Collections

The Christian A. Burck photograph collection is comprised of photoprints made from glass negatives. Scenes include views of people, buildings, and activities in and near Monroe, Michigan, as well as student activities at the University of Michigan.

This collection consists of two folders. The first contains original correspondence (mostly from the Civil War) and typed transactions of that correspondence. The second folder contains a compact disc of digitally scanned images of the same correspondence. The letters date 1863, except for one, which dates 1898.

This collection consists of original correspondence, typed transcriptions of that correspondence, and a compact disk of digitally scanned images of the same correspondence.

The letters date 1863, except for one, which dates 1898. C.L. Leach wrote the 1898 letter to George Bush, and in it Leach notes that he is married and lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Leach mentions people that he and George both know and asks George to write with any news.

Frederick wrote some of the 1863 letters, and Christian, Jr. wrote the others. They’re all addressed to their father, Christian, Sr., and their brother, George. The brothers reflect on the war and describe their experiences. They reveal a disdain for both abolitionists and African Americans and seem to regard the abolitionists as a main cause of the war. The brothers describe some of their combat experiences. Gettysburg is among the battles described by Frederick. (Christian was apparently in the hospital at the time.) The brothers provide opinions about other enlisted men and officers, and on the progress of the war. They seemed to often feel that generals were too slow to attack. The brothers sometimes commented on medical care, their health and the weather, and expressed longings to return home.

This collection contains letters that German immigrant Christian August Weihe wrote to his parents and siblings in Herford, Germany, after he settled in San Francisco, California. He wrote regularly about his financial affairs and other aspects of his life in the United States between his arrival in California in 1849 and the year 1877.

The Christian August Weihe correspondence is primarily made up of 167 letters that Weihe, a German immigrant, wrote to his family in Germany after settling in San Francisco, California, in the mid-19th century. Also included are 2 money orders.

The Correspondence series contains Weihe's letters to his parents and siblings, who remained in Herford, Germany, after he moved to the United States in 1849. Though most of his letters are addressed to his father, Philip, Weihe also corresponded with his mother, Luise, and with his siblings, Louise and Theodor. He traveled from Germany to California between February and September 1849, and by December had settled in San Francisco, where he found work in a bank. He wrote of his life in the United States, discussing his life and finances and occasionally mentioning politics; in his letter of July 22, 1861, for example, he explained U.S. political parties. Weihe spent much of the Civil War era in Stockton, California, and later returned to San Francisco, where he became known primarily by his middle name, August. He continued to write regularly until the 1870s, then wrote less frequently through May 1897. One later letter addressed to Luise Weihe includes a brief greeting in English from his daughter Florence, who mentioned her sister's recent birthday and expressed her own desire to learn German (April 25, 1875). At least two letters were written on decorated stationery, including one from California's Highland Springs Resort, which includes a printed map with directions to the property (August 4, 1896).

The Money Orders series includes 2 money orders sent in 1854 from Goddefroy, Sillem, and Co., in San Francisco, California, to Philip Weihe via the Hamburg firm J. C. Godeffroy and Son.

Christian Hoffman, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kentucky, compiled this 201-page book of poetry, largely in the German language, with eight poems in English. Hoffman's selections include poems or poem fragments by Henry Kirke White, Lord Byron, Agnes Franz, Friedrich Rückert, Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau, Friedrich von Sallet, August Henrich Hoffmann, and others. Christian Hoffmann apparently included several original spiritual poems, such as "Des Kinder schwingender Geist" (pages 18-24) and "Die Absched des Prindes Gottes" (pages 169-170). Several blackletter script titles, decorative initials, and illustrations are present. The three illustrations include an urn with flowers (page 69), an angel with a harp (page 168), and a vignette of three maidens holding a banner with the words "O laube", "Liebe und" and "Hoffman" (page 76).

Christian Hoffman, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kentucky, compiled this 201-page book of poetry, largely in the German language, with eight poems in English. Hoffman's selections include poems or poem fragments by Henry Kirke White, Lord Byron, Agnes Franz, Friedrich Rückert, Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau, Friedrich von Sallet, August Henrich Hoffmann, and others. Christian Hoffmann apparently included several original spiritual poems, such as "Des Kinder schwingender Geist" (pages 18-24) and "Die Absched des Prindes Gottes" (pages 169-170). Several blackletter script titles, decorative initials, and illustrations are present. The three illustrations include an urn with flowers (page 69), an angel with a harp (page 168), and a vignette of three maidens holding a banner with the words "O laube", "Liebe und" and "Hoffman" (page 76).

This volume contains labor records regarding a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (1851-1852), and recipes for medicines and food.

This volume (approximately 42 pages) contains labor records regarding a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and recipes for medicines and food. The first 17 pages consist of daily records of the work performed on the farm between January 1851 and August 1852, including making hay, harvesting corn, and cultivating fields. Each entry lists a worker's name (frequently C. Lantz), the amount of time (expressed as a fraction of a day), the type of work done, and the amount of pay owed (calculated at a rate of $1.00 per day). The remaining 25 pages consist of recipes for baked goods, inks and dyes, medicines, and products called "Cattle Powder," "Blood Purifier," and "Mortification." On page, written in Pennsylvania Dutch, is laid into the volume.

A stalwart of the Moravian community in Salem, N.C., Christian Ludwig Benzien was connected in spirit and blood with some of the most prominent of American Moravians. The Benzien manuscript is a complex document comprised of occasional poetry, hymns, and songs written largely, but apparently not exclusively, by Christian Ludwig Benzien.

The Benzien manuscript is a complex document comprised of occasional poetry, hymns, and songs written largely, but apparently not exclusively, by Christian Ludwig Benzien. A Moravian minister, the son and step-son of ministers, Benzien was also a talented poet in German, and his work shows the evidence of a highly developed literary and musical aesthetic, deeply interconnected with an equally highly developed spiritual devotion.

Most of the works were written in celebration or commemoration of special days set aside throughout the year, including Christmas and New Years, birthdays, childbirths, arrivals and departures, Lord's Suppers, and Love Feasts. The volume provides insight into the Moravian religious world view, and perhaps even more into their social and familial relations through sensitive depictions of the nature of friendships between men (and women), family members, and members of church organizations -- particularly the various choirs with which Benzien was associated.

The manuscript appears to have been transcribed in about 1810-1815 by Dorothea Sophia Bötticher, and is written in two hands, entirely in old script German.

Photographs, 1905 and ca. 1955-1965, and film, 1938, relating to Scandinavian-American activities and organizations in Detroit, Michigan; also photos, 1905, of National Tea Company, a Danish-owned Detroit business.

The Feddersen collection consists of photographs and a motion picture relating to the organizations and activities of Scandinavian Americans in Michigan. The motion picture is entitled "Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, June 12, 1938." A videocassette has been made of the film.

Widely published and award winning Detroit born Polish-American author whose life is at the heart of her poetry, diaries, and publications. The collection primarily consists of correspondence between Pacosz, certain family members, and associates; diaries highlighting pivotal events in her life; creative works; publicity materials; family and biographical information; and photographs.

The Christina V. Pacosz papers gives the researcher an insight into the works and mind of an American born Polish poet. This collection, in which the files are arranged chronologically, spans the years 1899-2019, with the majority of the materials reflecting the years 1961-2012.

The collection comprises of correspondence between Pacosz, her literary cohorts, and family members; published and unpublished anthologies, manuscripts, and poetry; biographical and genealogical records pertaining to Pacosz and her family; works created by her students; personal diaries; photographs of herself, family, and colleagues. The collection also comprises of publicity and research materials.

Photographs and sound recordings of Alston remarks at the dedication of the Robert Hayden Lounge in the University of Michigan Center for Afroamerican and African Studies in 1988. The Center was renamed the Department Afroamerican and African Studies in 2011. A 1988 discussion between Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Alston, William McAdoo, and member of the Bentley Historical Library staff about African American historical material housed at the Bentley. Interview conducted by William McAdoo (1990, includes transcript) relating to the Inventory of Negro Manuscripts project at the Bentley Historical Library.

Christopher H. Armstrong was the first openly gay student body president of the Michigan Student Assembly at the University of Michigan. This collection documents his undergraduate experience, speaking engagements, and the lawsuit Christopher Armstrong v. Andrew Shirvell in which Armstrong was represented by attorney Deborah Gordon. Materials include court documents, news articles, television news coverage including interviews with Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, speeches, notes, and correspondence.

The collection documents the experiences of Christopher Armstrong, the first openly gay student body president of the University of Michigan, during his tenure as an undergraduate student, president of the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA), and the lawsuit he brought against a Michigan's assistant attorney general, Andrew Shirvell. Materials include court documents, news articles, television news coverage, speeches, notes, correspondence, and student government material between 2008 and 2015.