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

This collection is made up of four letters written by Sergeant Mitchell to his mother and sister, dating between October 1918 and March 1919. Mitchell, serving in the Military Railway Service and Motor Transport Corps, Repair Unit 309, discussed his experiences in postwar Dijon, France, and briefly mentioned women mechanics. He wrote of loneliness and emotional isolation. His letter of March 27, 1919, encloses two snapshot photographs of his sister Alta Mae Mitchell in Salt Lake City. The letters have color, printed "American Y.M.C.A" and "American Expeditionary Forces" letterheads.

This collection is made up of four letters written by Sergeant Mitchell to his mother and sister, dating between October 1918 and March 1919. Mitchell, serving in the Military Railway Service and Motor Transport Corps, Repair Unit 309, Company B, discussed his experiences in postwar Dijon, France, and briefly mentioned women mechanics. He wrote of loneliness and emotional isolation. His letter of March 27, 1919, encloses two snapshot photographs of his sister Alta Mae Mitchell in Salt Lake City. The letters have color, printed "American Y.M.C.A" and "American Expeditionary Forces" letterheads.

This collection is made up of letters that Audrey McDougall of Boothbay, Maine, received from a cousin between 1919 and 1921. "Racey" discussed his social activities and work life in Brookline and Boston, Massachusetts.

This collection (59 items) is primarily made up of letters that Audrey McDougall of Boothbay, Maine, received from a cousin between January 1919 and July 1921. The cousin, who signed himself "S. K. R.," "Shirl," and "Racey," discussed his social and work life in Brookline and Boston, Massachusetts. He frequently attended dances and often wrote of his love for music; in his early letters, he referred to his participation in a cabaret performance. "Racey" mentioned several women throughout his correspondence, including "Adeline," "Grace," the Kennedys, and "Carolyn," whom he occasionally called his wife. Some of the letters pertain to the author's work for a bank or financial firm; he discussed a possible relocation to Chicago or Philadelphia and potential work in public liability or automobile insurance. "Racey" occasionally traveled to Maine to visit his family. Additional materials include a menu from the Copley-Plaza's New Year's Eve celebration for 1920/1921, an undated Christmas card, and "An Ode" (an undated poem dedicated to Auddie [McDougall]).

The Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau family photograph album contains approximately 308 photographs and 4 manuscript items related to the family and friends of Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau, a prominent lawyer based in Niagara Falls, New York, and a representative of the Photo-Pictorialist movement in photography.

The Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau family photograph album contains approximately 308 photographs and 4 manuscript items related to the family and friends of Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau, a prominent lawyer based in Niagara Falls, New York, and a representative of the Photo-Pictorialist movement in photography.

The album (26 x 31 cm) has black cloth covers with “Snap Shots” embossed in silver on the front. The 4 loose manuscript items are contained in a Mylar enclosure at the beginning of the album and include two letters from Marie Thibaudeau written to her mother and father while abroad in England in 1923; a booklet made of faux-bark paper containing a watercolor illustration and poem about fishing titled “Stower’s Fish”; and a hand-written recipe booklet containing 18 recipes for various dishes.

Around 111 loose photographs of various sizes and formats are also contained in a Mylar enclosure and mostly include individual and group portraits (both indoors and outdoors), natural landscape views, and images of homes. A small percentage of these photographs have captions on their versos, including some that identify subjects. Of the loose photographs, images of interest include a group portrait of young women at Wellesley College in 1918 during their freshman year; portraits of Marie Thibaudeau, including several showing her posing with her beloved dog Sam-Sam; snapshots taken during a trip to Rome in 1932; and numerous images showing exterior views of houses as well as swimming, fishing, boating, and other outdoor activities taking place near the Thibaudeau family cottage on the Georgian Bay in Ontario.

Approximately 197 photographs are pasted into the album proper. A number of these photographs are partially unglued and in some cases writing on their versos is accessible. The album has many photographs showing waterfront summer vacation scenes from what appears to be different trips to the family cottage over a span of several years; some of these images in the front end of the album have inscriptions on their versos which indicate those photographs were taken in August 1910 by “D.B.” Other images of note include a picture showing a group of young women in a large sleigh with the verso caption reading “Marie Thibaudeau ΖΣΕ Jan, 24, 1912”; a pair of photographs showing siblings Kenneth Fraser Allan and Dorothy Elizabeth Allan when aged 3 and 6 respectively; two group portraits of young men in military uniforms standing in formation; photographs taken at Wellesley College showing buildings, students, campus scenes, large group activities, and a commencement ceremony; two photographs of a biplane mid-flight; and a series of interior views of an unidentified home that appears to have a menorah above the fireplace.

The Baker-Marshall papers contain personal correspondence, financial documents, and other items related to Timothy Baker and Ichabod Marshall, two early settlers of Norwalk, Ohio, who became prominent local merchants.

The Baker-Marshall papers contain 19 personal letters, 100 financial papers and documents, 3 maps and diagrams, 8 printed items, 1 photograph, 3 additional manuscripts related to Timothy Baker and Ichabod Marshall, two early settlers of, and prominent merchants in, Norwalk, Ohio.

The Correspondence series contains personal letters written between members of the Baker family, including letters written by William Baker and Timothy Baker, Jr., to their parents during their time at college. The series also includes letters written between the siblings, providing news of their families, and a memorial poem written upon the death of Timothy Baker, Jr., in 1845. The collection also includes a 1926 letter inviting Willard H. Bennett, of Norwalk, Ohio, to purchase tickets for the University of Wisconsin's football games, along with two order forms.

The Financial papers and documents series regards Ichabod Marshall's land and business interests in Norwalk, Ohio, in the early 19th century. The series is comprised of 100 receipts, indentures, and accounts, including deeds and tax receipts for land in Trumbull and Huron counties. Several of the items are signed by Moses Kimball, an auditor in Huron County.

Three undated manuscript Writings include a draft of a petition "To the Mayor and Village Council of Fredericktown Ohio," requesting the removal of a local saloon; a 1-page religious essay; and instructions for making bricks.

The collection's single Photograph is a carte-de-visite of an unidentified man.

The three undated manuscript Maps and diagrams include a surveyor's map of Norwalk, Ohio; a floor plan for a house; and a seating arrangement for a Masonic lodge.

The Printed items series consists of 2 items related to Baldwin University; Mrs. Lewis C. Laylin's calling card; and newspaper clippings. The Baldwin University items are a program for the annual exhibition of the junior class, March 25, 1874, and a printed version of the "Alumni Song," June 7, 1876. The newspaper clippings include one regarding a lawsuit between Ichabod Marshall and several owners of the Norwalk Manufacturing Company.

The Bartlett family papers contain correspondence, documents, photographs, and a scrapbook related to Lieutenant Washington A. Bartlett of the United States Navy and to his descendants, including his granddaughter, author Lina Bartlett Ditson.

The Bartlett family papers contain correspondence, documents, photographs, and a scrapbook related to Lieutenant Washington A. Bartlett of the United States Navy and to his descendants, including author Lina Bartlett Ditson, his granddaughter.

The Correspondence series contains letters written to various members of the Bartlett family. The earliest items concern Washington A. Bartlett's naval career, including several letters between Bartlett and his wife Ruth. In a letter from May-June 1845, Washington Bartlett discussed political and military conflicts between the United States and Mexico. Much of his other correspondence is contained in a letter book, which covers the years 1835-1862.

Other items in the series are incoming personal and business letters to George L. Ditson, Bartlett's son-in-law. Some of these pertain to his appointment as United States Consul in Nuevitas, Cuba, a few of which are in Spanish. Later material includes a letter from Ronald Lodge to his mother, Oralie Ditson Lodge (Washington A. Bartlett's granddaughter) about his successful fitness examination for the United States Navy, enclosing a photograph of Lodge in uniform (April 17, 1917), and a letter on stationery from the White Star Line ocean liner Olympic (November 14, 1928).

The Documents and Financial Papers relate to several generations of the Bartlett family. Of note are a certificate about Washington A. Bartlett's qualification as a United States Navy midshipmen, signed by Martin Van Buren (November 20, 1839), and an authorized copy of Washington A. Bartlett and Ruth Budd Bloom's marriage certificate (June 17, 1861). The series also contains receipts and accounts.

The Writings series primarily contains typed copies of poems and stories composed by Lina Bartlett Ditson. Included are 8 poems, 1 group of poetry "Fragments," and 7 short stories. Two items, which may not be by Ditson, are in French, including an acrostic poem based on Ruth Budd Bartlett's name.

The collection's 8 Calling Cards and Invitations include manuscript and printed visiting cards for "Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett" and an invitation to the home of William H. and Frances Seward.

A single Illustration, dated August 1833, depicts the brig Mermaid at sea. A map of a portion of Albany, New York, shows the location of B. Lodge & Company.

The Photographs series has mounted and loose portraits, several cartes-de-visite and cabinet cards, a glass-plate positive of a young girl, and numerous snapshots. Early portraits depict Oralie Ditson Lodge and Lina Bartlett Ditson (occasionally in costume), and 130 20th-century snapshots were taken during a family vacation Eagle Lake in New York.

The Lena Bartlett Ditson Scrapbook contains newspaper articles, programs, and correspondence about Lina Bartlett Ditson, assembled by her sister Oralie after Lina's death. Most items pertain to Lina's artistic pursuits, such as vocal performances and published novels. Incoming correspondence to Lina and condolence letters to her family following her death are also present.

The Printed Items series is made up of postcards, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and other items. Newspaper Clippings pertain to numerous topics, such as William S. Lodge's political career, interstate commerce legislation, labor news, and members of the Bartlett family.

• Defence of Washington A. Bartlett, Ex-Lieutenant, United States Navy: Read and admitted to Record, by Naval Court of Inquiry... New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857.
• International Association for the Total Suppression of Vivisection. "The Woman" and the Age: A Letter Addressed to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., First Lord of the Treasury. London: E. W. Allen, 1881.
• Olcott, Henry S. The Spirit of the Zoroastrian Religion. Bombay: 1882.

Other printed material includes poems by Barrington Lodge; engravings of Washington A. Bartlett; a colored print showing a woman in a dress that Ruth Budd Bartlett wore during a royal reception; and a campaign poster for William S. Lodge's mayoral campaign in Albany, New York.

The Genealogy series contains information about Washington A. Bartlett's descendants and allied families, particularly the Lodge family.

The Beeson family papers consist of genealogical notes, travel journals, business documents, and correspondence relating to several generations of the Beeson family, who settled in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in the 18th century, and later migrated to Michigan and Wisconsin.

This collection consists of 137 items, including: 55 items relating to financial matters -- receipts, bank and stock records, subscription lists, etc.; 39 items relating to Beeson family history and genealogy, including handwritten notes, and a 33-page typed transcription; 11 letters written by members of the Beeson and Lukens family (related to the Beeson family by marriage); 2 travel journals; 1 daily diary; 1 oversized journal, containing entries on family history, genealogy, and travel; 6 maps, including one pasted onto the flyleaf of the oversized journal; 9 newspaper clippings; 6 legal documents; 7 miscellaneous items; and one unidentified photograph.

The majority of the financial documents consist of lists of stockholders and subscriptions for the Union Bank of Pennsylvania. One document, a receipt for glassware dated 9 August 1827, is written on the illustrated letterhead of the glass manufacturer Bakewell, Page & Bakewell, of Pittsburgh.

The history and genealogy notes concern the branch of the Beeson family that was instrumental in the founding and settling of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Two descendants of this branch, Edward Beeson and Jacob Beeson (b. 1807), contribute diaries and journals to the collection.

Jacob Beeson's 1829-1830 travel journal (with occasional notes in shorthand) relates, in brief but lively entries, a journey from Uniontown to New Orleans, to help an uncle in the mercantile business. While traveling by steamer down the Mississippi, Jacob Beeson gives colorful descriptions of his fellow passengers and shipboard events. "We had scarce went 500 yds. when we were rous'd by the cry of ‘a man overboard'--drop the Stern Boat, etc. I rais'd my eyes from the book & they were immediately fix'd on the face & arm of a Slave who had pitch'd himself from the Bow of the Boat. He was between the Steamer & her boat when I saw him. By the time he got to where I saw him, he appear'd tired of his sport. He gave a piercing scream & sunk amid the Billows. The Boat was dropped awhile for him but twas to no purpose." (27 March 1829) Jacob describes going to the theater in New Orleans (13 May 1829); the landscape and climate of the area east of New Orleans (8 September 1829); a visit to "Crabtown", at Bayou St. John, where Spaniards subsisted solely by fishing for crabs (23 May 1829); battling a forest fire (14 February 1829); and the inadequacy of his boarding house fare: "For dinner, we have the standby dish of bacon, venison, cornbreads and sour milk served in tea cups, handed round on a waiter that for aught I know to the contrary performed the same service prior to the Revolution. For Supper we have the remains of dinner with the addition of coffee that would be better off than on the table." (16 June 1829) He takes several business trips by boat along the gulf coast. The journal ends with a trip North up the Mississippi in early 1830. A later diary kept by Jacob Beeson in 1873 records the business and personal affairs of a now-settled business and family man living in Detroit Michigan.

Edward Beeson provides much of the family history and genealogy in the collection. His handwritten notes, both loose and in a large bound journal, chronicle Beeson family history and lore, and contain names, dates, and narratives of his direct ancestors, and sketchier details of the wider Beeson clan.

Edward Beeson is also the author of two interesting travelogues. The first is included in the journal he kept in an oversized volume, originally intended for shipping manifests for the shipping agent Monson Lockwood, each page headed with an illustration of ships and a lighthouse. In this journal, Edward recounts a trip he takes from Wisconsin west to Kansas in 1866. He describes the towns he visits on the way, and reflects on the scars left by the Civil War. In Aubry, on the Kansas/Missouri border, his Quaker sense of outrage at the violence perpetrated by both sides is aroused by the abandoned and burnt-out homesteads:

"At this place a cavalry camp was maintained during the greater part of the war. From here the lawless Jayhawkers often started on their thieving raids into Missouri and this was also made a place to be retaliated on by the equally desperate and thievish bushwackers and guerillas of Mo. …Here a voice raised for humanity, honor, mercy, justice or freedom of speech was made the occasion for suspicion, persecution, and defamation, often ending in the murder or robbery of the luckless men who dared to think or speak. These scenes of violence, and the always present danger of life and property, had the effect of almost depopulating the country. The graves of the victims of violence are scattered over the country. The bare chimneys of burned houses loom up on the prairie, monuments of vandalism and violence such as the world has seldom seen. They stand there in the desolate silence pointing upward to heaven -- upward ever -- as if to remind the victims of war who sleep in graves nearby, that mercy and justice alone is to be found above." (9 September 1866, p. 78).

Edward Beeson's second travel journal is an account of a trip to Italy, taken by Edward Beeson and his family in 1877-1878. While his daughter, Abbie Beeson Carrington, takes voice lessons, Edward observes Italian life and customs, largely in and around Milan, and is particularly struck by the overall poverty of the region. Edward reports on the Italian diet, domestic arrangements, attitudes toward religion, and local funeral customs. He is present in Rome for the funeral of King Victor Emmanuel II, and attends celebrations commemorating the 1848 Italian Revolution against Austrian rule.

Five of the maps in the collection are hand-drawn survey maps, likely of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, dated from 1830-1850, with one undated. The sixth map, an undated, hand-drawn map of Uniontown, labeling buildings of significance to the Beeson family, is pasted onto the flyleaf of Edward Beeson's oversized journal.

The Bellamy family papers consist primarily of the correspondence and financial documents of a Vergennes, Vermont, family whose members moved west during the early 19th century.

The Bellamy family papers consist primarily of the correspondence and financial documents of a Vergennes, Vermont, family whose members moved westward during the early 19th century. The collection includes 54 correspondence items, 12 legal documents, 132 receipts, 7 account books, 1 pocketbook and its contents, five scrap pages, and ephemera.

The Correspondence series contains items written by various correspondents to members of the Bellamy family of Vergennes, Vermont. Early in the 19th century, Rilla Bellamy received several letters from friends and extended family, who provided updates on their daily lives. On December 28, 1813, for example, a member of the Stowell family described a recent bout of illness in some detail. Later correspondence, often addressed to Edward Bellamy and Joseph Bellamy, occasionally concerned diseases, as well as other routine affairs, like farming, particularly in western Michigan. One late item is composed of scribbles, likely made by a child (January 1860).

The Documents series is comprised primarily of legal documents, many of which relate to Aaron Bellamy. In 1816, Andrew Dyer of Vergennes, Vermont, sold "all the land which I…have a right to claim from the Government of the United States by reason of my enlisting as a Soldier in the Army of the United States to serve during the War the 2nd day of March A.D. 1814" to Aaron Bellamy (January 27, 1816), but the documents more often related to Aaron's legal troubles. The series includes two court summonses, as well as a document ordering Bellamy's release from jail following a lawsuit filed by William Mattack (March 1837). This series also includes a deed made between William Pardee and Justus Bellamy, dated June 22, 1804.

Items in the Financial Records series are mostly receipts belonging to Aaron Bellamy, Samuel Bellamy, Edward Bellamy, and Nathan Holmes.

The Account Books series contains seven small receipt books of unknown ownership. The books consist primarily of numerical figures, but occasionally mention the names of merchants or other people with whom the owners made transactions.

The Pocketbook originally contained 28 items, mostly receipts and other financial items. Among its contents was a short note in which Lloyd Norris instructed Bellamy, "Sir I wish you to leave the following Premises now in your occupation…on my farm…Your compliance with this notice within ten days after its service will prevent any legal measures being taken of me to [obtain] possession" (September 7, 1847).

Miscellaneous items in the collection include a small card of a bird's nest and flowers, with a short poem about "Home," and a business card for sugar merchant W. M. Austin on Wall Street in New York City.

This collection contains letters that Belle Patterson Rosenberger, her husband Absalom, and one other correspondent wrote to Belle's brother, Willard Patterson of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and his family from 1910-1912. They discussed their work at the American Friends Mission in Ramallah, Palestine, and mentioned their travels in Palestine and the Mediterranean region. The collection also includes photographs and an advertisement.

This collection (41 items) contains items pertaining to the work of Absalom and Belle Patterson Rosenberger at the American Friends Mission in Ramallah, Palestine, in the early 1910s. Belle Patterson Rosenberger, Absalom Rosenberger, and an acquaintance named Laura wrote 34 letters to Belle's brother Willard and his family from 1910-1912, many of which are undated. The majority of the correspondence pertains to Belle's work at the mission and her travels in Palestine and the Mediterranean region. She and the Patterson family's other correspondents discussed fellow missionaries and described local customs, such as a funeral (February 12, 1911); they occasionally commented on current events, such as elections in the United States and the sinking of the Titanic (May 5, 1912). In one undated letter, Belle Rosenberger commented on her intention to resume her teaching career. Her letter of May 7, 1911, contains a sketched map of the coastline between Haifa and Acre.

The collection includes a printed facsimile of the handwritten "Bulletin No. 2," a 5-page document concerning missionary work that Absalom Rosenberger issued from the American Friends Mission on November 1, 1911. Five undated photographic prints show scenes from Palestine, such as men in a "gypsy tent," Palestinian women in formal dress, and girls lined up on their way to church. The final item is a printed advertisement for "Thuyoleum," a medicinal remedy.

This collection is made up of correspondence between Benedict Law of Erie County, New York, his wife Docia, and members of his extended family. Law wrote to his wife and children about his work along the Wyoming-Colorado border from 1897-1902 and in the later years of the decade. Other family members and acquaintances corresponded about their lives in Texas, New York, and New Jersey.

This collection is made up of correspondence between Benedict Law of Erie County, New York, his wife Docia, and members of his extended family.

In letters to his wife and sons, Benedict W. Law discussed his life and work on mining projects in Wyoming and Colorado, particularly in the area around Dixon, Wyoming, and Fourmile, Colorado. He described the scenery around the border area and discussed aspects of camp life and his work, which involved dredging and digging ditches. In 1898, he shared local news and occasionally commented on the progress of the Spanish-American War, though he also mentioned the general scarcity of news in the area where he lived. His letters to Docia often concern the couple's finances and sometimes contain news about her sister, Grace Graley, who lived in Fourmile, Colorado. Law wrote at least one letter to his son Lito in Spanish (May 24, 1899). Law wrote from Routt County, Colorado, in 1902.

From 1897-1901, Benedict W. Law received letters related to his personal life, his travels, and the western mining work that continued after his temporary return to New York in 1901. A few items from this period pertain to Docia Law. After 1906, Grace Graley wrote to her mother about life in Queen City, Texas, and about her children. After 1909, Benedict Law resumed his correspondence with his wife, who also received late letters from her sister and mother

This collection is primarily made up of 1st Lieutenant Benjamin A. Furman's outgoing correspondence during his service as a United States Army surgeon in France and Germany between August 1917 and early 1919, as well as picture postcards that Furman collected during his time in Europe. Furman discussed his voyage to Europe, work at an evacuation hospital, encounters with wounded African American soldiers, and postwar travels.

This collection is made up of 119 letters, most of them written by 1st Lieutenant Benjamin A. Furman during his service as a United States Army surgeon in France and Germany between August 1917 and early 1919; 2 photographs; approximately 290 picture postcards that Furman collected during his time in Europe; and 2 printed items. Furman discussed his voyage to Europe, work at an evacuation hospital, encounters with wounded African American soldiers, and postwar travels.

The Benjamin A. Furman Letters to His Parents subseries contains 97 letters that Furman sent to John A. and Emma C. Furman of Newark, New Jersey, about his experiences in the United States Army between August 1917 and March 1919. His letters form the majority of a numbered series that originally contained at least 87 items, plus additional unnumbered letters and postcards. In his earliest letters, Furman described his voyage from the United States to Europe, which included a close encounter with a German submarine, and his experiences with the 407th Telegraph Battalion. In July 1918, he transferred to the 2nd Evacuation Hospital, where he regularly treated patients suffering from wounds acquired at the front lines. On one occasion, Furman copied a portion of a soldier's letter about injuries sustained from a grenade explosion (August 11, 1918). By October 1918, he reported increased admissions of soldiers with illnesses, which included numerous cases of the mumps and the Spanish influenza. Furman occasionally treated African American soldiers and repeatedly shared his admiration for their bravery and dedication. After the war, he witnessed the plight of released British prisoners of war (November 17, 1918) and discussed his travels in France, which included a visit to no man's land. Furman spent much of early 1919 in Germany, and described trips to Koblenz, Köln, and cities across France.

The Other Correspondence subseries (22 items) is comprised of similar outgoing letters from Furman to other acquaintances, such as his brother John, friends, and a Boy Scout Troop. Several friends wished Furman good luck in a photographic postcard postmarked February 1918; the image depicts a building at Princeton University, his alma mater. Furman received a small number of other letters from friends in the United States during the war.

Two Photographs include a cabinet card portrait of Leon Unger, an American physician who also served in the war, and a snapshot photograph, which apparently depicts Benjamin Furman with his motorized ambulance and driver.

The Printed Ephemera and Map series contains an advertisement for the Hotel Atlantic & Annexe in Nice, France, and a map of the city of Nice.

Throughout his time in Europe, Benjamin A. Furman collected around 290 Picture Postcards of buildings and scenery in France and western Germany. He organized most of the postcards by place or region, and added brief notes.