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The McCreery and Fenton families were prominent Genesee county, Michigan residents some of whose members distinguished themselves in local and state government, as soldiers during the Civil War, and in the United States diplomatic service. Papers include diaries, correspondence and other material relating to the Civil War, local and state politics and aspects of diplomatic service in Central and South America.

The McCreery-Fenton family collection documents the individual careers of family members who served their community and their nation in a variety of roles. Through correspondence, diaries and other materials, the researcher will find information pertaining to the Civil War, to the history of Flint and Fenton in Genesee County, Michigan, and to facets of America's diplomatic relations with some of the countries of Central and South America. Arranged by name of the three principal family members represented in the collection - William M. Fenton, William B. McCreery, and Fenton R. McCreery, the papers also include series of general family materials, business records, and photographs.

A leading figure of the Anti-Saloon movement, founder of the Ohio Anti-Saloon League, first general superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of America and superintendent of the New York Anti-Saloon League. Papers include manuscript letters, speeches, diaries and miscellaneous material, and photographs. Letters include correspondence with many prominent prohibitionists and other social reformers.

The Howard Hyde Russell papers held by the Bentley Historical Library consist of three linear feet of manuscript letters, speeches, diaries and miscellaneous material, and photographs, 1849-1946. The Russell papers include professional correspondence and speeches relating to his work with the Anti-Saloon League, biographical and autobiographical writings, diary entries, notebooks and newspaper clippings and other miscellanea; family correspondence, including papers of his father, Joseph A. Russell, and his wife, and collected historical letters.

In 1977, the bulk of the Russell papers were microfilmed along with one linear foot of correspondence, financial records, and other documents held by the Ohio Historical Society on loan from the Westerville Public Library of Westerville, Ohio. This material when filmed was interfiled with the Bentley Historical Library folders, and includes correspondence dealing with personal, business and temperance matters, 1877-1911; notes for speeches and sermons, undated; congratulatory correspondence on the occasion of Russell's 65th birthday and 40th wedding anniversary, 1920; correspondence and other papers of James B. Merwin concerning Merwin's association with Abraham Lincoln and both Merwin's and Lincoln's connections with the temperance cause; a diary, 1891, of records, 1891-1896, including an account book, notes payable, and cancelled checks; an undated typescript Russell biography and an incomplete typescript autobiography of Russell's father, Joseph A. Russell, 1899. All Ohio Historical Society material are designated "OHS"; Michigan Historical Collections materials are designated "MHC."

Grand Rapids, Michigan family, involved in furniture making and other businesses, also active in local state and Republican Party politics and businessmen's associations. Papers include family papers and correspondence, business records, scrapbooks and visual materials.

The Sligh family collection consists of the personal and business papers of the four generations of Slighs mentioned in the biographical introduction: James W. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Charles R. Sligh, Jr., and Robert L. Sligh. Although there is some overlap, the files have been arranged into seven series, one for each of these three Slighs, one for the Sligh Furniture Company and related family businesses, and one each for Newspaper clippings and Scrapbooks, and Visual Materials.

Chairman of the department of political science at University of Michigan. Correspondence, reports, manuscript articles, book reviews, lecture notes, and miscellaneous papers concerning family affairs and his academic interests in political science and international law.

The Reeves papers largely concern JSR's activities as professor (also chairman) of the University of Michigan Department of Political Science from his appointment in 1910 until his retirement in 1937. The great bulk of the collection consists of Reeves' correspondence. With this is a smaller series of such other materials as lectures, research materials, professional organizational materials. As an aid to accessing the correspondence, a selective index of correspondents and subjects has been prepared and is appended to the following containing listing.

Detroit attorney and businessman; active in the Michigan Democratic Party and a strong supporter of and personal correspondent with William Jennings Bryan. Collection includes correspondence, clippings, and financial records related to Moore, his family, and his estate; the law firm of Moore & Moore; and associated business interests..

The George William Moore papers provide a complex view of life in Michigan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Correspondence from the family home in Van Buren Township documents rural concerns and daily activities, while deeds and correspondence from the Upper Peninsula detail the explosive growth of land and mining interests in the farthest reaches of the state. Moore's personal materials cast light on the upper strata of Detroit's society at the height of the Gilded Age and his business records encompass a range of legal activities and reveal the frenetic pace of business and speculation in the years preceding the Great Depression. Political materials and personal writings further reflect some of the most contentious issues of his day, from Free Silver to the public ownership of utilities. This collection will be of value to those interested in the history of law, Democratic politics, mining, and industry as well as the social lives of Michiganians in rural and urban settings. The George William Moore papers are divided into three series: Personal, Moore & Moore, and Associated Businesses.

Ypsilanti, Michigan, attorney, Washtenaw County circuit court judge. Papers concerning family history, Masonic activities, and legal interests; also photographs.

The Breakey papers includes personal and professional papers, files relating to his participation in different Masonic organizations, and photographs. Of special note is correspondence exchanged with U.S. Supreme Court Judge Tom C. Clark. There are also notes Breakey made concerning the visit of William Jennings Bryan to Ann Arbor. The photographs include portraits (photos and silhouette) of family members, including William F. Breakey; photos of homes, including the James A. Breakey farm near Cheney, (Crawford County) Michigan; photos of Ann Arbor and University of Michigan buildings; and photos of the Cleary College commencement in 1958.

Member of the Michigan State Legislature. Personal papers include correspondence, speeches and writings, a scrapbook, and photographs.

The collection has been arranged into a single series of Personal papers. Included are correspondence; two volumes of speeches and other writings concerning prohibition, woman suffrage, and other political and patriotic subjects; scrapbook, family materials, and miscellanea. Within the correspondence, there are collected letters of Michigan Senator Charles E. Townsend, 1913-1914, and a letter from Benjamin R. Tillman concerning smoking in the U.S. Senate. Other correspondents include J. G. Cannon, Secretary of State William J. Bryan, Booker T. Washington, James B. Angell, Frank Knox, Harry B. Hutchins, Charles E. Townsend, and Earl C. Michener.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, businessman, publisher of Ann Arbor Courier, Republican politician, and regent of University of Michigan. Correspondence, letter books, speeches, newspaper clippings, and photographs; papers (1909-1920) of Michigan Public Domain Commission, of which Beal was a member; papers (1877-1904) concerning Port Huron Gas Light Company; and printed material and miscellanea (1885-1905) concerning League of American Wheelmen and his interest in bicycling.

The Junius E. Beal papers include correspondence, papers accumulated from his various interests and organizational activities, subject files, speeches, newspaper clippings, and photographs. The series in the collection include: Correspondence, Michigan Public Domain Commission, Topical Files; and Other Materials. Most of the files in the collection relate in some way to Beal's life in Ann Arbor, either as a student, a businessman, a public figure, as someone who took civic responsibility seriously and was determined to serve his community and the university that he loved.

Professor of law at University of Michigan, and specialist in corporation law. Correspondence, speeches, newspaper clippings, notes, and manuscripts of books and articles, relating to his professional career, Ann Arbor, Michigan organizations and issues, particularly progressive political movements and prohibition, including the Michigan Anti-Saloon League, the anti-trust movement, and the 1912 Progressive Party; also photographs.

The Horace L. Wilgus papers include correspondence, speeches, clippings, notes, manuscripts of books and articles dealing with his professional career, the many Ann Arbor organizations and issues in which he was interested: particularly progressive political movements and prohibition, including the Michigan Anti-Saloon League, the anti-trust movement, and the 1912 Progressive Party. The collection also includes University of Michigan Law School course materials, family genealogical information, and a small series of photographs, many of them of his home on Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Professor of law and president of the University of Michigan. Papers include correspondence, reports, and speeches relating to all aspects of his University activities; and visual materials.

The Harry B. Hutchins papers cover the years 1879 through 1929, and include records generated during his years as professor and dean of the law department, President of the University of Michigan, and in retirement. Boxes 1-18 are primarily comprised of correspondence. Reports of the departments, schools, and other units of the university are contained in box 19, folders 30-32, and box 20, folders 1-13. As president, Hutchins did not regularly submit annual reports to the Board of Regents. Additional materials include speeches, photographs, and biographical material.