Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Grand Rapids, Michigan, businessman, and participant in the Home Front, a reform group within the Republican Party of Grand Rapids. Reminiscences and biographical material; Home Front files, including correspondence, and newsletters; and topical files relating to other political and civic activities.

Stanton Todd's papers document the political activities of a Grand Rapids, Michigan businessman who was involved in reform movements, notably the "Republican Home Front," within the city's Republican Party. The Todd papers have been divided into three series: Biographical/Family Materials, the Home Front (Republican Party), and Topical Files.

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.

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.

The Thomas M. Spaulding collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence and other materials; Biographical and Personal; Organizational Affiliations; Political Materials; Topical Files; Writings; Stephen Tucker Spaulding Materials; and Photographs. The correspondence is of interest for its mention of current affairs, national politics, and the Cosmos Club of Washington, D.C. Of special interest are two volumes of diaries, covering the period of 1941-1944, with detailed comments on the conduct of World War II as viewed from Washington, D.C.

Soldier from St. Johns, Michigan who served in Co. A, Twenty-third Michigan Infantry during the Civil War, later Regent of University of Michigan, teacher, lawyer, Republican member of Congress from Michigan, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Correspondence, letterpress books; scrapbooks; genealogy, speeches, memoirs, and miscellaneous items; also scattered papers of his wife's family (Mary Cecilia Swegles Spaulding).

The Oliver Lyman Spaulding papers consists of correspondence, letterpress books, scrapbooks, genealogy, speeches, memoirs, and miscellaneous items; also scattered papers of his wife's family (Mary Cecilia Swegles Spaulding). The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Letterpress books, scrapbooks, diaries, etc.; Swegles Family papers; Photographs; and Masonic artifacts. Portions of the collection covering the years, 1861-1865, have been microfilmed and are available for inter-library loan.

Three diaries (1862-1865) tell of the everyday routine of army life, military operations in Kentucky, and comment on the weather, on the freeing of the slaves, and on other officers. Spaulding's "Military Memoirs" give a complete account of his army activities from the organization of his regiment through the Kentucky and Tennessee campaigns to his discharge. A testimonial (June 22, 1865) from officers of the 2nd Brigade, written at Salisbury, N.C., orders, official correspondence, and miscellanea regarding Morgan's Raid are also included. Also included in the collection are three letters from civilians in Charleston, S.C., describing the attack on Fort Sumter and other events of the beginning of the war. Two letters (Mar. 22 and Apr. 9, 1861) are from W. T. Adams, and the other (Oct. 24, 1861) is from Richard D. Tuttle.

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.

Family of Brackley Shaw of Adrian, Michigan, Republican state representative from Lenawee County, Michigan, 1869-1870, later state senator, 1881-1884. The collection consists of personal correspondence of Shaw, his son Horatio W., and his brother Horatio W. Shaw.

The Shaw family collection consists of letters to and from several members of the Shaw family of Lenawee County during the period 1840-1938, with the bulk falling in the years roughly 1860-1890. Family members represented include Horatio Shaw (1822-1910), a Presbyterian missionary and clergyman; his brother, Brackley Shaw (b. 1818), member of the Michigan Legislature (1869-70; 1881-84); and Brackley's son, Horatio W. Shaw (1847-1918), Michigan artist. The letters have been described by chronological time period.

1845-1848: Letters from Horatio Shaw to Brackley Shaw

1850-1859: Largely family correspondence, including some letters home (1855, 1857) from Reverend and Mrs. Horatio Shaw from their missionary station in Allahabad, India.

1860-1865: Correspondence includes a few items pertaining to the Civil War, most of which does not relate to Michigan.

1866-1870: A great deal of political correspondence is included in these years, particularly during 1869, when Brackley Shaw served as a Republican member of the state House of Representatives from Lenawee County. There are letters from Shaw to his wife describing events in Lansing, and correspondence with various persons on such subjects as railroads, prisons and other state institutions, and dentistry regulation. There is also a letter of H. E. Baker (Detroit Advertiser and Tribune) to Brackley Shaw, dated December 25, 1668, with comments on the character of Senator Zachariah Chandler.

1871-1879: Mostly family correspondence, including letters written from White Cloud, Kansas, with descriptions of conditions there in the late 1860's and early 1870's.

1880-1890: Considerable political correspondence during Brackley Shaw's two terms as Republican member of the state senate (1880-1884). Topics covered include: homeopathic medicines, temperance and prohibition, Republican Party politics, prisons and reformatories, protection for corporate minority stockholders, and a great deal of correspondence pertaining to the election of a United States Senator in the spring of 1983. There is a large collection of letters from Shaw to his wife describing his senatorial activities. Also included are letters, 1881, 1383, 1884, from various Philadelphia artists to Horatio Shaw, the painter, and letters, 1881-92, from H. Shaw (signed "Pat") to his wife Susie. Some letters contain references to well-known American painters of the time, including comments on Shaw's style and abilities as an artist

1891-1936: family correspondence.

Hillsdale, Michigan physician, regent of the University of Michigan. Correspondence, notes, reports, addresses, and other papers relating to board of regents activities and state medical issues.

The Sawyer papers contain a mixture of papers relating to his political and regental activities, and to his medical practice and association with professional medical groups. The collection has been arranged into three series: Correspondence and other papers (arranged chronologically); University of Michigan Board of Regents; and Addresses and Miscellaneous. Sawyer's regent's papers are significant for information on those individuals who were considered for the presidency of the University of Michigan in 1909, 1920, 1925, and 1930. As a heavily involved regent, Sawyer maintained communications with his fellow regents, with university presidents and other administrators. These letters and other documents will be found throughout the Correspondence series. These individuals include James B. Angell, Harry B. Hutchins, Marion L. Burton, Clarence C. Little, and Alexander Ruthven.

This collection is comprised of business accounts, letterbooks, and correspondence relating to Republican politics, particularly election campaigns of 1912 and 1936, and enforcement of the Prohibition Amendment; and other papers concerning the career of Frank Knox and the coming of World War II. Correspondents include: Frank Knox (correspondence throughout), and Earl C. Michener, Mar. 23, 1936, Oct. 4 and Nov. 15, 1941; and photographs.

The photographs also include a black and white group photo of the members of the Washtenaw County Bar Association and of the Washtenaw County Courthouse staff.

Writer, head of advertising agency, long-time executive director of the Mackinac Bridge Authority; correspondence, files relating to political advertising work in the 1930s, manuscripts of short stories and other writings, subject files relating to interests and activities.

The Lawrence A. Rubin papers document phases in the life of this author and public servant. A small collection of papers relating to his public relations work for Democratic candidates for governor in 1936 and 1940 (Frank Murphy and Murray D. Van Wagoner) was received in 1969. Additional papers came from David Rubin following his father's passing in 2010. Further additions are expected.

The collection is generally arranged chronologically with some periods in Rubin's career being more fully documented than others. There are some files relating to his public relations work for the Michigan State Highway Department prior to his World War II service. There is substantially less for his activities with the Mackinac Bridge Authority. Of importance here are copies of some of the financial instruments detailing the funding of the Bridge. Throughout his life Rubin was a writer of short stories and of journal articles about the building of the Bridge, his wartime experiences, and his affection for Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Many of these stories were written under the pseudonym of Massie Davis. These manuscripts and drafts are important because they show that Rubin always considered writing to be a part of his life.