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

The Abel Hyde account book contains 41 pages of double-entry bookkeeping records for Hyde's carpentry work for, and transactions with, individuals in Lebanon and Franklin, Connecticut, between 1800 and 1822. The volume also includes a 22-page narrative entitled "Chronicles of Agawam," about theological disagreements in Massachusetts among the followers of John Calvin, Roger Williams, and Emanuel Swedenborg.

The Abel Hyde account book contains 41 pages of double-entry bookkeeping records for Hyde's carpentry work for, and transactions with, individuals in Lebanon and Franklin, Connecticut, between 1800 and 1822. The volume also includes a 22-page narrative entitled "Chronicles of Agawam," about theological disagreements in Massachusetts among the followers of John Calvin, Roger Williams, and Emanuel Swedenborg.

Abel Hyde's account book documents his financial affairs throughout the early 19th century, with most records dated between 1800 and 1821. As a wheelwright, he often repaired or made wagon wheels, though he built other wooden items, such as plows and a "cheese press" (p. 41). Hyde also performed manual labor tasks, such as haying and other farm work, and he often traded his services for food items, including potatoes, meal, apples, fish, meats, and alcohol. Two pages of additional financial accounts are laid into the volume. Abel Hyde's accounts appear on facing pages numbered 18-58; the first pages are absent. Three later pages at the back of the volume document Charles Pettis's work on Abel Hyde's barn.

The final 22 pages are comprised of an undated narrative entitled "Chronicles of Agawam," composed in a chapter/verse format. It concerns theological disagreements among Christian sects in Massachusetts during America's colonial period. John Calvin, Roger Williams, and Emanuel Swedenborg feature prominently.

This collection contains correspondence between Abner H. Cheever, an early migrant to Indiana, and his sister, Thankful, and brother-in-law, Captain John Webster, in Vermont. The collection includes letters written during Cheever's trip to Indiana via Kentucky in 1816-17, and contains accounts of the hardships the family faced when settling in Indiana.

The Abner H. Cheever papers are comprised of 19 letters to and from Abner H. Cheever, an early migrant to Indiana, his sister, Thankful, and brother-in-law, Captain John Webster, of Vermont. The collection includes letters written during Cheever's trip to Indiana via Kentucky in 1816-17, and contains accounts of the hardships the family faced when settling in Vernon, Geneva, and Jennings Counties in the southeast corner of the state. Cheever describes various misfortunes, such as family sickness, the death of his wife Polly, and personal vendettas waged against them by relatives. He often writes of God's role in his life; in an undated letter, Cheever writes of the death of his wife Polly: "I feel that God is Chastising me for my disobedience and hope and pray that I might not turn a deaf ear to His call.”

The Abraham Bell papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to Abraham Bell & Co., an early 19th-century New York City shipping firm owned by Abraham Bell.

The Abraham Bell papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to Abraham Bell & Co., an early 19th-century New York City shipping firm owned by Abraham Bell. The majority of material in the Correspondence series is addressed to either Abraham Bell or to his company, and relates to various business affairs, often concerning payment or delivery of goods. Many of the letters originated from European firms, including a letter from Collman, Lambert & Co. in Liverpool, written on stationery that includes a printed list of current prices for cotton and related goods (February 8, 1837).

The Receipts and financial papers series consists of non-correspondence items related to the operation of Abraham Bell & Co. throughout the early and mid-1800s. These include records of payment and lists of cargo carried aboard Bell's ships, as well as several documents relating to loads of street manure in 1839. Several early items within this series pertain to the ship Josephine.

Fifteen Account and receipt books provide information about Bell's financial endeavors throughout the period in explicit detail, covering the years 1840-1868. A letter book contains copies of letters written by Abraham Bell between October 16, 1833, and August 15, 1834.

Miscellaneous items in the collection include an indenture for land in New Jersey belonging to the Budd family (December 25, 1812), and a record of fiscal accounts between Abraham Bell & Co. and [Malionson] Bell & Co. (June 30, 1836).

This account book pertains to Abraham B. Smedes's work as a cooper in Shawangunk, New York, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Additional entries concern education, surveying work, and shoe repair.

This account book (approximately 130 pages) pertains to Abraham B. Smedes's work as a cooper in Shawangunk, New York, in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Additional entries concern education, surveying work, and shoe repair in the early to mid-1800s.

Abraham B. Smedes recorded most of his accounts from 1793-1805 (bulk 1795-1805), documenting his work as a cooper and laborer in Shawangunk, New York. He laid hoops, built or repaired containers such as flour casks, and (occasionally) wrote deeds or other legal documents. One entry concerns the sale of a house to William Hamilton in the spring of 1779 (page 43). Smedes most often received payments in corn, meats, or other foods or goods. He noted that some accounts had been settled "by a course of law." A record with the president and directors of the Ulster & Orange Turnpike Branch Co. concerns surveying work done in 1809 and 1812 (page 95), and Smedes or a later owner of this account book received money for several scholars' tuition in October 1815 (pages 102-121, 124-125).

Later accounts appear on the bottom half of many pages, particularly between pages 7 and 37 and on pages 126-128. These accounts, dated 1821-1842, with the bulk dated 1835-1841, pertain to a cobbler who repaired and made shoes and insoles. Customers paid with foods, goods, and cash. The records on page 128 mention factory labor by Peter, Georgiana, William, Blandina, and Elsie in March 1823. A few additional accounts cover the intervening years between Smedes's entries and the shoemaking records, many pertaining to the sale of vinegar in the 1810s.

The final pages contain financial accounts from 1809-1810 (page 132) and money received from [1801?]-1802 (page 133). The volume includes a 9-page index, organized alphabetically by surname (pages numbered 1-4). Additional pages of accounts are laid into the volume; several pages toward the end have been torn out of the book.

The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865.

The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865. Topics addressed in the letters and documents include the experiences and work of enslaved persons in the North and South; the buying and selling of enslaved men, women, and children; participation in the French and Indian War, American Revolution, and Civil War of African descended persons; abolitionists and abolition societies; the American Colonization Society; the lives of formerly enslaved persons; African American education; and many other subjects. For details on each document, see the inventory located under "Detailed Box and Folder Listing"

The Alexander Robinson papers contain military records relating to Fort Greene, which Robinson commanded during the War of 1812, business records relating to international trading, as well as Robinson's personal correspondence.

The Alexander Robinson papers contain 257 documents and records related to Fort Greene, 103 business papers and documents, and 38 pieces of correspondence. The items span 1807-1843, with the bulk centered around 1814-1815.

The Correspondence series comprises primarily personal correspondence, including letters from family members and friends, both incoming and outgoing. Alexander Robinson wrote many of the early letters to his wife Hetty, during his sea voyages, expressing his affection, providing news, and speculating on when he would return. Between 1818 and 1841, William Hicks, a native of Cork, Ireland, wrote approximately 15 letters to Robinson, requesting information about a brother in New York, and providing increasingly grim descriptions of the political and financial situation in Ireland. His letter of November 15, 1821, gives an account of murders and floggings occurring in Cork. Two of the Robinsons' children, Maria Louisa and George, wrote several additional letters, dating from the 1830s and concerning family news.

The Business Papers series spans 1807-1821 and concerns ships that Robinson commanded during those years. Documents are organized by ship, with a few miscellaneous business papers at the end. The series contains records for the Alexander (1809-1813), the Clarendon (1815), the Catherine Ray (1812), the Fulley (1807-1808), the Independence (1815), the Isabella (1813), the Moses Brown (1812-1821), the Nichola (1809-1810), the Quebec (1812-1813), and the Urbana (1812). The items document such information as rolls of crews and their salaries, trading partners and items traded, financial transactions, and repairs made to ships.

The Fort Greene series contains items relating to Fort Greene, 1814-1815. The gunners' reports and morning and evening reports consist of information about which men were present, absent, sick, and at liberty in October and November of 1814. Provision returns, a requisition log, and a receipt book track the purchase and transfer of ordnance and goods. Also present are orders for Fort Greene and Fort Gansevoort, an orderly book for October 19, 1814, to January 11, 1815, and a 26-page journal kept at Fort Greene by Peter H. Schuyler, which described weather conditions, visitors to the fort, general happenings, and how its residents were employed. On December 10, 1814, he recounted a controversy surrounding the smoking of cigars and pipes inside the fort, and several days later reported a dispute between Alexander Robinson and William Cranston and Cranston's subsequent arrest.

The Alexander Thompson papers consist of the papers of three generations of Thompsons: Captain Alexander Thompson (1759-1809), Colonel Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1793-1837), and Reverend Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1822-1895). These papers document the military service of Captain Thompson in United States army (1793-1809); Colonel Thompson's military service (1819-1837); attempts by Colonel Thompson's widow Mary Thompson to secure a military pension (1838-1849); and the career of Reverend Thompson, a Union Army chaplain and Presbyterian minister, along with his family letters (1850-1932).

The Alexander Thompson papers (653 items) consist of the papers of three generations of Thompsons: Captain Alexander Thompson (1759-1809), Colonel Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1793-1837), and Reverend Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1822-1895). The collection is comprised of 494 letters and documents, 1 diary, 25 photographs, 103 religious writings and hymns, and 30 items of printed material. These papers document the military service of Captain Thompson in the United States Army (1793-1809); Colonel Thompson's military service (1819-1837); attempts by Colonel Thompson's widow, Mary Thompson, to secure a military pension (1838-1849); and the career of Reverend Thompson, Union Army chaplain and Presbyterian minister, along with his family letters (1850-1932).

The Correspondence and Documents series (494 items) is made up of three subseries, one for each Alexander Thompson represented in the collection.

The Captain Alexander Thompson subseries (255 items) consists of letters and documents related to Thompson's army career, including 37 military records (pay rolls, musters, and accounts) and 14 provisional returns. The bulk of the letters are to and from the war office in Philadelphia and from fellow army officers. These provide administrative documentation for the fledgling American military, as well as specific details on Thompson's assignments at Governor's Island, West Point, Fort Niagara, and Detroit. Topics covered include his efforts to provision and pay his troops, fortify his outposts, and recruit soldiers.

• April 19, May 7 and 24, and June 20, 1795: Letters from Thompson to New York Governor George Clinton, concerning the French navy and the fort at Governor's Island
• July 9, 15, and 18, 1795: Letters between Colonel Louis de Tousard and Thompson concerning prisoners, troops, and musicians at Governor's Island
• December 5, 1795: Letter fromThompson to Alexander Hamilton concerning a lawsuit involving Thompson's professional conduct at Governor's Island
• March 29, 1796: Letter to Thompson warning of a mutiny on Governor's Island
• September 14, 1800: Letter from Thompson to John Jacob Ulrich Rivardi concerning small pox at Detroit
• February 17, 1801: Letter from Thompson to Major Moses Porter, concerning filling the United States officer corps with Americans instead of foreign commanders
• January 20, 1803: May 1 and August 24, 1807: Letters and bills to and from Thompson and Secretary of War Henry Dearborn concerning payments for travel
• October 15, 1804: Instructions from Thompson to Doctor Frances La Barons concerning trading for pelts at Michilimackinac
• September 1807: News from a friend in St. Louis describing army activities there

The Colonel Alexander R. Thompson subseries (137 items) documents his post-War of 1812 military career, and his wife's efforts to secure a pension after his death. These include letters from fellow officers and friends, a few retained copies of Thompson's letters, and 55 letters to and from Mary Thompson and various prominent government officials concerning military pensions. In many of Mary's letters she described episodes in her husband's military career, including wounds and sicknesses suffered while on duty.

• November 27, 1816: Captain Kearny at Sackets Harbor to Thompson concerning securing pay to Mrs. Niblock for washing clothes for the army
• January 12, 1817: Major W.J. Worth at Sackets Harbor to Thompson describing a celebration at the newly build Madison Barracks
• May 13, 1833: George Brooke at Fort Howard (Green Bay) to Thompson describing his journey across Lake Huron
• August 28, 1833: Benjamin F. Larneal to Thompson concerning shipping a piano to Michigan
• April 28, 1836: Thompson to his nephew Alexander Thompson, describing the encampment and fortifications at Camp Sabine, Louisiana, and the lawless state of Texas - "the country is consequently infested with robbers and pirates
• February 21, 1837: Mary Thompson to General Winfield Scott seeking a promotion for her sick husband
• March 6, 1840: Mary to her brother-in-law William Thompson, relating her difficulties securing a pension
• 1842-1845: Letters to and from Mary Thompson to New York Governor Hamilton Fish and members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, including John Jordan Crittenden and Thomas Hart Benton
• October 8, 1847: E. Backay at San Juan to Mary Thompson containing a description of the Mexican-American War
• March 13, 1853: Department of the Interior to Mary Thompson concerning her request for a land bounty

The Reverend Alexander R. Thompson subseries (102 items) contains Thompson's letters and 25 of his children's letters. Of note are the items documenting his Civil War service as chaplain of the 17th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers and at the Roosevelt Hospital. These include many letters from solders and former parishioners serving throughout the country. Also present are letters discussing Thompson and his family's travels around New York and New England, and to the Canary Islands, Quebec, and San Francisco. The post-1872 letters largely concern Thompson's children.

• November 28, 1861: Albion Brooks to Thompson describing the soldier's Thanksgiving dinner at Burnside Camp, Annapolis, Maryland
• January 16, 1862: Leonard Woolsey Bacon to Thompson concerning chaplains' aids
• July 2, 1863: A small diagram of the Union fleet on the Mississippi River in front of Vicksburg
• June 4, 1864: Moses Smith of the 8th Connecticut Regiment to Thompson describing the battle at Cold Harbor
• September 25, 1865: E.A. Russell to Thompson describing hearing Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" on board a steam ship: "I feel like after hearing it sung like one inspired for the work. I do think it is very near Gods work."
• September 27, 1865: Five verses of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" copied on board the Steamship United States
• September 23, 1871: Gin Bon, secretary of the Chinese Young Men's Christian Society of San Francisco, to Thompson concerning his support of the group and enclosing four photographs of members

The Diary series (1 item, 372 pages) is the personal journal of Reverend Alexander Ramsey Thompson for 1861. The diary is deeply personal and includes Thompson's thoughts on personal, spiritual, and political matters, as well as his thoughts on the outbreak of the Civil War and his decision to join the army as a chaplain. In the back of the diary are 5 newspaper clippings concerning New York University commencements.

• April 13 and 16, 1861: Thoughts on the siege and bombardment at Fort Sumter
• July 22 and 24, 1861: Thoughts on First Bull Run
• August 31, 1861: Discussion of seeing a hippopotamus at Barnum's Museum

The Photographs series (25 items) contains undated family pictures, images of houses and landscapes, and commercial photographs of buildings in Europe.

Four additional photographs are located with the letter of September 23, 1871. These are portraits of Chinese Americans, one taken by Chinese photographer Lai Yong of San Francisco, and one of letter writer Gin Bon, secretary of the Chinese Young Men's Christian Society. Gin Bon's portrait contains watercolored highlights. The hymn book for the Roosevelt Hospital in the Printed Materials series contains family photographs, including a group picture in which many of the sitters are holding tennis rackets.

The Religious Writings series is composed of two subseries: Sermons and Ecclesiastical History Notes, and Hymns. Though largely undated and unattributed, these writings were all likely created by Reverend Thompson. The Sermons and Ecclesiastical History notes subseries (61 items) contains 58 sermon notes that Thompson wrote in the 1890s, much of which was written on Roosevelt Hospital stationery. Some of these are outlines while others are fully formed sermons. He also wrote notes on ecclesiastical history in two notebooks dated 1881 (232 pages), and on the Hebrew language in an undated notebook (58 pages). The Hymns subseries (42 items) contains 9 manuscript hymns, 16 printed hymns, and 17 volumes of manuscript hymns. They consist of transcribed and translated hymns, Bible quotations, and ballad lyrics. Two of the printed hymns, both Christmas carols, include music for four voices.

The Printed Material series (30 items) is comprised of 18 newspaper clippings and 12 miscellaneous printed items. The newspaper clippings are an essay by Reverend Thompson entitled "The Burial of Moses," and an address from Thompson delivered at the unveiling of a Gettysburg monument for the 17th Connecticut Volunteers. The Miscellaneous Printed Items subseries contains 12 items, including ephemera related to New York University commencements; an engraving of author, nurse, and charity organizer Isabella Graham; an annual report for the Brooklyn Nursery (1888); and a Roosevelt Hospital hymnal in which someone has inserted photograph clippings of Reverend Thompson, his wife, and others.

Alfred Bixby, teacher and superintendent at the Stratford Academy in Stratford, Connecticut, kept this volume between November 9, 1818, and February 22, 1819. The primary subject matter of the diary is his aggressive and unsuccessful pursuit of a young woman's hand in marriage. She is identified only by initials C.M.B. He also provided thoughts about law school (at Litchfield Law School), his future occupations, church politics, attendance at sermons, his character, the pursuit of wisdom, reading, students, a multitude of visits, troubles with his landlady, parties and balls, and other social matters.

Alfred Bixby, teacher and superintendent at the Stratford Academy in Stratford, Connecticut, kept this volume between November 9, 1818, and February 22, 1819. The diary primarily revolves around Alfred Bixby's aggressive attempts to court a young woman named C. M. B. [Catharine M. Booth?]. He spent numerous pages ruminating about her, describing their interactions, and dissecting the meaning of her actions and words. He wrote passionately, "O could I have taken her into my arms at that moment, the ardour of my feelings would have endangered her life. Nothing disagreeable followed; she gave me one or two lovely winks which pierced thro' my very soul" (November 9, 1818, p. 2). When he interpreted her actions as flirtatious towards other men, he feigned understanding--provided he was the primary object of her affections. Nevertheless, he wrote disparaging remarks about women's sexual proclivity (November 13, 1818, p. 11) and became irritable and confused when she withheld her attentions. He discussed marriage with her and she rejected him, but he continued to pursue her. After many interpretations of their interactions and her cold behavior toward him, he claimed he gave up his pursuit (November 24, 1818, p. 33). He continued to mention her throughout the remainder of the diary, with statements like "I feel less and less interested in C.M.B." (December 1, 1818, p. 47); "C.M.B. herself has done me an infinite favour in destroying before my eyes a fascination of her charms -- I cease to love the girl" (December 7, 1818, p. 56); and "Abl. Said Miss B observed to her . . . that she wished she could see me -- in order to know whether I had any excuse for using her so -- In this wish, I discover friendship" (December 19, 1818, p. 80). He went back and forth about his desire for her and his criticisms of her, even recording a dream in which the two surreptitiously united (February 9, 1819, pp. 163-164).

From November 26 to November 28, 1818, he described his travels to Litchfield, Bethlehem, and Derley Narrows, and a miscarried bundle from New Haven. His writings are interspersed with thoughts about law school (at Litchfield Law School), thoughts about his future occupations, church politics, attendance at sermons, his character, the pursuit of wisdom, reading, a multitude of visits, troubles with his landlady, parties and balls, and other social matters. He occasionally mentioned his role as a teacher at the Stratford Academy, evening spelling school, evening singing school, and students. He pondered his age (30) and lamented that he had not settled into a permanent residence or married.

• On December 23, 1818, he vowed to give up smoking cigars (p. 86).
• On January 21, 1819, he reproved his "pupils for encouraging fighting - & for such meanness as unhinging people's gates by night" (p. 129).
• He described a snowball fight between schoolboys, interrupted by a "cowardly rascal" shoemaker who knocked down and kicked two of the boys. Bixby interrupted and demanded reparations, which were decided at $5.00 in favor of the young men (January 31, 1819, p. 148).

The Allaire papers contain business correspondence, legal documents, and financial documents related to New York City resident Peter Alexander Allaire and his children, Calicia Allaire Wood and George Young Allaire. The collection also includes an anonymous account book from the 1830s, possibly kept by Pennsylvania merchant Thomas Wood.

Several early items in the collection relate to the post-Revolution business and legal affairs of Peter Alexander Allaire, and include a French document authorizing the shipment of several ingredients, including alkali and soap, for the manufacture of white lead (1783). The majority of the collection consists of material related to the financial interests of Calicia Allaire (m. Thomas Wood) and George Young Allaire. Many of these items reflect ongoing financial disputes between the siblings and Calicia's husband, and involved a third party, Cornelius Bogart. In addition to correspondence, financial records, and indentures related to the Allaire family, the collection includes scattered personal items. Also part of the collection is an account book, possibly kept by Thomas Wood, in which the author recorded financial information, including several accounts for everyday goods, "Farming Concerns," and items "Arrived from Foreign Ports." Many of the book's accounts relate to wood and a few mention stock held jointly with George Young Allaire.

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of Northborough, Massachusetts, preacher John Allen. Allen and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters, including slavery and abolition.

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of John Allen, a preacher in Northborough, Massachusetts. He and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters of intellectual concern, including slavery and abolition.

The Correspondence series (260 items) consists primarily of personal correspondence between family members. Thomas Prentiss Allen composed many of these letters, though his brothers and their sister Elizabeth also contributed. The well-educated Allens discussed a wide range of personal and political topics, and their letters provide a vivid picture of the politically charged antebellum era. They often shared opinions on local and national politics, emphasizing the conflicts over slavery that eventually erupted into secession and Civil War. Notably, Thomas Prentiss Allen expounded at length on Daniel Webster's famous speech urging support of the Compromise of 1850 and offered his own opinions on the political issues involved, including the Wilmot Proviso (March 24, 1850). Other letters of particular interest concern the Free Soil party and the Fugitive Slave Act (December 10, 1850 and January 9, 1851). Elizabeth Allen wrote a majority of the later items in the collection to Joseph Allen, her father, communicating a view of her life on the home front during the Civil War and occasionally mentioning the war and domestic politics.

• Fathers and Children, containing manuscript essays based on Biblical verses (September 1842)
• A Discourse on Occasion of the Death of Hon. John Quincy Adams..., by Joseph Henry Allen (1848)

The Photographs series (2 items) contains two 19th-century portraits printed on thick cards.

The Miscellaneous series (5 items) contains a newspaper clipping regarding the death of William Francis Allen, as well as four manuscripts about various topics.