Collections

This collection is made up of personal letters written by William Jennings Bryan. Bryan discussed many different subjects, including his political career and speeches.

This collection is made up of 10 personal letters written by William Jennings Bryan, as well as a letter by his wife Mary and an autograph quotation from his famous "Cross of Gold" speech. Several of the letters contain brief references to Bryan's education, political career, beliefs, and speeches. He wrote many of the letters on personalized stationery. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information about each item.

William J. Horvath was a specialist and early innovator in the field of operations research. He conducted studies during World War II in undersea and above-water warfare, for which he received several awards. Horvath was a professor of health systems in the University of Michigan's Department of Psychology, and spent much of his career working for the University's Mental Health Research Institute. He was widely respected in his field as an expert in the analysis of health systems. Papers primarily consist of professional correspondence, research, and publications generated throughout his academic and professional career.

The papers in this collection document the professional career of William J. Horvath, an expert in the field of operations research. They are divided into seven series: Biographical Information, Correspondence, Operations Research, Operations Research Group, Operations Research Society, Publications, and Research.

Landscape architect, University of Michigan Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture, and Dean Emeritus of the School of Natural Resources. Includes correspondence, photographic material, project files, publications, reports, reference and research files, teaching materials, topical files, and notes.

The William J. Johnson papers document the professional and academic career of U-M faculty member and landscape architect William J. Johnson. Material is dated from 1953-2015 and includes clippings, correspondence, notes, photographic material, project files, publications, reports, reference and research files, teaching materials, and topical files.

The diary of William Moulton is a record of a literate and observant civilian accompanying a friend, Capt. Melville C. Wilkinson, of the 107th N.Y. Infantry, as he traveled from Elmira, New York, to Alexandria, Virginia.

The diary of William Moulton is a record of a literate and observant civilian accompanying a friend, Capt. Melville C. Wilkinson, of the 107th N.Y. Infantry, as he traveled from Elmira, N.Y., to Alexandria, Va. The diary is an engaging and insightful record of war-time Washington and the life of officers in the camps defending the capitol. Moulton was simultaneously enthusiastic about seeing the capitol and thrilled at the ability to use his social contacts from Elmira to navigate the maze of red tape besieging the city.

While waiting in Washington for a pass, Moulton visited the Navy Yard, where he saw the ironclad Passaic (called Monitor No. 2), under heavy guard. He managed to board the Passaic simply by ignoring sentries, strolling up to the ship and asking an officer to come aboard. Moulton's description of the ship, however, is intentionally slight, so as not "to give aid & comfort to the rebels." After being asked to leave by an irritated sentry, Moulton roamed around the Navy Yard, and described the bustle of activity there in the manufacture of weapons and munitions. Later, he visited a number of the most popular tourist attractions, including the Patent Office, the Washington Monument (for which he gives a nice description), the White House, and the Smithsonian. In each place, he was careful to note the objects of historical and cultural interest, and most of all, as he put it, the "machinery, machinery, machinery. That's all I have to say." Through the influence of friends from Elmira, Moulton gained entrance to the capitol building on Christmas day. He remained unimpressed with the members of the House of Representatives: "such laziness, such inactivity, such political dishonesty & trickery should make even the members blush."

In one of the more interesting passages in the diary, Moulton wrote of visiting friends in the camp of the 141st N.Y. Regiment. His description of the visit (December 20-21) gives a strong impression of the camaraderie amongst the officers of the regiment and at the same time of the stress and boredom they must felt in a forward camp. Moulton was even (apparently) allowed to go out on picket duty where he overlooked the no man's land between Union and Confederate-held territory, where civilians needed passes even to enter onto their own property. The diary includes less extensive descriptions of Baltimore and Alexandria, of war-torn Harpers Ferry, Norfolk, Fortress Monroe, and Philadelphia.

Moulton's friend Wilkinson was discharged from the 107th Regiment on 23 January, 1863, suggesting that the two may have been visiting Virginia to finalize arrangements for Wilkinson's discharge. In August, 1863, Wilkinson reenlisted in the 7th Veteran Reserve, where he remained for the balance of the war.

Papers include biographical materials, correspondence, military correspondence, and miscellaneous.

The collection includes Biographical Materials, Certificates re: his Postmaster position; Correspondence, 1899-1935, mostly about postal service and politics; State Liquor Control Commission correspondence and related materials, 1933-1934; Military Correspondence, 1915-1916, about his conflicts with work versus military duties; and Miscellaneous, including his typed diaries of a 1914 trip on the (yacht) Virginia.

Detroit, Michigan, social worker, executive vice president of the Children's Fund of Michigan, and chairman of various relief commissions during the depression. Materials relating to his welfare activities, his interests in mental health and the work of the American Red Cross, and his general interest in the field of social work; also papers detailing his activities with the Detroit Prismatic Club; essays concerning the legislation of prohibition in Michigan; and photographs and sound recordings.

The William J. Norton collection relates mainly to relating to his welfare activities, his interests in mental health and the work of the American Red Cross, and to his general interest in the field of social work. The collection has been divided into seven series: Biographical Material and Correspondence, Presentations and Essays, Articles, Fiction Writing, Social Work Organizations, Audio Tapes and Photographs, and Other Materials.

Professor of law at the University of Michigan; director of the Legislative Research Center; president and executive director of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Biographical and personal materials; subject files relating to his association with the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and his work in the drafting of uniform legislation among the states in specific areas.

The Pierce papers document his work for the preservation of state parks, most notably in correspondence with Genevieve Gillette, and his work with the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). The paper have been organized into two series: Biographical/Personal and National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

This collection is made up of letters and financial documents related to William J. Robinson, a tanner in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and Martin Ryan, a farmer in Niantic, Illinois. Ryan composed the majority of the letters, writing to Robinson about farm work and finances during the 1860s. Other items pertain to the business and financial interests of Ryan and Robinson.

This collection is made up of around 125 letters and financial records addressed to William J. Robinson, a tanner in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Martin Ryan, a farmer in Niantic, Illinois, composed approximately two-thirds of the letters, writing to Robinson about farm work and finances during the 1860s. Aside from a few land-related documents sent to Ryan, most of the remaining items pertain to Robinson's other business and financial interests.

Martin Ryan wrote frequently to William J. Robinson between December 1860 and the spring of 1869. He reported on the timber industry, real property, his crops (most frequently corn), cattle prices and purchases, and farm-related finances. In a few letters, he referred to the inherent risks of shipping cattle to Pennsylvania during the war (June 16 and July 7, 1863), and he also discussed monetary policy related to gold and silver standards (July 15, 1861), his desire for his wife to work fewer hours and for his sons to go to school (August 20, 1864), and his difficulties with a manager who often drank (several items, 1866-1867). In 1867 and 1868, Ryan often mentioned a lawsuit, and a few items of business correspondence addressed to him appear interspersed between his outgoing letters from the late 1860s. Ryan's letter of May 27, 1861, encloses an itemized list of costs associated with his farm.

The remaining items are primarily business letters and receipts to William J. Robinson, most of which are dated after 1869 (approximately 40 items). The firm Whitneys & Kingman (also known as Kingman & Whitney) of Chicago, Illinois, inquired about Robinson's willingness to purchase hides and sent numerous invoices and receipts. A few of Robinson's draft replies are present. Robinson received at least 2 letters from his son Edwin in the mid-1870s, and some items from the 1880s are addressed to his son James.

This collection personal correspondence, legal documents, and publications related to Finnish-American labor organizer William Kaino Heikkila's struggles for US citizenship under anti-communist immigration policies.

The records, which measure one linear foot, cover the dates from 1951 to 1966 and are divided into seven series. These are as follows: Correspondence (1952-1966), Publicity and Activities (1958-1961 and undated), Legal Proceedings and Documents (1952-1964 and undated), Legislation (1958-1962 and undated), Personal (1958-1960), Subject Files (1951-1960 and undated), and Miscellaneous (1958-1960 and undated).

The Correspondence series, (1952-1966), is rich in materials relating to both the public (esp. legal) and private sides of William Heikkila's deportation ordeal. It contains letters from Heikkila's attorneys, the general public, friends and family of the Heikkilas, and from William Heikkila himself to his wife, Phyllis, in the midst of his deportation stay in Finland. The letters illustrate both the ongoing struggle for Heikkila's citizenship and freedom, and the extent to which individuals and groups offered their support to his cause.

The Publicity and Activities series, (1958-1961 and undated), is the largest series in the records collection. The materials in this series help to illustrate the great amount of attention his deportation and the following proceedings received in the national, regional, and in particular local media. Included are a variety of materials from the NCCPFB, which played a central role in supporting both Heikkila's case and cause throughout the years. The organizational records of the NCCPFB, also in the Labadie collection, are a similar but somewhat less abundant source of materials of this nature. The bulk of the Publicity and Activities series consists of news clippings from around 1958, which provide a valuable means of understanding the deportation and proceedings from the perspective of the general public, and offers a generally detailed chronological progression of events in the case.

The Legal Proceedings and Documents series, (1952-1964 and undated), includes briefs from Heikkila's citizenship and deportation cases from 1952 to 1959. Also in this series are several items relating to Phyllis Heikkila's legal battle to win William's Social Security Lump Sum Death Benefit.

The next series, Legislation (1958-1962 and undated), contains informational sheets about bills published by the NCCPFB and other regional divisions of the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (ACPFB). It also contains copies of some bills and notes and publications relating to bills.

The Personal series (1958-1960) includes two groupings of materials: those relating to Heikkila's deportation and related travel (1958), and those relating to his death and funeral (1960).

The Subject Files (1951-1960 and undated) contains two folders. The first concerns William Niukkanen (a.k.a. William Mackie), another Finnish-born man residing in the United States who encountered citizenship battles similar to those of Heikkila, and who was sometimes discussed in relation to Heikkila. The second relates to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), which was intimately involved with the battle against Communism in the 1950s onward which Heikkila found himself inadvertently involved with.

The final series, Miscellaneous (1958-1960 and undated), contains some photographs, some Finnish language materials of undetermined nature, and some general items which do not fall within the series structure but which nonetheless have a place in the records collection.

Detroit, Michigan, businessman, founder of Detroit Power Squadron and officer with its parent body, the United States Power Squadrons. Series in the collection include United States Power Squadrons; Boating Organizations; Published and unpublished articles and speeches; World War II Activities; Personal and Miscellaneous; and Photographs.

The papers of William K. Anderson consist primarily of materials relating to his life-long interest in boating, navigation, and other marine activities. Most heavily documented are those files detailing his involvement with various powerboat groups, the United States Power Squadrons and the Detroit Power Squadron being the most prominent. The collection has been divided into six series: United States Power Squadrons, Boating Organizations, Writings, World War II Activities, Miscellaneous and Personal, and Photographs.