Collections

Professor of physics at the University of Michigan (1947-1988); director of the cyclotron laboratory, 1962-1977; inventor of method and apparatus for measuring the velocity of a projectile and of an automatic timing and sequence-indicating system used in swimming. Series in the collection relate to cyclotron laboratory and research; department of physics activities, including history; professional organizations; swimming judging and timing system; University of Michigan committee assignments; and photographs.

The William C. Parkinson Papers consist of 5.25 linear feet of documents relating to the professional career of physics professor William C. Parkinson, spanning years 1950 through 1990 with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1980. The papers were received in two major accession in July 1991 and May 2012.

The first accession was broken into five series: Cyclotron, Physics Department, Professional Organizations, Swimming Judging and Timing System, and University Committees. There is also a folder entitled "Biographical/Historical Information" at the beginning of the collection which includes a 1974 vita and a publication on the cyclotron laboratory of which Parkinson was director.

The 2012 Accession included additions to the Cyclotron and Physics Department series and two new series: Consulting and Visual Materials.

Detroit, Michigan businessman and civic leader. Business correspondence relating to Weber's activities as a dealer in timber lands, his role as a member of the Art Commission in the development of Detroit, Michigan's Cultural Center, his involvement in the construction of the Detroit-Windsor bridge and tunnel and his activities during World War I; and correspondence and class notes of his sons, Harry B. and Erwin W. Weber, while attending University of Michigan; also photographs, including family portraits, aerial views of Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, photographs of the construction of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Ambassador Bridge, and glass negatives of family vacations in Upper Michigan, Ontario, and Quebec; and maps of land and timber holdings

The William C. Weber papers cover 28 linear feet (30 boxes), outsize folders, and 15 outsize volumes. Besides information on timber and mineral lands in Michigan, the important aspects of the Weber papers include information on the development of the Cultural Center of Detroit and Weber's very controversial role in it, items on the Detroit-Windsor bridge and tunnel and the development of the Border Cities, and the papers of his two sons, especially the letters they wrote as students at the University of Michigan and their class notes and examinations.

There is one foot of materials related to the Cultural Center (Box 19 and outsize folders) and another of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Ambassador Bridge (Box 20 and outsize folders).

Architectural site plans and property maps of the Detroit Cultural Center are also found in the outsize unbound material.

The collection includes maps relating to Weber's his land holdings in northern Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, including maps of land survey, of timber estimates, and tax and title status for Michigan lands, maps of Windsor subdivisions, maps of coal mining region around Caryville, Tennessee and property maps of the Detroit Cultural Center.

William Jones' Civil War correspondence provides a thorough documentation of one young recruit's service in the 38th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. A literate and entertaining writer, Jones' letters include comments on his superiors, his religious views, and secessionists and the southern population.

William C. Jones' Civil War correspondence provides a thorough documentation of one young recruit's uneventful service in the 38th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Having taken ill just as his regiment entered into its first action during the Vicksburg Campaign, Jones' letters -- all addressed to his mother -- include no battle accounts and no stories of confrontations with the enemy. They are, however, a fine resource for examining the routine of army life, from the camps outside Baltimore to steamer travel on the Mississippi to camp life in Louisiana. A literate and entertaining writer, Jones' letters include comments on his superiors, his religious views, and secessionists and the southern population.

The collection contains two letters addressed to Jones's mother, one from the Capt. J. P. Richardson (Co. A), and the other from Walter W. Hammond, referred to as the "poet of Cambridge." Both letters reassure Mrs. Jones of her boy's well-being.

This scrapbook contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other material about New York businessman William C. Roberts. Most items pertain to the New York Standard Watch Company and other business ventures. One group of letters concerns Roberts's efforts to gather biographical information about Civil War veterans.

This scrapbook (around 100 pages) contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to various personal and business ventures of New York businessman William C. Roberts. Most of the items are advertisements, other ephemera, and newspaper clippings concerning the New York Standard Watch Company, the Republican Club of the City of New York, and the Chatham & Lebanon Valley Railroad. Some items include biographical sketches of William C. Roberts and other prominent New York businessmen, and one group of clippings pertains to Roberts's unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1892. The scrapbook contains photographs and printed portraits of William C. Roberts and a photograph of a Chatham & Lebanon Valley Railroad locomotive (page 61).

In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Roberts received a small series of letters from Civil War veterans and veterans' relatives responding to his requests for autographs, photographs, and information for planned biographical sketches. Two of the letters provide narratives about individual soldiers' experiences. Additional correspondence includes telegrams and a letter from Chauncey Depew about recruitment for the Republican Club of the City of New York (March 19, 1898). The scrapbook contains a small number of items related to Roberts's personal life, such as a business card, a certificate of his admission to Harvard Law School, and an invitation to his wedding.

Soldier with the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War. War-related documents, including bills, orders and passes, and pension applications; also financial materials, 1901-1902, relating to his involvement in the Ann Arbor Gun Club; and photographs.

The William D. Corson collection is primarily an accumulation of the momentos of a number of the men of the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Materials include newspaper clippings concerning the Michigan 31st both in Chattanooga and in Cuba, bills of purchases by the commissary in Cuba (many of these for cigars), orders and passes issued through the office of Captain Ross Granger, souvenirs, and photographs.

The collection also contains insurance policies, including those from the period of Corson's duty during the Spanish-American War and pension applications for veterans of the war. These applications were solicited by law firms and seem to represent a thriving local industry.

The rest of the collection contains material collected after the Spanish-American War when Corson was a saloon proprietor. Included are photographs of the saloon taken around 1910. Corson was also the secretary and treasurer of the Ann Arbor Gun Club and kept shooting scores, bills, receipts and an account book of the club. An oversized group portrait shows Corson and other members of the club.

In addition, the collection includes photographs of family and friends, Ann Arbor scenes, a group portrait of the veterans of the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and photos of military activities, while training in the United States and while stationed in Cuba. A number of advertising cards for several local Ann Arbor businesses are included and probably date prior to 1910.

This 49-page document contains the proceedings of the court martial of Captain William Dearmond, held in Augusta, Georgia, in the summer of 1798. Dearmond, an officer in the cavalry regiment of Georgia's Richmond County Militia, was accused of disobeying orders and resisting a subsequent arrest. He was ultimately cleared of all charges.

This 49-page document contains the "Proceedings of a General Court Martial begun and holden at the house of Mrs. Fox in the City of Augusta on Wednesday the 20th day of June 1798," at which Captain William Dearmond, a member of the Richmond County militia cavalry, was tried for disobeying orders and for subsequently resisting arrest. The trial lasted from June 20, 1798, to July 4, 1798. This document includes witnesses' testimonies, including those of Dearmond's commanding officer, Major Fox. Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Sanders presided over the court martial, along with Captain Yancey Sanders, Captain William Wilkins, Captain Hugh Blair, Captain Charles Ward, Captain Thomas Waggoner, and Lieutenant Nathan Thomas; David B. Butler served as Judge Advocate.

On May 2, 1798, Dearmond's unit participated in a regimental review in Augusta, Georgia, and his unit did not advance when ordered. Dearmond was subsequently charged with willful disobedience, along with several other charges, and protested the legitimacy of an attempted arrest on May 10. That same day, he reportedly ordered a Lieutenant Carter, his subordinate officer, to disband his troop. On July 4, the final day of his trial, Dearmond was cleared of all charges.

Physician, public health officer, medical director of the American Red Cross and Michigan Health Commissioner, 1944-1947. Correspondence, articles, speeches, and other professional papers.

The William DeKleine papers have been arranged into the following series: Biographical; Correspondence; Other papers: research interests and writings; Red Cross materials; Articles and speeches; and Photographs. Some of the correspondents in the collection include: Paul DeKruif, Harry F. Kelly, John H. Kellogg, Charles S. Mott, Arnold Mulder, Chase S. Osborn, and Kim Sigler. Some of the topics covered in the collection include medical relief, pellagra research, and the work of the Red Cross. There are also histories he wrote on the Good Roads Movement in western Michigan and the First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, Michigan.

Democratic Congressman from Michigan's 15th District, 1964-1994, member of the Labor and Education Committee his entire career - becoming chairman in 1991, also chairman of Post Office and Civil Service Committee; papers include subject files, legislative and committee files, campaign material, photographs and videotapes.

The William D. Ford papers are divided into seven series: Subject Files, Legislative Files, Committee Files, Campaign Material, Public Relations, Photographs, and Audiovisual Material. The collection is primarily an office file which documents Ford's activities as a local representative, federal legislator and politician. Constituents' opinions and concerns are represented as well, particularly in the correspondence and questionnaire response files.

This collection is made up of the correspondence of William Dickson, a prominent member of the Republican party during and after the Civil War, and a perceptive observer and critic of the leading political characters and movements of his day. In 1860, he became part of inner Washington political circles, associating with Abraham Lincoln, Edwin M. Stanton, and Salmon Chase, and participating in the framing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The William Dickson papers include letters from an impressive array of the politically prominent, including Roscoe Conkling, James A. Garfield, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Rutherford B. Hayes, Salmon Chase, and George B. McClellan. Most are post-1870, but the several Civil War-era items are highly significant, particularly for their content regarding African-Americans. Copies of two letters of George McClellan, one to Winfield Scott and one to Salmon Chase [incomplete], are frank and informative. The former comments on Confederate strength and strategy, while the latter openly criticizes Lincoln and Stanton, and sets forth anti-abolition views: "...forcible abolition of Slavery should have no place in the policy of the Government. It should not free a slave, merely that a human being might be freed." An 1864 letter to Dickson from Gen. Lew Wallace disputes a statement that black brigades were not permitted to defend Cincinnati in 1863. Secretary of War Stanton wrote to Dickson in 1864, explaining refusal of a commission Dickson had supported, and in 1865 lamenting the death of Lincoln. Post-war letters from then-Representative Rutherford Hayes to Dickson praise his political judgment and comment revealingly on Reconstruction. In one of January, 1867 he disagrees with Dickson's recommendation of moderation and patience, asserting that "'the negroes and interlopers' are unprotected and are greatly in need of it," and that southerners worship power and only respond to its use. Moreover, "[t]hose people are our enemies until they agree to terms of settlement." Dickson's published address on Reconstruction spells out his views in support of black citizenship and suffrage. An 1870 letter from William Slocum Groesbeck, legal representative of President Johnson for the impeachment proceedings, alludes to a letter of Dickson's which defines policies similar to those adopted in the Emancipation Proclamation. He writes that Dickson may be associated "more intimately" with that "great historical event" than he is aware.

Dickson had strongly personal views about McClellan and Lincoln, based on pre-war associations with the future president, on time spent in Washington during the early stages of the war, and on his association with Thomas Marshall Key, McClellan's aid de camp and Dickson's pre-war law partner. After a week at McClellan's headquarters he came away disillusioned and disgusted, later recording his observations in an essay, "A Leaf from the Unwritten History of the Rebellion," written in response to the publication of McClellan's autobiography. This fascinating document damns McClellan as a weak and cautious leader who "organized the army not for victory, but for defeat," and whose influence remained long after he himself departed: "His impress remained almost to the end. His army could stand up and be killed; but it never had the confidence that leads to victory." He characterizes headquarters as a den of intrigue and plotting, with one element so loyal to McClellan that they would have overthrown the government for him. The general himself, Dickson believed, despised Lincoln both "as the representative of the abolition sentiment" and for his "ungainly gait and low birth." He permitted his staff to make the president " a subject for ridicule and merriment." One of his aides, talking to Stanton, referred to Lincoln as "the d-----d old Gorilla." Dickson also writes, in an unpublished draft, in defense of his former partner Key, who was accused in a book by Stanton-intimate Don Piatt [Memories of the Men Who Saved the Union] of being the "evil genius" behind McClellan. He acknowledges Key's influence but lays the credit for McClellan's failure at his own feet.

Dickson writes of Lincoln with respect and affection -- but with clear-eyed honesty. In the "Unwritten History" he analyzes Lincoln's character and political talents, noting both strengths and weaknesses, and using first-hand experiences to support his views. Another essay, "Abraham Lincoln at Cincinnati," written for Harper's Magazine in 1884, describes Lincoln's visits to the city during the course of his career. It discusses his long relationship with Stephen A. Douglas, and describes his legal and political acumen and the force of his personality.

Although a bystander rather than an office-holder, Dickson remained politically informed and involved throughout his life, and virtually all of the correspondence in this collection concerns political issues. The strongest set of letters are from George William Curtis, avid social reformer and editor of Harper's Weekly. During a correspondence of over 20 years the two commiserated and argued over the fortunes and philosophy of the Republican party and its leading lights. Topics of discussion include the Grant administration, the Hayes presidency, Roscoe Conkling, Grover Cleveland and civil service reform, tariff issues, the character and career of James Blaine, the Harrison administration, various Republican office-holders, and their shared view of the decline of their beloved party. Near the end of his life Dickson resigned his membership in the Lincoln Club and supported the Democrats in their tariff reform efforts, joining with his friend Curtis in condemning the Republican party as "a boodle party" which has lost its "moral enthusiasm."

This is a small and somewhat disparate collection featuring many correspondents, but it is unified by the theme of politics from the point of view of an "old school" Republican. Dickson watches and writes with distaste as his party betrays, in his eyes, the ideals of its originators, to become the voice of corporate power and government by class division. An important related topic is the character and political methods of Abraham Lincoln, especially as expressed in his relationship with McClellan in the early days of the Civil War. Of particular interest is Dickson's characterization of the President's politically expedient views on emancipation, as contrasted to the strongly anti-abolitionist sentiments of McClellan and many of his fellow-soldiers. The quality of the Dickson Papers far outweighs the size of the collection, for there are few letters which do not have significant content on the conflicting currents of wartime and post-war Republican politics.

This letterbook contains the copied outgoing correspondence of Cincinnati lawyer William Disney between 1859 and 1870. These items cover the period when he was the correspondence secretary of the Guthrie Greys militia during the Civil War, and his post-war career as a lawyer.

The Disney letterbook contains transfer copies of Disney's outgoing correspondence beginning in 1859, when he was correspondence secretary in the Guthrie Greys (pages 8-40). The letters include some interesting information on the Guthrie Greys in the two years before the Civil War, and a few letters from Disney while in the 137th Ohio Infantry. These letters mostly concern the status of volunteers under Disney's command, accounts for ordnance stores, and other routine administrative information (pages 60-82).

The bulk of the volume consists of post-war letters concerning Disney's legal practice, debt collection, and his investments. Along with other miscellaneous client letters, are four letters sent to Memphis and Cincinnati from a former farrier, Ed Whitehead, who was advertising his newly developed pavement type. The letterbook opens with a complete name index.