digital audio files

Online
Blanchard was Democratic governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. The collection is arranged mainly by unit or functional responsibility within the governor's office. These series are chief of staff/executive assistants, correspondence office, government relations, issues development, legal department, operators, personnel, press office, Upper Peninsula office, Washington office, Lansing residence, and political and campaign files. The files document the Blanchard administration's efforts in areas of education, job creation, the state's economy, environmental protection, and the rebuilding of Michigan's infrastructure.

James J. Blanchard, as Governor of Michigan, was the chief executive of the state. He was vested with the power to execute the laws of the state and to issue executive orders. He supervised the nineteen departments of the executive branch, ran the executive office of the governor, and appointed members to state boards and commissions. The governor submitted messages to the state legislature and recommended measures considered necessary or desirable; in short, Blanchard set a legislative agenda. A key element of this agenda were the annual state budgets submitted to the legislature, recommending revenues to meet proposed expenditures. Although Blanchard had the power to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, he exercised this power with care. Blanchard also was empowered to seek extraditions and issue warrants on fugitives from justice. Finally, as governor, Blanchard was the commander-in-chief of the state's armed forces. In addition to these roles defined by law, custom, and practice, Blanchard used the governorship as a platform from which to champion Michigan.

In the course of completing the many tasks inhering in the office of governor, Blanchard and his executive office created and reviewed a welter of written documents. These records and papers provide an important source documenting the executive actions for the years of Blanchard's tenure, 1983-1990. Many are in the departmental files at the State Archives. This collection of papers at the Bentley Library constitutes that portion of executive documentation which Blanchard, upon leaving office, decreed personal in accordance with the traditional practice of recent governors of Michigan.

The materials came from geographically distinct offices (Lansing, Detroit, Upper Peninsula, and Washington), reflected the efforts of staff ranging from policy analysts to Blanchard himself, and were preserved in varying degrees of completeness. Among these records and papers retained are: correspondence, budgets, memoranda, reports, briefing books, minutes and agenda, press releases and public statements, legal briefs and decisions, legislative bills and analyses, clippings, photographs, audiotapes, and videotapes. These materials were especially strong in documenting the Blanchard administration's investment in human capital and education, efforts to promote economic development and create jobs, interest in rebuilding Michigan's infrastructure while preserving and restoring its environmental beauty, and generally reflecting its commitment to act to promote the commonweal. The collection sheds some light on affirmative action, citizens' protection, criminal justice, the Michigan Youth Corps, and attitudes of Michigan residents as reflected in letters to the governor. The collection is weak in its coverage of Blanchard's private life and his activities related to the Democratic party.

Researchers should note that Blanchard's executive office was not a rule-bound operation, restricted by strict adherence to hierarchical functions. There was considerable sharing of responsibilities, especially at the higher levels of the administration. One finds that roles filled by a chief of staff sometimes devolved to an executive assistant or to a staff member in the Legal or Government Relations Office. Work on large recurring projects, like the budget or the state of the state address, involved participation at many levels cutting across offices. Day to day functions, like responding to issue-oriented constituent correspondence, often entailed action by the chief of staff, counsel, or a policy analyst from the Washington Office, in addition to the expected responses from the Issues and Correspondence Offices. These sorts of overlap are noted when appropriate in the finding aid.

The Chief of Staff had the primary responsibility for seeing to the efficient functioning of the executive office of the Governor. In fulfilling this responsibility, the Chief of Staff interacted with nearly every department in the executive branch of state government and with each unit within the executive office. The Chief of Staff served as a sort of gatekeeper for the Governor, apprising him of significant issues, informing him of how best to respond, and judging how effectively the response meets the issue. During Blanchard's two terms in office, he was served by four Chiefs of Staff: F. Thomas Lewand, Phillip Jourdan, Rick Cole, and Steve Weiss. Records are extant from each chief except Rick Cole; these range from the thin but rich records of Lewand to the more fulsome materials of Jourdan and Weiss.

The efforts of the Chief of Staff to facilitate frictionless functioning of state governance were augmented by able deputies, competent staff, and a cadre of Executive Assistants. Chief among these assistants were Nancy Austin-Schwartz, Bill Liebold, Carolyn Sparks, and Ron Thayer. Given that the Blanchard administration was democratic and decidedly non-hierarchical, these Executive Assistants often filled roles similar to the Chiefs of Staff. At these highest levels of administration, decisions were made and actions taken without much regard to hierarchy or job description strictures. In this free market of ideas and ability, whoever had the best idea or was best able to handle a situation attended to it. Sometimes this was the chief, sometimes one of the assistants, but just as often things were handled by other members of the executive office staff or by someone from an executive department.

The Correspondence Office was that division within the Executive Office which received, routed, and responded to constituent correspondence. In handling this task, staff in the Correspondence Office worked closely with the Issues Development Office, with head of executive branch departments, and with the Office Operations Division. Mail received by the unit was directed to specialists in Issues Development, to the appropriate state department, to the Governor's personal attention, or handled with a standard response. Given the volume of mail directed to the Governor's attention (at times reaching thousands of pieces per week) and its issues-oriented nature, one should not be surprised to find that most mail sparked a standard response. The bulk of the materials saved reflects the office's efforts to individually address constituent concerns in a timely fashion. This work originally was the domain of an autonomous Communications Unit, fell to the correspondence unit within the Operations Division for a time, until finally it was established as a separate office. Donna Kaufman oversaw this unit from 1983 until 1988 when Patrick Casey took charge.

The Government Relations Office was the unit which tracked the Governor's legislative agenda and the executive branch's reaction to bills coming out of the legislature. The Government Relations Office served as the Governor's interface with the Michigan House and Senate. In fulfilling this mission, the office had to rely upon the advice and consent of many within the executive office, specifically the Legal Division and the Issues Office (especially the intergovernmental relations unit). This reliance on diverse input was evident in Blanchard's first term as the Legal/ Legislative/Government Relations functions were all met by a single office, headed by Conrad Mallet, Jr. There exists little to document Mallet's tenure as head of this office, aside from transition files and enrolled house and senate bills. During Blanchard's second term the legislative functions fell to separate government relations, legal, and issues offices which then maintained a close working relationship. Stan Fedewa, and later, William Kandler, directed the work of the Government Relations Office at this time. The efforts of both of these men are well reflected in the extant materials.

The Issues Development Office was charged with delineating, articulating and disseminating the official Blanchard position on the topics of the day. These functions, central to the administration, insured that the issues office would be integral to the executive office. This is manifest in the myriad array of units heavily reliant on the Issues Development Office for their own operations; the Chief of Staff, Executive Assistants, Correspondence, Government Relations, Legal, and Press Offices all were in daily contact with Issues. Within the Issues Development Office, responsibilities were divided among analysts according to issue: agriculture, education, environment, human services, local government, and urban affairs. These analysts reported to the office manager, who in turn reported to the Deputy Chief of Staff, who checked that positions were consistent with the policy goals of the administration.

The Issues Development Office eventually came to house the papers of the Local Government Advisor. Connie Shorter was the senior staff member responsible for local government affairs and she moved with the unit from its original home in the Policy Department, through the Government Relations Office, back to Issues. The office also served as aegis for special projects ranging from the Cabinet Council on Human Investment, to Citizens' Protection, to the Public Investment Task Force. The issues office itself underwent numerous name changes over the years, beginning as the Policy Office, then to Planning and Program Development, before settling on Issues Development in 1987. In whatever guise, under whatever name, this office remained poised to build Blanchard's stance on any issue.

The Legal Division dealt with the many legal problems arising out of running a state government. These include, but are not limited to, issues related to administrative rules, bonds, local charters, corrections, crime, pardons, extraditions, legislation, and protection of civil rights. This rather broad array of issues eventually proved too disparate to be capably handled by the relatively small legal staff, so some duties were shunted to the Government Relations and Issues Offices. As with the government relations materials above, there are no materials from Conrad Mallet, Jr.'s tenure. Materials relating to administrative and emergency rules, bonds, local charters, pardons, and extraditions have not been retained with this collection; they are retained by the State Archives. What has been retained from the Legal Division are the papers of Mike Hodge, Legal Advisor and Special Counsel to the Governor from 1987 to 1990. Hodge's papers superbly document the legal concerns facing Blanchard during his second term.

The Operations Division's primary function within the Blanchard administration was scheduling the Governor's out-of-office events. This entailed handling the thousands of invitations for the Governor to appear, deciding which of these events merited Blanchard's presence, making local arrangements with the advance team, briefing Blanchard on the hot-button issues, and serving as liaison between local contacts and the executive office. Jill Pennington capably directed the scheduling unit for both of Blanchard's terms as governor. During one of the periodic reorganizations of the executive office, the Operations Division oversaw the correspondence unit and a speakers bureau. Both of these proved to be outside the scope of the scheduling mission and were dealt out of operations' hand in the next office restructuring. The division remained committed to placing a prepared Blanchard before congenial forums.

The Personnel Division was charged with filling all appointive positions in the executive and judicial branches of state government. These positions include all executive posts on boards, commissions, task forces and the executive office, as well as all court posts ranging from courts of appeals, to district courts, to the State Supreme Court. The Personnel Division was initially headed up by Ron Thayer. Shelby Solomon next ran the office. The papers related to personnel division during the tenure of both of these men was not forwarded with the Blanchard collection. All that remains are the papers of Gregory Morris, director of the division from 1987 to 1990. The materials Morris retained dealt exclusively with Blanchard's judicial appointments from 1983 to 1990. This narrow, but very important, stratum of information remains the only evidence on how and who Blanchard chose to extend his program.

The Press Office presented the public face for the Blanchard administration. This office coordinated press conferences, released policy statements and copies of Blanchard's speeches, arranged photo opportunities, mediated with local and state media, and generally put the best possible spin on the administration. The Press Office was the single point of fixity in the field of flux that was the Blanchard executive office. This office fell under the eye of only two directors, Rick Cole and Tom Scott, during the two gubernatorial terms. Scott was with the office almost from the outset and is largely responsible for the retention of much of the materials. He treated the Press Office as the archives of the executive office, saving newspaper clippings, press releases, speeches, audiotapes, videotapes, and photographs which document the public life of Blanchard. These materials provide the most comprehensive picture of Blanchard as politician, statesman, governor.

The Upper Peninsula Office was one of the regional offices established by the executive office to better serve a specific clientele, in this case the residents of the upper peninsula. This office brought the services of state government to the more immediate attention of upper peninsula citizens. It answered constituent correspondence, served as liaison between county officials and the state, and briefed the Governor for his trips to the upper peninsula. In short the Upper Peninsula Office provided a scaled-down version of the outreach functions offered by the executive office. Tom Baldini, director of the office, filled his post so competently that he was viewed by the executive office and citizens as the "governor" of the upper peninsula.

The Washington Office served as a clearinghouse for information on federal proposals, congressional legislation, and national policy developments. It also lobbied for the interests of the state. In pursuing these ambitious, if amorphous, interests, the Washington Office employed a staff of five to ten people over the years of Blanchard's tenure. The staff of the office worked with Blanchard, the executive office, and Michigan agency directors to develop responses to federal activity, to initiate timely communication between federal and state officials, and to arrange and conduct meetings and conferences when appropriate. Aside from the director of the Washington Office, E. Douglas Frost, who focused on budgets, taxes, and overall policy planning, each of the staff members in the office was responsible for broadly defined issues. Rosemary Freeman, who preceded Frost as office director, served as deputy director and handled issues related to training, labor, and education. James Callow was the legislative analyst charged with keeping abreast of economic and trade issues. Maura Cullen was responsible for social services, health and human services, and child welfare. Peter Kyriacopolous was the last of three analysts (Charlie Moses and Jo Ellen D'Arcy preceded him) who handled concerns related to the environment and transportation.

Collection

Jay G. Hayden scrapbooks, 1916-1965

8 linear feet (46 volumes.)

Newspaper articles and columns by Detroit News Washington correspondent, include extensive comment on national politics and foreign relations, particularly as they relate to Michigan

Scrapbooks, 1916-1965, of Jay G. Hayden, Washington correspondent for the Detroit News, contain extensive comment on national politics and foreign relations, particularly as they relate to Michigan. Personal subjects include: Sherman Adams, Smith W. Brookhart, Prentiss M. Brown, William Jennings Bryan, James F. Byrnes, Benjamin N. Cardozo, James Couzens, George Creel, Charles DeGualle, Edwin Denby, Lewis Douglas, John Foster Dulles, Dwight D. Eisenhower, James A. Farley, Henry Ford, Felix Frankfurter, John Glenn, James Hoffa, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Robert M. LaFollette, Douglas McArthur, Joe McCarthy, Andrew Mellon, James Meredith, Billy Mitchell, Frank Murphy, Truman H. Newberry, Richard M. Nixon, Sam Rayburn, Owen J. Roberts, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Frank L. Smith, Joseph Stalin, Harlan F. Stone, Harry S. Truman, Arthur H. Vandenberg, William S. Vare, Henry A. Wallace and Leonard Wood.

Collection

Jennifer Granholm papers, 1992-2010 (majority within 2003-2010)

225 linear feet (in 227 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 7 oversize items — 260 GB

Online
Granholm was the Democratic governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2010. Records are primarily arranged by office of origin and staff member and document Granholm's service as governor. The series in the collection are: Transition 2002, Legal Division, Policy Division, Executive Office, Communications Division, Economic Recovery Office, Northern Michigan Office, Other Executive Divisions, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Office of the First Gentleman, Archived Websites, and Memorabilia. The collection includes paper, digital materials, and audio-visual materials. Extensively documented topics include economic diversification, renewable energy, environmental issues, education, Michigan's response to the 2008 financial crisis, the Governor's Hearing on the Removal of Kwame Kilpatrick from the office of Mayor of Detroit, and Michigan soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Jennifer Granholm papers document the activities, policies, and accomplishments of the executive branch of Michigan's state government from 2003 to 2010. The collection consists of twelve series and is primarily arranged according to office of origin. The series are: Transition 2002, Legal Division, Policy Division, Executive Office, Communications Division, Economic Recovery Office, Northern Michigan Office, Other Executive Divisions, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Office of the First Gentleman, Archived Websites, and Memorabilia. While the collection documents the full range of Governor Granholm's activities, it is especially strong in documenting the governor's efforts in the areas of economic diversification, renewable energy, education, and Michigan's response to the 2008 financial crisis. Also of note are the documents pertaining to the Governor's Hearing on the Removal of Kwame Kilpatrick from the office of Mayor of Detroit, the Legal Division files on the state's interactions with Michigan's Native American tribes, the administration's work on behalf of the University of Michigan in the Gratz and Grutter affirmative action lawsuits, the administration's response to Proposal 2, and dossiers kept on each Michigan soldier killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Collection

John B. Bruff papers, 1966

0.3 linear feet — 2 digital audio files

Online
Lawyer and Democratic candidate for Michigan Lieutenant Governor in 1966; campaign files.

The collection consists of a Campaign files series documenting his election to become state lieutenant governor in 1966. Included in the papers are correspondence, speeches, and campaign schedules. There are also various papers concerning political personages of the day: Zolton Ferency, George Romney, G. Mennen Williams and Robert Griffin.

Collection

John B. Swainson Papers, 1943-1975 (majority within 1960-1962)

71.5 linear feet (in 73 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 1 oversize volume — 7.77 GB (online)

Online
Democratic governor of Michigan, 1961-1963; gubernatorial office files, campaign files, papers from his career as state senator and lieutenant governor.

The John B. Swainson collection consists of four subgroups of files: pre-gubernatorial (covering the period of 1943 to 1960), gubernatorial (covering his one-term, two-year tenure as the state's chief executive), post-gubernatorial (covering the years since he left the governor's office, 1963 to 1975), and visual materials.

The great bulk of the collection is the gubernatorial subgroup documenting the last months of Swainson's term as lieutenant governor under Governor G. Mennen Williams, the 1960 campaign for governor, his gubernatorial administration, and his unsuccessful campaign for re-election. The importance of the collection, as with all gubernatorial records, is its documentation of public policy issues of the early 1960s and the relationship of the governor to the legislature, to the heads of the state's various boards and commissions, to the federal government, and to the citizens of Michigan.

Collection

John D. Dingell, Jr. papers, 1922-2017 (majority within 1955-2014)

511 linear feet (in 511 boxes) — 136.4 GB (online) — 2 oversize items (framed)

Online
John Dingell, Jr. was Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan and longest-serving member in congressional history, 1955-2015. Dingell was the son of John Dingell, Sr. (Democratic congressman from Michigan's 15th district, 1933-1955), and husband of Debbie Dingell, who succeeded him as Representative of Michigan's 12th district in 2015. The collection documents John Dingell, Jr.'s election campaigns and his 59-year tenure in Congress. Records include legislative files, correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, press clippings, photographs, and audiovisual materials.

The collection documents John D. Dingell, Jr.'s political career including his 59 years in the United States House of Representatives (1955-2015). The papers include campaign materials documenting Dingell's 29 elections, Democratic National Committee and Michigan Democratic Party materials, and redistricting in Michigan.

The bulk of the papers document Dingell's tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives including legislative files on topics such as civil rights, healthcare, insurance, Social Security, Medicare, environmental issues, endangered species, the auto industry, agriculture, taxes, and trade; administrative office files including correspondence, schedules, voting records, and legislative planning; and photographs, press clippings, scrapbooks, and speeches.

The collection includes born-digital records, as well as 254 pieces of audiovisual material, described in the Container Listing at the item level. Dingell's member website, campaign website, as well as his personal Twitter account are cataloged separately.

Collection

John Francis Murphy papers, 1883-1940

2 linear feet

Father of Frank and George Murphy; correspondence and other papers.

The Murphy collection consists mainly of correspondence between John and Mary Brennan Murphy and their children, mainly sons George, and Frank while they were serving in the military during World War I. Other materials relate to the Democratic Party in Michigan, especially the elections of 1886 and 1888.

Collection

John G. Parkhurst papers, 1802-1914

10 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Lawyer at Coldwater, Michigan, Civil War officer, U.S. Marshal of Eastern District of Michigan and Minister to Belgium. Correspondence from family, friends and associates regarding personal and business affairs, military matters, and Democratic politics; miscellaneous other materials and photographs.

The John G. Parkhurst collection consists of correspondence from family, friends and associates regarding personal and business affairs, military matters, and Democratic politics; miscellaneous other materials and photograph. the collections has been divided into the following series: Correspondence; John G. Parkhurst Civil War service; John G. Parkhurst diplomatic and other activities; and Other family materials, business records, and miscellaneous.

Collection

John J. Carton Papers, 1883-1921

17 linear feet — 3 oversize volumes

Flint, Michigan, attorney and Republican state representative. Correspondence concerning the automotive industry, particularly his firms dealing with the General Motors Corporation and other automobile companies; also papers concerning state politics, the Republican Party, and the Constitutional Convention of 1907-1908; also docket books, 1883-1921, with record of cases handled by Carton and his partners.

The collection has been divided into the following series: Correspondence, 1900-1920; Masonic Papers, 1909-1920; Railroad, 1919-1920; Law Materials.

Collection

John J. Collins Papers, 1953-1962 (majority within 1961-1962)

4 linear feet

Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee of Michigan. Correspondence and campaign material concerning the activities of the Democratic Party and the gubernatorial campaign of John Swainson in 1962.

The Collins papers relate almost exclusively to the period of his chairmanship of the state Democratic Party, 1961-1962. Although the files were donated as a personal collection, they should be considered as part of the state Democratic Party record group. The researcher is thus advised to examine both that record group and the Collins papers for activities of the Democratic Party in Michigan in the period of the Swainson administration, 1961-1962. The papers have been arranged into the following series: Topical Files; Democratic Party County Committee Files; 1962 Campaign files; and John J. Collins press releases, speeches, and miscellaneous.

Collection

John Lesinski papers, 1930s-1964 (majority within 1950-1964)

27 linear feet — 3 oversize volumes — 2 oversize folders

Democratic Congressman from Michigan, 1951-1965; congressional papers include legislation and committee files, speeches, statements, press releases, campaign files, topical files, both national and Michigan related, biographical material, and visual material.

The John Lesinski Jr. papers document the career of a seven-term congressman from Michigan's 16th Congressional District. Included are files relating to his campaigns for office and activities as a member of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee. The papers are particularly valuable for legislation he introduced and the views of his constituents on such issues as civil rights, immigration, and the "captive nations" of Eastern Europe. As his opposition to the Civil Rights of 1964 contributed to his loss in the 1964 campaign, the correspondence and other papers on that topic are particularly valuable both for Lesinski's viewpoints and the opinions of his constituents. In addition, Lesinski worked closely with the Polish-American community in Detroit and there is much material reflecting that involvement.

The collection is divided into the main series of Congressional Files with two smaller series of Biographical/Personal Materials and Visual Materials. The Congressional files in turn are divided into several subseries including Legislation; Committee files; Speeches, statements and news releases; Campaign materials; Topical Files, and Case Files.

Collection

John Panchuk papers, 1913-1981

3 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 1 oversize folder

Battle Creek, Michigan, attorney. Oral history interview; materials relating to his involvement in Ukrainian-American organizations and activities.

The Panchuk includes an oral history interview and materials relating to his involvement in Ukrainian-American organizations and activities. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical/Personal; Chronological Materials; Associations/Organizational Activities and Interests; Political Activities and Interests; Ukrainian related materials; Miscellaneous; and Photographs.

Collection

Kathryn C. Nye papers, 1952-1967

3.5 linear feet

Recording secretary of the Central Committee of the Michigan Democratic Party, 1962-1967. Correspondence, working files, printed material, photographs and audio-tapes dealing with the organization and management of the state Democratic Party, Lansing and Ingham County, Michigan, party politics, various political issues, Michigan participation in the national Democratic Conventions of 1960 and 1964, and the Michigan Senate Campaign of 1966.

The Nye papers, though containing virtually no personal material, is strong on state Democratic politics, especially as relates to her work as recording secretary and her involvement in party affairs in Lansing and Ingham County.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Personal / Biographical; Correspondence; Lansing and Ingham County Democratic Party; Michigan Democratic Party; Party Conventions; Miscellaneous Democratic Party materials. The collection documents her political activities on the local, county, and state level and includes memoranda and correspondence with three Democratic state chairmen: Neil Staebler, John Joe Collins, and Zolton Ferency. In addition, her files include State Central Committee minutes, directories and other information on party publications, such as the Democratic Digest. Her files also contain material on various political campaigns of the 1950's and 1960's, and on various national Democratic Conventions, including notes and tape recordings of the meetings of the Michigan caucus at the 1964 convention.

Collection

Laurence Todd papers, 1902-1957

1 linear foot

Michigan-born newspaperman; correspondence and diaries relating to his professional career.

The collection is comprised of two series: Correspondence and Diaries. The letters are to members of his family describing his journalistic activities and political events of the day. There are letters with observations about Governor Hiram Johnson of California (1910-1917), comments about suffrage for women, 1911-1920, impressions about the two World Wars, and the Progressive Party campaign of Henry Wallace in 1948. The diaries, 1934-1936, discuss his daily life, American politics during the New Deal, and international relations particularly with the Soviet Union.

Collection

Lawrence Llewellyn Farrell Papers, 1935-1971

3.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Works Projects Administration district manager, official in the Office of Price Administration and executive secretary to Governor G. Mennen Williams. Materials concerning Michigan Democratic politics, particularly the elections of 1948 and 1952, his work for the W.P.A. and O.P.A. and his with the Michigan Children's Aid Society.

The Farrell collection is arranged into the following series: Correspondence, Political Papers, Works Projects Administration, Office of Price Administration, and Other Papers.

Collection

Lawrence M. Glazer papers, 1981-1987

1 linear foot

Former Michigan Assistant Attorney General, chief legal adviser to Michigan Governor James Blanchard, and later State Circuit Judge. The collection documents his time as an advisor and legal counsel for James Blanchard during his gubernatorial campaign and as governor.

The Papers of Lawrence Glazer document his work with James Blanchard as candidate for office and as a member of his staff as special counsel and chief legal advisor. The collection is arranged into two series: Chronological, and 1982 Gubernatorial Campaign materials.

Collection

Leroy and Lael Cappaert papers, 1947-2002

6 linear feet

LeRoy Cappaert was a teacher and Democratic city councilman from Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1964-1970, delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and member of the Coalition for Peace in Central America, and organization established to provide assistance to Ann Arbor's sister city, Juigalpa, Nicaragua. Lael Cappaert was a librarian, also active in political and community causes. Papers and notebooks concerning LeRoy's election campaigns for the city council, his council activities, his work as delegate at the Democratic National Conventions of 1964 and 1968, and the 1968 Presidential campaign of Senator Eugene McCarthy, his work with the Coalition for Peace in Central America; memoirs of his wife Lael Cappaert, pictorial history of their daughter Andrea Lael Cappaert; audio-visual material; and scrapbooks.

LeRoy and Lael Cappaert's papers are divided into the following series: Democratic Party politics; Ann Arbor City Council; Personal/Biographical; Family; Coalition for Peace in Central America; Visual Materials; Sound Recordings; and Scrapbooks. Most of the files relate to LeRoy Cappaert's career.

Collection

Lynn M. Bartlett papers, 1925-1971 (majority within 1955-1969)

7 linear feet — 4 microfilms — 1 oversize folder

Educational administrator, Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1957-1965, and official with the Johnson administration. Correspondence, reports, and newspaper clippings concerning his public career, political campaigns for state office, work in the constitutional convention, and interest in educational topics.

The Lynn M. Bartlett papers have been arranged into six series. The first three series were accumulated in his capacity as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Education, and Assistant Secretary for Education within the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The researcher should note that although these series have been designated with the title of the office that Bartlett held, these series do not include the official files from those agencies. Records for the state office will be found in the Michigan State Archives; and records for the two federal positions held either reside within the agency itself or have been transferred to the National Archives. These three series consist of personal materials, such as speeches, personal letters (e.g., letters of congratulation, and thank yous), and other files not deemed to be part of the agency's files.

The final three series consist of Biographical/Personal, the papers of Bartlett's wife Josephine, and Collected Material.

Collection

Lynn W. Eley papers, 1958-1963

3 linear feet

Professor of political science at University of Michigan, and Democratic city councilman for Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1961-1963. Material concerning his council activities, his work for the Michigan Advisory Committee on Reorganization of State Government, and the Michigan State Science Advisory Board.

The Lynn Eley collection documents his activities as secretary on the Governor's Advisory Committee on Reorganization of State Government, 1958-1963, and his term as Democratic Ann Arbor City Councilman, 1961-1963.

Collection

Margaret Bayne Price Papers, 1918-1969 (majority within 1947-1968)

25 linear feet

Democratic National Committeewoman from Michigan, Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee and Director of Women's Affairs of the Democratic Party. Extensive correspondence, speeches, press releases, political campaign materials, newspaper clippings, agendas, and assorted printed material relating to her work in the Democratic Party; material concerning Democratic politics, 1948-1967, and the activities of the Democratic National Committee and the Michigan State Central Committee.

The collection includes extensive correspondence, speeches, press releases, political campaign materials, newspaper clippings, agendas, and assorted printed material relating to her work in the Democratic Party; material concerning state and national Democratic politics, 1948-1967, and materials accumulated from her service with the Democratic National Committee and the Michigan State Central Committee.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Press Materials; Speeches; Miscellaneous Materials; Organizational Activities; State and Local Politics; National Politics; Printed Materials; and Photographs.

Collection

Martha Wright Griffiths papers, 1956-1976

59 linear feet — 8 oversize volumes — 33 film reels — 74.52 GB (online)

Online
Detroit, Michigan, attorney, Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1955-1974, and member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Congressional papers, arranged by term, include legislative files, bills files, topical files, schedules, sound recordings, photographs, motion pictures, and scrapbooks. The collection details relationship with colleagues and constituents and pertains to committee activities, legislation sponsored, and issues of the day. Topics of interest include civil rights, the war in Vietnam, Sleeping Bear Dunes, the humane slaughtering of animals, the economy and the fiscal policy of the federal government, women's rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, economic problems of women, and the need for national health insurance legislation.

The Griffiths collection consists primarily of correspondence exchanged with constituents and lobbying groups on matters of pending or proposed legislation and on topics of current interest. The collection's great value is its documentation of the workings of this one congressional office and its perspective on the issues confronting the nation in the period of 1955 to 1974. With the Democrats in control of the Congress, these years witnessed legislative efforts to use the power of the Federal Government to rectify the ills of society on matters of civil rights, assistance to the poor, health care for the aged, environmental protection, and so forth. It was also a time of strife in society resulting from the war in Vietnam, tension among the races, and the Watergate crisis. The Griffiths collection documents these issues with letters from constituents and her response to the concerns of the people.

Beyond general issues, the Griffiths papers have importance for their documentation of the specific contribution of this one woman member of Congress, who served for twenty years, and who was rewarded by her colleagues with increasingly responsible committee positions. Especially significant was her appointment to the powerful Ways and Means Committee under the chairmanship of Wilbur Mills. Griffiths' files from her work on W and Means Committee detail the major pieces of tax reform legislation of the 1960s, notably Griffiths' efforts to legislate some equity into the benefits accorded to American women.

The Martha W. Griffiths papers, with few exceptions, have been maintained in the arrangement scheme used by the Griffiths office.

Collection

Martin R. Bradley papers, 1918-1961

2 linear feet

Democratic state representative from Menominee County, Michigan, 1923-1925 and 1927-1935. Correspondence, subject files, and clippings and scrapbooks primarily relating to his legislative career, his participation on the Michigan Legislative Council, and Upper Peninsula political and economic subjects.

While the collection dates from 1918-1961, the bulk of the papers are from 1923-1935 and relate to Mr. Bradley's legislative career. The collection has been arranged into four series: Biographical, Correspondence, Topical files, and Scrapbooks. This is a small but rich collection relating to Michigan politics, with special emphasis on Menominee County and the Upper Peninsula. Because of the correspondence, legislative files, proceedings of the legislative council, Bradley-Doyle folder, and the scrapbooks, the years 1933-1934 are especially well documented.

Collection

McCreery-Fenton Family papers, 1818-1948 (majority within 1860-1940)

12 linear feet (in 13 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

The McCreery and Fenton families were prominent Genesee county, Michigan residents some of whose members distinguished themselves in local and state government, as soldiers during the Civil War, and in the United States diplomatic service. Papers include diaries, correspondence and other material relating to the Civil War, local and state politics and aspects of diplomatic service in Central and South America.

The McCreery-Fenton family collection documents the individual careers of family members who served their community and their nation in a variety of roles. Through correspondence, diaries and other materials, the researcher will find information pertaining to the Civil War, to the history of Flint and Fenton in Genesee County, Michigan, and to facets of America's diplomatic relations with some of the countries of Central and South America. Arranged by name of the three principal family members represented in the collection - William M. Fenton, William B. McCreery, and Fenton R. McCreery, the papers also include series of general family materials, business records, and photographs.

Collection

McDonald Family Papers, 1783-1938

2.4 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1 oversize volume

Detroit family; one member, James Henry McDonald, was a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., 1876; Law, 1878), who practiced law in Detroit; his wife, Christine Jewell, was active in the state Democratic Party. The collection has been arranged into five series: the McDonald Family, the Martha Wells McLellan Family, the Christine Jewell Family, Miscellaneous Files, and Photographs.

The McDonald papers contain personal and business papers collected by James Henry McDonald and by his wife Christine Jewell McDonald. The collection includes correspondence, ledgers, genealogical material and family histories, business records and photographs. Topics and activities documented in the collection include James McDonald's education at the University of Michigan and law practice in Detroit; genealogy of the McDonald, Hallock, McLellan and Jewell families; business papers of William Jewell, including some relating to his founding of the Detroit Business University in 1864; correspondence of Emma Jewell's life as a Christian Scientist; Ogden Jewell's experience as a University of Michigan Student and his enlistment in the Spanish-American War; and correspondence of Christie Jewell concerning her activities in the Democratic party, including a term a vice-chair of the state Democratic Party Central Committee in 1937-1938.

The collection contains five series: McDonald Family, the Martha Wells McLellan Family, Christine Jewell Family, Miscellaneous Files, and Photographs.

Collection

Michigan Citizens for Humphrey and Muskie records, 1968

0.3 linear feet

Political organization supporting the Democratic ticket for President in 1968. Correspondence and financial records concerning the campaign; also papers and photographs concerning the pre-convention campaign for the nomination of Hubert Humphrey for President.

The record group consists of correspondence, memoranda, organizational papers, a financial report, and delegate material from the Democratic National Convention. There is, in addition, a folder of campaign photos and a reel-to-reel tape of a campaign message.

Collection

Michigan Political History Society oral history collection, 1995-2013

122 GB (online)

Online

The collection consists of digital materials for 28 oral history interviews with state political figures, most of them active in the period of 1950 to 2000. The interviews are conducted by individuals knowledgeable about state political history. The content of the interviews are both about the individual's career and about the issues and personalities of the time. These interviews are with political and labor leaders, past members of the state legislature, a Detroit mayor, and a member of the state constitutional convention of 1961-1962.

Collection

Morley Winograd Papers, 1973-1983 (majority within 1976-1979)

1 linear foot

Democratic Party official, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party from 1973 to 1979, president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs from 1979 to 1980, and chairman of the Commission on Presidential Nomination and Party Structure from 1973 to 1978. Committee work files and reports relating to his various political appointments.
Collection

Mortimer E. Cooley Papers, 1873-1944

66.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 7 oversize volumes

Dean of the College of Engineering of the University of Michigan; correspondence, letter books, appraisals and reports, lectures, blueprints, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other materials concerning his activities as dean of the College of Engineering, engineer for the U.S.S. Yosemite in the Spanish American War, chairman of the Block Signal and Train Control Board, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1924, and coordinator for the P.W.A. in Michigan in 1933-1935; also genealogical materials on the Cooley family.

The Mortimer E. Cooley papers consists of correspondence, subject files, personal materials, and photographs detailing the professional career and activities of a distinguished engineering educator. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; University of Michigan and College of Engineering materials; Genealogical and Miscellaneous; Arbitration, appraisal, and consultation files; Photographs; Naval Logs; and Testimonial and celebratory materials. Box 47 was eliminated during 2001 reprocessing.

Collection

Murray D. Van Wagoner Papers, 1921-1949

4 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes — 10 film reels

Online
Construction engineer and Michigan Democratic politician; served terms as Oakland County Drain Commissioner, Michigan State Highway Commissioner, and as Governor, 1941-1942; include correspondence, scrapbooks, appointment books, and assorted miscellanea.

The series in the Van Wagoner collection are Correspondence (1933-1945); Newspaper clippings/Scrapbooks (1930-1933 and 1940-1949); Miscellaneous/Political; and Visual Materials. The collection is largely an accumulation of personal materials from his career as a public service. There is very little of these papers that might be classified as administrative or office files from his years as highway commissioner or his term as governor.

Collection

Neil Staebler papers, 1944-1992

319.5 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes — 12.4 GB (online)

Online
Ann Arbor, Michigan, businessman and attorney, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party State Central Committee, U. S. Congressman-at-large, 1963-1964, gubernatorial candidate in 1964, member of the U. S. Federal Election Commission, 1975-1978. Chronological, congressional and topical files relating to political and personal activities; include political files detailing state election campaigns 1948-1964, particularly the campaigns of G. Mennen Williams and John B. Swainson; also photographs and transcript of oral interview, 1979.

Neil Staebler first began donating his files to the Michigan Historical Collections of the University of Michigan in 1961 following his eleven year tenure as chairman of the Democratic Party State Central Committee. Periodically thereafter and continuing into the 1970s, Staebler continued to add to his collection with Congressional papers (1963-1964), campaign files when he ran for governor in 1964, topical records created from his years of service with the Democratic National Committee (see attached vita), and records from his term as commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (1975-1978).

This collection comprised of twelve series documents Staebler's career and the course of Democratic politics since World War II. Since Staebler was principally an organizer of campaigns, a behind-the-scenes manager who preferred to handle the details of an election rather than to step into the candidate's spotlight himself, the collection concerns all phases of a successful campaign not just the posturings of the party's candidates. There is, for example, much information relating to the day-to-day operations of the party, i.e. fund-raising activities, the annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner, the formulation of the party's platform and related resolutions at the Spring and Fall conventions, and the activities of party-related special interest organizations.

Collection

Olivia Maynard papers, 1976-1982

1 linear foot

Michigan State Democratic Party officer, candidate for public office; regent of the University of Michigan; topical files, speeches, and miscellaneous.

The Olivia Maynard papers document the period of 1977 to 1982, when she was engaged in state Democratic politics and in organizations relating to women's rights. Some of the files concern her campaign for lieutenant governor in 1978. In addition, the collection includes several folders of her speeches given both as a candidate and as a party official.

Collection

Paul L. Adams papers, 1924-1976

4 linear feet

Attorney, regent of the University of Michigan; state attorney general; justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. Correspondence with Adams' family concerning his activities as a student at University of Michigan and as Supreme Court justice; also topical files, speeches, and miscellaneous legal records.

The papers of Paul Adams concentrate on his years as a student at the University of Michigan,1926-1936,and on his years as a Michigan Supreme Court Justice, January 2,1962-January 1,1973. These papers include detailed letters to his family and topical files on his various interests and affairs. The correspondence file contains letters from former Governor Williams, Senator Philip A. Hart, Mrs. Chase Osborn, and other leading Michigan figures and politicians. His speech file includes topics on law, crime, politics, and religion.

Collection

Perry Bullard papers, 1969-1992

67 linear feet

The Perry Bullard Papers (1973-1992) document Bullard's service as a state representative from Michigan's 53rd district, primarily between the years of 1980 and 1992. The collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, committee reports and studies, bills, and briefing material on issues that came before the Michigan House of Representatives between 1973 and 1992.

The Perry Bullard papers document his twenty year career in the Michigan House of Representatives, especially as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The collection includes both Bullard files and files maintained by members of his staff. The files document the passage of acts (or failure of bills) through correspondence, staff memoranda, communications from constituents and lobbying groups, and all manner of background and printed material. The series in the collection are Correspondence; Legislative Files; House Judiciary Committee files; Topical Files; Political and Campaign materials; Publicity, Speeches, Clippings; and Personal Materials.

Collection

Peter White Papers, 1848-1915

30 linear feet — 15 oversize volumes

Marquette, Michigan businessman, Democratic state senator, and Republican regent of the University of Michigan. Letterbooks and correspondence relating to activities in the Democratic Party in Michigan, particularly in the Upper Peninsula, to his service within the state legislature, and to state and national elections, 1876-1896; also correspondence and other records concerning his extensive business interests that include Northern Michigan iron, insurance, banking, and general investments.

The collection documents the development of the economy of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from the perspective of one of its pioneer entrepreneurs. Through correspondence and other business records, there is documentation of White's extensive business interests in Northern Michigan iron, insurance, and banking. Other portions of the collection concern his service in the state legislature and his involvement in state and national elections, 1876-1896.

Peter White's correspondence, the largest portion of the collection, has been divided into two series: correspondence/business papers and insurance correspondence. The papers for 1850-1853 deal with White's activities as clerk for Robert Graveraet. Also discussed in this early period are legal matters with some material on his work as postmaster and various family matters. The correspondence for 1854-1862 deals with early mining companies with whom he had association and provides some information about the financial aspect of various organizations. White acted as a marketing agent for several companies and this aspect is covered well. The term served by White in the state legislature is covered very sparsely.

Beginning in 1863 White activities expand to encompass insurance and banking concerns. While the iron interest is well represent in the papers for 1863-1873, insurance and banking occupy an increasingly important place. After 1874, White's insurance business is heavily represented in the correspondence. Banking also continues to occupy an important place but the iron companies are far less frequently a subject of discussion. Local politics is also discussed in the correspondence for 1874-1891. As someone who had been actively engaged in politics and public service, White commented on state and national election campaigns from the 1870s to the 1890s. Most notable are letters exchanged pertaining to the campaign of Williams Jennings Bryan in the presidential election of1896. Beginning in 1902, the insurance correspondence decrease and the investment phase of White's career make itself evident. After 1900 correspondence with the University of Michigan and its history department becomes more important.

The remainder of the collection consists of Business Records, divided between folder records and bound records. Each of these series includes records of specific companies with whom Peter White was associated. These include the Phenix Iron Mining Company, the Michigan God Company, the Manhard-Jopling Company, the Lake Superior Leather Company, and the Schoolcraft Iron Company.

Collection

Prentiss Marsh Brown Papers, 1902-1973

28 linear feet (in 29 boxes) — 2 oversize folders — 12 microfilms

Michigan congressman and senator, head of the U.S. Office of Price Administration; papers include correspondence, legislative files, speeches, political files, business and legal records, diaries and scrapbooks, visual materials, and sound recordings.

The Prentiss M. Brown Collection is rich and full and offers researchers materials on a variety of local and national topics reflecting the diversity of the man's private and public life. The earliest item in the collection is a letter book dated 1902-04 of James J. Brown, like his son a prominent St. Ignace attorney. The collection then picks up Prentiss M. Brown's entrance to the legal profession in 1917, traces his rise to public office, his work in Congress and with the O.P.A., and then concludes with his later business interests and his crusade upon behalf of the Mackinac Bridge.

The Brown Collection comprises approximately twenty-eight feet of correspondence, letterbooks, scrapbooks, diaries, speeches, topical and legislative files, photographs and phonograph records, and legal case files and business records. Covering the period 1917 to 1973, the papers concentrate most heavily in the years 1932-1942 when Brown was in the U.S. Congress. The greatest gap in the collection is in the period of the 1920s when Brown was making his first bids for political office. Also missing are any extensive files for the time of Brown's O.P.A. directorship. What the collection has on the O.P.A. are largely speeches, scrapbooks, and congratulatory letters.

Collection

Raymond F. Clevenger papers, 1953-1967

46 linear feet

Democratic Congressman from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, 1965-1966. Correspondence and other papers concerning congressional affairs, natural resources, federal health and welfare programs, and Democratic politics; also material relating to the problems and politics of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The Raymond Clevenger collection consists mainly of papers from his one term in the US Congress, 1965-1966. There are also a scattering of materials relating to his various campaigns for office and about his work with the Michigan Corporation and Securities Commission. The collection is largely unprocessed.

Collection

Raymond Wesley Starr papers, 1860s-1968 (majority within 1936-1947)

11 linear feet — 1 folder

Grand Rapids, Michigan attorney, state attorney general, 1937-1938, associate justice and chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Michigan. Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and business and professional papers, including material, 1950-1968, relating to his interest in Ferris State College, Big Rapids, Michigan; and photographs.

The Starr collection consists primarily of correspondence from 1936 to 1947. These correspondence files are arranged alphabetically with the bulk of them dated 1946 to 1947, the period when Starr was first appointed U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Michigan. A smaller portion of the collection relates to Starr's association with Ferris State College, to his various other organization interests, and to his real estate and business activities.

Collection

Robert Alexander Papers, 1970-1982

2.5 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan political activist and campaign worker on behalf of Human Rights Party and Democratic Party candidates. Files and photographs (circa 1970-1980) relating to the Fred Harris presidential campaign in 1976, the Ed Pierce campaigns for Michigan state office in 1976, 1978, 1980 and 1982, and the Zolton Ferency campaign for governor of Michigan in 1978.

The papers of Robert Alexander span the years 1970-1982. The primary focus of the collection is on Alexander's political activities in both the Human Rights Party and the Democratic Party. There is no personal material, nor is there documentation of Alexander's career. Even within the sections on his political activities there is only a moderate amount specifically relating to Alexander. The papers give a view of local politics, in which Alexander was a relatively minor figure.

Collection

Robert J. Harris papers, circa 1959-1963 and 1969-1973

43.5 linear feet

Democratic mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Michigan law school professor. Papers include mayoralty files relating to city politics and municipal issues, including the affairs of the police department and other city departments, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, the Model Cities Program, and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG); and scattered law school course and research materials, ca. 1959-ca. 1963

The Robert J. Harris papers document his term as mayor of Ann Arbor, 1979-1983 and a professor at the University of Michigan law School, 1959-1974. Papers include mayoralty files relating to city politics and municipal issues, including the affairs of the police department and other city departments, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, the Model Cities Program, and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG); and scattered law school course and research materials, ca. 1959-ca. 1963.

The papers are organized into eight series: Alphabetical Files (boxes 1-9); Model Cities; Boards and Commissions File, City Departments File, Council Activities File, Miscellaneous Files, Newspaper clipping File, and Law School.

Collection

Robert P. Weeks papers, 1961-1970

1 linear foot

Member of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) City Council, 1964-1968, and chairman of Ann Arbor Housing Commission, 1969-1970. Correspondence, speeches, resolutions, and newspaper clippings concerning his activities on the city council and his interest in public housing.

The Robert P. Weeks Papers consist exclusively of those papers created while serving on the Ann Arbor city council and with the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. The original order and subject listings of Weeks' topical file has been retained. The papers document both Weeks' activities and interests as a council person and chair of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission as well as the politics of the time. Notable is the information contained in the papers about the debate over the building and location of subsidized housing in Ann Arbor. Weeks died on June 17, 1986.

Collection

Royal S. Copeland Papers, 1892-1938

37 linear feet — 45 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder — 33 digital audiovisual files

Online
Professor of homoeopathic medicine at University of Michigan, mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, dean of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and director of Flower Hospital, New York City Commissioner of Public Health, and Democratic U. S. Senator from New York, 1923-1938. Personal and medical correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks containing food and health articles, photographs, and other papers concerning his medical and political interests. Correspondents include: Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Alfred E. Smith.

The Royal Copeland collection, consisting primarily of correspondence, speeches and writings, scrapbooks, and articles, relates primarily to Copeland's medical career as professor of homeopathic medicine at the University of Michigan, dean of the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital, and New York City Commissioner of Public Health, and as United States Senator.

Collection

Samuel James Eldersveld papers, 1938-2010

5.5 linear feet — 3.3 GB (online)

Online
Professor of political science at the University of Michigan and Democratic mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan for one term, 1957-1959. The collection consists primarily of Eldersveld's mayoralty subject files. There are also some of his writings, as well as notes, course materials, correspondence, departmental memos, reports, biographical material, and recordings of interviews.

The Samuel J. Eldersveld Papers document Eldersveld's academic career, his mayoralty, and personal background. The collection consists primarily of Eldersveld's writings, notes, course materials, correspondence, departmental memos, reports, oral history project, biographical material and mayoralty subject files. The collection contains the following series: Mayoralty Files, 1957-1959, Ann Arbor City Council, Personal/Biographical, Academic Career and Sound Recordings.

Collection

Sarah Goddard Power Papers, 1953-1987

10 linear feet

Regent of the University of Michigan; public figure concerned with national and international women's rights issues. Files relating to her public life, especially her interest in the University of Michigan, notably during the presidency of Harold T. Shapiro, the work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and state and local Democratic Party matters.

The papers of Sarah Goddard Power are arranged into twelve series: Personal/Biographical, Writings, Speeches, Contributions, Trips, Political Activities, Conferences, Philip H. Power, Board of Regents, Photographs, Engagements, and U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. These series cover the period 1953-1987.

Collection

Seth K. Shetterly papers, 1829-1934

2 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Utica, Michigan attorney, justice of the peace, and state representative. Correspondence mainly concerning family, legal, and political affairs; also scattered municipal and township records, 1846-1865, for Utica and Shelby and Sterling townships in Macomb County, Michigan, especially school records; and miscellaneous business and legal papers, poems, essays, and notebooks.

The papers of Seth K. Shetterly cover the years 1835-1934 though the bulk of the material falls between 1850 and 1890. The papers are arranged into four series: Correspondence, Municipal and Township Records, Miscellaneous Papers, and Diaries and Ledgers.

Collection

Sligh Family Papers, 1842-2012

36 linear feet (in 41 boxes) — 31 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder

Online
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.

Collection

Thomas A. Roach Papers, 1970-2002

54 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan attorney, member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, 1975-1990, and Democratic Party official. Papers document his activities as regent and in local and state-wide Democratic Party affairs.

The papers of Thomas Roach measure fifty-four linear feet and date from 1970 to 2002. These records document the public career of Roach as a Regent of the University of Michigan and a longtime active participant in the Michigan Democratic Party. The papers are divided into three series: Democratic Party Files, Board of Regents Files and Post-Regental Activities.

Collection

Weston E. Vivian Papers, 1964-1968

12 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Democratic US Congressman from the 2nd Michigan Congressional District, 1965-1967. Campaign files, 1964, 1966 and 1968; files documenting his activities as member of the 89th Congress; subject files detailing views of constituents on such subjects as the Vietnam War, civil rights, Lyndon Johnson's anti-poverty program, and other issues of the 1960s; also clippings, photographs, and audio tapes.

The Weston E. Vivian papers document his three campaigns for the US House of Representatives in 1964, 1966, and 1968, and his service in the 89th Congress, 1965-1966. The papers include correspondence, speeches, campaign literature, texts of radio broadcasts and campaign advertisements, press releases and newsletters, newspaper clippings, photographs, and sound and video recordings. Also included in the Vivian papers are three University of Michigan student papers on the 1966 and 1968 Vivian congressional campaigns.

The collection is divided into several distinct series: biographical material, congressional campaigns, congressional service, subject files, clippings, photographs, and sound recordings and motion picture tapes. The additional material received in 1990 is located in boxes 11-12, but has been integrated into the appropriate place in the contents listing.

Collection

William A. Comstock Papers, 1899-1949

14 linear feet — 2 oversize folders

Alpena, Michigan, businessman, University of Michigan regent and Democratic governor of Michigan, 1933-1934; correspondence, diaries, business papers, and other items, concerning Democratic party affairs, state and national elections, real estate and financial transactions, and photographs.

The William A. Comstock papers document activities of a businessman/promoter and a Democratic Party functionary. Although the collection dates from 1902 to 1949, the bulk of the papers date from 1919 to 1932, the period of Comstock's primary business involvements. The collection has been arranged into five series: Correspondence, Other Papers and Records, Business Record Books, Diaries, and Photographs.

Collection

William B. Mershon Papers, 1848-1943

46.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 14 microfilms

Online
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.

Collection

William H. McNitt papers, 1968-1976

5 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan, archivist; collected materials relating to local Democratic Party politics; student papers; and photographs.

The McNitt papers consist of materials collected relating to his interest in, and activities with, the local Democratic Party. Included are newsletters, leaflets, campaign materials and newspaper clippings concerning state, county, and municipal politics, particularly the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and George McGovern in 1972, Ann Arbor City Council and school board elections; the New Democratic Coalition of Michigan; the Human Rights Party; the state presidential primary in 1972; Democratic state conventions; state elections in 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1974; and the election campaign of Congressman Richard F. VanderVeen in 1974.

The collection also includes copies of student papers on topics relating to Michigan history. The titles of these papers are "The Library Extension Movement in Grand Rapids", "Journalism and the Republican Party of Michigan, 1890-1920; A Study of the Michigan Republican Newspaper Association", and "Peace and American Society : Rebecca Shelley and the Peace Movement."

Finally, there are many hundreds of photographs taken by McNitt relating to the construction of the Bentley Library and to the accessioning of the papers of Gerald R. Ford.