Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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.

Grand Rapids, Michigan businessman and Republican politician. Correspondence, business records, speeches, and other papers relating to state politics, charitable and civic interests, banking issues, the Grand Rapids Varnish Corporation, the Michigan Trust Company of Grand Rapids, and the Ypsilanti-Reed Furniture Company of Ionia, Michigan; also materials on Albion College, the Methodist Church, the Ionia Free Fair, and Republican Party politics, especially the campaign of Arthur H, Vandenberg for the presidency in 1940.

The collection documents the business, civic, and political interests of Howard C. Lawrence. The series in the collection are: Correspondence; Speeches and speech material; Financial; Business Interests; Charitable and Civic Interests; Clippings; Miscellaneous; Photographs; and Notebooks.

Michigan State Police officer, 1923-1941, Michigan Civil Defense Director during World War II, State Police Commissioner, 1947-1951, Republican candidate for governor, 1954, served on Michigan Liquor Commissioner and as Detroit Recorders Court judge. Papers include extensive documentation of his service as Director of Civil Defense and State Police Commissioner and his political activities.

The Donald S. Leonard collection is a valuable resource to researchers studying topics of law enforcement and civil defense and Michigan state politics and government. The Donald S. Leonard collection has been arranged into seven series: Personal and Correspondence, 1925-1966; Civil Defense; World War II Era, 1941-1946; Michigan State Police, 1929-1952; Detroit Police Department, 1952-1954; Political Files, 1950-1956; Organization and Activities Files; Audio-Visual Materials; Committee on Equal Educational Opportunities. Leonard also taught law course at the State Police Recruit School and Metropolitan Police Academy of Michigan.

Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, Regent of the University of Michigan, Michigan Supreme Court justice. Political files include activities as Republican State Chairman and his involvement in the presidential campaign of Nelson Rockefeller (1964) and George Romney (1967-1968); also files from his service as regent of the University of Michigan (1969-1975) and justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1975-1977).

The Lawrence Lindemer Papers contain correspondence, memoranda, official reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, and an audio tape documenting the political and legal career of Lawrence B. Lindemer. While the entire collection spans from 1954 to 1982, the bulk of the records date from 1964 to 1976 with an additional cluster of records dated 1981-1982.

The collection has been divided into four series: Political files; Regent of the University of Michigan; Legal Career, including Michigan Supreme Court; and Other materials. The Lindemer files are especially valuable for their documentation of Lindemer's activities within the Republican Party, as state chairman, as chair of the Midwest Nelson Rockefeller campaign for President in 1964, and his involvement in the presidential candidacy of George Romney for President in 1968.

Republican state senator, 1948-1950, from Kent County, Michigan, state auditor general, 1950-1954, unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate nomination in 1952, and member of the Republican National Committee. Correspondence, newspaper clippings, speeches and printed material relating to his political career, particularly his activities on the Michigan Commission on Aging, the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961-1962, and the Michigan Senate campaign of 1952.

The John B. Martin papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, clippings, and subject files relating to his political and organizational activities. The series in the collection are: Correspondence; Newspaper clippings; Political and Campaign Materials; Auditor General, 1950-1954; Aging organizations; Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962; Michigan Crime and Delinquency Council; Scrapbooks; Sound Recordings; Visual Materials; and Miscellaneous.

Grand Rapids, Michigan businessman and politician; correspondence, business papers; scrapbooks, and photographs.

The Frank D. McKay collection is divided into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Business and financial papers; Newspaper clippings and scrapbooks; and Photographs.

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.

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.

Republican attorney general of Michigan, 1951-1954, general counsel of the Department of the Army. World War I letters, papers detailing work as chairman of the committee on emerging problems of the Michigan Constitutional Convention; miscellaneous genealogical material, and diaries and memoranda books; scrapbooks concerning political career, especially his service as state attorney general; and photographs.

Only a few papers survived Millard. Correspondence, most interesting for his letters written in France during 1917, and a small body of papers from his committee chairmanship at the 1961 state constitutional convention, highlight the collection. A large number of newspaper clippings about his career, and many awards and citations he received, are also available. A few items regarding his military career, his political activities and his membership in the Masons can also be found.

A large number of photographs and albums are also found in the collection. Included are five scrapbooks, 1955-1961, covering the period when Frank Millard was general counsel in the Department of the Army. These scrapbooks are 70-80 percent photographic, and the remainder consist of clippings, programs, correspondence, schedules and itineraries. Another scrapbook covers the years 1912-1914 when Millard was a student at the University of Michigan. It also contains three pages of earlier material dated 1901-1910. This scrapbook is more than half photographic in content with the rest consisting of programs, clippings, and memorabilia.

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.