Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

History, administrative and financial records, files of church organizations, publications, and papers of individual pastors; also record books (prior to 1875) of Frederick Schmid, formerly pastor of the Bethlehem Church, now Bethlehem United Church of Christ; and photographs.

The records of Zion Lutheran Church of Ann Arbor span the years 1875-1981. Those records in the collection which date before 1875 were kept by the Rev. Frederick Schmid probably when he was minister of the Bethlehem Church. These record books (in box 12) include two volumes of baptismal records, a family register, and a record book of marriages performed. These four volumes date from 1833 to approximately 1875 when Zion was established. The volumes are in German.

Except for these volumes, the records in the collection are of Zion Lutheran Church. Included are historical materials, administrative and financial records, records of church organizations, church bulletins and newsletters, membership records, and sermons and collected materials of the church's pastors. The earlier records of the church are usually in German.

The collection incldues biographical sketch of Zina Pitcher and the Backus-Pitcher family genealogical information. Correspondence includes scattered letters relating to Pitcher's activities as Medical School professor at the University of Michigan; Emily Louisa Pitcher's undated letter to the University of Michigan President Angell in which she writes about Dr. Pitcher's professional accomplishments; a letter by the former University of Michigan professor of botany and founder of the Harvard Herbarium Asa Gray, addressed to Emily Pitcher. Collected Backus family papers include Civil War documents. Also included documents relating to Detroit property, notably a deed agreement with the Association for the Promotion of Female Education.

Township meeting minutes; highway commissioners, 1827-1831; assessment rolls, 1832-1838; also miscellaneous school records, districts 1 and 5; and election record books, 1827-1860.

Township in eastern Washtenaw County, Michigan. The record group consists of a scattering of early nineteenth century Ypsilanti Township records, mainly in the period of 1827 to 1838. These include minutes of township meetings and of the highway commission, and assessment rolls. Another portion of the record group consists of records of individual school districts.

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

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

Residents of New Jersey, New York, and Michigan. In Michigan, the Woodruffs settled the area known as Woodruff's Grove, which later formed a key part of Ypsilanti, Mich. Includes modern copies of photographic portraits of Benjamin Woodruff and his wife, Freelove Sanford Woodruff, residents of Woodruff's Grove.

The Woodruff family photograph collection includes modern copies of photographic portraits of Benjamin Woodruff and his wife, Freelove Sanford Woodruff.

Professor of law at the University of Michigan; papers contain correspondence, teaching materials, papers relating to student discipline, proceedings of the University Judicial Council, 1950-1953; also research files and collected material relating to his study of Michigan's territorial court system; and copies of court records for Brown County, 1830s; also Wayne County Probate Court records, 1811-1825.

The William Wirt Blume papers include a memoir of his 192-1921 trip to China, a chronological correspondence file, teaching materials and other files related to his career at the University of Michigan, several reports on legal issues and research notes and files for his history of Michigan Territorial Supreme Court. The papers are arrange in five series: Travel, Correspondence, University of Michigan, Reports, and Notes and Research Material on Territorial Courts.

The series Notes and Research Material on Territorial Courts (boxes 6-18) contains Blume's notes and collected research materials relating to his study of U.S. territorial law and territorial court systems. Much of the emphasis of Blume's study concerned the Michigan Territorial Supreme Court and the various county and circuit courts under it. The researcher is directed to the Michigan Supreme Court record group for the original documents that Blume and his staff studied. This record group was transferred to the State Archives of Michigan in 2011. The researcher should also note that Blume's Transactions of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Michigan, with its extensive notes and historical commentaries is a superb introduction to Blume's career interests.

The collection is arranged into three small series: Correspondence, Studley Family, and Other Papers. Included in the collection is a scattering of correspondence, diaries, 1860 and 1873, of trip in Florida and Europe, a scrapbook, and newspaper clippings concerning the activities of the Studley family, 1855-1910.

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

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

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

Saginaw, Michigan, lumberman and businessman, and Michigan State Tax Commissioner, 1912 and wildlife conservationist and sportsman. Papers include extensive correspondence files, business records and photographs.

The William Mershon collection consists of correspondence dealing with Mershon's various activities as a lumberman, Saginaw businessman, and member of the State Tax Commission in 1912. Subjects included in the papers are Michigan wildlife conservation, the Michigan Sportsmen Association, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Michigan State Tax Commission, Michigan politics, the Democratic party, personal business investments, lumbering and mining interest, and personal affairs.

The collection also includes diaries, a book of notes on hunting and fishing trips, and various business records such as cash books, time books, ledgers, and journals. These primarily concern his investments and lumbering business. Many of the business records are available on microfilm. The collection also includes photographs.