Collections

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).

Homeopathic physician from Monroe, Michigan; correspondence, letterpress books, diaries, and other papers of Sawyer, his wife and daughter, and of members of the Toll family.

The Sawyer collection consists of correspondence and other papers of Alfred I. Sawyer, his wife Sarah Toll Sawyer, their daughter Jennie Toll Sawyer, and other members of the Toll family. The collection, in addition to family matters, relates to Sawyer's career as a homeopathic physician, his advocacy of the study of homeopathy within the curriculum of the University of Michigan, and his extensive activities within Masonry. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Various subjects -- Sawyer and Toll families; Homeopathy and homeopathic practice; and diaries of Sawyer and his daughter Jennie Toll Sawyer.

Algernon Charles Swinburne was an important Victorian poet and critic. The collection documents Swinburne's literary affairs and friendships, plus critical reactions to the poet. It consists of correspondence, writings, photographs, artworks, and printed material produced by Swinburne, his friends and associates, and present-day scholars. Over 200 pieces of holograph correspondence and manuscript material, over half of which is by Swinburne, are included. Also prominent is material by Theodore Watts-Dunton, Swinburne's friend and legal advisor.

This finding aid encompasses accessions of single manuscripts and small groups of manuscripts and other papers by or pertaining to Algernon Charles Swinburne, which the library has chosen to gather into one collection.

Much of the material in this collection forms part of the Kerr collection, formally titled the "Evelyn and Lowell Kerr Collection of Swinburne Books and Manuscripts in the Library of the University of Michigan." The Kerr collection was assembled by Lowell Kerr, a dedicated Swinburne collector. (See biographical entry.) In addition, Kerr worked for many years on the compilation of a descriptive catalog to the collection, which was, unfortunately, never completed. More information on arrangement of the Kerr collection can be found at the end of this section. All of the books from the Kerr collection, and many of the pamphlets, have been removed and cataloged separately.

The works and correspondence of Swinburne are well-represented here. Much of the selection of verse is fragmentary in nature--in some cases, leaves of a single work are spread across repositories; but Swinburne's prose pieces are notable in their completeness and number. Also showcased are the letters and works of important figures in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, as well as other literary luminaries of the day. The publishing interests of Swinburne and his circle are also detailed.

The collection is made up of six series: Works, Correspondence, The Swinburne Circle, Photographs and Art Images, Printed Material, and Swinburne Research and Collecting. Unless indicated otherwise in the contents list, items in the Works and Correspondence series are holograph works by Swinburne (or, rarely, in the hand of an amanuensis). Items in the Swinburne Circle series are letters or manuscripts in the hand of their respective authors, or their secretaries. In some cases, autograph material originally laid into books has been removed and added to the collection; in other cases, such items have been left in the books. Either way, a note to such effect has nearly always been made in the book's catalog record or in the contents list below. Moreover, for purchased material, copies of dealer descriptions often have been retained and may offer further details not included here.

A Note on the Kerr and Lang Numbers:

Since many of the pieces in this collection have already been cataloged individually, further details can often be found in the catalog records for those items. Furthermore, "Kerr numbers" have been assigned to many items. These numbers refer to entries in Lowell Kerr's catalog, in which he described the items that were originally from his collection. Along with library staff members, he continually updated and reworked the catalog up until his death. Library staff continued to revise the work through the 1980s, but it was never completed.

Although every effort has been made to respect the provenance of items from the Kerr collection, in some cases a Kerr number may have been assigned but is not noted in the finding aid. Researchers wishing for more information on items originally from the Kerr collection should consult the various drafts of the Kerr catalog, which are available in the Swinburne Research and Collecting series. The Kerr numbers in this finding aid refer to the most recent available draft of the Kerr catalog. The researcher should note that the Kerr catalog, while containing a wealth of information, is heavily anecdotal in nature, with a number of guessed-at facts and dates still in need of verification.

Cecil Lang, professor emeritus at the University of Virginia, is an eminent Swinburne scholar. Professor Lang is the author of the six-volume The Swinburne Letters (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1959-1962). In this work, he assigns numbers to every item of Swinburne correspondence which he was able to locate, across repositories; thus, many items have both Kerr numbers and Lang numbers. Both numbers, where extant, are generally noted in the contents lists below.

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Correspondence series (16 items) consists primarily of business correspondence addressed to Thomas Gibbons, William Gibbons, and James P. Allaire. The earlier material in the series (1822-1837) is related to the Gibbons family's business affairs and often pertains to the legal disputes between Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden. These include several letters from William Gibbons to his father, in which he discusses the impending court case as well as his own personal affairs. The majority of the series consists of later material (1837-1849) related to James P. Allaire's business interests, including the manufacture of steamboat engines. Interspersed with these items are receipts for parts related to Allaire's industrial operations.

The Documents series (12 items) contains receipts related to steamboats owned by James P. Allaire as well as 20th-century material about the early steamboat industry and the town of Allaire, New Jersey. The series includes 5 receipts for steamboat supplies (1828; 1856), including material for the Swan, the Thistle, and the Emerald, all Gibbons-owned ships whose engines were supplied by Allaire. The series also includes a document signed by the crew of the Swan affirming the receipt of their wages for April 1828. Later material in the collection includes two postcards of watercolor pictures of Allaire, New Jersey, and two articles, from the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society (January 1949) and American Heritage (October 1963), respectively. These relate to the early steamboat business, and to the role of Thomas Gibbons in its development.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Congregationalist preacher Almon Underwood kept this journal from 1832-1850. Underwood wrote about his faith, religious work, and life in Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. The volume also contains an autobiography entitled "My Life Work," 2 sermons, and 15 pages of financial records, some of which concern John Underwood's estate.

Congregationalist preacher Almon Underwood kept this journal (630 pages) from June 1832 to 1850. He began writing in Troy, New York, and discussed his religious life, the state of the church, sermons, Sabbath schools, and other religious institutions; one entry contains "rules for sermonizing" (p. 58). Underwood sometimes reported on his travels to towns such as Brunswick and East Nassau, New York. A few entries pertain to current events, such as riots (p. 13) and cholera epidemics (pp. 35, 38). Prompted by harsh reactions to his opposition to slavery, Underwood moved to Newark, New Jersey, in 1844, where he continued to write about religion. The volume also contains an autobiography entitled "My Life Work" (pp. 307-403), 2 sermons, and 15 pages of financial records, some of which concern John Underwood's estate.