Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Norris family of Ypsilanti and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Papers of Mark Norris, Ypsilanti businessman and postmaster; papers of his wife, Roccena Vaill Norris, local teacher and woman's rights advocate; papers of their son, Lyman, attorney and regent of the University of Michigan, 1883-1884; papers of Lyman's son, Mark Norris, Grand Rapids attorney and Grand Master of the Knights Templar in the United States; papers of Lyman's daughter Maria Norris, Grand Rapids physician; papers of Mark's son, Abbott Norris; and related papers of other family members, notably the Whittelsey family of Connecticut.

The Norris family papers consists of three linear feet of correspondence, business papers, and scrapbooks. The bulk of the papers are letters among various family members which contain a wealth of information about 19th century daily life, social conditions, business affairs, and local and state politics. This collection is especially useful in researching: women's history; Norris family and kinship interrelationships; early area settlement and local history; university student life at the University of Michigan and elsewhere; 19th century economic conditions and political issues; and 20th century Freemasonry.

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.

Attorney, government official; general counsel, later assistant secretary of the treasury, 1955-1957; special counsel to President Eisenhower, 1958-1961; vice president for legal affairs of the Chrysler Corporation, 1962-1968; chairman of the board of incorporators of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation that led to Amtrak. Personal and autobiographical materials; correspondence, 1932-1976; copies of outgoing responses made as special counsel to the president; speeches, articles, scrapbooks, and clippings pertaining to his career and to his political and civic interests; Amtrak files, including memos and minutes of the board of incorporators, also copies of Civil War correspondence of his uncle Austin J. Kendall, 1862-1865, and papers of his father, educator Calvin Kendall, ca. 1890-ca. 1917; and photographs.

The David Kendall collection covers the period of 1932 to 1976. Included with the collection is a small group of earlier family material, principally copies of the Civil War letters of Austin Kendall, DWK's uncle, and papers of his father Calvin Kendall, a teacher and educator, from the turn of the century.

The Kendall papers (12 linear feet) have been arranged into 10 series: Personal, Correspondence, Chronological File (General Counsel to the President), Speech File, Articles, Topical Files, National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Scrapbooks and Newspaper Clippings, Student Papers, and Family Papers.

Prosecuting attorney of Saginaw County, Michigan, attorney general of Michigan, 1929-1931, governor, 1931-1932, general counsel to the Department of Defense during the Army-McCarthy Hearing, 1954-1955, and Secretary of the Army, 1955-1961. Correspondence, speeches, tapes, appointment books, scrapbooks, photograph albums, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning his political career.

The Wilber M. Brucker Collection consists of correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, tape recordings, visual materials, political ephemera, and other materials from a lifelong career in public service. The collection provides significant, though not always extensive, material on his activities as state attorney general, governor, and secretary of the army. In addition, the papers include documentation from Brucker's private career: his law practice, his involvement in the preparation of a plan for the reapportionment of the Michigan Legislature, his devotion to Republican Party causes, his activities with the Knights Templar of Michigan, and as a member of the World War I Rainbow Division. With some exceptions, the early phases of Brucker's life are not as well represented as one might hope. There is really no body of Brucker gubernatorial materials extant. What remains are scattered items, largely concerning the election campaigns of 1930 and 1932.

The collection has been arranged into twelve series: Biographical; Correspondence; Family Papers; Subject Files; Knights Templar; Rainbow Division; Appointment Books; Speeches; Secretary of the Army; Newspaper Clippings; Personal: Albums, Scrapbooks, etc.; and Visual Materials.

Charlotte, Michigan, attorney, legal advisor to Governors Frank Fitzgerald and Luren Dickinson and justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Correspondence, newspaper clippings and other materials on Michigan politics, the Republican Party, and his association with Governor Dickinson; scrapbook, 1885-1889, compiled by Fred A. Pennington; account book, 1904-1905; day book, 1941; log book, 1942, of Beaver Island cabin; and miscellaneous notebooks and photograph albums.

The Emerson Boyles papers consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings and other materials on Michigan politics, the Republican Party, and his association with Governor Dickinson; a scrapbook, 1885-1889, compiled by Fred A. Pennington; account book, 1904-1905; day book, 1941; log book, 1942, of Beaver Island cabin; and miscellaneous notebooks and photograph albums. The collection has been arranged into three series: Correspondence and other papers; Miscellaneous personal and family; and Photographs.

Prosecuting attorney for Missaukee County, Michigan, Republican State Senator, and U.S. Congressman from the 9th Michigan District from 1935 to 1951. Correspondence, reports and newspaper clippings concerning his activities on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Armed Services; material on the Manhattan Project and the testing of the atomic and hydrogen bombs; and photographs.

The Albert J. Engel papers primarily document his eight terms of service in United States House of Representatives, 1935-1951, though is some correspondence and other material dating back to 1911. The papers include correspondence, speeches, press releases, clippings scrapbooks and articles about Engel, files on various topics that came before Engel's House committees -- notably the Bikini Island A bomb and H bomb tests, and photographs

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.

Republican politician and regent of University of Michigan. Correspondence, 1901-1940, personal and professional materials, legal briefs and letters relating to William Cook estate and other University of Michigan affairs during his regency, 1918-1937; also correspondence while member of University's Board in Control of Athletics concerning University's departure from and return to Big Nine Conference and college athletics in general.

The Murfin papers relate mainly to JOM's activities as regent and as member of the University of Michigan's Board in Control of Athletics. The collection contains information concerning Michigan's departure from and return to the Big Nine Conference and the amateur-professional dilemma in college athletics. The regental material documents such problems as administrative oversight, particularly selection of the president and settlement of the William Cook estate. As member of the Law Club's governing body, Murfin helped to shape the university's case when Cook's bequest was contested by his wife. Although Murfin was influential in Michigan Republican party affairs, he filed his political papers separately and thus they are not included here.

The collection has been divided into two series: Correspondence, 1901-1940 and Topical Files which contain personal information and legal briefs concerning in part the Cook bequest

Adrian, Michigan attorney and Republican congressman, 1919-1933 and 1935-1951. Correspondence, 1898-1934, newspaper clippings, 1920-1950, including materials concerning veterans and other constituent affairs, political campaigns, the Republican Party, the influence of the Ku Klux Klan in the election of 1924, and personal affairs.

The Michener collection consists almost totally of correspondence accumulated while Michener served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Although the collection dates from 1898 to 1955, the great bulk of it dates from 1904 to 1934, years when Michener practiced law, served as a county prosecutor, then went off to Congress. The files relate exclusively to the politics of being a congressman, the job of staying in touch with constituents, responding to their concerns, thanking them when they offer support, etc. During each election year, Michener sent out hundreds of form letters. Such correspondence included notes enclosed with nominating petitions; brief notes which accompanied signed petitions; acknowledgments of the signed petitions; letters to newspapers asking them to print enclosed advertisements; letters enclosing campaign cards; form letters urging support at the primary; letters of congratulation; Michener's acknowledgment of congratulations; letters to people from various towns asking them to phone in the election returns; thank you notes to those who phoned in the returns; and so forth. Examples of each type of these form letters have been included in the collection though the bulk of materials has been reduced.

The collection is particularly valuable for material on grass-roots Republican politics, the methods and means by which an individual sought election to Congress and then maintained that position through several successive terms. Michener's correspondence is particularly heavy during election years. Some of the issues discussed by him relate to prohibition in Michigan, the influence of the Ku-Klux-Klan in the 1924 election, and the problems confronting veterans of the Spanish-American War and World War I. The collection is less valuable for the work that Michener did while in Congress. There are few files relating to legislative activities.

Associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court; correspondence, speeches and other materials relating to Michigan politics, Republican Party affairs, and his judicial career.

The Louis Fead collection includes correspondence, scrapbooks, biographical information and other materials relating to his political and judicial career. Some of the files relate to the view from Michigan of the proposed reorganization of the US Supreme Court in 1937. There are also materials concerning the Newberry State Bank of which Fead was an officer. Also of interest are those materials relating to his service with the American Red Cross in France during World War I.