Collections

This collection is made up of letters by Amos Lawrence (1786-1852), his son Amos Adams Lawrence (1814-1886), and his brother Abbott Lawrence (1792-1855). They discussed financial and business matters, politics, and personal news.

This collection is made up of letters by Amos Lawrence (1786-1852), his son Amos Adams Lawrence (1814-1886), and his brother Abbott Lawrence (1792-1855). One engraved portrait of Abbott Lawrence and a letter by S. K. Lothrop acknowledging the death of Abbott Lawrence completes the collection. The Lawrences addressed subjects such as Henry Clay, the National Republican Party, education and schools, cotton mills, and national finance. Later items pertain to Amos Adams Lawrence's business affairs, including the construction of railroads in Massachusetts. A printed obituary for the elder Amos Lawrence is pasted into one letter (January 6, 1836). For more information on each item, see the Detailed Box and Folder Listing.

The papers include correspondence, diaries, journals, accounts books, tintypes, prayerbooks, sermons, hymns in Ojibwa, a New Testament in English and Seneca, and photographic images.

Family papers, 1765-1964, and undated, include: correspondence relating to Rev. Bingham's associations with the Baptist Missionary Society, Boston, his ministry at the Tonawanda Indian Mission in New York State, the Baptist Indian Mission at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and his social activities in Grand Rapids, Michigan; diaries of Bingham and his wife, journals, account books, and tintypes. Also included are prayer books and hymns in Ojibwa, Bingham's sermons, in English, and a New Testament in both English and Seneca. Among his correspondents is John Claude Buchanan, his son-in-law, whose letters relate to Buchanan's service with the 8th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War, 1861-1864. Three boxes of photographic images complete the collection.

The collection includes correspondence relating to Bingham’s associations with the Baptist Missionary Society, Boston, his ministry at the Tonawanda Indian Mission in New York State, the Baptist Indian Mission at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and his social activities in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Correspondents include John Claude Buchanan, Bingham’s son-in-law, relating to his service with the 8th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War.

The collection is also available on 19 reels of positive microfilm Acc# 359 (Section 4, 1 reel) and 444 (18 reels). Some letters are available on 2 reels of positive microfilm Acc# 614 of the American Baptists Foreign Mission Society, 1800-1900, American Indians and 1814-1900, France.

Missionary family to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; correspondence, sermons of Abel Bingham, diaries of Hannah Bingham reflecting her daily activities and religious convictions.

The collection documents the lives of a missionary family to the Ojibwa Indians of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The papers have been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Abel Bingham ministerial papers; Miscellaneous; and Bound Account Books and Diaries. The collection is of value for the family correspondence, for the sermons of Abel Bingham, and for the diaries of Hannah Bingham reflecting her daily activities and religious convictions (1817-1868). There are also papers concerning Fountain Street Baptist Church in Grand Rapids in the 1850s.

The Abraham Bell papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to Abraham Bell & Co., an early 19th-century New York City shipping firm owned by Abraham Bell.

The Abraham Bell papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to Abraham Bell & Co., an early 19th-century New York City shipping firm owned by Abraham Bell. The majority of material in the Correspondence series is addressed to either Abraham Bell or to his company, and relates to various business affairs, often concerning payment or delivery of goods. Many of the letters originated from European firms, including a letter from Collman, Lambert & Co. in Liverpool, written on stationery that includes a printed list of current prices for cotton and related goods (February 8, 1837).

The Receipts and financial papers series consists of non-correspondence items related to the operation of Abraham Bell & Co. throughout the early and mid-1800s. These include records of payment and lists of cargo carried aboard Bell's ships, as well as several documents relating to loads of street manure in 1839. Several early items within this series pertain to the ship Josephine.

Fifteen Account and receipt books provide information about Bell's financial endeavors throughout the period in explicit detail, covering the years 1840-1868. A letter book contains copies of letters written by Abraham Bell between October 16, 1833, and August 15, 1834.

Miscellaneous items in the collection include an indenture for land in New Jersey belonging to the Budd family (December 25, 1812), and a record of fiscal accounts between Abraham Bell & Co. and [Malionson] Bell & Co. (June 30, 1836).

This account book pertains to Abraham B. Smedes's work as a cooper in Shawangunk, New York, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Additional entries concern education, surveying work, and shoe repair.

This account book (approximately 130 pages) pertains to Abraham B. Smedes's work as a cooper in Shawangunk, New York, in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Additional entries concern education, surveying work, and shoe repair in the early to mid-1800s.

Abraham B. Smedes recorded most of his accounts from 1793-1805 (bulk 1795-1805), documenting his work as a cooper and laborer in Shawangunk, New York. He laid hoops, built or repaired containers such as flour casks, and (occasionally) wrote deeds or other legal documents. One entry concerns the sale of a house to William Hamilton in the spring of 1779 (page 43). Smedes most often received payments in corn, meats, or other foods or goods. He noted that some accounts had been settled "by a course of law." A record with the president and directors of the Ulster & Orange Turnpike Branch Co. concerns surveying work done in 1809 and 1812 (page 95), and Smedes or a later owner of this account book received money for several scholars' tuition in October 1815 (pages 102-121, 124-125).

Later accounts appear on the bottom half of many pages, particularly between pages 7 and 37 and on pages 126-128. These accounts, dated 1821-1842, with the bulk dated 1835-1841, pertain to a cobbler who repaired and made shoes and insoles. Customers paid with foods, goods, and cash. The records on page 128 mention factory labor by Peter, Georgiana, William, Blandina, and Elsie in March 1823. A few additional accounts cover the intervening years between Smedes's entries and the shoemaking records, many pertaining to the sale of vinegar in the 1810s.

The final pages contain financial accounts from 1809-1810 (page 132) and money received from [1801?]-1802 (page 133). The volume includes a 9-page index, organized alphabetically by surname (pages numbered 1-4). Additional pages of accounts are laid into the volume; several pages toward the end have been torn out of the book.

This volume is made up of the accounts of Jackson, Indiana, blacksmith Abraham Heiny between 1834 and 1843. Heiny's accounts include extensive records related to making horseshoes, but also making and sharpening ploughs, shovels, and scythes; making chains and nails; mending wagons and tires; and many other tasks.

The Abraham Heiny account book is made up of the accounts of Jackson, Indiana, blacksmith Abraham Heiny between 1834 and 1843. Heiny's accounts include extensive records related to making horseshoes, but also making and sharpening ploughs, shovels, and scythes; making chains and nails; mending wagons and tires; and many other tasks.

This collection contains 15 letters related to Adeline Chase Hart and Matthew Hart of Goshen, Connecticut. The Harts received 12 letters from family members and acquaintances between 1850 and 1859, and Adeline wrote 3 letters to Matthew while he sought gold in California in the early 1850s. The letters concern topics such as religious conversion, family health, local news, and Adeline's widowhood. The collection also includes a deed for land in Sullivan County, New Hampshire.

This collection (16 items) contains 15 letters related to Adeline Chase Hart and Matthew Hart of Goshen, Connecticut. The Harts received 12 letters from family members and acquaintances between 1850 and 1859, and Adeline wrote 3 letters to Matthew while he sought gold in California in the early 1850s. The letters concern topics such as religious conversion, family health, local news, and Adeline's widowhood. The collection also contains a deed between Dorothy Gilman and Emerson Gilman for land in Sullivan County, New Hampshire (April 1, 1837), witnessed by 2 members of the Chase family.

Adeline and Matthew Hart received 12 letters from their parents, siblings, and acquaintances, mostly from Connecticut and from Elmira, New York. Correspondents commented on family and local news, such as health issues, marriages, and funerals; Adeline's sister Lucy wrote about her visit to Hartford, Connecticut, and described a painting she viewed at City Hall (July 16, 1850). Letters from the Chase family often included contributions from several family members. Adeline Hart wrote 3 letters to her husband from October 19, 1850-December 19, 1851, pertaining to her health, their children, and her finances. Several letters in the collection concern religious revivals and conversions, including Adeline's description of her recent conversion to Christianity (October 19, 1850), Lucy Chase's affirmation that the family had become Millerites (February 5, 1851), and Reuben Chase's mention of "spirit rappers" (March 25, 1853).

Following Matthew Hart's death around early 1853, Adeline Hart received a condolence letter and 2 later personal letters from William K. Vaughan, an acquaintance in Big Flats, New York. Matthew Hart's brother, A. P. Hart, also reflected on Matthew's death (March 6, 1853). Another relative, H. E. Cooke, provided a description of her new home (April 29, 1853). Other later letters concern Hattie A. Hart's work teaching at a school and her intention to attend college (August 22, 1857), as well as property in Elmira, New York (October 24, 1859).

The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865.

The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865. Topics addressed in the letters and documents include the experiences and work of enslaved persons in the North and South; the buying and selling of enslaved men, women, and children; participation in the French and Indian War, American Revolution, and Civil War of African descended persons; abolitionists and abolition societies; the American Colonization Society; the lives of formerly enslaved persons; African American education; and many other subjects. For details on each document, see the inventory located under "Detailed Box and Folder Listing"

This collection is made up of 2 letters that Agnes M. Leeds wrote to her aunt, Jane M. Johnson, while living in Curaçao at the time of her husband's final sickness, as well as 1 letter that Leeds received from an acquaintance in New York City.

This collection is made up of 2 letters that Agnes M. Leeds wrote to her aunt, Jane M. Johnson, while living in Curaçao at the time of her husband's final sickness, as well as 1 letter that Leeds received from an acquaintance in New York City.

Agnes and Henry Leeds arrived in Curaçao in October 1842, where they hoped to relieve Henry's ailing health. In her letters to her aunt, Agnes Leeds described Curaçao, their hotel, and local residents. She requested news of her children, who were in Johnson's care, and mentioned her intention to send a black doll to her daughter Agnes. Jane C. Covert wrote to Agnes in January 1843 to express her sympathy for the family's situation. She reported on the Leeds children, and noted that Agnes's son Henry believed that his mother sent the black doll "to be a servant to the other ones."

Manchester Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, farmer. Material concerning farming activities, English's work with the Southern Washtenaw Farmers' Club, local Democratic Party affairs, his work as clerk of the Iron Creek (Manchester Township) Free Will Baptist Church; correspondence; miscellaneous account books of family members, notebooks containing reference information, and reports of the overseer of highways for Manchester Township; and photographs. Correspondence includes a letter from Thomas English of West Virginia, who was formerly an enslaved person. The collection also includes a diary of Lucy English, Albert D. English's sister.

The English collection documents different phases of his life and provides the researcher with material for the study of Manchester, Michigan between 1880 and 1910. In addition to correspondence, the collection includes notebooks containing the newspaper columns on local affairs which English wrote for several county newspapers. There are also 18 "Ready Reference Books" containing lists of local, state, and national political candidates and office holders, Manchester property owners, lists of school teachers and graduates, church leaders, as well as other information gleaned from almanacs and newspapers over the years. Included are also several farm journals of Albert English and his father Benjamin English, and a personal diary and a scrapbook of Albert's sister Lucy English (in marriage, Lucy Simmons). Much of the correspondence files concerns the Free Will Baptist Church. Correspondence includes one letter from Thomas English of West Virginia, a formerly enslaved person, whom Albert English apparently contacted in regard to the family genealogy. There is no record of continued correspondence on this subject.