Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Microfilm of a selection of the papers of the McCreery-Fenton families of Genesee County, Michigan. Civil War correspondence and other papers of William M. Fenton of Fenton and Flint, Michigan, Democratic state senator, and lieutenant governor, later colonel with the 8th Michigan Infantry; correspondence, diaries, and other materials of William B. McCreery of Flint, Michigan, Colonel in the 21st Michigan Infantry during the Civil War; and photographs.

This microfilm edition of a portion of the McCreery-Fenton family collection includes only materials relating to the Civil War service of William M. Fenton and William B. McCreery.

Residents of Calhoun and Lenawee counties, Michigan. Family letters and documents.

This is a collection of family letters preserved by Betsey Mitchell Strong and donated to the Michigan Historical Collections by her grandson Homer Dennis Strong. The collection consists of approximately 1400 family letters and documents covering the period of 1836 to 1925 and three volumes of transcriptions of the documents made by Doris Boldt.

The collection is maintained in numbered envelopes in approximate chronological order. In 1988, the library received a first accession of some 440 letters with a register of these letters compiled by Doris Boldt. This register included document number, date, recipient, sender, and notes about contents.

In 1990, Mr. Strong donated nearly 1000 additional letters and documents with typed transcriptions of the collection made by Doris Boldt. In the two year interim since the first accession, however, Boldt had created a new numbering sequence for the collection. This numbers refer to the pages of the transcription volumes. Once again, Boldt provided a register to letters. This register includes both original numbers and revised numbers.

St. Joseph, Berrien County, Michigan family. Papers of family members, primarily correspondence of Ann G. Loomis Preston with her father, Jonathan Loomis, and with her sons Wallace and Fowler, sailors in the Union navy during the Civil War; typescript of excerpt of Civil War diary of Wallace Preston; paper, 1978, of Harriet N. Preston based upon family Civil War experiences; photographs, clippings and miscellanea concerning family and St. Joseph, Michigan.

In 1972, a bundle of over forty Preston family letters, dating mainly from 1850 to 1870, were discovered in the attic of the family home in St. Joseph. Over the next few years, Harriet N. Preston, wife of Arthur G. Preston, Jr. (grandson of Wallace Preston), took an interest in these letters and the Preston family history. Mrs. Preston arranged the letters, compiled typed transcripts, and authored several papers based on the letters.

The Preston family papers document Great Lakes shipping in the nineteenth century, the Union Navy during the Civil War, and daily life in St. Joseph, Michigan during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The collection has been divided into five series: Correspondence; Legal Documents; Newspaper Clippings, Scrapbook and Miscellaneous Materials; Family Histories; and Photographs.

Papers and photographs collected by Robert D. Aldrich relating to the history, people and institutions of Concord village in Jackson County, Michigan; include correspondence, diaries, account books and other papers of Concord residents; records of Concord social organizations, businesses, schools, and church and governmental bodies.

The Robert D. Aldrich collection consists of materials--manuscript, printed, and photographic--documenting the history of Concord, Michigan, in western Jackson County. The collection spans the period from the arrival of the first settlers in 1831 to the 1980s. There are a few items dating back into the eighteenth century (as early as 1783) since the papers of some pioneer families predate their arrival in Concord. The bulk of the collection, though, falls in the period since the Civil War.

The collection documents every facet of life in Concord. Included are the papers of numerous Concord citizens consisting of personal correspondence, diaries, account books and newspaper clippings about them. In addition, Aldrich collected the records of various Concord businesses and organizations, as well as some church, school, and governmental records.

The collection has been divided into two series: Manuscript and Printed Materials, and Visual Materials. Both series are arranged alphabetically either by personal name or name of organization, or by general subject area, such as Circus, Underground Railroad, etc.

Albion, Michigan, family. Papers of Barton Stout Taylor, Methodist clergyman; diaries of his wife, Elizabeth Gurney Taylor, detailing her everyday activities; papers of Ralph Wendell Taylor, alumnus of University of Michigan and teacher in the Philippine Islands, 1901-1908; and other family materials.

The Taylor family papers consist of correspondence Barton Stout Taylor, Methodist clergyman; diaries of his wife, Elizabeth Gurney Taylor, detailing her everyday activities; papers of Ralph Wendell Taylor, alumnus of University of Michigan and teacher in the Philippine Islands, 1901-1908; and other family materials. The collection is arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Family miscellaneous, Barton S. Taylor; Elizabeth Gurney Taylor; and Other family members.

Officer with the 23rd Michigan Volunteer Regiment during the Civil War, later Saginaw County, then Evart, Michigan, local government official. Biographical material, correspondence, Civil War files, and diaries relating to local and wartime activities, family matters, and professional activities.

The William Augustus Lewis papers include biographical material, correspondence, Civil War files, and diaries relating to local and wartime activities, family matters, and professional activities. the papers are organized into the following series. Biographical, Correspondence, Civil War, Miscellaneous, and Diaries.

A. L. Williams family of Owosso, Michigan. Personal and business correspondence of A. L. Williams, Owosso, Michigan pioneer, railroad entrepreneur, and spiritualist; and personal letters of other members of the family, including May Williams Dewey, wife of E. O. Dewey (Thomas E. Dewey family); and miscellaneous newspaper clippings, business ledgers, and personal and business diaries concerning business affairs and daily activities; "spirit messages" received from departed family and others; also photographs.

The Williams Family [Owosso] collection consists of 2 linear feet of material. It includes the personal and business papers of four generations of Williamses from 1838 to 1953. However, the bulk of the material relates to the family of Alfred Leonzo Williams between 1860 and 1890.

Philo E. and Fannie E. Pettibone Wright family of Detroit, Michigan. Personal papers of Fannie Wright with her husband Philo, her brother Sherman Pettibone, her daughters Virginia, Maude, and Evelyn, her son Philo S., and other members of the family, concerning family affairs and the genealogy of the Wright and Pettibone families.

The collection has been arranged by name of family member. Included is personal correspondence of Fannie Wright with her husband Philo E., her brother Sherman Pettibone, daughters Virginia, Maude, and Evelyn, son Philo S., and other members of the family, concerning family affairs and the genealogy of the Wright and Pettibone families. There are also fifty-seven volumes of Fannie E. Wright's diaries, 1863-1925, recording family news, social events, and home activities in Detroit, Michigan. Also of interest are account books of the Sherman Pettibone farm of Tallmadge, Ohio, and account books of Philo S. Wright, 1893-1913. Photographs in the collection consist of individual and group portraits of family members; photographs of family homes; and photographs of boating on the Detroit River.