Collections

Collection consists of correspondence, diaries, meeting minutes, records, printed matter and miscellanea of the church, microfilm of legal cases, and images.

This is one of the finest collections in the U. S. of Strangite Mormon material in the world housed in a public institution. A large number of publications from Strang’s Beaver Island printing press are included. More significant is an excellent collection of letters and diaries of his Strangite followers. Also, there is a strong photographic collection of Strangites.

Topics covered include Strangite Mormonism, the Beaver Island colony, various Mormon controversies, the question of succession, etc. The papers of James J. Strang, the Strang Family, and Strangite followers (disciples): Mark A. Strang, Lorenzo Dow Hickey, Warren Post, Wingfield Watson, Lloyd A. Flanders, Stanley L. Johnson, and Alexandre Roger Caffiaux complete the collection.

U.S. District Court vs. James J. Strang, cases 9-22 records, 1851, are microfilmed and in the Mark Strang papers in Box 4. Additional related letters are in the James J. Strang papers in Box 1.

Some materials are microfilmed while many materials are photocopied from other institutions. Additionally, small additions to the collection may be found in the Strangite Miscellaneous Collection, Lorenzo Dow Hickey, and Watson Wingfield collections.

The collection is also described on the Clarke’s webpage.

The collection includes mostly photocopied correspondence, court case testimony, articles, and biographical materials from various Strangite sources. A users copy is available to researchers.

The collection includes mostly photocopied correspondence, court case testimony, articles, and biographical materials from various Strangite sources. A users copy is available to researchers.

Episcopal church located in Detroit, Michigan; church records include church histories, vestry minutes, annual parish meeting minutes and reports, membership directories and card indexes, scattered correspondence and bulletins, records of church women's organization, and photographs.; also register of baptisms, marriages, burials, and communicants; and registers of church services.

The records of the Church of the Ascension Church span most of this parish's history, though there are many gaps especially in the late 1970s through to its demise in the 1980s. The record group is strongest for the middle period of the church's history. There is unfortunately little material relating to the ethnic changeover of the church in its last decade. The record group has been arranged into the following series: Registers of baptisms, burials, marriages, communicants; Registers of church services; Historical/background information; Vestry meeting minutes; Parish meetings/reports; Church Office; and Church organizations. The Historical/Background Information series includes written histories, newspaper clippings, and photographs of church personalities and activities. The greatest depth of information about the church is found in the run of Vestry meeting minutes and the series of Parish meetings/reports.

The Church of the Covenant collection contains monthly letters composed by Christian missionaries working for the American Sunday-School Union in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee, during and just after the Civil War. Most of the letters are addressed to the Church of the Covenant Sabbath School in New York City. The missionaries, who described their work establishing and maintaining Sunday schools throughout the South, focused on educating children and freed slaves and occasionally mentioned the effects of the Civil War.

This collection contains 149 monthly letters composed by Christian missionaries working for the American Sunday-School Union in Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee, during and just after the Civil War, as well as 8 printed items and a map. Most of the letters are addressed to the Church of the Covenant Sabbath School in New York City.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, consists primarily of letters by William Sedwick, Otis Patten, Robert Downey Blair, and other missionaries, who reported on their work establishing religious schools in Kentucky and other southern states. Many letters contain monthly reports, and the missionaries frequently shared anecdotes about local parishioners, often children.

William Sedwick commented on the effects of the Civil War on his work, including shelling and the encroachment of fighting in the missionary fields (January 20, 1863) and local residents' fears that the Confederate Army would take over Kentucky (March 24, 1863). He also reflected on the war's negative impact on his evangelistic efforts, and on local attitudes about slavery.

Others mentioned their work with freed slaves, and Isaac Emory described the jubilation felt by two elderly former slaves who could now read the Bible publicly (August 25, 1867). The poverty and social conditions of the American South, along with the plight of African Americans, were frequent topics of conversation, along with missionary efforts to win converts and oversee the development of religious education. Several groups of these letters were once bound.

The Printed items series (8 items) includes reports of the Children's Aid Society and the Try Society, financial records related to the American Sunday-School Union, and an annual report made by William Sedwick during his service with the American Sunday-School Union (July 20, 1862).

The Map series has a manuscript map of three counties in northwestern Kentucky.

Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal) in Dearborn Heights, Michigan was established in 1954. In 1990, the church building was sold; and in 1998, the congregation officially disbanded. The records include a complete register of church vital records, parochial reports, and annual reports.

The records of the Church of the Good Shepherd are perhaps of most value for their genealogical information about church families. In addition, the records include a complete church register and an inclusive series of parochial reports, Bishop's Committee meetings, church school records, and annual reports. Church histories were written in 1959 and 1981 and a scrapbook spanning the life of the church combines pictures and newspaper clippings.

The records have been arranged into the following series: Registers of Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, Communicants, etc.; Administration; Membership; Activities; and Historical and Background Information.

The records of the Church of the Holy Spirit have been arranged into the following series: Registers of baptisms, communicants, burials, marriages, etc.; Registers of church services; Bishop's Committee; Reports; Bulletins and newsletters; Miscellaneous; and Membership records.

Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan with long history of involvement in social action activities and urban ministry. Records include minutes, registers, scrapbooks and photographs.

The records of the Church of the Messiah (2.5 linear ft., 1875-1988) span most of it's years -- from establishment in 1874 through several transitional periods and into the late 80s. The collection consists mainly of ledger books and record books, collected material pertaining to church history, scrapbooks of clippings, and photographs. There are four series in the Church of the Messiah collection: Minutes, Registers, Scrapbooks and Miscellaneous Material, and Photographs.

Researchers should note that Church of the Messiah collaborated in ministry with Epiphany Episcopal Church in the early 1970s. The two churches merged in 1974. The Bentley Historical Library holds a small collection of Epiphany records (1 linear ft. and 4 oversized volumes).

This approximately 160-page volume contains working records of one or more traveling chair, desk, bench, and pew salesmen in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and elsewhere in the Northeast between 1889 and 1892. A previous owner identified the business as the Richmond Furniture Company of Indiana, but this has not been verified. Each page includes the name or names of a client, prospect, or contact; names of existing or planned buildings; seating needs; costs; a record of communications; and other notes.

This approximately 160-page volume contains working records of one or more traveling chair, desk, bench, and pew salesmen in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and elsewhere in the Northeast between 1889 and 1892. A previous owner identified the business as the Richmond Furniture Company of Indiana, but this has not been verified. Each page includes the name or names of a client, prospect, or contact; names of existing or planned buildings; seating needs; costs; a record of communications; and other notes.

The volume begins with a 3,000-seat music hall at 57th Street and 7th Avenue, New York City—the Carnegie Hall. The most frequent clientele were churches, synagogues, and proprietors or developers of musical or theater venues. Record of a new City Hall in Syracuse, New York, the Hall for Jewish Society in Philadelphia, and an opera house in Poughkeepsie are other examples. Some entries document the sending of circulars and sale catalogs.

Pencil accounting for grocery and other purchases in 1911 are scattered throughout the volume.

This collection is made up of 16 documents pertaining to a slander trial in the Ohio frontier during the War of 1812. Aaron M. Church sued Wright Warner for accusing Church of being a Tory and for "aiding and assisting" the British. Church was ultimately successful in his suit.

• Praecipe for summons in the case (August 26, 1813)
• Writ of summons for Wright Warner (August 26, 1813)
• Declaration by Church (November 23, 1813)
• Wright Warner's plea (December 2, 1813)
• Praecipe for the subpoena (December 3, 1813)
• Nine writs of summons (23 witnesses by the plaintiff and nine by the defendant, December 3, 1813-August 11, 1814)
• Bill of exception (August 16, 1814)
• Jury's verdict (August 1814)

Interdenominational church women's organization, formerly known as United Church Women of Ann Arbor. Minutes, reports, yearbooks, scrapbooks, photographs, sound recordings, and other files relating to activities and interests.

The record group begins with a file relating to the organization's history and administrative structure. This is followed by a bound volume containing minutes for the years of 1941 to 1950. The record group is then arranged into yearly files dating from 1950 to 2004. These files include such materials as mimeographed board of directors reports as well as a variety of newsletters, bulletins, and financial reports. An important source of information about the organization is a series of scrapbooks with clippings and some photographs detailing group activities in the period of 1960 to 2001.