Collections

The Brayton W. Smith diary includes daily entries detailing Smith's experiences as a student at Beloit Academy in Beloit, Wisconsin, and at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during 1867. His entries describe curricula, student life, studying habits, boarding houses, family matters, and his interest in baseball.

While attending Beloit Academy to prepare for college, Smith wrote of his coursework, progress in studying, struggles with exams, weather, and his relationships with other students, roommates, and boarding house proprietors. Smith also documented his activities with local religious groups, debating societies, and baseball clubs.

During vacations, Smith returned to his family who lived near Janesville, Wisconsin. He described his leisure activities, including picking berries and hunting, his struggles to continue studying, and his active involvement in local baseball, both in organized clubs and informal games among friends. Throughout the summer, Smith frequently documented information about area baseball clubs, practices, games, and tournaments.

In mid-September, Smith matriculated at the University of Michigan, and his diary includes a record of his experiences with entrance exams, tutoring, coursework, and his observations of student activities and elections. He also commented on the "University nine" baseball players, noting several of their games, and the creation of a baseball club for the freshman class.

This 82 x 43 x 36 cm wooden document trunk, dating from around 1765, includes a hand-wrought iron lock, reinforcement bands, corner tips, and fancy handles. Its interior is grooved for the placement of three removable wooden panels, one of which is present. Contemporary manuscript lettering on the interior left side of the lid reads "Commissariat / on His Majs: Acct / from Mr Oswald" and on the right "Papers / for the Germn: Army / May 1766 / accounts – [A?] & B."

This 82 x 43 x 36 cm wooden document trunk, dating from around 1765, includes a hand-wrought iron lock, reinforcement bands, corner tips, and fancy handles. Its interior is grooved for the placement of three removable wooden panels, one of which is present. Contemporary manuscript lettering on the interior left side of the lid reads "Commissariat / on His Majs: Acct / from Mr Oswald" and on the right "Papers / for the Germn: Army / May 1766 / accounts – [A?] & B."

A January 9, 1861, note by Philadelphia lawyer Henry J. Williams indicates that the trunk was seized by the French as a prize during the American Revolution, and that his father Jonathan Williams brought it to the United States when returning from his service as acting U.S. Consul at Nantes. Mid-twentieth-century paper tags indicate that the trunk was one of three from the estate of Henry J. Williams' son-in-law Alexander Biddle, discovered after the death of Biddle's son Lynford Biddle in 1941, and sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1943.

The Brown-Danskin Company photograph album contains photographs of farm properties in the Red River Valley (North Dakota and Minnesota), offered for sale by the Brown-Danskin Company.

The Brown-Danskin Company photograph album (15 x 20 cm) contains 50 photoprints of farm properties in the Red River Valley (North Dakota and Minnesota), offered for sale by the Brown-Danskin Company. Photographs show large fields of clover, rye and wheat, often with a lone figure standing at a distance. Also shown are farmhouses, barns, and outbuildings on properties, with occasional livestock. Cars, telephone lines, and windmills appear in multiple photographs, and several images relate to harvests. Typescript captions describe the buildings, available amenities, soils, and prices. Images appear to be professionally composed and developed.

The album has a black cloth cover with printed title: Eastern North Dakota and Red River Valley Farms, the Brown-Danskin Company, Minneapolis, Minn. and is housed in a pale blue cardboard box.

The Buffalo (N.Y.) Police Reports contain brief statements regarding criminal activity, missing persons and animals, and other police department affairs throughout the first half of 1887. Many reports include descriptions of suspects and stolen goods.

The Buffalo (N.Y.) Police Reports (1 volume, 410 pages) pertain to criminal activity, missing or escaped persons, and police department affairs in Buffalo, New York, from January 10, 1887-June 29, 1887.

Each entry contains a brief description of a complaint, usually with information about the location and nature of the crime, the name of the complainant, and a description of the suspect(s). Most reports concern missing persons, missing animals, and stolen items. The missing persons reports often list common haunts, possible travel plans, place of origin if not Buffalo, and distinguishing characteristics. On January 18, two young women were to be sought among the city's brothels; on April 4, a woman was wanted for abandoning her husband and children. A few persons had escaped from prisons or asylums, and others were runaways. Some records pertain to crimes such as begging, peddling, and counterfeiting, and to the police department's administrative affairs.

The volume also records suspects accused of crimes including rape and assault; on February 5, for example, Hiram Aaronson was sought and arrested for the rape of a seven-year-old girl. Some entries contain additional notes about resolutions, often through the arrest of perpetrators and the repossession of stolen goods.

This photograph album contains 10 albumen prints related to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

This souvenir photograph album (12cm x 18cm), which contains 10 albumen prints, is bound in blue pebbled book-cloth and has the title "Album Photographs[,] Bunker Hill Monument" stamped in gold on its cover. The first 2 pictures show the Bunker Hill Monument (a stone obelisk) and the statue of Colonel William Prescott, respectively. The remaining 8 photographs are aerial views of Charlestown and the surrounding area taken from the monument, showing residences, industrial buildings, the Charlestown Navy Yard, and the Charles and Mystic Rivers. Sailing ships are visible in many of the aerial views. The album belonged to Lucia K. Hathaway, who inscribed her name on its first page on November 15, 1884.

This collection is comprised of two letters (six pages) to Horace Burlingham, who had fled to Canada as a deserter from the 9th New York Infantry Regiment (Hawkins Zouaves) during the American Civil War. His father Waterman, mother Amanda, and sister Mary Burlingham wrote joint letters to Horace in 1863, from their farm at Edmeston, New York. Waterman filled five pages of the letters, expressing relief that his son made it over the border, updating him on the status of other deserters from the area, sharing his knowledge of Provost Marshall Cole's area of jurisdiction and methods, and offering related advisement. Waterman discussed Horace's wife Loverna and their daughter Theressa, who remained in Edmeston. He criticized Loverna's penchant for "new notions, and Castle Building" and her poor household management, and he recommended that she not join Horace in Canada. He also thought this was a good opportunity to teach Horace how to write letters (specifically capitalization) and provided details about laborers, agricultural product prices, and farm machinery. Horace's sister updated him on friends and family relationships, including the features of a newborn or infant baby. His mother added a note to let Horace know that she never forgets him.

This collection is comprised of two letters (six pages) to Horace Burlingham, who had fled to Canada as a deserter from the 9th New York Infantry Regiment (Hawkins Zouaves) during the American Civil War. His father Waterman, mother Amanda, and sister Mary Burlingham wrote joint letters to Horace in 1863, from their farm at Edmeston, New York. Waterman filled five pages of the letters, expressing relief that his son made it over the border, updating him on the status of other deserters from the area, sharing his knowledge of Provost Marshall Cole's area of jurisdiction and methods, and offering related advisement. Waterman discussed Horace's wife Loverna and their daughter Theressa, who remained in Edmeston. He criticized Loverna's penchant for "new notions, and Castle Building" and her poor household management, and he recommended that she not join Horace in Canada. He also thought this was a good opportunity to teach Horace how to write letters (specifically capitalization) and provided details about laborers, agricultural product prices, and farm machinery. Horace's sister updated him on friends and family relationships, including the features of a newborn or infant baby. His mother added a note to let Horace know that she never forgets him.

Please see the box and folder listing below for detailed information about each letter in the collection.

The collection consists of Schock's recording business correspondence and the actual recordings, mostly of Mount Pleasant area businesses, organizations, people and schools.

This collection consists of Schock’s recording business correspondence, documenting arrangements and ideas for recorded interviews, commercials, dance recitals, and musical recordings, mostly of Mount Pleasant people, businesses, schools, and organizations, and Central Michigan University faculty and students musical productions, 1991-1997, and undated. Included are paper business correspondence, notes, drafts of scripts, as well as informational materials about the businesses and organizations (1 cubic ft.), and the master and draft cassette recordings (in 6 cassette storage boxes). The Mary McGuire School cassettes document activities school teachers and students pursued after receiving a unique state grant. Hash marks in folder descriptions indicate illegible words written on the cassettes.

The David Schock 2021 addition, 1989, 2021, and undated, consists of various videos Schock contributed to with and without the help of Central Michigan University (CMU). Box 8 contains all health-related videos with majority focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness and a few focusing on various systems of the body. Box 9 includes education-related videos, such as a series titled Problem Solving Students, a series from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education videos, and other educational resources. Boxes 10 and 11 house videos filmed in collaboration with the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) that feature multiple public service announcements (PSAs) and Roll Call videos. Box 12 features raw footage of Schock’s documentary Road to Andersonville. Included with this are interviews for the documentary. Box 13 contains miscellaneous film that do not fit into a clear category. Some examples of this are VHS tapes about quail egg hatching, sculptures, and music.

Box 14 contains materials related to Justice Elizabeth Weaver. Schock helped write Justice Weaver’s book, a copy of which is separately cataloged in the Clarke. Also included are correspondence and interview release forms and Thelma South Schaibly’s 1994 publication of short stories to teach children morals and the meaning of life.

A few folder titles require further description, which we received from the Donor in April 2021. NGS is the abbreviation for the National Geographic Society. Schock created a video for them about geographic education with Mike Libbee of the CMU Geography Department. PDS is likely in collaboration with OHSP. The Hospice Experience documented hospice in Mount Pleasant. The Audition Crashes were stock footage of crashes for the OHSP projects, for example Life’s a Wreck, a film about physics concepts.

The addition is organized by topic, format, and chronological order.

Boxes 8-13 are each 1 cubic foot boxes and Box 14 is .5 cubic foot.

Researchers may also be interested in his personal papers collection, other recordings, and the papers of Elizabeth A. Weaver, which are separately housed and cataloged in the Clarke.

Copyright Note: Copyright is complicated for this collection. CMU holds the copyright for materials used in programs for the CMU Education Materials Center, including interviews from the early 1990s with young people infected with AIDS. The copyright for the Interfaith Ministries immigrant labor tapes, used for final appeals, is held by the Interfaith Ministries, Schock holds the copyright for the Road to Andersonville documentary material, regarding ceremonies held for Michigan Native Americans buried at Andersonville Prison in Andersonville, Georgia.

Permission/Release forms: The only interview permission/release form in the collection is for an interview with one of Elizabeth A. Weaver’s relatives (see Box 14).

This diary (4"x5.75", 105 pages) contains a traveler's impressions while visiting Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., from November 9, 1816-November 26, 1816.

This diary (4" x 5.75", 105 pages) contains a traveler's impressions while visiting Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., from November 9, 1816-November 26, 1816.

Whitney began his travels in New York City on November 9, when he embarked for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After remaining at Philadelphia for several days, he traveled to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Following a brief return to Baltimore, he set out for New York, where he arrived on November 26. Throughout his travels, done primarily by steamboat and stage, Whitney noted the quality of his accommodations, both in the major cities and in smaller towns. He wrote more detailed descriptions of his main destinations and of his activities, which included visits to famous locations such as the White House, United States Capitol, and Fort McHenry. While in Washington, D.C., Whitney attended a session of Congress. In addition to sightseeing, he took an interest in mechanical processes, and described visits to a cannon foundry and two glassworks, among other excursions.

This collection is comprised of a 4-page letter from surveyor and scientist Cadwallader Colden to botanist John Frederic Gronovius (October 1, 1755), in which he enclosed 17 pages of his daughter Jane's botanical descriptions and leaf impressions (1755).

This collection is comprised of a 4-page letter from surveyor and scientist Cadwallader Colden to botanist John Frederic Gronovius (October 1, 1755), in which he enclosed 17 pages of his daughter Jane's botanical descriptions and leaf impressions (1755). Cadwallader Colden mentioned that his previous correspondence may have been delayed on account of the capture of the packet by privateers, remarked on women and botanical study, praised his daughter's willingness to collaborate on botanical projects (and her possible discover of new genera), and expressed his esteem for Carl Linnaeus and the Linnaean system. Colden also mentioned the Royal Garden at Paris and referred to other scientists, including "Dr. Haller" [Albrecht von Haller] and "Mr. Calm" [Peter Kalm].

Colden enclosed a sampling of Jane's botanical work which contains descriptions of plants (e.g. cup, flower, chives, pistil, cover of seed, seeds, seat of the seeds, root, stalk, leaves) and leaf impressions.

• No. 299: Diandria Monogynia
• No. 302: [No name present]
• No. 300: Tetriandria Digynia
• No. 241: Pentandria Trigynia
• No. 291: Didynamia Gymnospermia
• No. 216: [No name present]
• No. 215: [No name present]
• No. 296: Clinopodium (Mountain-Mint)
• No. 304: Monadelphia Polyandria
• No. 153: Polyadelphia Enneandria
• No. 297: Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua (Helenia)

• No. 153: Polyadelphia Enneandria
• No. 304: Monadelphia Plyandria
• No. 297: Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua (Helenia)
• [Not numbered]: Rubus
• No. 296: Clinopodium (Mountain-Mint)
• No. 291: Didynamia Gymnospermia
• No. 299: Diandria Monogynia
• No. 300: Tetriandria Digynia
• No. 216: [No name present]
• No. 215: [No name present]
• No. 302: [No name present]

A single newspaper clipping from December 14, 1765, accompanies the Colden manuscripts. The clipping includes the text of a letter received by Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden, which prompted his "declaration that he would have nothing to do with the Stamps [Stamp Act, 1765] till the arrival of Sir Henry Moore." The printed letter threatens death to Cadwallader Colden if he were to enforce the Stamp Act. The printed letter contains the text of two labels that were affixed to the effigies of enemies of American liberties hung in Boston on November 4 at the Tree of Liberty.

This Caius Julius Solinus, Polyhistor manuscript was produced circa 15th century in Italy and is 86 leaves (plus 4 blank) in a seventeenth-century Italian vellum binding.

This Caius Julius Solinus, Polyhistor manuscript was produced circa 15th century in Italy and is 86 leaves (plus 4 blank) in a seventeenth-century Italian vellum binding. The chapters begin with ornamental capital letters, some colored in green or yellow. The text is a Latin manuscript of Caius Julius Solinus's Polyhistor, discussing natural history, religion, and social questions in the regions known to the Roman Empire circa the middle of the fourth century AD. This copy is a palimpsest, with the previous writing indicating a notarial register or account book from the early fourteenth century. One leaf bears the date 1308 (recto, leaf 53).

The bound volume includes a Di Casa Minutoli Telgrimi stamp and the following colophon: "C. Iulii Solini sive gramatici Polyhistor ab ipso editus et recognitus de situ orbis terrarum & de singulis mirabilibus quae in mundo habentur"