Collections

John Allen (1797-1851) and Ann I. Allen (1797-1875) co-founded--with Elisha Walker Rumsey and his wife Mary Ann Rumsey-- the city of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Correspondence, biographical and family history information, a plat book, and family portraits.

Correspondence of John Allen, co-founder of Ann Arbor, Michigan, his wife, Ann, and their children, largely concerning family affairs and travels, including journey to California in 1850, and the prospects of settlement in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois; biographical and genealogical material, including family histories and reminiscences by James Turner Allen; and plat book (1830's) of Ann Arbor containing plats of land purchased by Allen from the United States.

Photographs, including portraits of John and Ann Allen and James T. Allen; photos of other family members.

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.

The Allen family photograph album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of various individuals, including members of the Allen family of Mayville, Michigan.

The Allen family photograph album (13cm x 10cm) contains 22 cartes-de-visite, 13 tintypes, one lithograph, and one printed card. The cartes-de-visite and tintypes are studio portraits of men, women, and children. Most items show a single person, though some, such as a woman and a young baby, were photographed in pairs. The lithograph depicts a young girl holding a dog. An educational card, one of a series of "Little People Lesson Pictures" issued by the American Sunday-School Union (volume IV, number 1, part 5), is laid into the volume. The card has a colored print of a Biblical scene entitled "Beginning of the Hebrew Nation," and the reverse side has questions and answers about Abraham's journey to Canaan. The cartes-de-visite were made by photographers in locations such as Imlay City, Michigan; Owosso, Michigan; and Peterborough, Ontario. The volume's covers are leather, with a Maltese gold-embossed cross stamped in relief on each side.

Papers include: drafts, transcripts, and carbon copies of Field's stories, and a scrapbook of his column, the Far Parade.

The collection includes Smith’s correspondence with several magazines and publishers relating to his short stories and his only published novel, The Muskamming Red Head (1932), a signed copy of which is separately cataloged in the Clarke Historical Library; papers concerning several writing courses which he took through correspondence; drafts, typescripts, and carbon copies of typescripts of his writings; and one scrapbook of clippings of his newspaper column, “The Far Parade.”

Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, First Lieutenant 301st Field Artillery during World War I; Visual and other materials of Allen Sherzer and members of the Sherzer family, including film footage of University of Michigan campus ca. 1928.

The Allen Sherzer collection consists of visual and other materials of Allen Sherzer and members of the Sherzer family. Include is a photograph, 1880s, of the Delta Upsilon fraternity that included William H. Sherzer and a photograph, 1940s, of a University of Michigan reunion group. From his World War I service, there are French and German language posters, a scrapbook of clippings and postcards, and negatives, 1917-1918, taken during his World War I service with the 301st Field Artillery, at Fort Niagara, N.Y., Camp Devens, Mass., and in France. Of special interest is a motion picture, ca. 1928-1930, depicting University of Michigan student activities and Ann Arbor scenes.

In 2009, a preservation tape, DVD use copy and master and streaming digital files were made of the motion picture.

Aviator and airplane designer, founder of Meyers Aircraft Company, Tecumseh, Michigan. Personal materials, business papers, biographical material, photographs and miscellanea; include letter from Howard Hughes, Sept. 10, 1947.

The Meyers papers include both business and personal material. Materials relating to Meyers' contributions in aviation are likely to be of interest to researchers. Included is correspondence from the 1930s through the 1951s with the Civil Aeronautics Administration concerning development of the OTW, 145, and 200. There is also extensive material relating to design, testing, and production of Meyers aircraft. The papers also may be of use to researchers interested in the fate of the small manufacturer. Those papers of a personal nature reflect Meyers' interest in fishing and in aviation as a hobby as well as business. In addition, the papers throw light upon social and political attitudes of the period. Of interest here is material concerning legal action against Mrs. Meyers, a former member of the Young Communist League, who was deported during the 1950s.

Papers collected by Allen N. and Lisa Hibner of the Upjohn family of upstate New York and western Michigan. Materials include copies of family letters and photos, as well as one CD-ROM containing scanned images and transcribed documents.

Copies of family letters and photos. The collection includes one CD-ROM containing scanned images and transcribed documents and some paper copies.

Trade association of motion picture theatre owners in Michigan, records include minutes of annual meetings and board meetings, committee reports, financial records, scrapbooks and photographs.

The records of the Allied Theatres of Michigan, Inc. document the activities, goals, and membership of a cooperative association for motion picture theatre owners in Michigan from 1917 to 1963.

Allie Fayz is a former board member of the Islamic Center of America. The collection documents the Islamic Center of America's history, administrative services, and community activities and consists primarily of correspondence, by-laws and amendments, board minutes, committee notes, donation pledges, membership lists, photographs, newspaper clippings, and financial statements and reports.

The Allie Fayz papers are organized into two series: Islamic Center of America and Other Papers. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, by-laws and amendments, board minutes, committee notes, donation pledges, membership lists, photographs, newspaper clippings, and financial statements and reports.

Ann Arbor German-American family, owners of the Allmendinger Organ Company which later became the Ann Arbor Organ Company. Correspondence, scrapbooks, family genealogy, photographs concerning family affairs, materials on Helene Allmendinger's radio show, examples of spirit messages received by Helene Allmendinger from deceased family members; information pertaining to the Ann Arbor Organ Company, and family members still living in Germany.

The collection is divided into the following series: Family records and correspondence; Helene Allmendinger papers; Ina Allmendinger papers; Ann Arbor Organ Company; Harriet Birch papers, Other family members; Miscellaneous, and Photographs.