Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

An anonymous author dedicated this 44cm x 29cm volume, "A Missionary's Fate. A Prophecy," to Miss Minnie Jenks, in or after 1868. It includes seven pages of neatly written, rhyming, narrative poetry accompanied by five ink and watercolor illustrations. This xenophobic cautionary poem and illustrations trace a young woman's fatal transatlantic Christian missionary expedition. She departs the United States intending to convert and teach Assamese people, but she is instead transported to Africa where her solitary missionary efforts result in her murder and cannibalization. The illustrations include her seaside departure, the missionary standing on a stump and singing to (racist caricatures of) African men, cannibalism, African men trying on the woman's clothing, and a scene of grief back in the United States.

An anonymous author dedicated this 44cm x 29cm volume, "A Missionary's Fate. A Prophecy," to Miss Minnie Jenks, in or after 1868. It includes seven pages of neatly written, rhyming, narrative poetry accompanied by five ink and watercolor illustrations. This xenophobic cautionary poem and illustrations trace a young woman's fatal transatlantic Christian missionary expedition. She departs the United States intending to convert and teach Assamese people, but she is instead transported to Africa where her solitary missionary efforts result in her murder and cannibalization. The poem ends with her grief-stricken family members weeping and fainting back home, and a concluding moral.

The illustrations include a dock scene, with passengers boarding a ship, persons on the dock waving farewell, and sailors at work on deck. Another shows the missionary woman standing on a stump with a hymn book (sheet music for "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" visible) and singing to a group of African men. The artist portrayed them as racist caricatures, and the men are holding knives, testing their edges, and sharpening teeth with an iron file. The following image depicts the woman on the ground with the men eating or carrying off her bones and severed parts of her body. Next, the men are trying on the woman's clothing; a chief is wearing her bonnet and carrying her parasol and purse/bag, another man is putting on her shoes, and another wears her skirt. The concluding artwork is a parlor scene back in the United States, wherein family and friends received a postal parcel containing a piece of the missionary's dress, her hymn book, a lock of her hair, and a shoestring. The people are shown weeping into handkerchiefs, one of them fainted and one holding the lock of hair.

A transcription of the seventh, final page of the poem--and the moral of the tale--is: "Oh gentle maid, on good intent, / Who would in 'Missions' lead the van, / Take warning from this maid, who went / Afar to free from Ignorance' ban. / Do all the good that here you can / Where you may have a little ease; / 'Home Missions' try on some one man - / Or two or more, if so you please, - / But do not try the Asamese."

This 108-page orderly book belonged to Major General Amos Hall, who commanded a New York militia unit near Buffalo, New York, during the War of 1812. The volume contains general orders and communications between Hall and other commanding officers stationed in western New York between December 24, 1813, and April 10, 1814. Two newspaper articles, published as late as 1893, are pasted on the book's final pages. The orderly book is accompanied by 4 copies of 2 reports of the United States House of Representatives in the 1840s, concerning financial claims John R. Williams made for property lost during the Niagara campaign of the War of 1812. Also included are a belt and attached buckle.

This 108-page orderly book belonged to Major General Amos Hall, who commanded a New York militia unit near Buffalo, New York, during the War of 1812. The volume contains general orders and communications between Hall and other commanding officers stationed in western New York between December 24, 1813, and April 10, 1814. Two newspaper articles, published as late as 1893, are pasted on the book's final pages. The orderly book is accompanied by 4 copies of 2 reports of the United States House of Representatives in the 1840s, concerning financial claims John R. Williams made for property lost during the Niagara campaign of the War of 1812. Also included are a belt and attached buckle.

The Orderly Book contains copies of general orders and correspondence issued daily between December 24, 1813, and December 29, 1813 (pp. 1-20), as well as orders and correspondence issued less regularly between January 10, 1814, and April 10, 1814 (pp. 20-108). Entries are composed in a number of different hands. Most orders were issued at American headquarters in Batavia, Buffalo, and Williamsville, New York, and from other unnamed posts in the Niagara region. The first order pertains to Hall's assumption of command of troops assembled near Buffalo. Throughout the following months, he issued and received orders about several aspects of the campaign in western New York, such as troop movements, troop numbers, and developments in the war. Other topics include the transfer of prisoners of war (January 10, 1814, pp. 40-41) and the hire of local Native Americans (December 27, 1813, pp. 11-12).

A copy of Amos Hall's certificate of membership in the Society of the Cincinnati is laid into the volume (July 4, 1786), and 2 newspaper clippings are pasted on its final pages: "In Olden Times. Robert Sutcliff's Travels in the Genesee Country" (Stephen B. Ayers, Post-Express, February 28, 1893) and "Interesting Sketch of Gen. Amos Hall" (Myron S. Hall, the Journal, undated).

The Government Publications series is comprised of 2 copies each of 2 printed reports issued by the United States House of Representatives, concerning claims John R. Williams made against the United States government for property destroyed by the British Army in December 1813 (Report No. 102, February 7, 1845) and for land near Detroit, Michigan (Report No. 5, December 20, 1847).

The Realia item is a belt with its original buckle still attached. The buckle depicts a grenade over the number "100," and originally belonged to a member of the British Army's 100th Regiment of Foot grenadiers.

The July 1, 1874 kidnapping of four-year-old Charles Brewster "Charley" Ross from a sidewalk in front of the family home in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania became the first nationally publicized kidnapping for ransom case in the United States. This collection contains six items: one letter, a manuscript reward advertisement, handwritten notes, a pencil sketch portrait of Charley, a manuscript account of experiences with the main suspects, and an undated newspaper clipping related to the continuing investigation of the child's abduction, ca. 1909.

The July 1, 1874, kidnapping of four-year-old Charles Brewster "Charley" Ross from a sidewalk in front of the family home in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania became the first nationally publicized kidnapping for ransom case in the United States. This collection contains six items: a letter, a manuscript draft of a reward advertisement, handwritten notes, a pencil sketched portrait of Charley, a manusscript account of experiences with the main suspects, and an undated newspaper clipping-related to the continuing investigation of the child's abduction, ca. 1909.

The one Letter in the collection is from Charley Ross's father Christian K. Ross to Rev. Henry Whitney Cleveland, October 20, 1877; Philadelphia. 2 pages. In it, Mr. Ross states that he cannot help Cleveland publish a book as his time is spent searching for his missing son. Ross mentions the book he published on the case, lamenting that he published it using a subscription service as it limited its circulation.

Written on the verso of printed, illustrated stationery of the Haynes Hotel, Springfield, Massachusetts, the manuscript draft of a Reward Advertisement stipulates a $10,000 reward for the return of Charley Ross alive, promising not to seek out or discover the identity of the kidnappers. The page is headed "For Local Article."

Notes: Six pages of pencil notes on checkbook stubs, measuring approximately 9x4 inches. Dating from July 1, 1874, to an unknown point in 1909, the notes begin from the point of Charley's kidnapping, chronicling accounts of the case. First remarking that Christian Ross had "run down false clews [in a] vain attempt" to locate Charley, the unidentified writer continues with a sparse summary of the alleged kidnappers capture "at Fort Hamilton, L.I. [Long Island]" and Joseph Douglas's confession that "Mosher & I stole Charly [sic] Ross." The next entry, dated 1909, discusses one Wm. G. Eyster, whose claim to be the lost Charley Ross was rejected.

The notes conclude with a sketch of a man wearing glasses and a bow tie, with the caption "3 days to get it ready, $20,000," followed by what appears to be notes related to other kidnappings and reference to a "Jessy James."

Manuscript: On October 9, 1932, James H. Hall wrote a nine-page summary of George W. Murdock's recounting of his experiences with the main suspects in the Charles Brewster Ross kidnapping case, Bill Mosher and Joe Douglas, while his mother was in charge of the lighthouse in the Hudson River. Murdock recalled Mosher and Douglas attempting to sell them a boat, described the two men, and described encounters with detectives who searched their premises and read their mail. Hall speculated about the possible role of the boat in the kidnapping.

Newspaper Clipping: An undated clipping regarding one Mr. W.C. DeWitt, claiming to be the lost Charley Ross and giving a lecture, titled "The True Story of My Abduction."

Portrait: A pencil sketch of Charley with an inscription that reads,"at the time of his abduction. Then 4 yrs. and Walter, his 6-yr-old brother. Disappeared from the sidewalk, near their home. July 1, 1874."

This collection is made up of over 40 printed reports, manuscript letters, and manuscript notes related to Clements R. Markham, a British geographer who traveled in South America and India in the mid-19th century. Among other subjects, the material concerns Markham's attempt to cultivate cinchona plants in India, as well as the Amazon basin and rainforest.

This collection is made up of over 40 printed reports, manuscript letters, and manuscript notes related to Clements R. Markham, a British geographer who traveled in South America and India in the mid-19th century. Among other subjects, the manuscripts concern Markham's attempt to cultivate cinchona plants in India, and it contains notes on the Amazon basin and rainforest.

The bulk of the collection pertains to Markham's work with Great Britain's India Office in the 1860s, including a lengthy printed report and supplementary memoranda about his efforts to introduce the cinchona plant, native to Peru, to India. Other reports and memoranda concern Indian coffee plantations, cotton production, oyster fisheries, and irrigation projects. The volume also includes descriptions of the Suez region, Abyssinia, and Bombay. Manuscript notes and translations in the back of the volume largely pertain to South America, including letters to Markham from an acquaintance in Lima, Peru, and notes on the missionary work of Antonio Machoni. Other manuscripts concern the Amazon region, cocoa plantations, the Napo River, and an Arctic expedition. The documents are calendared and indexed.

This photograph album contains 19th-century carte-de-visite, photomechanical print, and tintype portraits of residents of Kent and Oakland Counties, Michigan.

This photograph album (14cm x 11cm) contains 18 cartes-de-visite, 4 halftone photomechanical prints, and 2 tintypes, which are portraits of residents of Kent and Oakland Counties, Michigan, taken during the 19th century. Most of the items are studio portraits of men, women, children, and infants. The halftone photomechanical prints are montages, including one portrait of a woman placed behind a drawn window. A number of the subjects are identified. A decorative design is embossed on the album's brown leather cover, and the title "Album" is stamped in gold on its spine; the volume also has a metal clasp.

The Cornwell family carte-de-visite album contains studio portraits of members of the Cornwell, Otis, and Harroun families, who were related by marriage. Members of the various families lived in Minnesota and New York in the late 19th century.

The Cornwell family carte-de-visite album (13cm x 10cm) contains 46 formal studio portraits of members of the Cornwell, Otis, and Harroun families, including 40 cartes-de-visite, 6 tintypes, plus 2 lithographs. Most portraits are of young adults and grown men and women, though pictures of younger children and an infant are also present. One picture shows a woman holding an open book, and another shows a group of women knitting. The lithographs depict a woman tucking a child into bed while thinking of a soldier and Mary with the infant Jesus. The volume's red leather cover has a tooled geometric design and a floral design is carved into the sides of its pages.

The Daniel Morgan collection is made up of financial records, legal documents, correspondence, and other items related to General Daniel Morgan and to Willoughby Morgan, his son.

The Daniel Morgan collection is made up of 63 financial records, legal documents, correspondence, and other items related to General Daniel Morgan and to Willoughby Morgan, his son. The majority of the collection consists of accounts, bonds, promissory notes, and other documents pertaining to Daniel Morgan's financial affairs. Accounts and invoices record Morgan's purchases of clothing, wagon-related equipment and services, and other items. Some of the later items do not concern Morgan directly but have his legal endorsement. Also included are two outgoing letters by Morgan, a 9-page legal document about a lawsuit against Morgan, and a deposition that Morgan gave in a different dispute. Other items are a bond regarding Morgan's marriage to Abigail Curry (March 30, 1773) and Morgan's political address to the citizens of Allegheny County about politics and the militia (January 17, 1795). Three of the documents pertain to enslaved and free African Americans (November 6, 1773; June 13, 1789; and March 28, 1799). Later items mostly pertain to the estate of Willoughby Morgan, Daniel Morgan's son. James Graham wrote two letters to unknown recipients in 1847 and 1856 about his efforts to write Daniel Morgan's biography, which he subsequently published.

Printed items include a map of the surrender of Yorktown (undated), a newspaper article from a Winchester, Virginia, paper about the possible disinterment of Daniel Morgan's remains (August 18, 1951), and printed portraits of Daniel Morgan with manuscript and facsimile autographs.

This collection is comprised of typescripts of letters that David Ballenger sent to his wife Nancy and other family members while serving in the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company D, and the Hampton Legion during the Civil War. Ballenger discussed his participation in several major battles and Confederate soldiers' increasing discouragement as the war progressed.

This collection is comprised of typescripts of around 70 letters related to David Ballenger, who served in the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment and Hampton's Legion during the Civil War. His first letter, written to a sister from Kingston, Georgia, on December 5, 1858, mentions the possibility of attending a 20-day grammar course.

The bulk of the typescripts are letters that Ballenger wrote to his wife Nancy and, less frequently, other family members while serving with the Confederate Army between December 1861 and January 1865. He spent most of the war in Virginia, though he also traveled to Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas, and described his participation in skirmishes and in major engagements such as the Battles of South Mountain, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. He sometimes commented on the general progress of the war, including the increasing likelihood of a Union victory. Ballenger discussed his and other Confederate soldiers' deteriorating enthusiasm throughout the course of the war; in September 1864, he noted that he and others would quit fighting should George McClellan win the presidency and make concessions to the seceded states. In his letter of December 12, 1864, he worried that the war had become more about power than idealism and expressed his disdain for its deleterious effects on Southern morality, as evidenced by a preponderance of brothels.

Ballenger's letters often refer to his religious faith, and he often thanked God for seeing him safely through battles. He commented on the hardships soldiers suffered during the war, believing that they far outweighed any difficulties experienced by those at home (May 13, 1863), and reflected on the magnitude of the death and destruction that the war had caused. In his letter of June 12, 1864, he mentioned a visit to the site of the Battle of Malvern Hill, still strewn with bodies.

The collection includes a small number of typescripts of letters that David Ballenger received from other military personnel during the war. Postwar correspondence includes a letter from H. B. Rector to David Ballenger about Reconstruction in Georgia (February 24, 1868); letters of congratulation after Ballenger's election to an unspecified public office (September 1886); and letters from Ballenger to his daughter and two nieces about their education (1888). The final typescript consists of the text of an undated article in The North Greenville Courier about Reverend O. J. Peterson, the principal of North Greenville High School.

This volume contains financial records pertaining to David P. Gerberich of Niles, Michigan, as well as other accounts and recipes. Daybook accounts pertain to sales of whiskey in Washington, Illinois, and of ales and foodstuffs in Howard, Michigan; later financial accounts relate to farm labor and personal expenses. The volume also includes culinary, medicinal, and household recipes.

This volume (around 320 pages) contains financial records pertaining to David P. Gerberich of Niles, Michigan, as well as other accounts and recipes. Daybook accounts pertain to sales of whiskey in Washington, Illinois, and of ales and foodstuffs in Howard, Michigan; later financial accounts relate to farm labor and personal expenses. The volume also includes culinary, medicinal, and household recipes.

The first section (pages 1-174) contains daybook records for sales of whiskey and other goods in Washington, [Illinois], from April 1, 1840-December 11, 1841. The merchant's customers included members of the Gerberich family. David P. Gerberich's daybook records sales of dry goods, especially wheat, as well as meats and other goods in "Kingsbury" and "Belmont" from August 6, 1842-September 6, 1845 (pages 178-181) and at Howard Township, [Michigan], from August 1868-February 27, 1872 (pages 187-238) and [March?] 8, 1873-July 27, 1873 (page 243). Page 182 contains a list of household expenses, pages 240-241 are comprised of estate records (November 3, 1873-December 10, 1873), and pages 244-293 contain accounts dated September 13, 1883-1888, which largely pertain to farm labor, livestock, blacksmithing, and personal expenses. Pages 178-238 and 183-186 of the daybook are missing.

Additional financial records and notes appear on pages 302 and 321-324. Pages 248-258 and 268-272 include recipes for food and household products such as cured meats, baked goods, and cleaning solutions.

Items laid into the volume include an 1888 receipt for Mrs. Gerberich's purchase of lumber from John L. Reddick in Niles, Michigan, dried leaves, and a blank fire insurance application for D. P. Gerberich of Niles, Michigan.

These two scrapbooks contain newspaper and magazine clippings of stories and poems pasted into 1873 and 1874 editions of German-language trade catalogs for D. M. Osborne & Co., manufacturers of farm equipment at Auburn, New York.

These two scrapbooks contain newspaper and magazine clippings of stories and poems pasted into 1873 and 1874 editions of German-language trade catalogs for D. M. Osborne & Co., manufacturers of farm equipment at Auburn, New York.

Clippings from the 1873 edition include "Sister Therese," a story about a prima donna and colonel in Paris, "A Miner's Love Story (from Temple Bar)," "A Fairy Gift," "The Story of a Valentine," and more. The volume features floral fabric lining around the cover's edges and spine.

The 1874 edition includes stories titled "The Wreck," by William H. Thomes, "The Doctor's Peril," "Alexander and the Africans," "A Short Fight," and more.