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Collection

Abel Bingham Family Papers, 1817-1910 (majority within 1828-1866)

2 linear feet

Missionary family to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; correspondence, sermons of Abel Bingham, diaries of Hannah Bingham reflecting her daily activities and religious convictions.

The collection documents the lives of a missionary family to the Ojibwa Indians of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The papers have been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Abel Bingham ministerial papers; Miscellaneous; and Bound Account Books and Diaries. The collection is of value for the family correspondence, for the sermons of Abel Bingham, and for the diaries of Hannah Bingham reflecting her daily activities and religious convictions (1817-1868). There are also papers concerning Fountain Street Baptist Church in Grand Rapids in the 1850s.

Collection

Albert D. English papers, 1839-1957

2 linear feet

Manchester Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, farmer. Material concerning farming activities, English's work with the Southern Washtenaw Farmers' Club, local Democratic Party affairs, his work as clerk of the Iron Creek (Manchester Township) Free Will Baptist Church; correspondence; miscellaneous account books of family members, notebooks containing reference information, and reports of the overseer of highways for Manchester Township; and photographs. Correspondence includes a letter from Thomas English of West Virginia, who was formerly an enslaved person. The collection also includes a diary of Lucy English, Albert D. English's sister.

The English collection documents different phases of his life and provides the researcher with material for the study of Manchester, Michigan between 1880 and 1910. In addition to correspondence, the collection includes notebooks containing the newspaper columns on local affairs which English wrote for several county newspapers. There are also 18 "Ready Reference Books" containing lists of local, state, and national political candidates and office holders, Manchester property owners, lists of school teachers and graduates, church leaders, as well as other information gleaned from almanacs and newspapers over the years. Included are also several farm journals of Albert English and his father Benjamin English, and a personal diary and a scrapbook of Albert's sister Lucy English (in marriage, Lucy Simmons). Much of the correspondence files concerns the Free Will Baptist Church. Correspondence includes one letter from Thomas English of West Virginia, a formerly enslaved person, whom Albert English apparently contacted in regard to the family genealogy. There is no record of continued correspondence on this subject.

Collection

Albert Kahn Associates records, 1825-2014 (majority within 1900-1945)

166 linear feet (in 180 boxes; textual materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials) — 90 portfolios (photographs) — 22 scrapbooks (sample architectural materials) — 131 oversize volumes (books) — 12,731 drawings (in 45 drawers and 114 tubes; architectural drawings) — 111 MB (online)

Online
Albert Kahn was a Detroit-based architect, active from 1896 to 1942. He founded the firm, Albert Kahn Associated Architects & Engineers, which is today known as Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. He was best known for his industrial design work, including the Ford Motor Company's Highland Park and River Rouge plants; numerous commercial buildings in Detroit such as the Fisher Building, Detroit Athletic Club, and General Motors Building; and much of the University of Michigan's Central Campus, including Angell Hall, the Clements Library, and Hill Auditorium, as well as the Willow Run Bomber Plant near Ann Arbor, Michigan. After Kahn's death in 1942, his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., has continued to be a worldwide leader in the design of factory buildings that enhance the manufacturing process. The Albert Kahn Associates records are composed of materials produced by Albert Kahn the architect, as well as materials produced by his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., and include correspondence, company files, photographs, published materials, and architectural drawings.

The Albert Kahn Associates records offer researchers the opportunity to study the correspondence, transcripts of speeches, photographs, and architectural drawings of the preeminent, American, industrial architect, Albert Kahn, and his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. On March 21, 2003 (the 134th anniversary of Albert Kahn's birthday), Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (AKA) donated this collection to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan to ensure the conservation and accessibility of these records. Through this gift, AKA has shown its commitment to preserving the legacy of Kahn, whose factories on five continents influenced the development of industrial architecture and whose commercial, residential and institutional buildings define the character of Detroit and the University of Michigan today. The collection encompasses 166 linear feet (in 180 boxes) of correspondence, transcripts of speeches, newspaper and journal articles, company files, audiovisual materials, photographs and slides, as well as 90 leather portfolios containing photographs of completed buildings, 22 albums of sample architectural materials, 131 books, and 12,731 architectural drawings in 45 flat-file drawers and 114 oversize tubes.

The narrative and visual materials in the collection illuminate the breadth of Kahn's career and highlight the work of his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., which continued to develop projects after his death, and remains a living institution. In pairing the textual materials with the photographs and architectural drawings associated with Kahn's projects, this collection offers a rich perspective on the master architect himself, illuminating his personal views on his own architecture and its place in a changing and often tumultuous world.

Collection

Alexander Winchell Papers, 1833-1891

23.5 linear feet (in 25 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

Professor of geology and paleontology at the University of Michigan, director of the Michigan Geological Survey, and chancellor of Syracuse University, popular lecturer and writer on scientific topics and as a Methodist layman who worked to reconcile traditional religious beliefs to nineteenth-century developments in the fields of evolutionary biology, cosmology, geology, and paleontology. Papers include extensive diaries, field notes and maps from travels and geological expeditions, correspondence, speeches, articles and other publications and photographs.

The papers of Alexander Winchell are those of an orderly man who carefully documented his own life through well-organized correspondence, diaries, notebooks, and scrapbooks. Winchell kept thorough evidence of his activities, writings, lectures, and thoughts, for most of his life. The only area that seems poorly documented is his university teaching. The collection does not appear to include significant material relating to relationships with students in the classroom.

"Alexander Winchell, an editorial tribute," published in The American Geologist (Feb. 1892, MHC call number DB/2/W759/A512), includes a year-by-year account of Winchell's life, based on the papers, and probably written by his brother N. H. Winchell. Although there are no footnotes in this work, it provides a useful summary of Winchell's activities and clues to the existence of documentation in the collection.

The collection is divided into six major series: Biographical, Correspondence, Diaries and journals, Writings and lectures, Reference and research files, and Scrapbooks; and three smaller series: Visual materials, Processing notes, and Card files.

Winchell's bibliography is located in Box 1 (the most complete copy is in the "Permanent memoranda" volume), and drafts of many of his writings are found in Boxes 8-14. Copies of many, but not all, of Winchell's publications are found in the MHC printed collection. The card catalog includes details for all separately cataloged items. There are also three collections of pamphlets that are not inventoried: two slightly different bound sets prepared by N. H. Winchell after Alexander Winchell's death (MHC call numbers DA/2/W759/M678/Set A and DA/2/W759/M678/Set B) and a two-box collection of pamphlets collected by the University Library (MHC call number Univ. of Mich. Coll./J/17/W759).

Collection

Alfred Isaac Sawyer papers, 1848-1931

6 linear feet

Homeopathic physician from Monroe, Michigan; correspondence, letterpress books, diaries, and other papers of Sawyer, his wife and daughter, and of members of the Toll family.

The Sawyer collection consists of correspondence and other papers of Alfred I. Sawyer, his wife Sarah Toll Sawyer, their daughter Jennie Toll Sawyer, and other members of the Toll family. The collection, in addition to family matters, relates to Sawyer's career as a homeopathic physician, his advocacy of the study of homeopathy within the curriculum of the University of Michigan, and his extensive activities within Masonry. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Various subjects -- Sawyer and Toll families; Homeopathy and homeopathic practice; and diaries of Sawyer and his daughter Jennie Toll Sawyer.

Collection

Allen family (Ann Arbor, Mich.) papers, 1824-1867

0.3 linear feet — 1 oversize volume

John Allen (1797-1851) and Ann I. Allen (1797-1875) co-founded--with Elisha Walker Rumsey and his wife Mary Ann Rumsey-- the city of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Correspondence, biographical and family history information, a plat book, and family portraits.

Correspondence of John Allen, co-founder of Ann Arbor, Michigan, his wife, Ann, and their children, largely concerning family affairs and travels, including journey to California in 1850, and the prospects of settlement in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois; biographical and genealogical material, including family histories and reminiscences by James Turner Allen; and plat book (1830's) of Ann Arbor containing plats of land purchased by Allen from the United States.

Photographs, including portraits of John and Ann Allen and James T. Allen; photos of other family members.

Collection

Allen N. and Lisa Hibner collection of Upjohn Family Papers, 1790-1898, 2003

0.1 linear feet

Papers collected by Allen N. and Lisa Hibner of the Upjohn family of upstate New York and western Michigan. Materials include copies of family letters and photos, as well as one CD-ROM containing scanned images and transcribed documents.

Copies of family letters and photos. The collection includes one CD-ROM containing scanned images and transcribed documents and some paper copies.

Collection

Allmendinger Family Papers, 1824-2006 (majority within 1890-1986)

8 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 1 oversize folder

Ann Arbor German-American family, owners of the Allmendinger Organ Company which later became the Ann Arbor Organ Company. Correspondence, scrapbooks, family genealogy, photographs concerning family affairs, materials on Helene Allmendinger's radio show, examples of spirit messages received by Helene Allmendinger from deceased family members; information pertaining to the Ann Arbor Organ Company, and family members still living in Germany.

The collection is divided into the following series: Family records and correspondence; Helene Allmendinger papers; Ina Allmendinger papers; Ann Arbor Organ Company; Harriet Birch papers, Other family members; Miscellaneous, and Photographs.

Collection

Alphadelphia Association Records, 1844-1857

3 microfilms

Communitarian society located near Kalamazoo, Michigan. Constitution, census, membership records, reports of committees, labor records, financial accounts, minutes of directors, correspondence and miscellaneous papers.

The record group consists of organizing documents, correspondence, land and labor records, financial records, and membership records.

Collection

Alpha Nu Literary Society (University of Michigan) records, 1843-1931

3 linear feet

University of Michigan student organization established in 1843 for the "intellectual improvement of its members." Members presented literary papers, held debates, and issued a manuscript periodical entitled "The Sybil." The record group consists of organizational records and "The Sybil."

The record group consists of such organizational records as minutes of meetings, constitution and by-laws, treasurer's books, inventories of the Alpha Nu Library, membership book, and scattered correspondents and business papers. Correspondents in the papers include Lewis Cass, April 1846, Robert McClelland, January 1846, Henry R. Schoolcraft, December 1845,and Ezra C. Seaman. Also included are volumes of the manuscript periodical, "The Sybil," which date (with several gaps), from 1843 to 1931. Most of "The Sybil" are from the early period of Alpha Nu, 1843 to 1854.

Collection

Alpheus Felch Papers, 1817-1896

6 linear feet — 6 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder

Lawyer, Member of Michigan Supreme Court, 1842-1846, Democratic Governor of Michigan, 1846-1847, and holder of numerous other public offices; papers include correspondence and other papers documenting his career in public service.

The Alpheus Felch papers details the active life of this nineteenth century Michigan public servant. Not only are public issues discussed in the correspondence files but the researcher will also gain an understanding of some of the personal problems associated with public service. The collection also includes several files of other family members.

Collection

Alumni Association (University of Michigan) records, 1845-2001

169.8 linear feet (in 171 boxes) — 1 oversize volume — 84.4 GB (online)

Online
The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan was established in 1897 following a consolidation of the Society of Alumni with the alumni societies of the professional schools. The Michigan Alumnus became the association's official organ. As the organization grew, local chapters were established and provided greater structure. The records include files pertaining to the Alumni Association's administrative office and various chapters and interests groups. This includes national and international U-M alumni and alumnae clubs, the Alumnae Council, the Society of Alumni, the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA-formerly the African American Alumni Council (AAC)), and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). The records include but are not limited to correspondence, minutes, reports, and survey responses, audiovisual materials, digital files, photographs, and publications.

The collection spans 1845-2001. The textual records of the Alumni Association (boxes 1-133) are largely unprocessed, and are described in only general terms in this finding aid. Exceptions include files maintained by Marjorie Williams who served as the vice chair and chair of the Alumnae Council from 1960 to 1962, Class Reunion files, and Topical Files.

Additions to the collection (boxes 168-171) incorporate records, audiovisual materials, photographs, and publications pertaining to the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA). To note are materials specifically related to the African American Alumni Council (AAAC)-formerly the UMBA, and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). This includes information about the Dr. Leonard F. Sain Award, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. scholarship and symposium, the Camp Michigania retreat, and annual reunion for black graduates photographs, planning materials, and souvenir books.

Collection

American Baptist Missionary Union records, 1837-1838, 1850

5 items (in oversize folder)

American Baptist missionary organization. Consists of records likely collected by George N. Mills and includes a land grant as well as letters that relate to the dispersal of government lands in the Grand River area in Michigan.

The collection consists of records likely collected by George N. Mills and includes a land grant dated January 1850 that details how the proceeds from the sale of lands along the Grand River (probably near Grand Rapids, Mich.) under the provisions of a treaty between the United States and the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians should be divided between Baptist and Catholic missionary interests, both of whom had developed missions in the area. Also included are letters dated 1837-1838, bound with the land grant, that relate to the dispersal of government lands in the Grand River area, including letters concerning lands to be set aside for the University of Michigan, for the erection of public buildings, and for a salt spring.

Collection

Ann Arbor (Mich.) records, 1830-2002

14 linear feet (in 15 boxes) — 37 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder — 3.67 GB (online)

Online
The records of the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan include council proceedings (1834-1919); assessment rolls (1830, 1839, and 1958-1959); scrapbooks relating to city government (1904-1951); and records and photographs detailing the city's waste management and recycling program beginning in the 1980s. Miscellaneous materials include plats of the wards, 1912; election returns, 1847-1852; records of the former city of East Ann Arbor and the Village of Ann Arbor (Lower Town); and minutes of the Ann Arbor Park Commission (1905-1956). Also of interest are files concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad and the city's street railway and interurban system.

The series in this record group include: Election returns; Bonds; Assessment Rolls; Miscellaneous; City of East Ann Arbor; Council proceedings; Scrapbooks; Ann Arbor Park Commission; Village of Ann Arbor (Lower Town); Photographs; Recycling and Environmental Issues; and Other City Records.

Collection

Ann Arbor Public Schools Records, 1833-2011

26 linear feet (in 27 boxes.) — 231 oversize volumes — 7 digital audio files

Online
The records of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, cover the numerous districts and schools that developed and then gradually merged into an area school system.

The collection consists of nine series: Ann Arbor Board of Education; Ann Arbor Public Schools Historic Records; Historic School District Records; Pittsfield Township; Administration; Desegregation, Jones School; Scrapbooks; Miscellaneous other records; Directories.

Collection

Ann Arbor Township Records, 1820s-1996

11 linear feet — 100 oversize volumes

Township record books, 1845-1902; registers of births, 1906-1943; registers of deaths, 1897-1912; poll books, tally sheets, and statement of votes from polls within township; records relating to surveys, repairs, etc. of township roads; reports and compiled statistics pertaining to township schools; property assessment roll books; and other miscellaneous records.

The records of Ann Arbor Township include township record books, 1845-1902; registers of births, 1906-1943; registers of deaths, 1897-1912; poll books, tally sheets, and statement of votes from polls within township; records relating to surveys, repairs, etc. of township roads; reports and compiled statistics pertaining to township schools; property assessment roll books; and other miscellaneous records. The records are organized into nine series:

  1. Township Record Books, 1845-1902
  2. Registers of Births, 1906-1943
  3. Registers of Deaths, 1897-1912
  4. Election records
  5. Highway Records, 1820s-1920s
  6. Treasurer's records, 1830s-1923
  7. School Records, 1840s-1930s
  8. Miscellaneous, 1827-1920s
  9. Assessment Roll Books, 1872-1996
Collection

Anson De Puy Van Buren papers, 1846-1885

2 linear feet

Western Michigan teacher, businessman and local historian. Correspondence, journal, speeches, notes and articles.

The collection is arranged into four series: Correspondence; Journals; Speeches, notes and articles; and Other materials. The collection documents his career as a teacher in Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Galesburg, Michigan. Of interest are his experiences as a teacher in Mississippi before the Civil War. The correspondence and journals reveal his scholarly and political interests. The collection also includes minutes, 1861-1876, of the Galesburg Temperance Society.

Collection

Arthur J. Tuttle Papers, 1849-1958 (majority within 1888-1944)

108 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

U.S. District Court Judge, Eastern District of Michigan; Federal trial court case files, personal and professional correspondence, scrapbooks, University of Michigan student notebooks, and other materials concerning legal activities, Republican Party politics, prohibition, the election of 1924, Sigma Alpha Epsilon affairs; also family materials, including grandfather, John J. Tuttle, Leslie, Michigan, Ingham County official and businessman; and photographs.

The Arthur J. Tuttle Papers are arranged in 13 series: case files, opinions and jury instructions, topical office files, conciliation commissioners, criminal files, correspondence, letterbooks, scrapbooks, University of Michigan, financial matters, miscellaneous biographical materials, Tuttle family materials, and visual materials.

Collection

Atwell-Hicks Map Collection, circa 1838-1902

40 items

Ann Arbor, Mich., civil engineering, surveying, and planning firm. Cadastral maps, showing land ownership, of Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor, Mich.; also maps of mill sites on Huron River at Broadway in Ann Arbor. Many of the maps drawn by J. B. Davis.

The maps in this collection were not created by Atwell-Hicks, but were apparently acquired by the firm in the course of its business.

There are four groups of maps in the collection: Plat maps of Washtenaw County (20 maps), Plat maps of Ann Arbor (11 maps), Maps of mill sites along the Huron River at Broadway in Ann Arbor (7 maps), and Miscellaneous (1 map).

Plat maps of Washtenaw County include one map for each township, which show names of initial land purchasers and subsequent landowners through about the 1850s. Plat maps of Ann Arbor are cadastral maps (show property boundaries) and some show land ownership as well. Maps of mill sites along the Huron River at Broadway in Ann Arbor show in great detail the complex of mills, millraces, dams, and outbuildings in the Broadway area. Miscellaneous includes one map of a lake in Lenawee County.

Collection

Austin Blair Family Papers, 1849-1981 (majority within 1895-1920)

3.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder (UAm)

Materials collected by Helen Blair Lamar and subsequently donated to the Blair Society for Genealogical Research and pertaining to the Austin Blair family of Michigan and related family lines, the Hanks family and the North family. The collection, arranged by family name and then by individual, includes original with some typed transcripts of family letters, diaries, legal documents, poetry, personal items, and visual materials.

Helen Blair Lamar kept the papers of the Blair, Hanks and North families for many years. After her death they were given to the Blair Society for Genealogical Research, which in turn donated them to the Bentley Historical Library. This collection exemplifies the slightly random character of family papers accumulated over several generations. There is a wide variety of material on a large number of individuals. In an attempt to keep things as clear as possible, the majority of the papers--manuscript, typescript and printed--have been arranged by FAMILY GROUPS which are subdivided by Personal Name and arranged by generation. This is followed by a small second series of miscellaneous PRINTED MATERIALS. A substantial third series of VISUAL MATERIALS includes Scrapbooks, Photographs, Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes, Tintypes and Glass Plate Negatives.

Collection

Baird family papers, 1830-1911

0.2 linear feet

Online

Correspondence, 1861-1864, of family members who served in the Civil War, including brothers William Baird (Co. C, 6th Michigan Cavalry and later Co. K, 23rd U.S. Colored Infantry) and Henry C. Baird (Co. L, 7th Michigan Cavalry), cousins William E. Baird (Co. E, 22nd Michigan Infantry) and Frederick Diem (Co. C, 6th Michigan Cavalry); other family correspondence of the Civil War era, a reminiscence by William Baird of his family history and Civil War experiences, and miscellanea. William Baird's reminiscence includes an account of his parentage, life on a farm in St. Clair County, early schooling and teaching experiences, and his experiences in the Civil War. He enlisted in Company C, 6th Michigan Cavalry in 1862, and was in winter camp in Washington. The highlights of his journal are the battle of Gettysburg, where he was wounded; studying in a Philadelphia hospital to become a commissioned officer; the granting of his commission through the help of Representative Francis W. Kellogg, and his assignment as first lieutenant to Company K, 23rd U. S. Colored Infantry.

Collection

Barber G. Buell papers, 1760-1935 (majority within 1849-1899)

3.3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Farmer at Volinia Township, Cass County, Michigan. Journals, financial records, papers of other family members.

The collection is divided into three series: Journals, Farm records, and Other Family Members.

Collection

Bechtold family papers, [ca. 1847-ca. 1907 scattered dates]

0.3 linear feet

Translations of letters, 1847-1850, of Gotthardt Bechtold describing his trip to, impressions of, and settlement in America; also diary, 1861-1865, of Frederick W. Bechtold, soldier in Co. B, 12th Missouri Volunteers during the Civil War (partially in German); typescript translations of Bechtold's diary and of his letters, 1862-1864; and miscellaneous other family letters (some in German).

Collection

Bela Hubbard papers, 1837-1893

0.75 linear feet (in 2 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

Pioneer Michigan geologist, assistant to state geologist Douglass Houghton on the Michigan Geological Survey, 1837-1842, completed portions of U.S. Land Survey of the Upper Peninsula begun by Douglass Houghton, 1845-1846. Later active in family's land business and lumber trade. Papers consist of notebooks containing field notes, sketches and maps; private journals covering Michigan geological expeditions and other trips, including the peninsula coast survey, Lake Superior and Upper Peninsula surveys and surveys of Wayne, Monroe and other counties; also weather memoranda, 1835-1864; miscellaneous accounts; and other papers largely relating to geology.

The collection consists primarily of Hubbard's pocket-size field notebooks. The notebooks are arranged, for the most part, chronologically for the period 1837 to 1893. Several notebooks that do not fit the chronological sequence are placed at the end of the series of notebooks. The notebooks for the years 1837 to 1840 have been bound, probably by Hubbard, into larger volumes. For convenience the later notebooks have been grouped into "volumes" by the library. Each "volume" is in a separate case. The notebooks contain personal journals, geological notes, and meteorological registers, along with sketches of landforms, scenery, and people, geological sections, and maps.

A few loose papers are found at the end of the collection.

The most extensive notebooks are those written between 1837 and 1840, when Hubbard was working for the Michigan Geological Survey, and in 1845 and 1846, when he was conducting the combined land and geological survey of the Upper Peninsula. In addition to the main sequence of notebooks for those years (volumes 1-8 and 10-12), that period is represented by separate meteorological registers (volumes 18 and 22), separate geological field notes for the 1840 expedition to the Lake Superior region (volume 21), and three reports on Hubbard's 1846 surveys (volumes 23-24 and loose papers).

This finding aid contains two appendixes. The first, compiled by the initial cataloger of the collection in 1958, specifies where many of the topics indexed in the card catalog for this collection can be found in the series of notebooks. The second contains an inventory of the maps found in the collection.

Several portions of the collection have been published.

The notebooks for May 23-August 8, 1840 (volumes 7-9 and parts of 21) have been published as Lake Superior Journal: Bela Hubbard's Account of the 1840 Houghton Expedition}, edited by Bernard C. Peters. Marquette, Mich.: Northern Michigan University Press, 1983. [MHC call number EA/91/H875/L192]

The "Catalogue of the Geological Specimens, Hubbard & Ives Survey, 1846" (volume 23), the "Report on the Geology &c. of District Surveyed by Messrs. Higgins & Hubbard, 1846, Lake Superior, with Catalogue of Minerals, Sections, etc." (volume 24), and the "Report upon the Geology & Topography of the District on L. Superior Subdivided in 1846 by Hubbard & Ives" (loose material) have been published in Report on the Geological and Mineralogical Survey of the Mineral Lands of the United States in the State of Michigan .., by Charles T. Jackson. Washington, D.C.: Printed for the House of Representatives, 1849. (31st Congress, 1st Session, House Executive Document 5, Part 3) [MHC call number EA/153/U58/M583]

The reports of Hubbard's surveys for the Michigan Geological Survey, based on his notes have been published in Geological Reports of Douglass Houghton: First State Geologist of Michigan, 1837-1845. Lansing, Mich.: Michigan Historical Commission, 1928. [MHC call number EA/153/MG345/G345]

Hubbard's autobiography has been published as Memorials of a Half-Century. New York: Putnam's, 1887. [MHC call number EA/60/H875/M533]

Other Bela Hubbard papers are found at the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library.

Collection

Benajah Ticknor papers, 1818-1852

3 linear feet — 3 microfilms

Graduated from Berkshire Medical Institute ca. 1810; joined U.S. Navy ca. 1816; first tour of duty in 1818; retired from the Navy in 1852 from post of chief Surgeon of the Boston Navy Yard. Journals, letter book, medical notes, correspondence, and essays of Benajah Ticknor, doctor and surgeon with the U.S. Navy. Of primary importance are the journals which describe journeys made by Ticknor with the Navy to South America, the Far East, and Europe.

The Ticknor collection consists of photocopied and microfilmed papers from various institutions with Ticknor materials. The materials were gathered together by individuals involved in the restoration of Ticknor's Ann Arbor home, now known as Cobblestone Farm. The collection, subsequently donated to the Bentley Historical Library, includes Biographical material, journals, a letter book, writings, letters to his friend Congressman Elisha Whittlesey in Ohio, and State Department records from his diplomatic missions to the Far East.

Collection

Benjamin F. Graves papers, 1815-1950 (majority within 1848-1903)

2.5 linear feet

Circuit court judge and Michigan Supreme Court justice; his wife, Ann Lapham Graves, was a Battle Creek educator and civic leader; their son, Henry B. Graves, was a Detroit lawyer. Family correspondence concerning life in Battle Creek, Michigan, student life of H. B. Graves at the University of Michigan, 1879-1882, Kansas land speculation, 1883-1885, the Spanish-American War and legal affairs; personal journals and circuit court and Supreme Court record books of B. F. Graves; and photographs.

The Benjamin F. Graves papers consist of family correspondence concerning life in Battle Creek, Michigan, student life of H. B. Graves at the University of Michigan, 1879-1882, Kansas land speculation, 1883-1885, the Spanish-American War and legal affairs; personal journals and circuit court and Michigan Supreme Court record books of B. F. Graves; and correspondence of Henry B. Graves and Ann Lapham Graves. The collection has been arranged by name of individual family member: Benjamin F. Graves; Lapham family; Henry B. Graves; and Miscellaneous.

The correspondence of Benjamin F. Graves includes letters from Henry B. Brown, December 26, 1890; Julius C. Burrows, March 17, 1869; James V. Campbell, 1858-1883; Isaac P. Christiancy, June 1868, November and December 1862, February 1873, August 1877; Thomas M. Cooley (throughout); Donald M. Dickinson, undated and December 1883; Alpheus Felch, December 1894; and John W. Longyear, April 1864 and March 1865.

Collection

Bethlehem United Church of Christ (Ann Arbor, Mich.) Records, 1833-1980

7.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Formerly the Bethlehem Evangelical Church. Minutes of annual congregational meetings, church council and board of trustees meetings, and treasurer's reports; records of the Frauen Vereines, or Ladies Aid Society, and Verein, or the Bethlehem Brotherhood, and the Jugend Vereins, or Youth Fellowship; fundraising materials, miscellaneous printed programs and newsletters, correspondence and clippings; treasurer's book, 1909-1916; and photographs.

The Bethlehem United Church of Christ of Ann Arbor records span one hundred and forty years, from 1833 to 1973. The materials, partially in German, provide a good view of the congregation's history. Included are minutes and constitutions of the congregational annual meetings which span the period, 1855 to 1922. There are also records of the church council complete from 1897 to 1919, and financial records and treasurer's reports, and fund raising materials. There are records of several church organizations and photographs of church buildings and activities.

Collection

Bird Family Papers, 1835-1914

1 linear foot

Bird family of Truago (now Trenton) in Wayne County, Michigan, later founders of Clayton in Lenawee County, Michigan. Papers, 1837-1857, of Chauncey Bird, including account of flight in 1811 from Litchfield, Connecticut, to escape persecution by Masons; papers, 1835-1873, of Reuben E. Bird, largely concerning operation of Clayton general store; and diary, scrapbook, and other papers of John E. Bird, state attorney general and supreme court justice.
Collection

Birney-McClear-Hankerd family papers, 1835-1972

5 linear feet — 1 oversize volume

Papers of the Birney, McClear (variant spellings), and Hankerd families collected in part by Marian T. Hankerd of Pleasant Lake, Michigan. Genealogies and family history; correspondence and other papers of James Birney and his wife Bridget McClear, Irish immigrant settlers to Bunker Hill in Ingham County, concerning family matters, his experiences in the California gold fields, politics and Catholic Church activities; letters of Terrence McCleer from the California gold fields; Henry Birney family letters and account books; Henrietta Township, Jackson County, Michigan, materials, including township records and assessments, and records of Henrietta Farmer's Club; Bunker Hill Township, Ingham County, Michigan, assessments; scattered records of SS. Cornelius and Cyprian Catholic Church in Bunker Hill; and related photographs.

The Birney Family collection documents the lives and activities of three inter-related families: the Birneys, McClears (variant spellings), and Hankerds. Covering the years 1835-1972, the collection consists of family correspondence, legal papers, personal and financial ledgers, and clippings; materials relating to Bunker Hill Township in Ingham County and Henrietta Township in Jackson County; and collected materials pertaining to SS. Cornelius and Cyprian Catholic Church in Bunker Hill.

The collection has been arranged into nine principal series: Family / Genealogical James Birney Family, the Henry Birney Family, the Patrick Hankerd Family, Henrietta Township, Bunker Hill Township, SS. Cornelius and Cyprian Catholic Church in Bunker Hill, Photographs, and Robert Stack research papers.

Collection

Blake family papers, 1806-1984

1.8 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1 oversize volume — 902 MB (online)

Online

Correspondence and other papers of Alde L. T. Blake, including exchanges with Jane Addams, Ben Lindsey, Governor Woodbridge N. Ferris, and Anna Howard Shaw, and other materials documenting Alde Blake's suffragist activities. Scrapbooks of William F. Blake largely concerning family history and business interests, and his correspondence; a volume containing copies of private and unofficial letters written by William Blake to various persons during his tenure as U.S. Consular Agent. A volume with copies of letters sent by Robert Blake in his capacity as U.S. Consular Agent serving in Canada, including detailed commercial report about London, Ontario in 1873. Freeman N. Blake's Law School notebook. Also, included a genealogical tree of Kutsche family. Correspondence, notebooks, wills, certificates, and other materials relating to other Blake, Kutsche, and Tuck family members. Visual materials include two photo albums, as well as numerous photographs (some oversize), daguerreotypes, and one tintype. Photographs include photos of Anna Howard Shaw, Jeanette Rankin, and others following a lecture by Dr. Shaw; also group photos, possibly of woman suffrage groups.

Collection

Blanchard Family Papers, circa 1835-circa 2000

49.5 linear feet (in 50 boxes) — 1400 glass photographic plates (in 10 boxes)

The Blanchard family papers document the lives and careers of several members of the Blanchard, Cobb, and Proctor families from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. Includes visual materials, publications, personal writings, and extensive correspondence files.

The Blanchard Family Papers document the professional achievements and personal lives of several generations of a scientifically minded and artistically gifted family. The papers focus heavily upon the eminent plant pathologist and nematologist Nathan A. Cobb, his wife Alice Vara Cobb, their daughter, biologist Frieda Cobb Blanchard, and her husband, herpetologist Frank Nelson Blanchard (the latter two of whom were professors at the University of Michigan). In addition to the photographs, drawings, correspondence, journals, and writings of these four individuals, the collection is rich in family correspondence, diaries, and personal papers from other members of the Cobb and Blanchard families (and their forebears and branches, including the Bigelow, Proctor, Ross, White, and Randall families). The Blanchard Family Papers will be of value to researchers interested in a variety of topics: scientific endeavors and methodologies (and in particular those related to agronomy, nematology, botany, and herpetology); the visual arts and the development of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; colonial and provincial life in Australia and Hawaii (respectively); and the daily affairs of American (and Michigan) families throughout the twentieth century. The Blanchard Family Papers consist of seven series: Nathan A. Cobb, Alice Vara Cobb, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Frank Nelson Blanchard, Blanchard and Cobb Family Letters, Other Family Members, and Isaac G. Blanchard.

Collection

Board of Regents (University of Michigan) records, 1817-2016 (majority within 1899-2016)

286 linear feet — 3 oversize volumes — 20 oversize items — 298.4 MB (online) — 1 oversize folder

Online
The University of Michigan's highest governing body is the Board of Regents. The Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and campus life. The records of the Regents reflect this broad range of interests and authority. This record group contains exhibits from meetings beginning in 1899. These exhibits are the most complete record of the actions of the Regents, supplementing and detailing the published minutes Proceedings of the Board of Regents. Additional documentation in this record group includes manuscript minutes, 1837-1870, correspondence, material by and about the Regents, photographs, audio recordings of meetings, 1977-2011, and material on recent presidential searches.

As the official governing body of the university, the Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and life. The records of the Regents--which includes exhibits of Regents' meetings, topical files, correspondence files, audio and visual material, and archived web content--reflect this broad range of interests and authority. But while the documentation is wide-ranging, it is not continuous. Certain types of records are continually before the Regents, particularly information regarding salaries, leaves of absence, appointments to faculty positions, and formal approval of degrees conferred upon students. More often, however, the Regents are presented with a specific problem and asked to resolve it through the creation of policy. After the creation and successful implementation of a policy, the situation which caused the issue to arise is usually no longer a matter of Regental concern. The Regents' records reflect this pattern of action. Issues arise, are resolved, and then are supplanted by new concerns.

Collection

Boyd family papers, 1761-1945

1 linear foot

William H. Boyd family of Monroe, Michigan. Correspondence, diaries, addresses, photograph, and miscellaneous papers concerning family and business affairs, temperance, slavery and the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe, Michigan. Correspondents include: Isaac P. Christiancy and Alpheus Felch.

The Boyd family collection includes correspondence, diaries of family members, addresses, photographs, and miscellaneous papers concerning family and business affairs, temperance, slavery and the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe, Michigan. Correspondents include: Isaac P. Christiancy and Alpheus Felch.

Collection

Brewer General Store (Marshall, Mich.) records, 1836-1927

3 linear feet — 25 microfilms

Marshall, Michigan, general store, founded by Chauncy M. Brewer and Charles T. Gorham in 1836. Daybooks, blotters, sales books, and other materials relating to the operation of the store; also records of Fink and Butler Store.

The records of the Brewer store are very full. Most significant are the firm's daybooks, which are virtually complete for the entire period of the Brewer's operation of the store. Such gaps as exist are adequately documented through secondary record groups, such as blotters and salesbooks. In addition to this complete documentation of the goods sold each day, their price and purchaser, there are several inventories, a few timebooks, and a small body of correspondence related to the store.

The Brewer family was also involved in local real estate speculation and agricultural production, and a few records documenting these interests were retained with the store's records. Most complete is the hay scale register, covering the years 1839 to 1879. There are also records of land purchases, both in rural areas and in Marshall's "Eagle Block" which the family owned; land rental agreements; and timebooks apparently for laborers who worked the family's farmland.

Finally, the collection contains a few records generated by firms not owned by the Brewer's themselves. Most interesting are those of the Ceresco Mill, Ceresco Distillery, and the Fink & Butler store in Marshall. These records, however, are very incomplete.

The majority of the Brewer records retained at the Michigan Historical Collections are available on microfilm only. Filming was selective and information that was redundant or of minimal value was not placed on film. All original material not retained by the Michigan Historical Collections, whether filmed or not, has been placed on permanent loan with the Marshall Historical Society.

Collection

Buchanan family papers, 1847-1927

0.6 linear feet (2 boxes)

Online

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.

Collection

Buckbee Family Papers, 1841-1999 (majority within 1862-1866, 1898)

0.7 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

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.

Collection

Burrows family papers, 1760-1916

6 linear feet (in 7 boxes)

Burrows-Avery-Smith families of New York, Connecticut, and Michigan. Correspondence and business papers of Lorenzo Burrows, New York Congressman, 1849-1853; George L. Burrows, Saginaw, Michigan, banker and speculator; material concerning the Whig Party and New York state politics, 1848-1860. Correspondents include: Millard Fillmore, Washington Hunt, and John Young.

The Burrows / Avery / Smith collection was brought together and preserved by Emeline Burrows (daughter of Lorenzo Burrows) and Julia Smith (granddaughter of the elder Roswell Burrows).

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence and other papers of family members (arranged chronologically); Family records; Topical files; Visual Materials; and Financial materials.

Collection

Calvin Thomas Papers, 1838-1940 (majority within 1872-1919)

3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Professor of German at the University of Michigan and Columbia; mostly correspondence of Thomas with his family, professional colleagues, publisher, etc.; also some correspondence of his wife after his death; speeches, lecture notes, biographical sketches; papers include material on language studies at Michigan and Columbia, attitudes of academia toward Germans in World War I, accounts of European travels in 1877, 1896, and 1900; Civil War letter of Steven Thomas, Calvin's father.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical/personal material; Correspondence; Lectures and addresses; Journals/diary; Scrapbooks; Other family members papers; and Publications.

Collection

Camilla and Ethel Green Family Papers, 1827-1988 (majority within 1910-1955)

8.0 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Camilla and Ethel Green were mother and daughter who resided in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area from the late 1800s through their deaths in 1955 and 1988, respectively. Both women corresponded prolifically with their family, friends and former students. This collection consists primarily of their letters, which are largely organized chronologically if not already grouped by correspondent.

This collection reflects the papers amassed by Camilla and Ethel Green over nearly a century. It is divided into four series: Family Background and Documents, University of Michigan, Correspondence, Photographs. The bulk of the collection occurs from 1910 to 1955 and features correspondence with various friends and family members; a large portion of the letters has been organized by correspondent and/or the correspondent's family, and the remainder is sorted chronologically.

Collection

Carl Rominger family papers, 1840-1945

5 linear feet

Ann Arbor, Michigan, family. Family correspondence of Carl, physician and geologist, his wife Frederika, his son Louis, and his daughter Julia; journals, 1861-1905, of Carl Rominger, including notes on his expeditions as State Geologist of Michigan, and other travels through New York, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Ohio; and miscellaneous scrapbooks and account books; also photographs.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical and genealogical material; Correspondence; Miscellaneous and other papers; Notebooks from courses at Tübingen, 1839-1842; Carl L. Rominger notebooks and journals, 1861-1905; and Drafts and manuscripts of various writings.

The notebooks and journal are especially rich documenting Rominger's interest in geology, paleontology, and allied fields in New York, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio, with the bulk pertaining to Michigan where Rominger served as state geologist.

Collection

Carroll DeWeese digital map collection, 1838-1926

565 MB (online)

Online
Maps of Oakland and Livingston Counties and Detroit, Mich., and the state of Michigan, and other items relating to Bloomfield Township, Mich., photographed from the holdings of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library.

This collection of maps and other items was photographed from the holdings of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library, May 5, 2010. Five items or groups of items were photographed.

Collection

Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Detroit, Mich.) Records, 1824-2002

25 linear feet — 19 oversize volumes

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul was founded in Detroit in 1824 as St. Paul⿿s parish. The record group spans the period from 1824 to 1995 and includes church registers of services, meeting minutes, and other documentation of the administrative life of the church. The record groups also includes record books of baptisms, marriages, and burials from 1824 to 1936.

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul records span the period from 1824 to 1995 and includes church registers of services, meeting minutes, and other documentation of the administrative life of the church. The record groups also includes record books of baptisms, marriages, and burials from 1824 to 1936.

The record group consists of seven series: Church Registers; Administrative Records; Church Publications, Annual Reports/Annual Meeting Reports, Vestry Records, Topical Files, and Miscellaneous earlier records.

Collection

C. C. Trowbridge papers, circa 1823-1840

0.5 linear feet

Clerk to Gen. Lewis Cass on 1819 expedition among Indians of upper Great Lakes, Indian agent and negotiator, mayor of Detroit in 1834, and later University of Michigan regent. Papers consist primarily of material relating to his early experience among the Indians including reports to Cass and other accounts of Indian life and language. Consists in part of photostats of material held by the Burton Historical Library.

The Trowbridge collection consists mainly of materials accumulated during the early years of his career when he was acting as Indian agent and when he devoted himself to the study of the languages and customs of the native Americans of the upper midwest.

The major portion of the Trowbridge papers are located at the Burton Historical Collection (NUCMC 70-1194)

Collection

Center for the History of Medicine (University of Michigan) records, 1831-2016

7.4 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 4 film reels — 2 oversize folders — 2 archived websites — 10.3 GB (online) — 2 oversize items

Online
University of Michigan unit established in 1990 in part to collect and disseminate information regarding the history of health sciences in Michigan. Records include newsletter of the Center; collected historical manuscripts, photographs, and motion pictures relating to the development of health sciences at the University of Michigan; include notebooks of medical school students, account book, 1831-1839, of Berrien Springs, Michigan physician, and miscellaneous materials relating to the medical school and to medical practice.

The records of the Center for the History of Medicine (CHM) records include administrative records documenting operation of the center and archival material collected by the center. The materials have been divided into three subgroups: Administrative, Collections, and Center for the History of Medicine Website.

Collection

Charles B. Mears Lumber Company (Ludington, Mich.) records, 1837-1895

12 volumes (in 1 box) — 8 oversize volumes

Ludington, Michigan lumber company; business records, including day books, inventories, time books, and ledgers.

The record group consists of financial records from the various camps and mills which Charles Mears owned in Mason, Muskegon, and Oceana counties. The earliest record is an account book, 1837-1843, showing expenditures from his first lumbering venture near White Lake, Michigan.

Collection

Charles I. Walker Collection, 1817-1887 (majority within 1817-1825)

1 case

Online
Professor of law at the University of Michigan. Papers collected relating to the founding of the University; include original draft of the act to establish the Catholepistemiad, table explaining meaning of names of professorships, various drafts and amendments, receipts, correspondence, and related documents; contain papers drafted or signed by Augustus B. Woodward, John Monteith, and William Woodbridge.

Collected documents relating to the founding of the University, including original draft of the act to establish the Catholepistemiad, table explaining meaning of names of professorships, various drafts and amendments, receipts, correspondence, and related documents; contain papers drafted or signed by Augustus B. Woodward, John Monteith, and William Woodbridge.

Collection

Charles L. Stevenson papers, 1841-1846, 1925-1979

5 linear feet

Papers, 1925-1979, of Charles L. Stevenson, professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, and his wife, Louise Destler Stevenson. Correspondence with philosophers George E. Moore and Ludwig Wittgenstein; Stevenson-Destler courtship letters; student letters from Yale in the 1920's; also manuscripts and lecture notes on philosophy; diaries of Louise Stevenson; draft of her novel; and sermon books 1841, 1845-1846 of his great grandfather, the Rev. Isaac D. Williamson, New York state clergyman.

The Charles L. Stevenson papers consist of his student notebooks from Yale, Cambridge and Harvard Universities; course materials and notes for his lectures in philosophy courses at the University of Michigan and professional correspondence, including letters with Ludwig Wittgenstein and George E. Moore; professional writings; and personal and family papers. The collection is divided into the following series: Personal/biographical; Correspondence; Education: Yale, Cambridge, Harvard; Course materials and lecture notes: Yale, University of Michigan; Writings and Research Notes; Miscellaneous; Louise Destler Stevenson Papers; and Other Family Members.

Collection

Charles Spoor papers, 1837-1893

25 items (in oversize folder)

The Charles Spoor papers include deeds, receipts, and other documents relating to land transactions in Ann Arbor and Mount Clemens, Michigan. Some involve early settlers of the towns, including Christian Clemens and other members of the Spoor family.

Collection

Clarke family papers, 1830-1919

1 linear foot — 1 oversize volume

Family from Flint, and East Saginaw, Michigan; family correspondence.

The collection consists of papers and a photograph album. The papers, 1830-1919, of the Clarke and DeLand family of Flint and East Saginaw, Michigan. Clarke family materials include correspondence of Daniel Clarke and family, notably letters of Mary Flint (Mrs. Daniel Clarke) written from Argentina, 1837-1844, and letters of William Flint Clarke, written while he was a student at the University of Michigan, 1869-1873. DeLand family materials consist of correspondence of Charles V. DeLand and family, including letters of his daughter, Dell DeLand Clarke. The collection also includes miscellaneous writings and printed material, and an early account book of Leonard G. Perry. The photograph album is contains portraits of the members of the class of 1873 of the University of Michigan. This album also contains portraits of members of the faculty, views of University buildings, and various group images.

Collection

Claudius Buchanan Grant papers, 1830s-1924

.4 linear feet (7 folders and 5 volumes in 1 box)

Online
Native of Ann Arbor, Mich. and officer in the U.S. Civil War; served as a Regent of University of Michigan and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Collection includes a diary, 1862-1865, written while serving in Co. D, 20th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War and recounting daily activities and the sieges of Knoxville and Petersburg; correspondence, mainly with his mother and wife, while a student at University of Michigan and during the Civil War; papers of other family members; and portraits of Grant and members of his family as well as and water-colors of Civil War.

The Claudius Buchanan Grant papers provide insight into the Civil War as experienced by a Union officer and also document life in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. This collection is comprised of three series: Personal Papers, Family Papers, and Visual Materials.

Collection

College of Literature, Science and the Arts (University of Michigan) records, 1846-2018

549.4 linear feet (in 550 boxes) — 3 oversize volumes — 123.93 GB (online) — 1 archived website

Online
Founded in 1841, the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) is the liberal arts college of the University of Michigan, encompassing over 100 academic departments and non-departmental centers, programs, institutes, museums, and laboratories. The record group includes correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, reports, proposals, subject files, and program materials from the administrative offices of the dean and the academic units that make up the college.

The records of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) of the University of Michigan date from 1846 with the first meeting of the literary college's faculty. They now span more than a century and a half and comprise 549.4 linear feet (in 550 boxes), 3 volumes, and 169.9 GB of minutes, correspondence, memoranda, reports, and subject files detailing the activities of the college from its early beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century to its present status as the largest of the university's colleges.

The administrative records of the college have come to the library in six major accessions beginning in 1942 with small periodic accessions thereafter. In addition, the college has periodically deposited bound record copies of the minute books of the meetings of the LSA faculty. Covering the years 1846 to 2007, the minute books (oversize volumes, boxes 204 to 209, and box 388) are the most important source of information about the college, especially for the period before World War I because few other extant records document the activities of the university's liberal arts college.

Collection

Conant Family papers, 1833-2001

1 linear foot — 1 oversize folder

The Conant Family papers trace several generations of the Conant family in Van Buren Township, Wayne County and Salem Township, Washtenaw County. The collection contains Civil War correspondence, general family correspondence spanning a period of 130 years, warranty deeds regarding the Conant farmstead, genealogical research, photographs and negatives.

The Conant Family papers cover the period between 1833 and 2001. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, warranty deeds, land documents, financial statements, newspaper clippings, genealogical research, photographs and negatives. The collection has the following series: Family, Land and Finances, Genealogy, and Visual Material.

Collection

Corydon L. Ford papers, 1841-1900 (majority within 1873-1900)

2 linear feet

Dr. Corydon L. Ford was a professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Michigan Department of Medicine and Surgery (now the Medical School), He taught from 1854 to 1894. The collection contains reports on his faculty activities, scattered correspondence, lecture notes, syllabi, plates, and other papers relating largely to his work in the Medical School; also visual materials.

The Corydon L. Ford papers offer strong documentation of medical education and practice in the last half of the 19th century. The collection is arranged in three series: Teaching Records, Topical Files, and Miscellaneous.

Collection

Cumings family diaries, 1840-1847, 1854-1858, 1885, 1887-1888

5 volumes (in 1 box)

Family diaries of the Cumings family of Apine Township, Michigan.

Diary of Philip Cumings describing farm life in New York and his settlement in Kent County, Michigan; also diary of his son Edwin recording farm and church activities, local affairs, and weather; and diary of his daughter Grace describing a trip by rail to Florida.

Collection

Cyrus W. Beckwith account book, 1825-1872

1 volume — 1 envelope

This collection consists of the record of Cyrus Beckwith's general store and other business activities, as well as portraits of Beckwith and his wife, Amarilla.

Collection

David Wheeler Palmer and family papers, 1807-1982

3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

David Wheeler Palmer was a Bridgewater, Michigan school teacher and farmer. His papers consist of diaries, 1846-1864, 1876-1882, and 1887-1892, concerning daily activities and farm life. There are also papers of other family members, including Emmett Newton Palmer, a Brooklyn, Michigan physician, Fred E. Palmer, a surgeon who served in the Spanish-American War, and Louisa Palmer, who was a teacher in Hawaii.

The David Wheeler Palmer collection consists mainly of his diaries and other papers. These diaries, dating from 1846 to 1892 with some gaps, comment in detail on his life, his family, the weather, financial transactions, and local politics. Other portions of the collection include materials of other family members: Palmer's wife Fidelia Randall Palmer; her brother Roswell Randall, Jr.; Emmett Palmer, the son of David and Fidelia; Fred Palmer, the son of Emmett; and Joseph Palmer, the father of David. Of interest are the photographs accumulated by Dr. Fred Palmer while he was serving in the Philippines. These include images of Hawaii on route to the Philippines and of the Santa Mesa facility in the Philippines. Another family member represented in the collection is Louisa Palmer who taught in Hawaii. She was an inveterate traveler who wrote extensive letters describing places visited for her students and family.

Collection

Davis family (Grand Rapids and Pontiac, Mich.) papers, 1796-1891

0.3 linear feet

Online

Letters from relatives in New York, New Jersey and Iowa discussing in part plans to migrate westward; letter, 1852, recounting missionary life in India; Civil War letters from Townsend M. Luce (Co. F., Third Michigan Infantry), Rufus Cheney (Co. D, 2nd Michigan Cavalry), Charles O. Reed (probably Co. A, 4th Michigan Cavalry), Philip Segur (Co. A, 7th Michigan Cavalry), and one tentatively identified as Albert H. Freeman (Battery B, 1st Michigan Light Artillery); and miscellanea.

Collection

D.C. Allen House of David Collection, 1795-1980 (majority within 1903-1980)

22 linear feet (in 24 boxes) — 69 volumes — 5 microfilms — 39.4 GB (online)

Online
D. C. Allen was a Three Oaks, Michigan book dealer and collector of material on the House of David, an adventist cult founded in England. The leader of this cult was Benjamin Purnell who made Benton Harbor his home and the site of his follower's business activities. The Allen collection (formerly housed at the Wyoming American Heritage Center) consists of most of the publications by and about the Israelite House of David, scattered manuscript materials mainly documenting the colony's business operations and court cases involving Purnell and the colony, and photographs and postcards depicting activities of the colony.

The collection gathered together by D. C. Allen includes published materials, manuscripts and other paper documentation, and photographs, postcards, and other visual materials. The published material consists mainly of books and pamphlets written by House of David founder "King Benjamin" Purnell and his wife Mary and others associated with the House of David. This collection was formerly stored at the University of Wyoming American Heritage Center.

Collection

DeLand family papers, 1811-1943

0.8 linear feet (2 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

Online

Personal correspondence, 1842-1941; Civil War letters, 1862-1865, of C. V. DeLand of Co. C, Ninth Michigan Infantry, later Colonel of the First Sharpshooters during the Civil War; correspondence concerning early Jackson history, indentures, school records, temperance and abolition material and other records pertaining to family affairs and the town of Jackson, Michigan. Also contains photographs, with family portraits and photo of an old mill in Jefferson, Mich.

Collection

den Bleyker Family papers, 1828-1936

9 linear feet (in 10 boxes)

Paulus den Bleyker family of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Papers of Paulus den Bleyker, his son John, John's wife, Anna Balch den Bleyker, and other family members relating to family and business affairs.

The collection includes the correspondence and business papers of Paulus den Bleyker, papers of his son John den Bleyker and John's wife Anna Balch, Paulus' daughter, Martha, and other family members and descendents. Much of the correspondence is in Dutch, but an English calendar of these letters (in box 1) has been prepared by Harry DeVries and Effa Zwier.

Many of the papers for the years 1828-1851 are on affairs in Holland and the den Bleyker settlement near Kalamazoo. For the years 1851-1856, the correspondence deals with personal affairs, the building of a flour mill and a saw mill and land transactions. For the years 1856-1857, there are many letters from family and friends but the bulk of them concern den Bleyker's real estate dealings. For 1872 to 1936, the correspondence is of John and Anna Balch den Bleyker and relates to family and business.

Of special significance in the collection is the file of letters exchanged between Paulus den Bleyker and A.C. Van Raalte, the founder of the Dutch community in Holland, Michigan.

Collection

Denison family papers, 1848-1907

1 linear foot

Grand Rapids, Michigan, family. Correspondence and business and legal papers of Julius Coe Denison; diaries, 1886-1890 and 1897-1907, of Julius' wife, Cornelia Carter Denison, describing daily life; and diaries, 1879-1889, of their son, Arthur Carter Denison, concerning in part his activities as student at the University of Michigan in the 1880s.

The Denison Family papers date from 1848 to 1907 and measure one linear foot. The papers document the day to day activities in a segment of the lives of Julius and Cornelia Denison and their son Arthur.

The papers of Julius Coe Denison date from 1848 to 1878 and include correspondence, receipts, land deeds and other papers. The papers of Cornelia Denison (1885 to 1907) and Arthur Denison (1879 to 1889) are principally diaries which contain brief entries about their daily activities, lists of books they read, and lists of expenses. The early diaries of Arthur Denison document his activities at the University of Michigan.

Collection

Donald G. Staebler papers, 1847-2011

1.5 linear feet

Donald G. Staebler was a farmer who worked on the Staebler Family Farm in Dixboro, Michigan. Staebler collected and preserved historical documents relating to the Staebler family. He used these records to write a history of the farm. The collection includes scrapbooks of photographs, correspondence, and other materials related to the family. Also included are Staebler's written notes and drafts of the farm's history.

The Donald G. Staebler papers contains his writings and research, as well as material documenting the Staebler Family Farm in Dixboro, Michigan. The first box holds four scrapbooks that includes photographs, newspaper clippings, and other collected records from members of the Staebler family. Within these scrapbooks are written histories of the farm and family to provide context for the documents.

The second box consists of additional collected family materials including diaries, correspondence, and other records related to members of the family like Helen Staebler Martin and Henry Staebler. This box also includes more of Donald Staebler's writings, and letters to his wife, Lena while he lived in England.

Collection

Don Binkowski collected materials, 1825-2013

16.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 1 oversize volume — 15.6 GB (online)

Online
Binkowski was a district judge from Warren, Michigan who collected extensively about Democratic politics and the Polish American community in Michigan. The collection includes materials collected by Binkowski on Democratic politics, the Polish community in Michigan, the cities of Detroit, Warren, and Hamtramck, Michigan, and collected letters, postage covers, and stamps.

The collection includes materials collected by Binkowski on Democratic politics, the Polish community in Michigan, the cities of Detroit, Warren, and Hamtramck, Michigan history in general, and collected letters, postage covers, and stamps. Digital materials include video files and an archived website. Photographs include images of strike violence, 1934-1938, at various Michigan firms; photos of Polish American public figures and organizations, also photos of political meetings and elected officials. Audio cassettes mostly contain recorded interviews with Polish American political figures.

Collection

Douglass family (Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich.) papers, 1812-1911 (majority within 1837-1900)

9 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 3 oversize volumes

Papers of Benjamin Douglass and his sons, Samuel T. Douglass, Detroit attorney and jurist, and Silas H. Douglas, professor of chemistry at the University of Michigan, and member of Douglass Houghton's Northern Michigan survey. Correspondence, scrapbooks, letter books, and miscellanea concerning family affairs, business and university activities; also contains records of the Douglass and Walker and Campbell Law Firm; and papers of individual members of Silas Douglas’ family, including his wife Helen Welles Douglas, their children Samuel T. Douglas, Marie Louise Douglas, and Catherine Hulbert Douglas, and other Douglas and Welles family members; and photographs.

The Douglass Family collection spans the period 1812-1911 and comprises eight linear feet of manuscripts, one linear ft. of photographs, three outsize volumes, and 1 folder of oversize materials. The collection include the papers of Benjamin Douglass and his two sons, Samuel T. (1814-98) a lawyer and Detroit judge, and Silas H. (1816-90), a professor at The University of Michigan. Although Silas came to use the family name of Douglas rather than Douglass, the paper indicate that there was little consistency.

The collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, letterpress books, business and legal papers, scrapbooks, photographs, and family materials. The collection, except for series of photographs and maps, is arranged by family member name.

Collection

Douglass Houghton Papers, 1829-1845

0.4 linear feet (1 box) — 2 oversize volumes — 3 oversize folders

Online
State geologist of Michigan. Field notes, 1837-1841, of his geological survey of the state, including some original drawings [original and typescript copies, and microfilm of pages 197-291]; letter book, 1841-1845; miscellaneous correspondence and field notes, including letter, May 31, 1841, to Abram Sager; notes and other papers collected by Mrs. John Ehlers for her book on Houghton, including copies of papers of Bela Hubbard; and photographs.

The Douglass Houghton manuscript collection at the Michigan Historical Collections includes one volume of field notes, 1837-1841; typed transcripts of the field notes; a one volume letterpress book, 1841-1845; miscellaneous correspondence, newspaper clippings and other papers (photostats and typescripts of materials in other repositories); and notes collected by Mrs. John Ehlers for a book on Houghton.

An appendix to this finding aid contains an inventory to the manuscript maps found in the collection, and other Houghton maps.

The reports of Houghton's work for the Michigan Geological Survey have been published in Geological Reports of Douglass Houghton: First State Geologist of Michigan, 1837-1845, Lansing, Mich.: Michigan Historical Commission 1928. [MHC call number EA/153/MG345/G345, available online through HathiTrust]

Collection

Dunbar family papers, 1837-1863

1 oversize folder

The Dunbar family papers consist of certificates and proclamations presented to members of the Gilbert Dunbar family, concerning the family's Revolutionary War claim and Civil War service.

Collection

Eddy family papers, 1837-1921 (majority within 1861-1864)

0.6 linear feet (in 2 boxes) — 1 volume (in 1 box) — 196 MB

Online
Residents of Plymouth, Michigan. Three Eddy brothers, Willard, William Hannahs, and Clark, served in the Michigan 2nd and 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiments in the Civil War. This collection contains family portraits (mostly tintypes, with a few daguerreotypes and ambrotypes as well), wartime correspondence among the Eddy siblings and parents (including several digital scans and transcriptions), family genealogical materials, and a family Bible.

This collection contains family portraits, genealogical material, correspondence among the Eddy siblings and parents, and a family Bible. The correspondence consists of approximately 120 letters, most of which were written during the American Civil War (1860-1865) between the three enlisted brothers, Willard, William and Clark, and their parents, Otis and Lucy. Three of the letters contain accounts of the Battle of Williamsburg (letter dated May 12, 1862), the First Battle of Fredricksburg (letter dated May 26, 1863), and the Second Battle of Fredricksburg (letter dated May 26, 1863). There are also digital scans of six of the letters and digital transcriptions of ten of them.

The family Bible is also included, and the loose leaf genealogical and family record materials that were once interleaved within it have been foldered separately for preservation reasons. There are also two official Union Army documents conferring promotions on Clark Eddy, one for the rank of corporal and the other for the rank of sergeant.

The collection also includes a box of family portraits taken using various early photographic methods. There are four 1/6th plate size portraits framed in “Union Cases,” two of which are tintypes and two of which are daguerreotypes. There are also two 1/9th plate size ambrotypes. The box also contains a leather-bound photograph album of fifteen later portraits of family members, as well as a small Maple Grove Candies box which holds five unframed and uncased tintypes.

Collection

Edward Nicholas and Dollie Ann Cole papers, 1829-2016 (majority within 1960-1977)

19 linear feet — 2 oversize boxes — 1 film reel — 1 oversize folder

Edward (Ed) Nicholas Cole was a President of General Motors Corporation and highly influential automotive engineer. His wife Dollie Ann was a well-known philanthropist and socialite in Michigan and Texas. Collection include correspondence, reports, technical records, speech transcripts, genealogical papers, photographs, audiovisual materials and scrapbooks.

The Edward Nicholas and Dollie Ann Cole papers contain materials from influential automotive exectuive Edward Nicholas Cole and his wife Dollie Ann Cole. The collection has been organized into two series:

The Edward Nicholas Cole series contains correspondence, business records, reports, photographs, audiovisual materials, transcripts, and blueprints. The series has been divided into four subseries: the Correspondence subseries contains personal and professional letters, the Project Files subseries includes documents related to Cole's career with General Motors, Chevrolet, Checker Motors Corporation and other projects. The Speeches and Appearences subseries chronicles Cole's public speaking engagements in the early 1970s and the Personal Materials subseries contains photographs, audiovisual materials and other materials related to Cole's family and recreational interests.

The Dollie Ann Cole series contains correspondence, papers, photographs and scrapbooks. The series has been organized into two subseries: the Correspondence series which contains letters dated between 1968-1976 and the Topical files series which includes materials related to Cole's charitable and community work, her media appearances and other pursuits.

Collection

Edwin Denby papers, 1845-1846, 1880-1927

2.4 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

United States Representative and Secretary of the Navy; collection includes correspondence, 1880-1927, concerning personal matters, business affairs, and political activities; letters to Mrs. Denby regarding Denby’s death; articles, speeches, notes and memoranda on various topics including the Teapot Dome Scandal, Panama Canal, relations with China, and the United States Navy; photostats of letters exchanged between Nathaniel Denby and George Bancroft, 1845-1846; and photographs.

The Edwin Denby papers, dating from 1845-1846 and 1880-1929, are organized into five series: Correspondence, Articles and Speeches, Topical Files, Personal/Biographical, and Photographs. Denby's papers document his political career as United States Representative and Secretary of the Navy, and include relevant information on such topics as the United States Navy, the Panama Canal and the Teapot Dome Scandal.

Collection

Edwin Franko Goldman Autograph Collection, circa 1770-1954 (majority within 1850s-1940s)

1 linear foot (in 2 boxes)

Edwin Franko Goldman (1878-1956) was an American composer and conductor for military bands. Collection, assembled by Goldman, of autographs, letters, photographs, and musical scores of many musical celebrities from his lifetime and before.

The Edwin Franko Goldman Autograph Collection consists of two series: Background Materials and Autographed Photographs and Manuscripts. The collection contains autographs, letters, photographs, and musical scores of such notable musical celebrities as Antonin Dvorák, George Gershwin, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Philip Sousa, Johann Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky.

Collection

Eli A. Griffin papers, 1836-1882 (majority within 1853-1864)

0.4 linear feet

Online
Niles, Mich. businessman and officer in the Sixth and Nineteenth Michigan Infantry regiments during the Civil War. Includes correspondence, diaries, and photographs related to Griffin's personal life and military service in addition to genealogical information and miscellaneous materials.

The Eli A. Griffin papers are organized into a single Personal Papers series, which includes family genealogical information, correspondence, personal diaries, photographs, military records, and other materials. The collection documents Griffin's various travels (including trips to the California gold fields in 1849 and 1853 and other trips to Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, and Utah), service in the Union army during the Civil War, and information about his family.

Collection

Elizabeth Margaret Chandler Papers, 1793-1854

0.6 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Papers of Elizabeth Margaret Chandler, Abolitionist poet, and the Chandler family of Adrian, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, including Elizabeth's parents Thomas and Margaret Evans Chandler; Margaret's sisters Ruth Evans and Jane Howell; Elizabeth's brothers Thomas and William, and William's wife Sarah Taylor Chandler. Correspondence of Elizabeth and Thomas Chandler and Ruth Evans with family members in the East, Benjamin Lundy, and others, describing early settlement, agricultural conditions, and local and national anti-slavery movements; also family correspondence of Thomas and Margaret Chandler in Pennsylvania.

The Elizabeth Margaret Chandler collection includes both the papers of this abolitionist poet as well as papers of other members of the Chandler family of Pennsylvania and Lenawee County, Michigan. Represented in the collection are letters to/from Elizabeth's parents Thomas and Margaret Evans Chandler; Margaret's sisters Ruth Evans and Jane Howell; Elizabeth's brothers Thomas and William, and William's wife Sarah Taylor Chandler. Following 1830, much of the correspondence of Elizabeth and Thomas Chandler and Ruth Evans is with family members in the East, Benjamin Lundy, and others, describing their settlement in Lenawee County, agricultural conditions, and local and national anti-slavery movements. Other correspondents in the collection include William Bliss, Darius Comstock, Isaac Crary, Abi Evans, Jane Howell, Darius C. Jackson, Benjamin Lundy, William M. Sullivan and Matthew F. Whittier.

In all, there are twenty-two letters, 1830-1834, written to members of her family, from Elizabeth Margaret Chandler. The earliest letter, June 14, 1830, written from Philadelphia, discusses the advantages of emigrating to Michigan. The later letters are written from Hazelbank, a farm in Lenawee County, between Adrian and Tecumseh, where Elizabeth Chandler settled with her brother, Thomas Chandler, and her aunt, Ruth Evans. The letters describe the clearing of the land, the building of a log cabin and its furnishings, the planting of the first crops, and give an account of the district around the farm, its settlers (chiefly Quakers), its trade and agriculture, land and commodity prices. They contain scattered references to abolitionist activities, such as the boycott of slave-produced commodities, to the Black Hawk War in Illinois and Wisconsin, 1832, and to other current events. Fifteen letters, 1830-1835, on the same subjects, were written by Thomas Chandler and Ruth Evans; two letters, 1834, 1835, enclose copies of obituary notices on Elizabeth Chandler's death.

Also part of the collection are sixty letters, 1830-1842, written to Elizabeth and Thomas Chandler, and Ruth Evans, from Ruth Evans' sister, Jane Howell, Philadelphia, Pa. Several of these letters refer to slavery and to anti-slavery leaders, such as William Lloyd Garrison, Benjamin Lundy, Evan Lewis, and Charles C. Burleigh, coeditor with his brother, William Henry, of the abolitionist newspaper The Unionist; a few refer to the financial and mercantile disruption caused by President Andrew Jackson's monetary policy, resulting in the panic of 1837; two letters, 1835, mention the boundary dispute between the State of Ohio and Michigan Territory (the Toledo War); others refer to a controversy between the Hicksite Friends and the Orthodox Friends in New York, the danger of a cholera epidemic, Indian difficulties, the increase of settlers in Michigan Territory, and other contemporary topics; one letter, 1832, encloses a certification of Thomas Chandler's membership in the Society of Friends, and one letter, 1834, encloses a poem on the death of George Dillwyn (1738-1821), Society of Friends preacher.

Twenty-eight of the letters received by Elizabeth and Thomas Chandler and Ruth Evans in Michigan (1830-1852) were from other relatives and friends. Seven of these, 1831-38, were from Benjamin Lundy concerning a trip to Mexico, anti-slavery activities, and the first edition of Elizabeth Chandler's poems, which Lundy published in 1836; two letters, 1851, 1852, were from I. Prescott, publisher and bookseller of Salem, Ohio, discussing a republication of Elizabeth Chandler's poems; one, 1837, from Darius C. Jackson, delegate from Lenawee County to the Second Constitutional Convention of Assent, Ann Arbor, 1836, mentions the revision of Michigan laws, the Internal Improvement Bill, and the General Banking Laws Bill; one, 1837, from Isaac E. Crary, Michigan's first member of Congress acknowledges receipt of Thomas Chandler's petition against the Annexation of Texas, which Crary had presented to the House of Representatives; one, 1838, from William Bliss of Blissfield, lists the names of officers and members of the Anti-Slavery Society of Blissfield; one, 1839, from William L. Sullivan, Jackson, discusses Methodist anti-slavery meetings; one, 1838, describes the anti-abolitionist riots in Philadelphia, Pa., and the burning of Pennsylvania Hall, built in 1837 by anti-slavery societies for public meetings; three, 1837, are from Mathew Franklin Whittier (brother of John Greenleaf Whittier), Amesbury, Mass.

A calendar arranged by name of correspondent is available in the reading room card files.

Collection

Eliza Maria Mosher papers, 1846-1934

4.4 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Physician and first Dean of Women at University of Michigan. Correspondence, largely of a personal nature with her niece Sarah Searing; biographical information; scrapbooks with notes and letters about travels abroad; and photographs.

The collection consists of materials accumulated by Dr. Mosher's niece Sarah Searing. It includes both letters received from Eliza to her niece, general family correspondence, and other Mosher materials which came into Sarah Searing's possession upon the death of Dr. Mosher. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Personal and biographical; Writings, speeches and lectures; Miscellaneous; Travel; Clippings and scrapbooks; Realia; and Photographs.

Collection

Enoch J. White papers, 1836-1877

1 linear foot

Lapeer, Michigan businessman; correspondence and other business papers.

The White collection includes correspondence and other business papers relating to his real estate transactions. There is also a personal account book and an account book of the White and Langdon general store, 1843-1845.

Collection

E. O. Haven pamphlets and reprints, 1838-1881

1 box

President of the University of Michigan, 1863-1881. Articles and speeches on topics in higher education and religion.

The Haven pamphlets and reprints collection consists of articles and texts of speeches by Haven on a variety of topics higher education and religion and public affairs.

Collection

E. O. Haven papers, 1838 - 1882

0.5 linear feet (in 2 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

Erastus Otis Haven was the second president of the University of Michigan. Haven later became the President of Northwestern University, then served as the Chancellor of Syracuse University. The collection consists of photographs of Haven and his family, as well as scrapbooks and correspondence.

The E. O. Haven papers contains a letter, 1838, to his parents written from Wesleyan University; three letters from Haven about University of Michigan; a letter asking Haven to lecture in Saginaw, Michigan; letter book, 1864-1865, chiefly of official correspondence as president of University of Michigan, copies of articles appearing in the Michigan Argus for 1869, condemning and defending President Haven for speaking in a Unitarian church in Detroit, Michigan; and scrapbooks.

Portraits and other photographs are included as well, of Haven as well as his son, Otis Erastus, and his wife, Mary.

Collection

Episcopal Church. Diocese of Michigan records, 1830-2016

66.5 linear feet — 12 oversize volumes — 3 oversize folders

Bishops files, records of executive and administrative bodies and of diocesan organizations, staff files, parishes and mission's materials, and visual materials and sound recordings.

The records of the diocese of Michigan have been arranged into the following series: Bishops' files, Executive and administrative bodies, Diocesan organizations, Diocesan programs, Diocesan staff, Parishes and missions, Clergy, Audio and visual material, and Miscellaneous.

The record group is most valuable for its documentation of the history of the diocese and the individual churches within its administration, with a lesser amount of material pertaining to religious functions performed and to the operation of diocesan administrative groups and departments. For a number of reasons, there is scant material pertaining to the administration of the diocesan office or to the special programs that have been initiated by it over the years. Some of this material may be found in the papers of individual bishops whose papers have also come to the library and are separately cataloged. These include Samuel McCoskry, Samuel Smith Harris, Charles D. Williams, Herman Page, and Richard Emrich.

Collection

Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad records, 1834-1968

12 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes

The first railroad west of the Appalachians. Correspondence, legal papers, receipts, account books, bank statements, and stock certificate books; also reports to the Interstate Commerce Commission and Michigan and Ohio regulatory agencies. and minutes, 1834-1919, of the Board of Directors.

The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad record group consists of minutes, correspondence, annual reports to regulatory agencies, and various business and legal documents, including payrolls, stock transfers, dividends paid, and check registers.

Collection

Ermine Cowles Case papers, 1805-1956 (majority within 1920s-1940s)

3.5 linear feet (in 5 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

Ermine Cowles Case was a prolific paleontologist and geologist, and a well respected professor of historical geology and paleontology at the University of Michigan. He was instrumental in the discovery and naming of several dinosaurs, and did considerable research on prehistoric vertebrates. The collection includes professional and person files that contain correspondence, organizational activities, recognitions, research, speeches, biographical records, and photographs. Inclusive dates span from 1805-1956, but most fall in the 1902s-1940s.

The records of Ermine Cowles Case span the course of his professional career, including his research, travels, and involvement in many scientific circles. Outside of academia, Case maintained correspondence with several family members and close friends, which this collection also contains. Aware of his contributions to history, Case filed away his many professional and personal correspondences noting in the first folder, "These letters are worth keeping and looking over. They contain much information of what went on, and many signatures of men active in Geology and Paleontology, both in U.S. and abroad, in my working time" (1947). Several small notes like these can be found throughout the collection among letters, photographs, and research materials. The series in this collection include: Professional Files, Personal Files, and Visual Materials.

Collection

Ferry Family (Dexter Ferry) papers, 1758-1989 (majority within 1855-1959)

23.5 linear feet (in 25 boxes) — 7 oversize volumes

A pioneer Detroit, Michigan family, established the Ferry Seed Company and other business enterprises, active in civic and cultural affairs. Papers document the family and its business, cultural, political and philanthropic activities.

The Ferry family papers document the rise to prominence of this family who first gained their fortune as seed merchants. The papers also reveal the workings of other Detroit businesses, the development of the Detroit Institute of Arts, turn-of-the-century Michigan politics, and the suburban development of Grosse Pointe. The papers span the years 1758 to 1989 with the bulk of the materials covering 1855 to 1959. The collection consists of: account books, ledgers, journals, and business reports; blue prints, deeds, titles, abstracts, and mortgages; correspondence (business and personal); appointment books, diaries, scrapbooks, and clippings; receipts and tax returns, photographs, and printed miscellanea. It is important to note that the Michigan Historical Collections does not house all extant Ferry materials. The donor, Dexter M. Ferry, III, retains possession of several early account books, ledgers, and journals related to D.M. Ferry & Co.; he also kept some family correspondence and virtually all photographs.

The Ferry family papers arrived at the Michigan Historical Collections in an order based on when the donor reviewed the materials. In the course of reprocessing, this order was altered, and an arrangement assigning primacy to the generation of Ferry who created the document was followed. This reprocessing has resulted in three series: Historical and Background, materials predating Dexter M. Ferry; Dexter M. Ferry; and Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. The few problems presented by overlap between generations are duly noted in the contents list. Within these generational series the materials are arrayed in business, personal, philanthropic, and political subseries. Given the natures of the family and the family business, the researcher should note that murkiness exists between subseries divisions. In general these dividing principles work well. They preserve Dexter M. Ferry, III's original order at the folder level while facilitating access by independent researchers.

The strengths of the Ferry collection are myriad. The family correspondence provide unique insight into a family which grew wealthy but remained close-knit. Especially interesting are the long runs of correspondence between Dexter M. Ferry and his mother, Lucy Ferry Crippen, and Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. and his mother, Addie Miller Ferry. The former run reveals much about the fluid society of late nineteenth-century Detroit, and the latter reflects the pressures of more rigidly defined social strictures. The correspondence between Ferry, Jr. and his sisters, Blanche Ferry Hooker and Queene Ferry Coonley, are illuminating on the handling of the family business in the changing economic climates of the twentieth century.

Some facets of the development of the Detroit business community are well documented as the family invested heavily in local real estate and business. The strengths of the present collection revolve around the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. materials relating to business and finance in Detroit from 1920 to 1950, particularly the banking community's reaction to the crisis of the Depression. The links between automobile touring, the good roads movement, and the development of ancillary industries to support the burgeoning automotive industry are fairly well documented by Dexter M. Ferry, Jr.'s papers. Young Ferry's close association with the development of the Detroit Institute of Arts is extremely well documented and these papers provide a case study of twentieth century patronage.

A somewhat refracted view of Michigan politics at the turn of the twentieth century is provided through the scrapbooks and clippings on Dexter Ferry's failed campaign in 1900 for governor of the state. The papers are stronger in their documentation of Dexter Ferry, Jr.'s political involvement with the local governance of Grosse Pointe. Here the details of community control are thoroughly covered by correspondence, reports, and minutes.

Collection

Ferry Family Papers (William Montague Ferry family), 1823-1904

0.8 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Online
William Montague Ferry served as missionary to Indians at Michilimackinac, Michigan for the United Foreign Missionary Society, 1822-1834 and as clergyman in Grand Haven, Michigan. William Montague Ferry, Jr. served in the 14th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War, as University of Michigan Regent and later moved to Park City, Utah where he was active in Democratic Party politics. Thomas W. Ferry served as congressman, 1865 to 1871, and as U.S. Senator from 1871 to 1883. Papers include correspondence describing missionary work of William M. Ferry, Sr., civil war letters of William M. Ferry, Jr., some political correspondence of Thomas W. Ferry, and letters of Amanda White Ferry, wife of William Sr.

The Ferry family collection consists of letters and typescripts of letters from William Montague Ferry and his wife Amanda White Ferry describing their trip from Ashfield, Massachusetts, to Mackinac Island and their missionary work among the Indians; letters, 1862-1901, of Colonel William M. Ferry, University of Michigan regent, particularly to his wife and other relatives while serving in the Fourteenth Michigan Infantry during the Civil War; speeches and letters from contemporary politicians to Thomas White Ferry, lumberman and U.S. Senator; and two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings on the Ferry family. Correspondents in the collection include: Susan B. Anthony, Henry P. Baldwin, Zachariah Chandler, Schuyler Colfax, William M. Evarts, Hamilton Fish, Rutherford B. Haye, Whitelaw Reid, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Collection

Field Family papers, 1836-1940

2 linear feet

Residents of Englishville and Grand Rapids, Michigan; family papers.

The collection is comprise of two series: Correspondence and Other family papers. Included is business and family correspondence of Abby Field, a worker with the Church of Christ of Englishville and Grand Rapids, Michigan. There is also correspondence of Myron and Susan Field Buck, Sylvester Field and Flora Bennett. Beyond correspondence, the collection includes a scattering of newspaper clippings, legal papers, diaries, and other materials relating to personal affairs, farm life and the Civil War.

Collection

Financial Operations (University of Michigan) records, 1837-2004 (majority within 1915-1990)

35 linear feet — 52 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder

Records generated by administrators and offices charged with the financial activities of the University, including Secretary and Vice-President Shirley W. Smith and Controller and Assistant Secretary John C. Christensen; include general University financial records; records of land; trust fund records; proposed development and construction projects; operating records of buildings, divisions and other units.

The records of Financial Operations date from 1837 to 1982, primarily after 1910. The 27 linear feet of manuscript material, 52 oversized volumes and one reel of microfilm reflect not only the financial records normally associated with an accounting office, but also the broad range of subjects which became a concern under the leadership of Shirley Smith. What would eventually become Financial Operations may have served as a records storage office for many of the other units under Smith's control. In any event, Financial Operations became the guardian of a wide variety of records, documenting the University in a number of ways not normally expected of an accounting service.

Of particular note, the collection contains a variety of different record formats. Bound materials, in the form of books, are included in the boxes and when numbering more than one, are listed in the finding aid as multiple volumes. The collection also contains oversized volumes, in the form of large accounting books. These oversized volumes are numbered and stored separately. They are listed in the finding aid where intellectually appropriate, and designated by volume number. Enclosed in this finding aid is an index of the oversized volumes, organized by number, and their contents.

The collection is divided into six series: General University Financial Records; Trust Fund Records; Records of Land, Proposed Development and Construction; Operating Records of Buildings, Divisions and other Units; Miscellaneous Reports, Studies and Volumes; and Accounting Office Records.

Collection

First Baptist Church (Ann Arbor, Mich.) records, 1837-1991

17 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes

Ann Arbor, Michigan Baptist church established in 1828; church covenant, committee reports, annual reports, correspondence, financial records, membership rolls, treasurer's books, and scrapbooks; and records of church auxiliary organizations, including the Women's Society, the Baptist Students' Guild, and the Sunshine Circle of the International Order of King's Daughters and Sons.

The records of the First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor document the life and activities of the church from its beginnings in 1828 to the early 1990s. The record group has been arranged into the following series: Covenant meetings; History / Background; Annual reports of church committees; Church archives: bulletins, annual reports, newsletters, and related materials; Church groups; Membership and other governance records; Financial records; Topical files; and Audio-Visual Materials.

Collection

First Congregational Church (Ann Arbor, Mich.) records, 1847-2017

27 linear feet — 3 oversize volumes — 2 phonograph records — 1 oversize folder

The First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was organized and established on March 23, 1847. Records include administrative files, subject files, published material, and both visual and audio-material.

The records of the First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor have been divided into the following series: History/Background Information; Administration; Financial Records; Church Organizations; Topical Files; Miscellaneous later records; Photographs; Publications; Phonograph records; and Reverend Terry N. Smith. The records document church administration, membership activities, and the relationship of the church to its denomination and to other area churches. Included are records of communicants, baptisms and marriages (1873-1905); pew subscriptions and accounts (1878-1939) and other membership information; church bulletins and newsletters; minutes and reports of the board of trustees, board of deacons, church council, and various subcommittees; records of men's and women's church groups such as the King's Daughters, the Ladies Aid Society, the Women's Fellowship Society, and the Women's Foreign Missionary Society; records relating to the church's affiliation with the Ann Arbor-Washtenaw Council of Churches; files pertaining to the proposed merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Church with the Congregational Church in the 1950s; and materials documenting the work of Reverend Terry N. Smith.

Collection

First Presbyterian Church (Albion, Calhoun County, Mich.) records, 1839-1957

3 linear feet — 1 microfilm

Church established in 1837; board of trustees minutes, records of women’s organizations; and other church records.

The records is comprised of the following series: History / Background; Board of Trustees minutes; Correspondence; Annual reports; Financial records; Women's organizations; Other records; and Microfilm records.

Collection

First Presbyterian Church (Birmingham, Mich.) records, 1834-1985

6 microfilms

Registers of membership, baptisms, marriages and deaths, session minutes, trustee minutes, treasurer's records, and records of the women's foreign missionary society, ladies church society, and Presbyterian women's union.

The First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham record group includes session minutes; trustee minutes; registers of membership, births, marriages, and deaths; deacons' minutes; treasurer's records; minutes and ledgers from church women's organization; and miscellaneous other materials.

Collection

First Presbyterian Church (Blissfield, Mich.) records, 1845-1977

7 linear feet

Session minutes, minutes of the board of trustees, Sunday school records, papers of women's association, the ladies church society, and the women's home missionary society.

The record group includes session minutes and minutes of the board of trustees. In addition, there are extensive records for the church's Sunday school and for various women's organizations, including the women's association, the ladies church society, and the women's home missionary society. Annual reports, newsletters, and church bulletins provide details on church activities.

Collection

First Presbyterian Church (Pontiac, Mich.) records, 1824-1995

5.5 linear feet — 15 oversize volumes

Pontiac, Michigan Presbyterian church founded in 1824; session minutes, minutes of board of trustees, historical materials, church bulletins, and other church materials, including manuscript sermons and scrapbooks of minister William S. Jerome.

The record group is comprised of four series: Governance; Church Groups; History and Background; Church building; Financial; and Bulletins. Within Governance are found session minutes and minutes of the board of trustees. The Church Groups series includes minutes of the Men's Club, the Sunday School Workers organization, and the Society of United Workers, among other groups. The History and Background series includes a historical sketch of the church, as well as manuscript sermons and scrapbooks of minister William S. Jerome.

Collection

First Presbyterian Church, Saline, Mich., records, 1831-2022

3.7 linear feet (in 4 boxes)

Session minute books, 1831-2014; record books of women's and youth organizations; collected historical records, 1831-2022; and photographs.

The record group consists of meeting and session records, 1831-2014; a church register, dating approximately from 1940 to 1987; records of church women's societies and other church organizations; historical and church anniversary materials, 1831-2022; and financial records.

In the "anniversaries and historical materials'' series, the 100th, 125th, 150th, and 175th anniversary are covered. Additionally, "church historical materials" within this series includes a history of the church's founding, including correspondence, a church history timeline, information about the history of the property and sanctuary and Cook cemetery, and renovations. Lastly, "organizational records" includes directories, board, pastor, and ministry information, cookbooks, as well as a folder about the Saline Underground Railroad.

Collection

First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit Records, 1845-2012

22 linear feet — 1 oversize box — 1 oversize folder

The First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit Records comprise over 150 years of records documenting the activities of the church's ministers, administrative bodies, committees and interest groups, and members. The first such denomination in the Detroit area, First U-U traces its history to the mid-nineteenth century and represents the convergence of two like-minded denominations founded on principles of humanism, social consciousness, and civic responsibility. The collection's five series contain materials pertaining to the church's history and development, administration, religious services, educational programs, and community engagement.

The First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Detroit Records comprise the collected documentation of the activities of the church's administrative bodies, committees, and congregation members. The collection contains materials pertaining to the church's history and development, governance, and religious, educational, and community service activities. The collection is divided into five series: Ministry and Membership, Church Administration, Church Committees and Organizations, Church Activities, and Newsletters and Orders of Service.

Collection

First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, Mich.) records, 1833-1992 (majority within 1875-1978)

5.5 linear feet (in 7 boxes)

Methodist church established in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1827; proceedings and minutes of various church boards and committees; baptism and marriage records, topical files relating to church activities and personalities; and photographs.

The records of the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan include Church registers; Governance records; Topical Files; and Photographs. Included are proceedings and minutes of the Board of Stewards, Board of Trustees, Official Board, church committees, and quarterly and annual conferences; correspondence and reports of the Methodist Educational Advance; membership lists and directories; baptism and marriage records; financial information; missionary materials, including those about Ann Arbor native Judson Collins, first Methodist missionary to China; documents related to church history; and other church materials, including a limited number of photographs.

Collection

First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti (Ypsilanti, Mich.) records, 1831-1995

5 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 1 oversize folder

Methodist Church established in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1825; church record books; records of Official Board and Quarterly Conferences; minutes and other materials of women’s groups; and subject files.

The record group has been arranged into the following series: Church records including lists of members and record of baptisms and marriages; Governance files, including Official Board minutes and Quarterly Conference reports; and records of church groups, especially Ladies Aid, Women's Society of Christian Service, and the Women's Foreign Missionary Society.

Collection

First United Presbyterian Church (Ypsilanti, Mich.) records, 1829-1979

3.5 linear feet

Presbyterian church established in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1829; Church registers, session minutes; records of woman's missionary society and ladies aid society; records, 1906-1940, of board of trustees; and records, 1830-1846, of the First Congregational Society.

The record group includes registers containing record of baptisms, marriages, and membership. In addition, there are early record books of the church, including session minutes. Many of the records relate to groups within the church, especially the Woman's Missionary Society and the Ladies Aid Society. The remainder of the record group is comprised of miscellaneous early documents, history and background information, and a scattering of photographs.

Collection

Flora Burt Family Papers, circa 1830s-1960s

3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

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.

Collection

Fox Island Lighthouse Association records, 1875-2017

0.4 linear feet — 2.4 GB (online)

Online
The Fox Island Lighthouse Association is a non-profit organization founded to preserve the South Fox Island light station in northern Lake Michigan. The collection contains both paper and digital records, and consists of materials created or collected by the association as part of their efforts to preserve the light station.

The collection contains both paper and digital records and consists of materials created or collected by the Fox Island Lighthouse Association as part of their efforts to preserve the South Fox Island light station. Collected material includes copies of U.S. Lighthouse Service and Coast Guard records from the National Archives, including photographs. The collection also includes the association's newsletters, newspaper articles about the association or the light station, a historic structures report developed for the association by U.P. Engineers & Architects, and a series of oral history interviews of former lighthouse personnel, conducted by association members.

The Fox Island Lighthouse Association records are organized into four series: Organizational Records, Collected Research Materials, Oral Histories, and Visual Materials. All but the Visual Materials series contain both print and digital records, and some documents exist in both formats.

Collection

Franklin L. Parker papers, 1816-1911

12 linear feet — 1 oversize volume

Papers of Franklin L. Parker and the Parker family of New York (State) and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Family correspondence, business papers, diaries, 1850-1893, and other materials concerning land transactions.

The Franklin L. Parker collection relates mainly to land investments and other financial dealings, and family matters. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Letterpress books; Land records; and Personal and miscellaneous.

Collection

Frederick Maltby Warner papers, 1832-1918

1.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Republican governor of Michigan, 1905-1910. Account books, and legal and business papers of P. Dean Warner, Oakland County, Michigan, farmer and cheese manufacturer; and political scrapbooks and other papers of his adopted son, Fred M. Warner, largely concerning election campaigns; and photographs.

The Fred M. Warner papers include papers of P. Dean Warner and Fred M. Warner. Included are letters, legal documents, business papers, a volume recording customers of Warner's cheese business, and scrapbooks. Except for a few folders relating to aid given to California following the 1906 earthquake, there are few documents relating to Warner's terms as governor.

Collection

Fred R. Schmalzriedt contracts, 1799, 1801

2 items (in oversize folder)

Materials collected by Fred R. Schmalzriedt, a Detroit attorney.

This collection is comprised of contracts, dated 1799 and 1801, signed by Henry Dearborn and James McHenry, U.S. Secretary of War, for distributing food rations to various army posts, including Detroit and Michilimackinac.

Collection

Friedrich Schmid church records, 1833-1875

8.78 GB (online)

Online
Friedrich Schmid was a pioneering clergyman, regarded as the first Lutheran pastor in Michigan. He organized the first Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in the state, helped organize some 20 churches in southeastern Michigan, and founded and served as the first president of the Michigan Synod. Collection includes digital images of records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths, 1833-1875.

Materials in this online collection include digitized copies of registers of baptisms, marriages, deaths, and general information about families in the congregations of Salem Lutheran Church and Zion Lutheran Church (along with its precursor organization, Bethlehem Church) in the period between 1833 and 1875.