Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The American Tour photograph album contains 96 Photographs of a tour taken of the United States and Canada, featuring the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.

The American Tour photograph album (24 x 18 cm) contains 96 Photographs of a tour taken of the United States and Canada, featuring the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. The photographic narrative follows a trip from Southampton, England, across the Atlantic to New York City; Richmond, Virginia; Chicago, Ill.; the Niagara region; Saratoga, New York; the Hudson River valley; and finally New York City and Coney Island, New York. Images from the trans-Atlantic trip include the dock at Southampton, the Steamship SS Paris at sea; the Sandy Hook pilot boat; views of the Statue of Liberty; and steerage passengers on an ocean liner. Several images of Richmond, Va., and rural homes in Amelia County, Va. appear. One view showing a three adults and one child on a wagon "leaving Sherwood" may be of the travelers. Numerous views of the Columbian Exposition grounds in Chicago are at the center of the album. Photographs of Niagara Falls and the Niagara River include an image of Clifford Calverley crossing the river on a tightrope. Other images include barges on both the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Hudson River; boating and scenery at Lake George; and ice houses and sailboats along the Hudson River. Photographs of New York City depict Wall Street; Brighton Beach and Coney Island; the Statue of Liberty; and Jersey City Ferry Boat "Orange." The album's half-bound brown cloth cover is stamped in gilt "American Tour. 1893."

The Camilla Sink journal contains entries about Sink's daily life from 1857-1876, as well as genealogical information about her descendants, essays about her life and character, and a diary that one of her children kept in 1900. Camilla Sink's entries, copied by her children into this single bound volume, pertain to her life and her children's lives in New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

This volume (994 pages) contains Camilla Sink's journal, copied by one of her children (February 1, 1857-November 1, 1877, pp. 1-837); poems, biographical sketches, proverbs, and genealogical information (pp. 838-928); and a diary kept by one of Sink's children (January 1, 1900-December 10, 1900, pp. 928-994).

Camilla Sink's journal entries are prefaced by remarks about her life, death, and character, written by one of her children. Sink wrote almost daily from February 1, 1857-April 13, 1877, but illness led her to write only sporadically until her final entry on November 1, 1877. She most frequently commented on the weather, her social activities, and news of her children and their families. Sink lived in Rome, New York, and spent time visiting her family in Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; and Elkhart, Indiana. Sink provided news of her illnesses and ailments, or those of her children and other acquaintances, and sometimes discussed her feelings about bereavement and aging. Some of her entries from the spring of 1861 mention marching soldiers; in mid-April 1865, she wrote about the death of Abraham Lincoln and the journey of his funeral train. On September 29, 1876, she recounted a visit to Washington, D.C., and entries from early October 1876 concern her visit to the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

The second section of the volume contains poetry, writings, biographical sketches, and genealogical information copied by and written about Camilla Sink and her descendants. Poetry and proverbs concern topics such as bereavement, and one of her children wrote a memorial poem in her honor (pp. 886-887). Genealogical information pertains to the births, marriages, and deaths of Camilla Sink's parents, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. A second series of journal entries, written by one of Camilla Sink's children, concerns the author's daily life and social activities in 1900. Items laid into the volume include a photographic postcard with a girl's portrait; a newspaper clipping; 3 certificates related to the academic progress of Chester Weier and Gladys Kleckner in Monroe, Michigan (June 20, 1907-June 14, 1912); and a certificate regarding Gladys Kleckner's confirmation at St. Stephen's Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, on March 14, 1915.

This collection contains letters from brothers William Edward Caton and Albert Robert Caton to their family in Illinois as they travel and work in Iowa, the Dakota Territory, and Colorado. This collection offers insight into daily life and the economic growth of the Western frontier.

The Caton family papers consist of 112 letters, 5 financial and legal papers, and 1 item with genealogical content.

In a series of letters to their parents and sister, William Edward (Ed) and Albert Robert (Bob) Caton describe efforts to establish themselves economically in Chicago, Iowa, the Dakota Territory, and Colorado. The letters from Edward describe his business activities in Iowa and the Dakota Territory, and discuss in detail his speculation in land sales and leasing.

Bob Caton, whose letters cover the years 1876-1882, writes of his time in the Dakota Territory, and later describes working as a miner and living in Colorado. His letters contain more details on living conditions and daily activities than his brother's business-oriented correspondence does.

The Financial and Legal Papers series holds five items: William P. Canton's Cook County mortgage from 1849, a building receipt enclosing a two cent bank check stamp, and three records of loans. The Miscellaneous Papers series holds an index card with information on W.P. Caton, copied from the Will County Pioneers' Register.

The Charles H. Hosmer collection is made up of a diary (365 pages, 1877), 13 stereoscopic photographs (1872-1877), and a published volume (1870) related to the Hosmer's career as an assistant surveyor with the United States Coast Survey. The diary covers his experiences working along the Banana River in Florida and in Bar Harbor, Maine.

The Charles H. Hosmer collection is made up of a diary (365 pages, 1877), 13 stereographs (1872-1877), and a published volume (1870) related to Hosmer's career as an assistant surveyor with the United States Coast Survey.

The Diary is a partially printed Excelsior pocket diary for the year 1877, with each page devoted to one day. Hosmer wrote brief daily entries, covering his experiences on a surveying expedition along Florida's Banana River onboard the steamer Steadfast; his journeys to Bar Harbor, Maine, and Chicago, Illinois; and his daily life in Bristol, Rhode Island, between his travels.

From January to mid-May, Hosmer wrote from the Steadfast along Florida's eastern coast. He frequently visited Titusville and often recorded his successful duck hunting excursions. Entries also pertain to his hydrographical work for the United States Coast Survey, other workers onboard the ship, and Hosmer's acquaintances. He discussed his railroad journey home to Bristol, Rhode Island, various aspects of his social life, and later working journeys to Bar Harbor, Maine, and other locations. Memoranda at the back of the volume include a list of letters written by Hosmer, an address list, and tide gauge statistics recorded along the Banana River (1876 and 1877) and in Maine (undated).

A collection of 13 black-and-white Stereoscopic Photographs depict three-dimensional scenes from the southern United States and from Taunton River, Massachusetts, and Rockford, Illinois.

• Photographs of Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia (3 items)
• Pavilion Hotel, Savannah, Georgia (undated)
• Fort Sumter (1872)
• The Charleston Hotel, Charleston, South Carolina (undated)
• A storefront in Rockford, Illinois (undated)
• John R. Porter residence, Rockford, Illinois (undated)
• Surveying equipment and men at a camp near Taunton River, Massachusetts (2 items, September-October 1876)
• Number 707 Glen House, [Littleton, New Hampshire?] (undated)
• United States Steamship Bavataria [sic] (undated)
• Burnham slate quarry (undated)

The Printed Publication is a copy of United States Coast Survey. Memoranda Relating to the Field-Work of the Secondary Triangulation, written by Richard D. Cutts and published by the Government Printing Office in 1870. The text includes related tables. Charles Hosmer's name is printed on the front cover. A 10-page packet of manuscript documents laid into the book, contains Hosmer's descriptions of flagstaffs and signals "Between New Rochelle and Greenwich" (3 pages); tables recording several geographical positions with brief copied notes from G. Bradford (6 pages, June 1885 and undated); and a letter to Charles Hosmer from C. O. Bontelle of the C. & G. Survey (1 page, June 1, 1885). Bontelle's letter contains a small diagram showing old and new Bessel data lines, used in surveying.

The Charles J. Merz photograph album contains approximately 147 images, the majority of which show places and people around the area of Detroit, Michigan, during the late 19th and early 20th-centuries.

The album (27 x 36 cm) has maroon faux leather covers with "Photographs" stamped on the front and shows signs of considerable wear, including a damaged spine and detached front cover. While the album contains some traditional formal portraits, the majority of the photographs of people are more candid snapshots in nature. Images are presented on 9 x 12.5 cm prints with four to a page. Most photographs were taken in the Detroit-area (presumably all or mostly by Merz), with images including pictures of Belle Isle Park, elevated perspectives of city streets, boats (such as ferries, sailboats, and cargo boats) on the Detroit River, scenes from the aftermath of the Buick and Sherwood factory fire, Elmwood Cemetery, bridges, railroads, carriages, and family and friends in informal settings, including one portrait of an individual dressed in blackface. Also of interest are 32 photographs related to a militia group, with images showcasing training sessions such as rifle practice and marching drills, tongue-in-cheek portraits of militia members posing humorously in front of their tents at camp, and four views of a military parade in Washington, D.C. near the U.S. Capitol. The militia group being documented was likely the volunteer militia known as the Detroit Grays; one photograph is captioned “Detroit Gray’s Camp Sylvan Lake” while “Detroit Grays” also appears on flags present in some of the images. It may be the case that Merz was a member of the Detroit Grays. There are also a few images taken in Chicago and Colorado, including views of Michigan Avenue and the Garden of the Gods.

Several details help provide a date range for this album. One caption below a photograph of young men with bicycles simply reads “1888,” while the Buick and Sherwood factory fire (the aftermath of which is depicted in several images) took place in 1892. A flag visible in one of the militia camp photographs also reads, “Detroit Grays Organized May 7, 1895,” and a picture of the side paddle ferry Greyhound indicates that it was part of the White Star Line, which acquired the Greyhound in 1902. Finally, the caption of a view of the Belle Isle Power House states that the site represented is “where the casino is today.” Since a casino was built at that location in 1907, this would suggest that the album may have been compiled a number of years after the photos were taken.

Merz himself is identified in a photograph showing him holding a box camera and standing next to two other young men on a city street. He is identified in the caption as “Charles J. Merz Photographer,” and stands alongside two other young men identified as "Charles Rapp" and "Gus Hartman." A self-portrait of an unidentified young man and his camera taken in a mirror could also possibly be Merz, and he appears to show up in other photographs as well. He may also be pictured some of the militia photos, but due to the general lack of captions it is difficult to be certain. Two unused pages at the end of the album are covered with childish doodling, including one drawing adjacent to the inscribed name “Olive Merz”, Charles’s daughter, which would suggest that the album was once in the possession of the Merz family.

The Chicago photograph album contains pictures of buildings, park landscapes, and people in Chicago, Illinois; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Detroit, Michigan. Items include interior and exterior views of a Chicago home, portraits of small groups of individuals, views of gardens in John Ball Park (Grand Rapids, Michigan), and a photograph of a steamboat in the Detroit River.

The Chicago photograph album (14cm x 18cm) contains 24 photographic prints, each placed in a 9cm x 11.5cm window. The first item is an exterior view of a home located at 5828 Indiana Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, and the following eight items are interior views of parlors and a dining room; one shows a woman sewing. The album includes six photographs of John Ball Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with various garden scenes and a shot of two women in a small horse-drawn carriage, and one photograph of the steamer "The North Land" passing Belle Isle near Detroit, Michigan. One item features the Michigan Soldiers' Home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and another shows a woman feeding a group of birds there. The remaining six items are informal group and individual portraits taken in Washington Park (Chicago, Illinois) (2 items), Palmer Park (Detroit, Michigan) (1 item), "Our Back Yard" (Chicago, Illinois) (1 item), and unidentified outdoor locales (2 items); two men posed by a bicycle in Washington Park. The album's cover is decorated with a colored floral pattern, with a gray geometric pattern near and covering the spine.

The Chicago to Colorado photograph album contains approximately 210 photographs taken by an unidentified photographer related to a tour from Chicago, Illinois, to Colorado and back again through Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Chicago to Colorado photograph album contains approximately 210 photographs taken by an unidentified photographer related to a tour from Chicago, Illinois, to Colorado and back again through Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The album (26 x 32 cm) has black paper covers and a manuscript note inside the front cover that reads: "Tour of 1903." Chicago-related photographs include a commercial street view, the Chicago River, and Lincoln Park. The following 191 photographs were taken in various locations around Colorado, including 20 images of commercial streets, residential streets, and parks in Denver and Colorado Springs; an early motorized sightseeing bus on a Colorado Springs street; and scenic views documenting visits to the Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, and the Gunnison River.

Several photographs show the main building and a small cabin at Sprague's Ranch in Moraine Park, Colorado. The travelers, a party of two men and a woman, are shown fishing, posing beside their platform tents, and sightseeing with larger groups. Also shown is the dramatic scenery of Ouray, Colorado, with views of the mountains, the box canyon, Silver Plume mines, and street scenes which include a stagecoach and loaded burros. Following several photographs of hotels in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and a view of the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas, there are three images that show streets in Milwaukee, including the Schlitz Brewery, as well as two additional images of Chicago street scenes.

This journal contains Clarence G. Nicholson's recollections about his trip from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois, in September 1893. Nicholson described his daily activities during the journey west, in Milwaukee, and at the World's Columbian Exposition. The volume contains numerous commercial photographs, advertisements, and other items related to Nicholson's travels.

This journal (32cm x 27cm, 433 pages) contains Clarence G. Nicholson's recollections about his trip from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois, in September 1893. The narrative was written in 1894. Nicholson described his daily activities during the journey west, in Milwaukee, and at the World's Columbian Exposition. The volume contains numerous commercial photographs, advertisements, and other items related to Nicholson's travels. Nicholson's manuscript travel narrative occupies around 328 pages with ephemeral items pasted in. He wrote at length about the scenery during his railroad trip, often mentioning meals and accommodations. This first part of the volume includes watercolors, photographs, clippings, and advertisements depicting Pennsylvania scenery. While in Milwaukee, Nicholson and the other travelers visited breweries, art galleries, and other points of interest; he also wrote about the differences between the Midwest and the East Coast and about the city's artistic culture. Accompanying visual materials show Milwaukee buildings, examples of local beer bottles, and works of art. On September 23 or 24, the party split, with Nicholson and his father heading for Chicago, where they spent the next week.

Nicholson's recollections of his experiences at the World's Columbian Exposition comprise the bulk of the text, accompanied by a variety of illustrations. He describes in detail numerous state, international, and thematic buildings; exhibit halls and displays; sights along the Midway Plaisance; and the fairgrounds. He and his father also visited other areas of Chicago. Clippings, advertisements, and other ephemeral items are included throughout the volume, including numerous commercial photographs and illustrated views of the World's Columbian Exposition. Other items include exposition admission tickets, a menu, and a group of synthetic cords. Visual materials show the interiors and exteriors of large exhibit halls, state and international buildings, the Peristyle, the Ferris Wheel, and exhibits along the Midway Plaisance; a few photographs and prints show the grounds illuminated at night. The final pages of the journal contain Nicholson's thoughts upon leaving the exposition for the final time and a brief description of his return trip to Philadelphia.

The Committee on Legislation for the International Exposition of 1892 compiled meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, and other material between September 1889 and April 1890. Under the leadership of Senator Chauncey Depew, the committee worked with the New York-based Committee for the International Exposition of 1892 in an attempt to persuade the United States Congress to award an upcoming world's fair exhibition to the city of New York.

The Committee on Legislation for the International Exposition of 1892 compiled meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, and other material between September 1889 and April 1890. Under the leadership of Chauncey Depew, the committee worked with the New York-based Committee for the International Exposition of 1892 to attempt to persuade the United States Congress to award an upcoming world's fair exhibition to the city of New York.

The Committee on Legislation met periodically between September 19, 1889, and January 21, 1890, and discussed various cities' efforts to win congressional approval for the country's upcoming world's fair. At its first meeting, the group chose Senator Chauncey Depew as its chairman and millionaire William Earl Dodge Stokes as its secretary, among other officers. Throughout its existence, the committee regularly discussed the work of the larger Committee for the International Exposition of 1892, with whom they often coordinated their efforts, and reported developments from Washington, D. C., with respect to determining the fair's location. Among other actions, the committee suggested distributing pamphlets to damage Chicago's reputation and, therefore, its chances of winning the exposition (November 25, 1889, p. 35). The group also reacted to reports that the city of New York did not actually desire to host the event.

Correspondence, reports, a drafted legislative act, and a newspaper clipping are pasted into the volume. William McMurtrie Speer, journalist and secretary of the Committee for the International Exposition of 1892, frequently sent typed letters about cross-committee cooperation and recent developments. The legislative committee also received typed and manuscript letters from local supporters, such as Luigi Palma di Cesnola of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (November 19, 1889, p. 19), other related committees, and United States congressmen. Also included are reports that William Stokes composed a 14-page printed draft of a "Proposed act of Congress" that would award the fair to New York (October 4, 1889, p. 13). The newspaper clipping, from the New York Herald, urges the committee to send representatives to Washington, D. C., a tactic already employed by competing cities (December 7, 1889, p. 83). The final item is a 4-page report concerning the Committee on Legislation's financial expenditures (April 7, 1890, p. 117).

This collection contains incoming correspondence and other items related to Elsie F. Weil of Chicago, Illinois, and New York City, including many passionate letters from Weil's close friend Gertrude Emerson, who wrote about her foreign travels, life in New York City, and her deep bond with Elsie. Other friends and, to a lesser extent, family members, wrote to Elsie about their daily and social lives in New York City, Chicago, and Boston. Additional materials include two of Elsie's diaries, articles written by Elsie F. Weil and Gertrude Emerson, and ephemera.

This collection (1.5 linear feet) contains incoming correspondence and other items related to Elsie F. Weil of Chicago, Illinois, and New York City, including many letters from Weil's close friend and fellow writer Gertrude Emerson. Other friends and family members wrote to Elsie about their daily and social lives in New York City, Chicago, and Boston. Additional materials include two of Elsie's diaries, articles written by Elsie F. Weil and Gertrude Emerson, and ephemera.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of Elsie F. Weil's incoming correspondence. The first group of items consists of letters that Elsie's father Jacob, brother Leo, and mother Pauline sent to her from 1897-1907. Jacob and Leo Weil offered advice, and Pauline Weil provided family news from Chicago while Elsie lived in Lafayette, Indiana, around 1904. In 1913, Elsie received letters about her career as a writer, often mentioning specific articles. Additional professional correspondence appears throughout the collection.

Gertrude Emerson began writing to Elsie Weil in January 1914, and remained Weil's primary correspondent through the early 1920s. Her early letters pertain to her life in Winnetka, Illinois, where she taught at the Girton School. Emerson encouraged Weil to pursue a career in writing, discussed her own work, and shared news of her family. In the spring of 1914, she described a trip to New York City. During their periods of separation, Emerson expressed her desire to reunite with Weil and proposed plans for their shared future. Her letters include passionate declarations of her love for Weil and her devotion to their friendship, and she often referred to her desire to hold Weil, offering a birthday kiss in her letter postmarked April 26, 1915. She also spoke of her wish to travel around the world, though her mother prohibited transatlantic travel in 1915 on account of the growing threat from German submarines ([May 7, 1915]).

Weil and Emerson traveled together to Korea, Japan, and China in 1915 and 1916, and the collection includes a series of typed letters that Weil addressed to an unspecified group in early 1916. She described their travels between locations, shared observations about local cultures, and reported on their daily activities. A newspaper article about their trip, printed in Japanese, is filed in with the correspondence (December 15, 1915, 3 copies). Weil later received letters and postcards from acquaintances in Asia, particularly in late 1916. Gino Merchiorri, a soldier, wrote two letters to Weil about his experiences in the United States Army during World War I.

Gertrude Emerson moved to New York City in late 1916 after being hired by Asia magazine, and often wrote to Weil, who remained in Chicago, about her life there. She commented on her social life and her friends, who included the writer Ernestine Evans and the naturalist William Beebe. In 1919, she traveled to British Guiana (present-day Guyana), stopping shortly, mid-voyage in the Virgin Islands and Barbados. Before her arrival in South America, she described her sea travel and the Caribbean cities and islands she visited. While in Guyana, Emerson described the scenery and everyday life, particularly with regard to Indian "coolie" workers and their culture. After her return to New York City that fall, she discussed her social life, Elsie's articles for Asia, and their shared New York apartment.

Emerson wrote another series of travel letters while visiting Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and India in 1920 and Mexico in 1924. While in India, she met with Mohandas Gandhi and commented on Indian politics. Though she consistently voiced her love for Weil throughout her correspondence, other topics came to dominate her correspondence. By the mid-1920s, Emerson had fallen in love with a man named Kim, whom she considered marrying. Some of her later letters, including several undated items, are written on long sheets of thin, illustrated paper. Other illustrated items include a brief typed essay with a watercolor depiction of a Flemish portrait (enclosed with her letter of February 9, 1914) and a sketch of the view outside of her window in Winnetka (undated).

Elsie Weil received smaller groups of letters from other friends from the mid-1910s to mid-1920s, including Rose Wilder Lane, who described her life in Mansfield, Missouri, in the late summer and early fall of 1919. She shared her fondness for the scenery of the Ozarks, discussed her career as a writer, and told anecdotes about her experiences. She later wrote about travels in Europe and her life in Paris, France, where she briefly described international relations between the Allied powers just after World War I. She also commented on female involvement in political issues. Blix Leonard of Boston, Massachusetts, and Elmer Stanley Hader of New York City frequently illustrated their letters; some of their sketches and drawings are humorous and cartoonish. Weil also corresponded with Kenneth Durant and Ernestine Evans. Some of Weil's New York correspondents expressed their support for the Bolshevik Revolution in 1919.

The collection includes 3 diaries. The first, which has the title "My Trip Abroad" and "Elsie F. Weil" stamped in gold on its front cover, was intended for use during a trip abroad; Weil used it only to record the name of her ship, the SS Manchuria, and the date of her departure, September 19, 1922. The other two diaries contain brief entries respecting Weil's daily activities for 1920 and 1925, with some significant gaps between entries. These diaries often refer to Weil's social acquaintances, including Gertrude Emerson, "Rose," and others.

The collection's 6 photographic prints include 3 views of Gertrude Emerson on horseback and 1 of Emerson posing outdoors. The other pictures show an unidentified man posing outdoors in a suit and a Buddha statue in a Tokyo temple.

Additional items include magazine and newspaper articles by Gertrude Emerson, Elsie F. Weil, and Ernestine Evans, largely concerning travel to Asia; instructions related to creating flower arrangements; and unused bookplates belonging to Elsie F. Weil, bearing an Asian-style illustration of boats on water. Other visual materials include picture postcards from East Asian countries and a series of postcards from Wisconsin. The final items are a Christmas card and an advertisement once inserted in a newspaper.

This collection is made up of letters written and received by Reverend Evarts Kent and members of his family throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kent and his family corresponded with friends and family members in several states, including Vermont, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. Most letters concern family news, education, religion, travel, family relationships, and similar personal subjects. The collection also includes printed invitations, programs, and 23 photographs.

This collection is made up of letters written and received by Reverend Evarts Kent and members of his family throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kent and his family corresponded with friends and family members in several states, including Vermont, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. Most letters concern family news, education, religion, travel, family relationships, and similar personal subjects. The collection also includes 2 documents and 23 photographs; printed invitations and programs are interspersed among the letters.

The Correspondence series comprises most of the collection, and contains approximately 4 linear feet of letters, which are primarily the incoming personal correspondence of Evarts Kent, his wife, and their children. The earliest items are Civil War-era letters between unidentified family members. The bulk of the collection begins around 1867, when Evarts Kent began to receive letters from his family and friends, who provided local news from Ripton, Vermont, and often commented on his recent marriage to Helen Beckwith. As Kent's father, Cephas, was a Congregational minister, the Kent family frequently discussed religious topics. In the early and mid-1880s, Michael E. Strieby and Joseph E. Roy of the American Missionary Association also corresponded with Kent.

After the mid-1870s, the correspondence is primarily between Evarts and Helen Kent and their children, Ernest, Grace, and Willys, who exchanged letters with their parents and each other from their childhood into their early adult lives. Ernest discussed his educational experiences, including his time at Iowa College,his experiences in preparatory school and as a young adult and at Iowa College, and occasionally composed letters to his father in Latin. The Kent siblings sometimes included sketches or more refined drawings within their letters. Their letters reveal details about their relationships with each other, their personal lives, and their religious beliefs. Later items from the World War I era often concern Willys's wife, who signed herself "Roxi," and the couple's experiences while spending their summers at Camp Arcadia in Belgrade, Maine. A relative named "Jupe" also wrote Evarts Kent an extensive series of letters throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including a group of 20th-century letters about travel in the Black Mountains of North Carolina.

The Documents series is made up of a 2-page document containing several sets of church minutes compiled in Benson, Vermont, between March 1790 and September 1792, and a partially printed receipt for a payment made to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in 1870.

The Photographs series holds 23 photographs, primarily snapshots, of unidentified individuals. Though most are portraits, 2 depict a woman riding a bicycle and one is a self portrait of a woman, "taken by herself in front of a looking glass." The photographs include one cyanotype.

Warren F. Perkins, Jr. ("Frank") wrote 36 letters to his parents in Providence, Rhode Island, while traveling and working in Canada, the Midwest, and New York from 1904-1906. He commented on his life and work in Chicago; Saint Louis; Topeka; and Kokomo, Indiana, and also discussed his travels to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and his work on a houseboat in and around the state of New York.

Warren F. Perkins, Jr. ("Frank") wrote 36 letters and postcards to his parents in Providence, Rhode Island, while traveling and working in Canada, the Midwest, and New York from February 21, 1904-July 15, 1906. In his first letter, Perkins discussed his attempts to find work in Chicago and the strike-related violence he witnessed there (February 21, 1904). In August and September 1904, he traveled to Toronto and Niagara Falls before settling in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he first stayed at "Camp Lewis," a tent city. While living in Saint Louis, Perkins and his companions occasionally visited the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and traveled to the surrounding area. He complained about inflated prices resulting from the exposition, described his accommodations, and discussed his series of blue-collar jobs. His letter of October 16, 1904, contains a sketch of his boarding house.

In November 1904, Perkins left for Topeka, Kansas, where he considered further travel to Omaha, Nebraska (November 28, 1904). By December, he had returned to Chicago, where he again reported on labor disputes, striking workers, and a contentious mayoral election in early 1905. In May 1905, Perkins wrote to his family from Kokomo, Indiana; he drew a map of Kokomo in his letter of May 30, 1905. A final group of 7 letters pertains to his time working on a houseboat in upstate New York and around New York City in June and July 1906. He described the boat and commented on his experiences on the Erie Canal, on the Hudson River, and in New York City. Perkins reached Connecticut by the time he wrote his final letter on July 15, 1906.

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. At least one volume was kept by an African American man, Lewis G. Mosebay. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

This collection is made up of incoming letters to Governeur J. Tompkins of Salt Point and Clinton, New York, and to his wife, Elizabeth Doty Tompkins, from friends and family members in Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee.

This collection is made up of approximately 190 incoming letters to Governeur J. Tompkins of Salt Point and Clinton, New York, and to his wife, Elizabeth Doty Tompkins, from friends and family members in Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Governeur Tompkins corresponded with male and female family and friends throughout the Midwest. George H. Gillins, an acquaintance, wrote around 20 letters from Prophetstown, Lombard, and Oak Park, Illinois, from 1874-1876. He commented on his work digging wells, political issues and the election of 1874, and Illinois agriculture. In his letter of April 4, 1875, he mentioned his attendance at a show featuring African-American performers. Tompkins received additional letters from his cousin, Ida Ostrom, who provided news from Paxton, Illinois, and Chicago, Illinois, where she lived around 1875.

Much of Tompkins's incoming correspondence consists of letters from two female pen-pals, Minnie Ramsay of Home, Tennessee, and Flora Belle Pearsall of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ramsay first wrote in response to his request for a female correspondent (February 1875) and she later wrote with a flirtatious tone. Her letter of August 2, 1875, contains a secondhand account of the death of President Andrew Johnson. Both Ramsay and Pearsall discussed courtship, education, temperance, their social lives, and differences between the North and South. Pearsall mentioned the death of General George Custer in her letter of July 12, 1876, and frequently referred to religious topics and conversions. Both Ramsay and Pearsall ceased to write in 1880, shortly after Governeur Tompkins married Elizabeth W. Doty.

After 1880, Governeur Tompkins received letters from various members of the Doty family, including H. A. Doty, one of Elizabeth's parents. Most of the Dotys' correspondence pertains to family news from Kansas and Missouri; one letter includes a description of a lynching (April 4 ,1882).

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, legal documents, financial records, and other items related to multiple generations of the Hasbrouck family of Ogdensburg, New York. The materials concern land ownership, politics and historical events, family news, genealogy, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of approximately 3.5 linear feet of correspondence and documents, 21 diaries and commonplace books, 4 school-related items, around 40 printed and ephemeral items, and genealogical materials related to multiple generations of the Hasbrouck family of Ogdensburg, New York, between 1784 and 1940.

The correspondence and documents reflect the activities of many Hasbrouck family members, with an emphasis on Louis Hasbrouck, Sr., Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., and Levi Hasbrouck. The earliest items, written from 1802 to the mid-1830s, center around Louis Hasbrouck, Sr., and his wife Catharine, who wrote to one another and who received letters from their siblings and other family members. Louis's correspondents often provided news of Guilford, New York, and sometimes commented on political issues, particularly during the War of 1812. The Hasbroucks' correspondents included members of the Graham and Lasher families. Many of Catharine's letters to her husband concern her visits to and life in "New Hurley."

Approximately 1.5 linear feet of the elder Louis Hasbrouck's incoming and outgoing personal and business letters, financial and legal documents, surveying records, maps, and other items, pertain largely to land ownership in New York. Many of Hasbrouck's correspondents wrote from Albany, Schenectady, and New York City. A significant number of items concern the finances and land holdings of Stephen Van Rensselaer. Some correspondents discussed the younger Louis Hasbrouck's involvement in the New York Militia in the early 1840s.

Much of the correspondence dated from the mid-1830s to the 1850s is made up of personal letters between Louis and Catharine's children, largely consisting of letters to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. The Hasbrouck siblings shared news of Ogdensburg while their brother studied at Union College in Schenectady, New York, in the mid-1830s.

The later correspondence, written from the 1850s to 1870s, is comprised primarily of letters addressed to Levi Hasbrouck of New Paltz, New York; Levi Hasbrouck, his grandson; and Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. The elder Levi wrote to his Ogdensburg relations about life in New Paltz, often providing news of family members and offering advice to his grandson. The younger Levi Hasbrouck corresponded with his siblings, particularly his half-brother Philip, who lived in Chicago, Illinois. Approximately 150 letters, invoices, and receipts of Levi Hasbrouck relate primarily to his purchases and other financial transactions between 1870 and 1882.

Three items from the 20th century include 2 letters that Thomas C. [Nakatsu] wrote to "Mr. Miller," a former traveling companion, about life in Japan. His letter of August 14, 1902, regards his life in a Buddhist temple and the relative absence of Christians in the country. His letter of January 1, 1926, contains reminiscences about the men's friendship. The final item is a letter that "Helen" received from a friend visiting England and France; the letter encloses several newspaper clippings about Bournemouth, England (March 15, 1928).

Six account books include an unsigned day book (October 9, 1812-May 25, 1813) and a day book belonging to L. Hasbrouck and L. Hasbrouck, Jr. (1867-1877); personal account books belonging to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. (1833-1834, 1834, and 1868-1871); and a rent book belonging to E. B. Hasbrouck (1843-1853). Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., kept a memorandum book around 1840; the original pages have been torn out of the volume and the remaining notes are dated 1929-1939. Two items concern land: a field book concerning surveys of Canton Township, New York (undated), and a "Land Book" that belonged to Louis Hasbrouck, Jr. Other materials are record books for the La Madre Company, which was involved in the ownership and operation of mines in the late 19th century, and the St. Agnes Society, which was affiliated with an Ogdensburg church (1885-1912).

Additional groups of items include military records for Louis Hasbrouck's service in the New York Militia from the 1830s to 1850s; later copies of 18th and 19th century land surveys done in De Peyster, New York, and elsewhere; legal documents of an action between members of the Hasbrouck family and Asa Day in the mid-19th century; wills dated in the mid-1920s; postcards addressed to Louis Hasbrouck from the mid-1870s to the late 1890s; and indentures and other documents regarding the inheritance and later ownership of property belonging to Louis Hasbrouck, Sr.

• Three diaries by E. B. Hasbrouck, January 1875-January 1889 (with some gaps), and a record of sermons preached by "Mr. Carter" from April 5, 1822-April 7, 1826.
• Two unsigned diaries, concentrating on the authors' religious views and activities (August 2, 1835-February 4, 1855, and January 10, 1836-July 17, 1836).
• An unsigned diary ending with a note about the death of Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., made by one of his sons (May 13, 1855-April 1880)
• Jane Hasbrouck diary, October 1852-June 1897, with occasional remarks on the Civil War and genealogical notes.
• Eleven diaries of Levi Hasbrouck, containing daily entries between July 1, 1873, and May 27, 1882. Hasbrouck wrote primarily about his social activities, everyday occurrences, his father and his siblings, his travels, and his involvement in business activities. He very briefly discussed the presidential elections of 1876 and 1880, and recounted the final illness and death of his father in April 1880.
• Two commonplace books of Ellen Mary Hasbrouck (1827-1863) and Laura M. Hasbrouck (1875).

• One volume concerning basic arithmetic belonged to Elizabeth Bevier Hasbrouck around the early 19th century.
• One volume containing penmanship exercises and similar writings from young students (1805).
• One schoolbook containing notes and essays about classical history and literature composed or copied by Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., while he studied at Union College in 1834.
• One list of school assignments recorded by Louis Hasbrouck, Jr., 1831-1834.

Printed and ephemeral items (approximately 40 items, not counting duplicates) include published materials such as newspaper articles, speeches, newsletters, an almanac, a visitors' guide to Boston, Massachusetts, and many advertisements and notices. Additional items include a blank subscription form for The Little Corporal and a related mock commission for Bevier Hasbrouck, printed illustrations of several types of canoes, a printed map of St. Lawrence County, New York, and several sheets of unused stationery featuring an illustration of a storefront. Thirty-five newspapers include copies of and fragments from American Traveller, Boy's Journal, Morning Glory, the Philadelphia Saturday News, and other papers printed in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1850s.

The Hasbrouck family genealogical materials (approximately 15 items, not counting duplicates) include obituary notices, newspaper clippings, and manuscript notes. A bound volume contains extensive notes copied from a family record originally written by Abraham Hasbrouck, father of Joseph Hasbrouck and grandfather of Louis Hasbrouck, Sr.

This collection is comprised of a scrapbook, a diary, and an autograph album related to the family of Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar Brown. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and ephemera regarding Horace W. Henshaw of Chicago, Illinois, and his immediate family and descendants. The diary and autograph album belonged to Elizabeth H. G. Brown, his granddaughter.

This collection is comprised of a scrapbook, a diary, and an autograph album related to the family of Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar Brown. Many items relate to Brown's grandfather, Horace W. Henshaw of Chicago, Illinois; to his parents, Horace and Martha Montgomery Henshaw; and to his daughter, Marguerite Henshaw Gaspar.

The Diary is a partially completed five-year line-a-day volume kept by Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar from 1930-1934. Her brief diary entries largely concern her education, social life, and other daily activities.

The Autograph Album belonged to Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar. The entries are dated largely in 1925 and they include contributions from teachers at the Lake View Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Most writers included brief personal messages to "Betty," including one entry in French.

The Scrapbook first belonged to Horace W. Henshaw in the 1880s. The majority of its contents are newspaper clippings, though ephemeral items such as programs, a Christmas cards, advertising cards, stamps, and ticket stubs are also present. The programs concern events held in England around 1880-1881. A group of ephemeral items, several clippings, and some visual materials relate to steamship travel and the St. Clair Tunnel Company. Also included are a copy of Horace W. Henshaw's will, a brief biography of Henshaw, and condolence letters and telegrams regarding his death in 1925. The two card photographs are portraits of Horace W. and Lily Henshaw. Other visual materials include a clipping with an image of a locomotive, clippings with printed drawings of animals, and a comic strip set on a golf course.

The scrapbook's newspaper clippings date from the early 1880s to 1958. Many are obituary notices, birth announcements, and similar articles regarding members of the Henshaw, Gaspar, and Brown families. Several items relate to Horace W. Henshaw's business career in Chicago, Illinois, and to the American Farm Products Company. A copy of the W. F. Roos Company's Daily Trade Bulletin is laid into the volume (July 22, 1905). Among the items that relate to the Civil War are a reprint of the Gettysburg Address and a facsimile reproduction of a letter from General Ulysses S. Grant to General Simon Bolivar Buckner (original dated February 16, 1862).

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, documents, ephemera, and other items related to Hilon A. Parker and other members of the Parker family. The papers reflect Hilon A. Parker's life in Plessis, New York; his service in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; and his postwar work as a railroad engineer and administrator.

This collection (3 linear feet) is made up of correspondence, diaries, documents, ephemera, and other items related to Hilon A. Parker and other members of the Parker family. Materials pertain to Hilon A. Parker's life in Plessis, New York; his service in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; and his postwar work as a railroad engineer and administrator.

The correspondence (464 items) consists mainly of personal letters written and received by Hilon A. Parker between the 1860s and early 1910s. During the Civil War, Hilon A. Parker and his brother Harvey exchanged letters and wrote to their parents about service in the Union Army. Hilon served in the 10th New York Artillery Regiment. Thirza Parker, Hilon and Harvey's sister, provided news from Plessis, New York, while her brothers were away. Much of the correspondence from the late 1860s consists of letters between Hilon A. Parker and Mary Cunningham, his future wife. Hilon described the scenery and his work for railroad companies in Iowa, and Mary wrote about her life in Copenhagen, New York. After their marriage, most of the correspondence is comprised of incoming letters to Hilon A. Parker from personal and professional acquaintances. Parker received many condolence letters following Mary's death in early 1892. Later items include content related to Native American schools and to Parker's career in the railroad industry. A few late items sent to Hilon's daughter Florence in 1911 and 1912 concern his estate.

A group of 36 pencil and colored drawings and 32 letters relate to students at the Rainy Mountain Boarding School on the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation in western Oklahoma. Kiowa schoolchildren gave the drawings as thank you notes to Hilon Parker, general manager of the Rock Island Railway, for a train ride he arranged for them in 1899. The children's ledger drawings show teepees, traditional Native American costume, and animals such as horses and buffalo. The children sent 13 letters to Hilon A. Parker on May 5, 1899. The Kiowa correspondence and drawings are accompanied by a group of 19 letters by grade school children in Chicago, Illinois, to Florence Parker Luckenbill, Hilon A. Parker's daughter, around 1925. The Chicago children commented on the Kiowa drawings and letters.

The Hilon A. Parker diaries (31 items) form a continuous run from 1860 to 1911, with the exception of the years 1896 and 1903. His brief daily entries concern life in Plessis, New York, in the early 1860s; service in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; and work for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company. Lucinda Parker, Hilon's mother, kept 6 diaries covering the period from 1858-1865, excepting 1862. She commented on her daily activities and social life in Plessis, New York.

Hilon A. Parker made entries in a commonplace book from February 1863-August 1863 and in April 1866. The first section of the volume contains poems and brief essays composed at Fort Meigs in Washington, D.C. Many of the entries refer to military life and to the war. The later pages of the volume include diagrams of cannons, mathematics and physics notes, and definitions of military terms. Items glued into this section of the volume include a small paper flag and many clipped autographs.

The collection's military documents (39 items) include orders, passes, commissions, and other documents related to Hilon A. Parker's service in the 10th New York Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; one item pertains to his pension. Undated materials include a casualty list and a blank voucher form.

Nine account books belonging to Hilon's father Alpheus Parker span the years from 1853-1878. Some of the volumes pertain to Parker's accounts with specific banks. Hilon Parker's business papers contain 35 accounts, receipts, and other items related to his personal finances and to his work for the railroad industry; one item concerns his voter registration (October 19, 1888). Most of the later material, including contracts and other agreements, regard business agreements between railroad companies. Some of the accounts are written on stationery of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company.

Mary Cunningham's Hungerford Collegiate Institute papers (40 items) include essays, poetry, report cards, and newspaper clippings related to Cunningham's studies at the institute in the mid-1860s. The papers include a manuscript magazine called The Nonpareil, edited by Mary Cunningham (Vol. 5, No. 8: November 18, 1863).

Approximately 80 speeches, addresses, and essays written by Hilon A. Parker pertain to the Civil War, the Republican Party, and Illinois politics. Parker also composed speeches and essays about the life of Abraham Lincoln and about Native Americans.

The Hilon A. Parker family papers include 8 photographs: an ambrotype image of several members of the Parker family posing outside of the Parker & Fairman storefront in Plessis, New York, and portraits of Derrinda Parker Tanner (tintype), Isaac L. Hitchcock (daguerreotype), Lucinda and Thirza Parker (daguerreotype), two unidentified women (ambrotypes), Hilon A. and Harvey M. Parker in military uniform (card photograph), and Hilon A. Parker as a grown man (photographic print).

A scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other items related to the life of Hilon A. Parker. Many articles concern Civil War veterans' groups (the Englewood Union Veteran Club and the Grand Army of the Republic) and other topics related to the war, such as an article regarding a reunion of the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, the fate of John Brown's wife and sons, memorial poems, and a map of entrenchments around Petersburg, Virginia. Other groups of clippings concern Illinois politics, liquor laws, the railroad industry, and the life of Hilon A. Parker.

The papers include newspaper clippings (21 items), biographical notes and writings (18 items), a hand-sewn US flag made by Thirza Parker for Hilon Parker while he served in the Civil War, a silhouette made in Denver, Colorado, in 1903, and other items.

This 88-page journal recounts Healy's travels from his home in Middlebury, New York, to northeastern Illinois between May 30 and July 13, 1838. The journal contains notes on his steamship voyages on the Great Lakes, descriptions of his overland travels and experiences in Illinois, and prayers and other religious reflections. This diary is a handwritten copy made by Horace Healy in 1841.

This 88-page journal recounts Healy's travels from his home in Middlebury, New York, to northeastern Illinois between May 30 and July 13, 1838. This diary is a handwritten copy made by Horace Healy in 1841.

Healy departed from Middlebury on May 30, 1838, with a friend, Hosea Wilson, and reached Buffalo the following day, where the men boarded the steamer Anthony Wayne, bound for Chicago via the Great Lakes. Healy kept a brief daily record of distances he traveled and the steamer's stops, until his arrival at Chicago on June 9. There, he took leave of Wilson. Along the way, Healy visited Fort Mackinac, Michigan, and described some of his fellow passengers. Upon his arrival in Illinois, he set out to visit acquaintances living southeast of Chicago, and then traveled westward and northward throughout the area for the rest of the month. A devout man, he recorded his religious activities, his attendance at church services, prayers, and religious thoughts.

The journal also contains brief descriptions of a few settlements, such as Naperville and Rockford, and of life on the Illinois prairie. One man at a camp meeting along the DuPage River mentioned his missionary work with local Native Americans (June 24, p. 38). On June 25, Healy left for home, though he remained in Chicago for several days awaiting a steamer; during this time, he visited Fort Dearborn and other sights. He boarded the Anthony Wayne on June 28, and spent a few days in early July near Detroit, Michigan, where he visited his brother Freeborn's grave in Macomb County (July 6, pp. 66-67). On July 10, he took the Clinton to Buffalo, where he arrived on July 12, his daughter's 14th birthday. The entry for July 12 also contains Healy's lamentation on the sinking of the steamboat George Washington on Lake Erie less than a month before (pp. 81-82). Healy arrived home in Middlebury on July 13, 1838.

Horace Healy transcribed this copy of his journal on October 21, 1841.

This photograph album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of unidentified individuals taken primarily in Ionia and Clinton Counties, Michigan, in the mid- to late 19th century.

This photograph album (15cm x 12cm) contains 27 carte-de-visite and 15 tintype portraits of unidentified individuals taken in the mid- to late 19th century. Only one subject, Mr. J. C. Sessions, is identified. The studio portraits mostly show adult men and women of various ages, sometimes photographed in couples and, on two occasions, with children. A few portraits of individual children are included, including two of a young boy who was also photographed at a later date. The album has a green cover with a raised geometric design; a metal clasp that was once affixed to the volume is no longer extant.

The Jacob Butler Varnum papers contain letters and documents related to Varnum's career as a factor at United States Indian trading posts in Sandusky, Ohio, and Fort Dearborn, Chicago; as a captain in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry during the War of 1812; and as a Washington D.C. merchant after he left government service. Included are letters and instructions from government officials concerning trade with Indians, as well as letters from Varnum to his father, Senator Joseph B. Varnum, concerning his activities as factor.

The Jacob Butler Varnum papers (79 items) contain letters and documents related to Varnum's career as a factor at United States Indian trading posts in Sandusky, Michilimackinac, and Fort Dearborn, Chicago; as a captain in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry during the War of 1812; and as a Washington D.C. merchant after he left government service. The collection is comprised of 59 letters, 1 diary, 13 documents and financial records, and 5 miscellaneous items. Included are letters and instructions from various government officials concerning trade with Indians in Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, as well as five letters from Varnum to his father Senator Joseph B. Varnum (ca.1751-1821) concerning his activities as factor.

The Correspondence series (60 items) comprises the bulk of the collection. Forty-nine items document Varnum's governmental career spanning 1811 to 1826, during his service as Indian trade factor in Sandusky, Michilimackinac, and Chicago; and as captain of the 40th Massachusetts Infantry during the War of 1812. Varnum received instructions from various Indian agents and government officials concerning the regulation of trade with the Munsee, Ojibwe (Chippewa), Ottawa, Sioux, and Wyandot Indians, among others. Many letters came from the United States Office of Indian Trade at Georgetown, including four from Indian Officer John Mason (1812 and 1815), and 21 letters from Superintendent of Indian Trade Thomas Loraine McKenney (1816-1822). These contain discussions of trade operations, types of merchandise, questions arising about the sale of goods, and instructions for the reporting of financial accounts. Also of note are five letters from Varnum to his father, Joseph Bradley Varnum (1750-1821), in which he described his experiences at Sandusky and at Michilimackinac, as well as with the business of the trading house at Chicago (December 3, 1811; January 14, 1812; May 21, 1816; November 3, 1817; March 1, 1818).

• August 8, 1811: Joseph Bradley Varnum to John Mason, accepting the appointment of his son as agent of the United States Indian trading house at Sandusky, Ohio
• March 1, 1818: Varnum to his father predicting the outbreak of a great war with the Indians "from the Simenoles to the Sioux"
• February 8, 1820: Thomas L. McKenney letter to Jacob B. Varnum, giving instructions about the handling of money given to Varnum by Government Indian agents

Most of the 1823-1826 material concerns government reimbursements for military expenses at Fort Dearborn. The collection contains 11 letters documenting Varnum's post-governmental career as a merchant in Washington D.C. and Petersburg, Virginia (1826-1860).

• February 1827-August 1832: Five items regarding Varnum and John Biddle concerning mutual business interests in Detroit
• December 17, 1833: John H. Kinzie to Varnum concerning Chicago lands owned by Kinzie, a fur trader

The Diary series (1 item) contains a 26-page notebook with Varnum's description of his trip from Chicago to Dracut, Massachusetts, by way of Detroit and Buffalo (August 17-October 22, 1822), and from Detroit through New York and Philadelphia, to Washington D.C. (May 28-June 22, 1823). Varnum reported on his manner of travel (horse, ship, steamboat) and his travel route, describing stops at many of the major towns along the Erie Canal. He commented on the towns that he passed through including Rochester, New York, which had grown considerably since the opening of the Erie Canal (page 6). He also noted prices for room and board. The final five pages contain financial accounts for Varnum's military expenses incurred from 1813 to 1815.

The Documents and Financial Records series (13 items) contains material documenting Varnum's finances and his service in the War of 1812.

• June 8, 1813: Affidavits (and a fragment of the same item) documenting the capture of Joseph B. Varnum's trunks, taken by the British as they were being transported from Michilimackinac to Detroit
• 1814: Six military district orders related to promotions, responsibilities, and discipline in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry, in which Varnum was a captain under Acting Adjutant General George P. Peters
• August 22, 1815: Copy of a bond oath signed by Varnum as factor for Indian trade at Chicago, and a copy of his father, Jacob Butler Varnum's oath of office
• 1816-1827: Four financial records of debts and receipts for goods purchased by Varnum
• Undated [1808]: Deposition of Richard Smyth regarding the sale of a lot in Detroit owned by Varnum's father-in-law John Dodemead

The Miscellaneous series (5 items) contains 3 envelope covers, one of which includes a recipe for a "Lazy Daisy" cake (c.1930). Also present are a photograph of a man and two women outside of a tent next to a car (c.1930), and a typed 13-page biography of Joseph Bradley Varnum, undated and unattributed.