Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

University of Michigan professor of law, Detroit, Michigan, attorney, Michigan Supreme Court justice. Family correspondence, journal of trip to Sandusky, Ohio, in 1844, and lecture materials; also papers of Valeria Campbell, corresponding secretary of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Detroit, U. S. Sanitary Commission, concerning the society, the Detroit Soldiers' Home, and other relief agencies; and University student letters, 1872-1876, of Henry M. Campbell.

The James V. Campbell papers include materials documenting Campbell's career as professor of law at the University of Michigan, lawyer, and Michigan State Supreme court justice as well as papers of other Campbell family members. The papers include family correspondence, a journal of a trip to Sandusky, Ohio, in 1844, and lecture materials; also papers of Valeria Campbell, corresponding secretary of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Detroit, U. S. Sanitary Commission, concerning the society, the Detroit Soldiers' Home, and other relief agencies; and University student letters, 1872-1876, of Henry M. Campbell.

Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan, area family; correspondence, diaries, and other family materials.

The Campbell family collection includes correspondence and other family materials. Items of interest include Civil War correspondence of Gabriel Campbell and John S. Farnill; correspondence, diaries, and teaching materials of William Campbell; personal correspondence of Mary and Sarah (Sadie) Campbell concerning farming, local Republican politics, and school affairs; and printed materials concerning the Free Silver question and the election of 1896. The papers of Robert C. Campbell include diaries and University of Michigan student notebooks. Of interest are the notes he took from the lectures of John Dewey in philosophy, Henry Carter Adams in political economy, Burke A. Hinsdale in pedagogy, Joseph B. Steere in zoology, and A.A. Stanley in music, among other professors. The collection also includes high school notebooks of Carrie Read and E. Mabel Read.

Genealogical materials as well as Civil War letters relating to Captain Ebenezer Butterworth of Co. C, 1st Michigan Infantry. Correspondence includes a letter (Apr. 29, 1861) from the "Coldwater Young Ladies" presenting Butterworth's regiment with a token; also includes letters relating to Butterworth's death from George Rhodes (Aug. 21, 1861) and from Wells Walbridge (Dec. 27, 1861). The collection also contains family portraits, including ones of Captain Ebenezer Butterworth.

Letters (typescripts and handwritten transcripts) written from friends serving in the Civil War, including Joseph Bardwell, Horace Charles, and Charles J. Pierce, all of Battery I, 1st Illinois Artillery; Heman D. Parrish of Co. C, 70th New York Infantry; Hiram Saxton of Co. H, 9th Michigan Infantry; Milo C. Webb of Co. D, 11th Illinois Infantry; and Edson Woodman of Co. H, 13th Michigan Infantry.

Excerpts from a letter written while Bush was garrisoned near Fairfax, Virginia and sent to his wife in Dexter, Mich. Bush tells of the first battle of Bull Run (Manassas Junction), the guns that can be heard in the area, the foraging expedition and search for food in which he participated; and of the plight of the families in the area.

Family historian; collected materials relating to the Burt family and other related families.

Historical documents, family papers, and photographs accumulated and maintained by Flora Burt relating to the Burt family and to other family lines. Included are materials and information pertaining to James P. McKinstry, officer in the U.S. Navy in the 19th century, and to John R. Williams, 1st mayor of Detroit. The collection also contains letters, 1839-1846, to William A. Burt from his son Alvin Burt, then doing survey work in Iowa; also letter, 1845, from William Burt to Alvin Burt, describing the solar compass that he patented.

Settlers in Englishville, Michigan. Family correspondence, diaries, legal papers, newspaper clippings and other materials relating to farm life, personal affairs, and the Civil War.

The Buck family collection includes correspondence, diaries, legal papers, newspaper clippings, and other materials relating to farm life, personal affairs, and the Civil War. Included are letters of Curtis Buck and Andrew Buck relating to the Civil War. Also of interest is a letter of John Bettis, June 10, 1864, regarding his running a saw and grist mill in Chattanooga during the war. Other family members represented in the collection are Charles W. Buck and Myron and Susan Field Buck.

Civil War and Spanish-American War letters, family photographs, and other materials relating to the Buckbee and Church families from Illinois and Michigan.

The Buckbee Family Papers includes a variety of material but is most significant for its documentation of the Civil War service of Julian E. Buckbee and for the many letters exchanged with his sons Henry Cheever and Julian Edward, Jr., who served in the military during the Spanish-American War. These later letters provide a unique look into daily life during the war and at home in Illinois at the turn of the century. The letters contain both original and photocopied letters, along with transcriptions, to and from Julian Edward Jr. and Henry Cheever Buckbee during their service from April to September 1898. The photocopies all have matching original letters except for letter dated August 21, 1898, and those that were small notes probably sent with packages.

Other files in the collection include newspaper articles, genealogical information, and other various materials related to the Buckbee family from 1859 to 1999; photographs (duplicates and originals) of family members, scenes from the Spanish-American War, and of the family-owned Winnetka Inn located in Winnetka, Illinois; various letters to and from Julian Edward Buckbee Sr., military documents, and other materials relating to E.J. Buckbee's service in the Civil War; and later family papers which include reminiscences of Julian Buckbee Sr., and letters from Cheever D. Buckbee during his military service in 1942. There are also letters of William L. Church written during the Civil War and relating to his visits to various Illinois regiments. Of special note is a letter he received from Colonel William Gamble describing the operation of Illinois troops at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Correspondence and miscellaneous business papers including Civil War letters exchanged between John C. Buchanan and his wife, Sophia Bingham Buchanan, while he was serving as first lieutenant in Co. D. of the 8th Michigan Infantry. Many of the letters are almost sermons and philosophical essays about his home and family, religion, his country and the war and its leaders. Others are detailed descriptions of camps and camp life, such as Seabrook plantation in South Carolina and its Negroes, James Island and its reptiles; his quarters and food; sea transports; marches, skirmishes and battles with the Army of the Potomac in the Maryland campaign and around Fredericksburg. The collection also includes letters from Claude Buchanan while he was a student at the University of Michigan; letters (1847-1858) of J. Irwin Beaumont of Mississippi and Minnesota to Angie Bingham (Gilbert); notebooks, speeches, business papers, and a diary of a trip to the South in 1884 made by Claude Buchanan.

Residents of Pittsfield Township, Washtenaw County, Mich., John Briggs and his sons George and Clark served in the Union army during the American Civil War. John and George volunteered in the Michigan 6th Cavalry while Clark served in the 20th Infantry. The collection consists of approximately 100 letters written by the Briggs between 1862 and 1864 addressed to Mary Briggs, the wife of John and mother of George and Clark. Also, photocopies of George Briggs' military papers and information about the Briggs family.

Approximately 100 letters written by soldiers John, George, and Clark Briggs between 1862 and 1865, constitute the bulk of the collection. The majority are addressed to Mary Briggs, the rest to Van Rensselaer Tyler. Most of the letters are matched with the envelope in which they were originally housed, although a number of letters and envelopes remain unmatched. Other materials include a chronological list and a brief summary of Briggs letters, a list of Briggs family members born between 1794 and 1876, photocopies of George Briggs military papers, and modern-day background biographical information about the Briggs.