Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Norris family of Ypsilanti and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Papers of Mark Norris, Ypsilanti businessman and postmaster; papers of his wife, Roccena Vaill Norris, local teacher and woman's rights advocate; papers of their son, Lyman, attorney and regent of the University of Michigan, 1883-1884; papers of Lyman's son, Mark Norris, Grand Rapids attorney and Grand Master of the Knights Templar in the United States; papers of Lyman's daughter Maria Norris, Grand Rapids physician; papers of Mark's son, Abbott Norris; and related papers of other family members, notably the Whittelsey family of Connecticut.

The Norris family papers consists of three linear feet of correspondence, business papers, and scrapbooks. The bulk of the papers are letters among various family members which contain a wealth of information about 19th century daily life, social conditions, business affairs, and local and state politics. This collection is especially useful in researching: women's history; Norris family and kinship interrelationships; early area settlement and local history; university student life at the University of Michigan and elsewhere; 19th century economic conditions and political issues; and 20th century Freemasonry.

Organist and professor of music at the University of Michigan, and other members of the Christian family; correspondence, clippings, concert programs, and other papers re his teaching, concert career, European student days, etc.

The Palmer Christian collection is comprised of four series: Correspondence and other papers; Programs and reviews of recitals; Madrigals; and Photographs. The correspondence is noteworthy for long-term correspondents such as symphony conductor Eric De Lamarter who regularly communicated with Christian for over twenty year period beginning in 1925 and from Eugene Ormandy. During World War II, Christian received many letters from former students then serving in the military.

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.

Michigan family from Adrian and Flint, Michigan. Family papers, sound recordings, and photographs.

The collection is arranged by family name: Tomlinson, Pomeroy, and Raab. The earliest item is an account maintained by Alexander Tomlinson of Sherwood, Michigan. Within the Raab family papers are diaries, 1891-1892, of Florence Raab concerning her life in Adrian, Michigan. In addition, the collection includes papers and audio-tapes of Irving T. Raab reminiscing about his student life at the University of Michigan in the years before 1900. These tapes also concern his life in Flint and career as Presbyterian clergyman. The photographs in the collection are of family members.

Socialist Labor Party member, later member of the League for Socialist Reconstruction. Correspondence, campaign files, audio-tapes, and other materials largely concerning his work with the State Central Committee of the Socialist Labor Party and Socialist Reconstruction, 1928-1992; and collected family materials including letters and memoirs of Levi Muncy, soldier during the Civil War; also photographs.

The Ralph Muncy collection consists primarily of papers relating to his interest in socialist political activities. A smaller portion of the collection documents the involvement of his wife, Lydia B. Muncy, in the socialist cause. Together they also collected materials relating to the history of their families (Muncy-Baird). Included is much original family material dating back into the nineteenth century. The Ralph Muncy papers have been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; and Ralph Muncy and Lydia Baird Muncy Personal.

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.

Residents of Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Civil War reminiscences and other papers of James D. Rowe, soldier in the 1st Michigan Cavalry; Civil War letters of Spencer D. Lee, related family member, also in the 1st Michigan Cavalry; business records of Grant and Carrie Jackson Rowe, publishers of the Milford Times; sermons of Samuel Simpson Marquis as transcribed by Mrs. G. S. Rowe; collected materials largely concerning Milford and Highland Township history; and miscellaneous photographs and Civil War print.

The collection is divided into three series: Rowe Family Papers, Milford Historical Materials, and Milford Times Records. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, genealogical material and reminiscences relating to the Rowe family. The Civil War years are particularly well documented in letters written by in-laws: William Putnam, brother of Helen; the wife of James Rowe; and Spencer Lee, who married Helen's sister, Sarah. The Milford Times Records series contains business correspondence and records of the Milford Times, a newspaper published and edited by members of the Rowe family from 1890 to 1950. Carrie Jackson Rowe, who ran the Times for 46 years with her husband, Grant, was interested in Highland County local history; her writings on historical topics, as well as the historical documents she collected, form the Milford Historical Materials series.

Livonia, Michigan family; Civil War correspondence and diary of Alfred G. Ryder, Co. H, First Michigan Cavalry, and correspondence of John E. Ryder, Co. C, Twenty-forth Michigan Infantry, including mention of the battle of Gettysburg. Collection includes originals, some transcripts, and photocopies of documents still in family possession.

The collection consists almost entirely of Civil War letters written by Alfred G. and John E. Ryder from August 1861 to July 1863. There is a single diary, a large series of correspondence consisting of 193 letters (88 of which are original letters and the rest are photocopies), handwritten transcripts of the letters, a series of three letterbooks, one folder of newspaper articles, and another of photocopies of photographs.

The Safford Sunderland papers trace several generations of a Southeastern Michigan family, showcasing everyday life and Michigan (as well as U.S.) history over the course of the first half of the Twentieth Century.

The Safford Sunderland Family collection consists of the papers of Gertrude Sunderland Safford, her husband Homer E. Safford, his sister Ada M. Safford, and of two of the Sunderland Saffords' daughters, Helen Safford Toohy and Mildred H. Safford. The papers also contain information on and materials from Gertrude Sunderland Safford's parents, Jabez T. Sunderland and Eliza Jane Read Sunderland; her siblings, Edson Read Sunderland and Florence Sunderland; and the Sunderland Saffords' other two children, Truman Sunderland Safford and Virginia Safford Arnold. Additionally, there is some material from and on Helen Safford Toohy's husband (Clifford M. Toohy) and daughters (Janet Toohy Ferguson and Phyllis Toohy). Finally, the collection contains Ada Murray Safford's extensive genealogical materials on the Murray and Safford families.

The papers are organized into six series arranged by family member: Photographs, Gertrude Sunderland Safford, Homer Erwin Safford, Ada Murray Safford, Mildred Hortense Safford, and Helen Safford Toohy.

Tecumseh, Michigan, builder; account books and miscellaneous family papers.

The collection consists of account books of Salmon Crane's business activities, including a ledger previously used for the accounts, 1838-1841, of Spafford and Smith, Tecumseh merchants, and as day book, 1857-1858, of the Tecumseh Herald newspaper. In addition, there are miscellaneous papers of Crane's sons, Theodore H. and Eugene W. Crane, both soldiers in Co. E, 18th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. Other family members represented in the collection include Charles S. and Verner B. Crane. Photographer Walker Evans was the great-grandson of Salmon Crane.