Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection consists of American Bible Society reports from agents, often located in rural or frontier areas, and Bible distribution orders from affiliate Bible societies. These letters provide evidence of American Bible Society activity in Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Maine, and several letters provide the names and officers of local Bible societies.

The bulk of this accession consists of orders from subsidiary or affiliate Bible societies, often located in rural or frontier areas, for Bibles for distribution and sale. These orders came from societies ranging in location from Farmington, Maine, in the east to Bainbridge, Georgia, in the south, to societies in the western states and territories. The great number of local societies represented as correspondents and the quantity, quality, and cost of Bibles they ordered can be used to reconstruct patterns of evangelical activity and success on the fringes of the country during the 1840's and '50's. This correspondence provides evidence of American Bible Society activity in Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Maine, and several letters provide the names and officers of local Bible societies.

Included in the correspondence are a few informal reports from local societies of their situation vis-à-vis the needs of the evangelist, their finances, and the success of their efforts to date. Some of these societies served ethnic communities (Welsh, French, German, Native American) or frontier areas where contact was difficult. "You would find that lonely rides with your own conveyance over extensive Prairies and through forrests, is somewhat different from visiting important points by public Conveyances" (April 26, 1842).

A series of correspondence from the Wisconsin Territory to John Brigham in the late 1830's and early 40's is particularly detailed in describing plans for evangelizing in Wisconsin and reveals something of the mentality of the evangelists. The reports, orders, and letters from this quarter are detailed in terms of the numbers and types of Bibles distributed, the means used to distribute them, the finances of the local society, and the clientele served. The correspondents paint a fairly thorough picture of evangelical activity in Wisconsin and their personal experiences as evangelists.

Among their clientele were substantial numbers of Oneida Indians, the 'remnants' of the Iroquois, whom the correspondent, Julius Field, suggests 'are a peacible, Moral, - Industrious, and enterprizing People, - And the best of all Many of them give Satisfactory evidence of conversion & ardent piety' (May 20, 1842). Field continues at some length on the Oneidas and, in other letters, on the Oneida West Mission, 12 miles west of Green Bay. His descriptions of evangelizing among the Oneida are among the most complete in this collection, and his opinions on their life style and future prospects are particularly notable.

This collection contains handwritten minutes, many with revisions and excisions, for 49 meetings of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions between 1848 and 1892. Written by multiple clerks, the minutes contain information on attendance, votes, resolutions, current and future missions, letters received, appointees, offers of service, reports from the field, salaries, grants, funding distribution, and other subjects.

This collection contains handwritten minutes, many with significant revisions and excisions, for 49 meetings of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions between 1848 and 1892. Written by multiple clerks, the minutes contain information on attendance, votes, resolutions, current and future missions, letters received, appointees, offers of service, reports from the field, salaries, grants, and funding distribution. Other subjects referenced include Native American tribes, the Dakotas "in the new frontier," the need for missionaries to have wives, death or health concerns related to members, legal or domestic issues with foreign officials, and mission work in Hawaii.

Among the Mission Stations referenced are:

• Cape Town
• Constantinople
• Smyrna
• Beirut
• Oroomiah
• Ahmednuggur
• Canton
• Amoy
• Madras
• Fuh Chau
• Mosul
• Shanghai
• Aleppo
• Peking
• Guadalajara
• San Sebastian
• Prague
• and others

This collection contains ten letters written between 1835 and 1851 to American Home Missionary Society Secretary John A. Murray and Associate Secretary Milton Badger. The primary topics are missionaries' efforts in western and central New York, their quarterly and annual reports, appointment approvals, and the requesting of funds for pastors' salaries.

This collection contains ten letters written between 1835 and 1851 to American Home Missionary Society Secretary John A. Murray and Associate Secretary Milton Badger. The primary topics are missionaries' efforts in western and central New York, their quarterly and annual reports, appointment approvals, and the requesting of funds for pastors' salaries. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information about each item.

This collection contains letters that United States Army lieutenant (and later general) Amos Beebe Eaton wrote while training at the United States Military Academy and traveling in New York, Connecticut, Ohio, and Michigan. His early letters reflect the daily life of cadets at West Point in the mid-1820s, and his later letters to his wife provide family news, as well as information about the Army and contemporary politics.

This collection (59 items) contains letters that United States Army lieutenant (and later general) Amos Beebe Eaton wrote to his grandmother, Tryphena Cady of Canaan, New York, and to his wife, Elizabeth Selden Eaton.

Eaton wrote 6 letters to his grandmother between September 14, 1822, and March 26, 1826, while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He described cadets' daily lives at the academy, including their physical regimen, and discussed the possibility of remaining in the military after graduation. Though he considered applying for the marine corps or becoming a doctor, he stayed with the army, and wrote 3 letters to his grandmother between April 16, 1828, and October 21, 1830, while he served at the Hancock Barracks near Houlton, Maine. A group of 5 letters, written to his sister and grandmother from Fort Niagara, New York, between February 21, 1831, and November 8, 1833, concern his movements with the army and his family life, including news of his new wife and young daughters. He also described Fort Niagara and shared some of his opinions on enlisted men. He wrote to his grandmother from Fort Gratiot, Michigan Territory, on July 7, 1834, commenting on his distrust of the pursuit of recognition.

Between 1832 and 1836, Eaton wrote to his wife Elizabeth ("Betsy") while he traveled in New York, Connecticut, Ohio, and Michigan, on military and personal business. He often mentioned family members, religious sentiments, and general details of his daily life. Two letters were written from Detroit during the Black Hawk War, in which he briefly mentioned ill soldiers, his opinion about the mistreatment of Native Americans, and the military's pursuit of Black Hawk (July 24 and 30, 1832). In another he discussed foreign relations with France as well as abolitionism (February 12, 1836). The collection also contains 2 letters that Eaton wrote while serving as Commissary General of Subsistence in 1867.

Several letters are addressed to Amos Eaton. One, written by "Gordon" on August 10, 1832, comments on the public reaction to and possible consequences of a recently published letter of Amos's, wherein he attributes the cholera outbreak in the military during the Black Hawk War to the mistreatment of Native Americans. Also included is a letter that Amos Beebe Eaton's father wrote to his son with extracts of his communication with New York Senators about the motivations behind Eaton's statements, a partial copy of the offending letter, and the impact it had on his military career (September 21, 1838). Other material includes one letter addressed to Elizabeth Eaton from a sibling (July 3, 1836) and a copied document signed by several recruits, stating that they had recently received pay (June 9, 1835).

The Amos Bradbury papers contain letters largely from Amos Bradbury to his mother Miranda Stanhope and brother Samuel Bradbury, Jr., which provide a valuable account of life in central California during the Gold Rush era.

The Amos Bradbury papers contain 67 letters largely from Amos Bradbury to his mother Miranda Stanhope and brother Samuel Bradbury, Jr., written between 1848 and 1863. His letters provide a valuable account of life in central California during the Gold Rush era. The collection holds 51 letters from Bradbury, 2 early letters from his brother Samuel, 9 letters from his mother, and 4 letters from Bradbury's friend Joseph B. Leonard. The letters track Bradbury’s movements between San Francisco (1850), Stanislaus (1851), Mountain Ranch (1852), Indian Gulch (1853-1857), Stanislaus River (1856-1860), and Mokelumne City, California (1862).

Bradbury’s earliest letters were addressed from Boston, where he worked in the shipping trade as a first mate. He first mentioned the idea of going to California in a letter to his mother from July 11, 1849. By September 28 of that year, he was at sea on his way to California and, by the next letter, dated January 3, 1850, was in Valparaiso, Chile, after traveling around Cape Horn. In his letter of April 28, 1850, written from San Francisco, he stated his intention not to pan for gold, but to start a store near the mines.

Along with Bradbury’s letters from 1850 and 1851 are 4 items from Joseph B. Leonard, Captain of the Boston ship Grotius, who was in San Francisco at the same time as Bradbury. These letters a were addressed to Miranda Stanhope and, for the most part, reported the safety and well being of her son Amos, and described some of the dangers of California life. Leonard's son, and a man named George Moore, accompanied Bradbury to the mines.

Amos settled in Stanislaus, California, in early 1851. In his letter of March 13, 1851, he described women near the mines: "Excepting indian squaws they are very numerous, although not any handsome." By 1852, Amos was running a successful public house in Mountain Branch, California, with George Moore, though by the end of the year, their business partner had abandoned the establishment. By early 1853, Amos owned three claims around Indian Gulch, California, and expressed renewed confidence to his family that he would discover gold. In his letter to his brother Samuel, of February 10, 1853, he explained the work involved in prospecting. On February 22, 1853, however, he mentioned to his mother that he was finding little gold. He continued prospecting this plot for a number of years and in the November 5, 1854, letter wrote "the height of my ambition is to get gold enough to make us all comfortable."

Bradbury scraped by on meager findings over the next five years. As early as July 13, 1860, in a letter to his brother, he mentioned the idea of running a ferry on the Stanislaus River, and by April 22, 1862, Bradbury reported to his mother that he had, in fact, pursued this line of work in Mokelumne City, California. By then he had made two trips up to Lockeford, California, which was 60 miles further up stream than any steamer had gone before. In his next letter, he mentioned that he had been made master of the Pert and intended to travel to San Francisco on a weekly basis. Bradbury was also master of the steamer the Fanny Ann (August 14, 1863). By February 25, 1863, he discussed buying a store, and that he had chopped off his "little toe."

This collection also includes 9 letters from Miranda Stanhope, Amos's mother, who expressed relief at hearing of her son’s good health, and shared news from Old Town, Maine. Her letters are emotional and demonstrate deeply-held religious beliefs. These letters may be unsent drafts, since they rarely contain signatures or addresses, and some of them are unfinished and two are undated. Of note is her letter to Amos of June 15, 1863, in which she discussed "the beautiful war" and the effect it has had on "the poor Negroes…[who] tear with their teeth, when deprived of their arms. Their very instinct, prompts to liberty or death." She went on at length about the desire of the Southerners to "perpetuate slavery...the worst system the world ever knew" and described slavery as an eternal sin: "Yes greatly have they injured us; but theirs is infinite, not ours."

The lone item in the Miscellaneous series is a two-page document written by Bradbury, which is possibly a fragment or draft of a letter, which is dated but not directed to a specific person.

This 108-page orderly book belonged to Major General Amos Hall, who commanded a New York militia unit near Buffalo, New York, during the War of 1812. The volume contains general orders and communications between Hall and other commanding officers stationed in western New York between December 24, 1813, and April 10, 1814. Two newspaper articles, published as late as 1893, are pasted on the book's final pages. The orderly book is accompanied by 4 copies of 2 reports of the United States House of Representatives in the 1840s, concerning financial claims John R. Williams made for property lost during the Niagara campaign of the War of 1812. Also included are a belt and attached buckle.

This 108-page orderly book belonged to Major General Amos Hall, who commanded a New York militia unit near Buffalo, New York, during the War of 1812. The volume contains general orders and communications between Hall and other commanding officers stationed in western New York between December 24, 1813, and April 10, 1814. Two newspaper articles, published as late as 1893, are pasted on the book's final pages. The orderly book is accompanied by 4 copies of 2 reports of the United States House of Representatives in the 1840s, concerning financial claims John R. Williams made for property lost during the Niagara campaign of the War of 1812. Also included are a belt and attached buckle.

The Orderly Book contains copies of general orders and correspondence issued daily between December 24, 1813, and December 29, 1813 (pp. 1-20), as well as orders and correspondence issued less regularly between January 10, 1814, and April 10, 1814 (pp. 20-108). Entries are composed in a number of different hands. Most orders were issued at American headquarters in Batavia, Buffalo, and Williamsville, New York, and from other unnamed posts in the Niagara region. The first order pertains to Hall's assumption of command of troops assembled near Buffalo. Throughout the following months, he issued and received orders about several aspects of the campaign in western New York, such as troop movements, troop numbers, and developments in the war. Other topics include the transfer of prisoners of war (January 10, 1814, pp. 40-41) and the hire of local Native Americans (December 27, 1813, pp. 11-12).

A copy of Amos Hall's certificate of membership in the Society of the Cincinnati is laid into the volume (July 4, 1786), and 2 newspaper clippings are pasted on its final pages: "In Olden Times. Robert Sutcliff's Travels in the Genesee Country" (Stephen B. Ayers, Post-Express, February 28, 1893) and "Interesting Sketch of Gen. Amos Hall" (Myron S. Hall, the Journal, undated).

The Government Publications series is comprised of 2 copies each of 2 printed reports issued by the United States House of Representatives, concerning claims John R. Williams made against the United States government for property destroyed by the British Army in December 1813 (Report No. 102, February 7, 1845) and for land near Detroit, Michigan (Report No. 5, December 20, 1847).

The Realia item is a belt with its original buckle still attached. The buckle depicts a grenade over the number "100," and originally belonged to a member of the British Army's 100th Regiment of Foot grenadiers.

The Amy Kirby (later Amy Kirby Post) collection consists of courtship letters written to Charles Willets describing their relationship as well as Kirby's life as a Quaker.

Seven of these letters are courtship letters from Amy Kirby to Charles Willets, each one longer than the one before, until by the seventh, every page has cross-hatching. Her love for Charles developed over the course of the correspondence, and by her last letter, she wrote happily and assuredly about becoming his wife. The eighth, and final, letter is a beautiful testament of her love from Amy to Charles' parents after she had learned of her intended's death.

After having given Charles permission to initiate a correspondence while she was out visiting with Scipio friends, Amy's first letter appeared to indicate a change of heart. Although she admitted that she felt "what I may romantically call a pang at receiving" his declaration of love, she asked Charles to "dismiss me from thy remembrance without a sigh" (1824 March 9). She gave no satisfactory reason, and Charles refused to be put off. He proved himself capable of reading between the lines, and his next foray at least supplied an explanation -- however unsatisfactory. Amy confessed, "When I replyed to thy first, I did not think it prudent to announce a dedication of heart, without the knowledge of my parents -- as it was the most probable, the hand would next be required -- I therefore informed them, alone, with the circumstance, and found their approbation unattainable -- it still is and I trust ever will be -- and now Charles please, unreluctantly, relinquish the idea, for it is my duty to obey, and thine to submit" (1824 April 3). Amy went on to intimate that she felt strongly for Charles, but warned him, "think not that I intend by these acknowledgments to rekindle thy affection... I must bid adieu to thee forever..."

By the time Amy wrote again, in October, the situation had brightened, about as inextricably as it had shadowed over. Without the letters written by Charles it is difficult to deduct what the points of contention were. It appears that Amy doubted his sincerity somewhat, or else felt that she had to let Charles convince her of his sincerity for the course of a few months before she would allow herself to be persuaded of his honorable intentions. In any case, her parents no longer presented an obstacle, except that Amy could not bear the thought of parting from them or leaving Locust Grove. She handed her suitor a challenge: "therefore until thou canst teach me to believe, that Skaneateles is adjacent to Locust Grove, and that I can be happier, without parents than with, more comfortably separated from brothers and sisters, than together, and finally more happy with thee, than with anyone else, I can not I believe consent to become a Willets. . ." (1824 October 26).

He must have taught her, and quickly, for by the next spring, she was thawing: "Oh how often do I wish that the enduring ties of native home, would loose their power to charm, and then my heart, perhaps would dare to acknowledge that it gave thee the prefferance..." (1825 April 5). Amy was frank about her feelings for Charles, and stated, "I seam to think that what the hart dictates need not be repressed" (1825 January 30). In her last letter to him, she boldly shifted her focus to the physical realm: "the pressure of thy hand is indelibly stampt on my heart -- thou must never my dear C expose me or this to any one, I should blush to think that any one knew it but him to whom my hand is to be given. I fear I have written to warmly..." (1825 May 16).

The health of Charles, her family, and herself typically got a mention in Amy's letters. She put on weight, changing from 92 to 103 pounds, only to lose it all when she was confined with a cold for two weeks. She was concerned about Charles' cough, and recommended Anderson's drops. She took a molasses and butter mixture for her own sore throat. Amy also told Charles about what various Friends were up to socially, and speculated about which couples would next announce their engagements. His parents came to call on her, and she was relieved that they knew of their son's "prospect" and approved of his choice (1825 May 16).

Amy also wrote about some of the contention already surfacing amongst Quakers about their religious faith and practice. The theological disputes between reformers, led by Hicks, and the Orthodox Friends were further complicated by traveling Evangelical ministers from England, including Anna Braithwaite, who visited Hicks in January and March of 1824. Amy wrote to Charles, "it is likely you have heard of Anna Braithwaite's letter stating the antick notion doctrin professed by Elias Hicks and his reply, which is now published and to crown all Ann Shipley comes out with another printed letter affirming to the truth of A. B. statement after Elias had contradicted it, I think we grow worse and worse and what will be the end of this I know not but I believe the two women will tell more lies than one man..." (1824 October 26). The publication of Braithwaite's A letter from Anna Braithwaite to Elias Hicks on the nature of his doctrines (Philadelphia, printed for the reader, 1825) was the beginning of a pamphlet war between reformers and English Evangelicals that was still going on after the 1827-1828 separation.

When Braithwaite returned to America in 1825, Amy again expressed her own decided opinion: "O have the heard that Anna Braithwait is comeing again to America has got liberty of the monthly mg most folks are very sorry but for my part I am rather glad that she is comeing but I have little doubt but what she herself will be sorry for the truth apprehend will this time be told on her certificates" (1825 May 16). Apparently when Anna did arrive at Jericho in January of 1826 the meeting could not agree to endorse her traveling certificate as was customarily done, and finally it was just recorded as being received, without the typical approbation or the condemnation Amy had hoped for.

The Andrew Billings papers contain letters concerning his business transactions, hardships in raising troops for the Revolution, the poor business climate of the early national period, the scarcity of money, and the new laws concerning the abolition of primogeniture. He also outlines an idea for creating a co-operative among Poughkeepsie-area merchants.

The Andrew Billings papers contain six letters written by Andrew Billings, two of which are addressed to Pierre Van Cortlandt, Sr., three to Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr., and one to Gilbert Van Cortlandt, Pierre's son and Billings' partner in the failed firm, Cortlandt, Billings & Co. The collection also includes two account sheets and a letter written by Gilbert during the Revolution, probably addressed to Pierre Van Cortlandt, Sr.

Three letters in the Billings Papers are of substantial interest beyond the information they provide on the business transactions of the Van Cortlandt and Billings families. In the first, dated March 6, 1776, Billings discusses his hardships in raising troops in Westchester County. In the later two letters, dated June 15, 1785, and October 16, 1790, he bemoans the poor business climate of the early national period, the scarcity of money, and the new laws concerning the abolition of primogeniture. In the 1785 letter, he also outlines an interesting idea for creating a co-operative among Poughkeepsie-area merchants.

This collection is made up of 41 checks, almost all of which are drawn on the Merchants Bank of New Bedford and signed by ship agent, merchant, and bank director Andrew Hicks of Westport, Massachusetts. A number of these partially printed documents are checks of different banks, such as the Marine Bank and Bedford Commercial Bank, with the bank names crossed out and replaced in manuscript with "Merchants" Bank. Recipients of the checks include Andrew Hicks himself, insurance companies, suppliers, and various individuals. Many also include small, engraved images and vignettes of whales, ships and ship scenes, and a floundering whale capsizing a rowboat.

This collection is made up of 41 checks, almost all of which are drawn on the Merchants Bank of New Bedford by ship agent, merchant, and bank director Andrew Hicks of Westport, Massachusetts. A number of these partially printed documents are checks of different banks, such as the Marine Bank and Bedford Commercial Bank, with the bank names crossed out and replaced in manuscript with "Merchants" Bank. Recipients of the checks include Andrew Hicks himself, insurance companies, suppliers, and various individuals. A few names include Joseph Hicks, Hathaway Brightman, "Steam Propeller", Weston Howland, Horatio G. Oliver, and others.

Many of the checks also include small, engraved images and vignettes of whales, ships and ship scenes, and a floundering whale capsizing a rowboat. The engraving of the dying whale and upturned vessel is identified as a product of "Charles Taber & Co., No. 45 Union & No. 2 Purchase St. New Bedford."

This collection is made up of the correspondence and business papers of Andrew Law, composer and compiler of tune books. Dating primarily during his most productive professional years, these papers also contain manuscript sheet music and printed proof sheets.

The Law papers contain over 500 letters written during the most productive years of Andrew Law's professional career as a singing master, composer, and compiler of tune books, 1780-1821. Most of the correspondence relates to Law's musical publications, his ideas on music, and family matters, and together, they form an invaluable archive of the mind and work of one of the most prolific tunesmiths of the Early Republic.

In addition, the collection includes approximately 700 accounts, receipts, and other business papers; personal memoranda relating to Law's travels and financial affairs (350 pp.); 35 lists of students; and miscellaneous sheet music (368 pp.).