Collections

Member of Co. D, 339th U.S. Infantry who served in the Allied intervention in Russia, 1918-1920, the "Polar Bear Expedition." Collection includes transcript of his diary describing his experiences in Russia.

Transcript of a diary describing his experiences in Russia.

Student from Grand Rapids, Mich., attended Law School at the University of Michigan, 1908-1910. Smolenski's student scrapbook.

Scrapbook containing photographs and memorabilia of student life and activities. Includes photos of student rooms, freshman-sophmore games, football, track, parades, social clubs.

Detroit businessman, Republican governor of Michigan (1873-1876) and candidate for the US Senate in 1881; correspondence, speeches, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning politics, business interests, and state government.

The Bagley collection includes correspondence, speeches, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning politics and his various business interests. There are also subject files relating to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876 which took place during his gubernatorial administration. The clipping files are of value for articles on Isaac P. Christiancy and Zachariah Chandler and for newspaper coverage of his term as governor and his unsuccessful campaign for senator.

Soldier in the 1st Michigan Regiment of Engineers and Mechanics during the Civil War. Collection includes originals, transcripts, and images of letters written by John Kelley Hough as a Union soldier, a family photo, and biographical information.

John Kelley Hough's letters constitute the bulk of the collection. Files include fifteen original letters with transcrips and digitized images of the originals, and one photocopy of a transcript and its digital image. The Hough Family series includes biographical information about the Hough family and a digital image of a family photo dated 1897 with information about the people depicted on the photograph. Also, a list of family members that are mentioned in John Hough's letters.

Kalamazoo, Michigan newspaperman; papers relating to his career in journalism and to his trip to the Far East in 1940.

The Walsh papers includes scattered materials relating to his career as a newspaperman. The bulk of the collection concerns the flight of American newspapermen aboard a clipper plane to the South Pacific prior to World War II. Other materials relate to the history and operation of the Kalamazoo Gazette. Items of interest include research material concerning Dr. William E. Upjohn and the history of the Upjohn family. There is also correspondence received, 1929-1930, supporting the newspaper's editorial position regarding enforcement of the 18th Amendment. Some of the correspondents in the collection include: Caroline Bartlett Crane, Fred W. Green, Frank Murphy, Chase S. Osborn, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Arthur H. Vandenberg, and Wendell L. Willkie.

Papers consists mainly of correspondence to/from Osborn while teaching at Hillsdale College, largely about education, Hillsdale College, and Central Michigan University.

The majority of the collection is correspondence to/from John K. Osborn. The correspondence is divided into CMU, Department of Public Instruction, and Hillsdale College folders. The CMU correspondence is between Osborn, Professor David M. Trout, and President Eugene C. Warriner. In a letter of September 13, 1938, from Trout to Osborn, Trout notes the severe housing shortage and salary cuts by the Governor of Michigan effective July 1 through September 1, 1938 and a desire to hire Osborn in 1939. The Hillsdale correspondence focuses on Osborn getting his thesis published and finding a job through various placement sources, and his correspondence with Willfred Mauck, then President of Hillsdale College, about the Teacher Training Program which Osborn directed. Also included are a few of Osborn’s student papers from the University of Michigan, a report about the teacher training program at Hillsdale, three bibliographies, and biographical material, as well as one folder of papers written by Osborn, 1930-1931..

The John K. Stickney papers document the 1852 journey of the cargo ship Bowditch from Boston, Massachusetts, to Calcutta, India, and back to Boston.

The John K. Stickney papers document the 1852 journey of the cargo ship Bowditch from Boston, Massachusetts, to Calcutta, India, and back to Boston.

The Correspondence and Documents series is comprised of letters that John K. Stickney wrote and received regarding the Bowditch's 1852 journey between Boston and Calcutta. Two sets of instructions to Stickney from Theodore Chase, owner of the Bowditch, outline the intentions of the voyage and indicate specific amounts of goods to be taken aboard in India. Stickney composed a set of instructions for his wife in his absence; one note concerns money owed to Stickney's father for her room and board. On June 1, 1852, Stickney wrote Chase about the ship's progress and his intentions for the ship's cargo. While in India, Stickney received numerous items pertaining to repairs after the Bowditch suffered severe weather damage in July 1852. In his reports to Chase about the matter, he often enclosed receipts and other documents. The series also has a document certifying Stickney's membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Financial records in the Bills and Receipts series concern the Bowditch's cargo and repairs made during its time in India. One document lists information about goods shipped on the Bowditch during its return from Asia (summer 1852), and another records the ship's disbursements (June 14, 1852). A summons for John Stickney to appear before the Calcutta court of Small Causes (September 25, 1852) and a memorandum about the weight of sheet copper are also included. The Emma Stickney bundle contains receipts pertaining to the cost of her room and board during her husband's journey.

The Bowditch Papers series is made up of various documents related to the ship's Calcutta voyage. These include a bill of health for the ship's passengers, consular documents, accounts, a hospital discharge form, receipts from an auction, and a "Manifest Oath on Outward Cargo."

The Photographs of Stickney and Chase Artifacts series contains 6 photographs of the trunk in which the Stickney papers were originally housed, one photograph of a plank model of the Bowditch, a silhouette photograph of several Chase family members, and a black and white reproduction of a portrait of Theodore Chase.

The Artifacts series consists of a portable writing desk.

The Typescripts are transcriptions of items in the collection's Correspondence and Documents series.

The John K. Stoner correspondence is made up of 6 letters that Stoner wrote to his family during the summer of 1941, while he completed United States Army Air Forces training at Hickam Field, Hawaii. He commented on aspects of military life and anticipated his return home.

The John K. Stoner correspondence is made up of 6 letters that Stoner wrote to his family during the summer of 1941, while he completed United States Army Air Forces training at Hickam Field, Hawaii. In April, he focused on finishing school and promised to send his parents his graduation picture and diploma. After finishing his studies, Stoner spent much of his time socializing with other soldiers, despite a brief stay in the base hospital. He reported on some aspects of life on a military base, such as his excitement about the arrival of several new B-17 bombers (May 17, 1941). Though he looked forward to his return to the United States, Stoner admitted a fondness for Hawaii. Stoner wrote each of his letters on stationery illustrated with scenes from daily life in Hawaii, including a surfer, a girl playing the ukulele, palm trees, and fish. One colorful image shows two planes crossing the Pacific Ocean, hopping from San Francisco to Hong Kong via Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island, Guam, and Manila.

The John Lee papers contain political and personal correspondence related to British lawyer, politician, and attorney general John Lee, and his family.

The John Lee papers (202 items) contain letters and documents related to the legal and political career of John Lee, as well as items concerning his personal and family life. The collection consists of 189 letters, 2 legal documents, a memoir of Lord Rockingham, an engraving, and 4 pieces of memoranda and ephemera. Approximately one third of the collection consists of letters written to Lee’s wife, Mary Hutchinson Lee, and his daughter Mary Tabitha, after Lee’s death in 1793.

Much of the collection concerns Lee’s political career. Frequent contributors to the collection include the Marquess of Rockingham and his wife, the Marchioness of Rockingham. An early letter from Lord Rockingham to Lee concerns an unfavorable report from the Board of Trade regarding corruption charges brought against Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire, who Rockingham believed had been treated unjustly (June 1, 1773). In 1779, Lee served on the defense in the court martial of Augustus Keppel. In a brief letter with the instructions "Give this to Mr. Lee as soon as he is awake in the morning," Lady Rockingham informed Lee of Keppel's situation and wrote, "I am permitted the high honour of being the first to apprize you of your being Retained on the side of the worthiest man, and in the purest cause, that perhaps your zeal and integrity were ever engag’d in support of" (December 9, 1778). Though the collection has little material relating to the trial, a letter from Keppel in February thanks Lee for his service: "…if you suffer'd much from so long & so tedious an attendance, I hope it has been some recompense to a mind like yours to have protected innocence and to have formed an acquaintance with some honest seamen whose plain and upright hearts are so consonant to your own" (Feb. 23, 1779). In addition, a memorandum from 1779 notes that Keppel sent Lee £1,000 for his service, but Lee immediately returned it, claiming he attended the trial out of friendship, and requested only a picture of Keppel. Another item of note is a letter from Lee to Sir Fletcher Norton, in which Lee turned down an offer to serve on the King’s Council (Feb. 12, 1770).

The collection contains several items related to the Yorkshire petition movement, including a letter Lee wrote to Reverend Christopher Wyvill, chairman of the Yorkshire Committee of Association for Reform in Parliament, who had sent out a circular to members of Parliament. Lee was critical of the state of the country, and supportive of Wyvill’s reformist goals. Lee wrote: "All things have gone wrong, but in no respect in my mind so wrong as in this, that the public cares little about it. It seems to me as if our Governors were highly pleased with this general apathy in the body of the People, which I think Montesquieu calls the mournful silence of a City that the Enemy is about to storm" (April 15, 1782). The collection also documents Lee’s brief and tumultuous service as solicitor general and attorney general. Of note is a letter from Lord Shelburne inviting Lee "on Wednesday next to kiss the King’s hand on being appointed Solicitor General to his Majesty" (April 15, 1782). After Rockingham’s death, Lee sent a letter to the Lord Chancellor offering his resignation (July 1782). Lord North signaled Lee's reappointment to solicitor general (April 13, 1783), and Lee received several letters of congratulation following his appointment to attorney general in November 1783.

Personal letters comprise a large portion of the collection. One of the most frequent contributors in the collection is Lady Rockingham, who often discussed politics, society, health and medicine, and everyday life. Lee wrote several affectionate letters to his wife and daughter. Though the letters contain few mentions of his religious affiliation, one letter from Reverend Theophilus Lindsey mentions Lee's support for the construction of a Unitarian chapel (June 22, 1793).

The bulk of the collection dated after Lee’s death consists of personal correspondence written to Lee’s wife and daughter. The letters of Lady Charlotte Wentworth are of particular interest, containing detailed descriptions of important events. Her March 7, 1799, letter contains notes on the difficult winter affecting merchants; events in Germany; Mr. Pitt’s planned union with Ireland; news of a wedding and a birth; and an account of Ambassador to Berlin Thomas Grenville’s ship being wrecked off of Newark Island, and Grenville’s narrow escape from the wreck. Another letter from Lady Wentworth in January 1805 documents Lady Rockingham’s death the previous month: "Mrs Thornton and her maid thought she walked toward the bed as if she was stronger than the preceding night & remarked it to her, but she told them they were mistaken, & before she was laid down, she said to Mrs. Thornton I feel ill, don't leave me I'm sure I am dying, they instantly sent for the medical person who lives close by, but before he came the symptoms of death were strong upon her, no violent pain but her breath grew very short." In 1815, Lady Busk wrote a letter to Mary Tabitha, in which she discussed the Battle of Waterloo: "What wonderful Revolutions have happen’d since my son and I left town, the battle of the 18th of last month was beyond all description…My Grandson Harry Vane we saw amongst the number of slightly wounded & am only surpriz’d any one person escap’d being kill’d as the contest lasted so many hours…it proves when God is for us who can be against us? & Bonaparte is now a mere Nothing! We may truly say, how are the mighty fallen!"

Also present is a Memoire of the Marquis of Rockingham, which contains a brief biography of Rockingham, a list of offices held, and an account of his death on July 1, 1782; an engraving of the Marquis of Rockingham (July 31, 1781); several epitaphs for inscriptions on tombs; and a few legal documents.

Democratic Congressman from Michigan, 1951-1965; congressional papers include legislation and committee files, speeches, statements, press releases, campaign files, topical files, both national and Michigan related, biographical material, and visual material.

The John Lesinski Jr. papers document the career of a seven-term congressman from Michigan's 16th Congressional District. Included are files relating to his campaigns for office and activities as a member of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee. The papers are particularly valuable for legislation he introduced and the views of his constituents on such issues as civil rights, immigration, and the "captive nations" of Eastern Europe. As his opposition to the Civil Rights of 1964 contributed to his loss in the 1964 campaign, the correspondence and other papers on that topic are particularly valuable both for Lesinski's viewpoints and the opinions of his constituents. In addition, Lesinski worked closely with the Polish-American community in Detroit and there is much material reflecting that involvement.

The collection is divided into the main series of Congressional Files with two smaller series of Biographical/Personal Materials and Visual Materials. The Congressional files in turn are divided into several subseries including Legislation; Committee files; Speeches, statements and news releases; Campaign materials; Topical Files, and Case Files.