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Collection

Laurence Todd papers, 1902-1957

1 linear foot

Michigan-born newspaperman; correspondence and diaries relating to his professional career.

The collection is comprised of two series: Correspondence and Diaries. The letters are to members of his family describing his journalistic activities and political events of the day. There are letters with observations about Governor Hiram Johnson of California (1910-1917), comments about suffrage for women, 1911-1920, impressions about the two World Wars, and the Progressive Party campaign of Henry Wallace in 1948. The diaries, 1934-1936, discuss his daily life, American politics during the New Deal, and international relations particularly with the Soviet Union.

Collection

Lucius Lyon papers, 1770-1934 (majority within 1833-1851)

12 linear feet

The Lucius Lyon papers contain the public correspondence of Lucius Lyon, United States representative and senator from Michigan, and surveyor general for Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Letter writers include Michigan governors, legislators, postmasters, physicians, and other local politicians, as well as residents of Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and Indiana, and national Democratic Party leaders during the years Lyon served in Congress. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a List of Contributors.

The Lucius Lyon papers (12 linear feet) contain the public and private correspondence of Lucius Lyon, United States representative and senator from Michigan, and surveyor general for Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Lyon received letters from southern Michigan governors and legislators, as well as postmasters, physicians, and other local politicians. Other contributors include residents of Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and Indiana; easterners interested in land speculation, settlement, and Michigan politics; and national Democratic Party leaders during the years Lyon served in Congress.

The Correspondence Series comprises the bulk of the Lyon papers. Topics discussed in the Chronological Correspondence Subseries include Michigan statehood, Wisconsin statehood, Indian relations, government appointments, and local politics. Also included are numerous proposals and requests to the United States government for investments and improvements for harbors, lighthouses, roads and mail routes, safety, and protection on the Great Lakes. As well as letters from government officials, Lyon received letters from citizens of virtually every county in Michigan. Several of these letters relate to pension or bounty lands owed to Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans and their families (e.g. January 13, 1834; December 8, 1834; January 24, 1835; March 22, 1838; January 3, 1844; November 30, 1844). Letters written during and following the boundary dispute over Toledo provide an on-the-ground view of how residents of the region experienced the conflict and its subsequent effects. A letter written April 9, 1835, accuses the Toledo Postmaster of designating his office as being in Ohio, which was seen as "having taken an improper part in the controversy now pending, between that State & Michigan Territory, which has created much excitement & dissatisfaction among the people." Though the bulk of the letters are official in nature, the collection also contains personal letters to and from Addison, Anna, Asa, Daniel, Edward, Enos, Ira, Lucretia, Mary, Orson, Sarah Atwater, Truman H., and Worthington S. Lyon. Notably, Lucretia Lyon wrote 111 letters to her brother Lucius between 1827 and 1850.

As a Michigan official and surveyor, Lyon dealt regularly with matters concerning Native Americans and their interactions with settlers and the United States government. Much of this material concerns treaties, such as the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters, as well as claims made by and against Native Americans (see for example August 3, 1838; September 24, 1838; December 28, 1838; and an undated letter signed by [Musk]Rat's Liver, also known as Wazhashkokon). Tribes involved include the Choctaw, Fox, Oneida, Potawatomi, Sac (Sauk), Lakota/Dakota, Saganaw, and Ho-Chunk. Also discussed is the Shawnee Prophet (September 2, 1834) and payments to white doctors who vaccinated the Indians against smallpox (March 8, May, 30, and June 12, 1834). Several letters relate to the Second Seminole War and reference Thomas Jesup, Winfield Scott, and Sam Jones (July 26, 1836; February 8, 1838; March 25, 1838; and April 23, 1838).

Lyon also received 14 anonymous love letters (including one undated Valentine housed in the Miscellaneous series) in 1849 and 1850 signed “Mignonette.” One of these letters by the fellow Swedenborgian admirer is signed L.A. Northup whose possible identity could be Laura Adeline Northrup, daughter of a local blacksmith that Lyon visited at least once. A typescript copy of Lyon’s final reply to this woman indicates that she was much younger than him and that he would prefer to remain friends.

The Typed Copies Subseries contains 32 typed transcripts of letters to and from Lucius Lyon and members of the Ingersoll family not present in original format in collection. Some copies note the location of originals at the time they were made. Original letters date from 1833 to 1850 as well as undated.

The Caroline Portman Campbell and James H. Campbell Correspondence Subseries consists of letters relating to Caroline Belzora Portman Campbell, who donated the Lyon Papers to the University of Michigan, and her husband, James H. Campbell, a lawyer in the Grand Rapids area. Campbell (1859-1926) was active in civic and historical organizations including those related to the history of the state of Michigan. The earliest piece of correspondence is a June 30, 1770, letter written by a Quaker woman, Hannah Jackson, which was previously in the possession of Caroline Portman Campbell’s stepmother, Jennie A. Baley Portman. There is also a January 21, 1849, letter written by Portman Campbell’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth Latham, and great-uncle. Other material relates to James H. Campbell's law practice and Caroline Campbell's historical research as well as ownership and donation of the Lucius Lyon papers to the University of Michigan. The bulk of the material is from 1884-1924.

The Native American Treaty Documents Series contains material primarily related to the 1837 Treaty of St Peters (alternatively known as the Treaty with the Chippewa or White Pine Treaty) as well as additional papers related to other contemporary treaties with Native American tribes in the Midwest. The 1837 Treaty Claims Subseries contains the 189 numbered claims and various un-numbered claims submitted by the Ojibwa who ceded a large plot of land in present-day Minnesota and Wisconsin to the United States in the Treaty of St. Peters (Treaty with the Chippewa or the White Pine Treaty) on July 29, 1837. There are two types of claims for financial compensation per the treaty stipulations. The first type of claims, the Article 3 Claims Sub-subseries, are those made by members of the tribe who were of mixed European and Native American ancestry. The second, the Article 4 Claims Sub-subseries, are claims made by those owed money by the Ojibwa. Also present are powers of attorney for claimants, lists of names of claimants, and other related documentation in the Other Treaty Documents Subseries.

The Notebooks, Recipe Book, and Writings Series contains the following eleven volumes:
  • Manuscript account of Jonathan Kearsley's military service during the War of 1812.

    Written in Lucius Lyon's hand. Kearsley described his job removing dead bodies from the battlegrounds and recounted the death of Major Ludowick Morgan near Lake Erie.

  • Lucius Lyon memo book, 1830-1843
  • Lucius Lyon notebook, 1838
  • Lucius Lyon memo book, 1842-1843
  • Oraculum (manuscript fortunetelling book)
  • Berrien County, Michigan, notebook
  • "Diagram of Salt Wells Sunk at the Rapids of Grand River, Michigan"
  • Lucretia Lyon receipt book

    Lurectia Lyon's receipt book includes recipes for biscuits, cookies, gingerbread, and cakes (palate cake, diet cake, perpetual cake) and household goods such as nankeen dye, food preserves, and cures for cholera morbus, deafness, warts and corns, poisonous vine infections, and dysentery.

  • Account notebook, April 1850-February 1851
  • Eliza Smith / Pamelia Thayer account book, 1835-1849
  • Isaac Bronson Account Book

The Land, Legal, Business, and Financial Papers Series contains documents related to Lyon's business interests spanning 1820 through his death in 1851, along with papers relating to his family's finances after his death. Included are legal documents involving Lyon or officiated by him (these are largely from Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin) as well as Lyon's personal and professional financial records, including receipts, bills, invoices, and account lists (1820s-1840s). An early document is an account of sundries taken by the British and allies after surrender of Detroit on October 16, 1812. The collection includes two maps: a printed Wisconsin Territory map by David H. Burr of the U.S. House of Representatives (1836) and a manuscript map showing nine towns of Jackson County and three of Calhoun County, Michigan, with some of the leading roads, ca. 1830. The series is organized into a Chronological Subseries, Financial Bundles Subseries, a Petitions Subseries, and Maps subseries.

The Pamphlets, Government Documents, Blank Forms, Broadsides, Newspapers, Ephemera, and Other Printed Items Series contains printed legal and legislative documents, advertisements and regulations, invitations, and blank forms, among other items. It also includes newspaper pages and clippings dating from 1833 to 1937. Please see the box and folder listing of this finding aid for a complete list of the items in this series.

The Miscellaneous Series contains various items, including Lyon's commissions as a Regent of the University of Michigan and Surveyor General of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan; undated caucus ballots; a 1905 typed biographical sketch of Lewis Cass, and more.

Manuscripts in the series include, among others:
  • A description of the village of Lyons
  • The charter of the Illinois and Michigan Canal & Railroad Company
  • List of officers employed in the Quarter Masters Department
  • Proceedings relative to the admission of the State of Tennesse into the Union
  • An undated Knigts of Templar address
  • Various receipes
  • A Valentine sent in 1850
  • Knitting directions

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a List of Contributors for the Lucius Lyon papers. For more information on contributors see the Clements Library card catalog.

Collection

Lynn M. Bartlett papers, 1925-1971 (majority within 1955-1969)

7 linear feet — 4 microfilms — 1 oversize folder

Educational administrator, Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1957-1965, and official with the Johnson administration. Correspondence, reports, and newspaper clippings concerning his public career, political campaigns for state office, work in the constitutional convention, and interest in educational topics.

The Lynn M. Bartlett papers have been arranged into six series. The first three series were accumulated in his capacity as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Education, and Assistant Secretary for Education within the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The researcher should note that although these series have been designated with the title of the office that Bartlett held, these series do not include the official files from those agencies. Records for the state office will be found in the Michigan State Archives; and records for the two federal positions held either reside within the agency itself or have been transferred to the National Archives. These three series consist of personal materials, such as speeches, personal letters (e.g., letters of congratulation, and thank yous), and other files not deemed to be part of the agency's files.

The final three series consist of Biographical/Personal, the papers of Bartlett's wife Josephine, and Collected Material.

Collection

Margaret Bayne Price Papers, 1918-1969 (majority within 1947-1968)

25 linear feet

Democratic National Committeewoman from Michigan, Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee and Director of Women's Affairs of the Democratic Party. Extensive correspondence, speeches, press releases, political campaign materials, newspaper clippings, agendas, and assorted printed material relating to her work in the Democratic Party; material concerning Democratic politics, 1948-1967, and the activities of the Democratic National Committee and the Michigan State Central Committee.

The collection includes extensive correspondence, speeches, press releases, political campaign materials, newspaper clippings, agendas, and assorted printed material relating to her work in the Democratic Party; material concerning state and national Democratic politics, 1948-1967, and materials accumulated from her service with the Democratic National Committee and the Michigan State Central Committee.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Press Materials; Speeches; Miscellaneous Materials; Organizational Activities; State and Local Politics; National Politics; Printed Materials; and Photographs.

Collection

Martin R. Bradley papers, 1918-1961

2 linear feet

Democratic state representative from Menominee County, Michigan, 1923-1925 and 1927-1935. Correspondence, subject files, and clippings and scrapbooks primarily relating to his legislative career, his participation on the Michigan Legislative Council, and Upper Peninsula political and economic subjects.

While the collection dates from 1918-1961, the bulk of the papers are from 1923-1935 and relate to Mr. Bradley's legislative career. The collection has been arranged into four series: Biographical, Correspondence, Topical files, and Scrapbooks. This is a small but rich collection relating to Michigan politics, with special emphasis on Menominee County and the Upper Peninsula. Because of the correspondence, legislative files, proceedings of the legislative council, Bradley-Doyle folder, and the scrapbooks, the years 1933-1934 are especially well documented.

Collection

McCreery-Fenton Family papers, 1818-1948 (majority within 1860-1940)

12 linear feet (in 13 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

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.

Collection

McDonald Family Papers, 1783-1938

2.4 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1 oversize volume

Detroit family; one member, James Henry McDonald, was a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A., 1876; Law, 1878), who practiced law in Detroit; his wife, Christine Jewell, was active in the state Democratic Party. The collection has been arranged into five series: the McDonald Family, the Martha Wells McLellan Family, the Christine Jewell Family, Miscellaneous Files, and Photographs.

The McDonald papers contain personal and business papers collected by James Henry McDonald and by his wife Christine Jewell McDonald. The collection includes correspondence, ledgers, genealogical material and family histories, business records and photographs. Topics and activities documented in the collection include James McDonald's education at the University of Michigan and law practice in Detroit; genealogy of the McDonald, Hallock, McLellan and Jewell families; business papers of William Jewell, including some relating to his founding of the Detroit Business University in 1864; correspondence of Emma Jewell's life as a Christian Scientist; Ogden Jewell's experience as a University of Michigan Student and his enlistment in the Spanish-American War; and correspondence of Christie Jewell concerning her activities in the Democratic party, including a term a vice-chair of the state Democratic Party Central Committee in 1937-1938.

The collection contains five series: McDonald Family, the Martha Wells McLellan Family, Christine Jewell Family, Miscellaneous Files, and Photographs.

Collection

Mortimer E. Cooley Papers, 1873-1944

66.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 7 oversize volumes

Dean of the College of Engineering of the University of Michigan; correspondence, letter books, appraisals and reports, lectures, blueprints, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other materials concerning his activities as dean of the College of Engineering, engineer for the U.S.S. Yosemite in the Spanish American War, chairman of the Block Signal and Train Control Board, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1924, and coordinator for the P.W.A. in Michigan in 1933-1935; also genealogical materials on the Cooley family.

The Mortimer E. Cooley papers consists of correspondence, subject files, personal materials, and photographs detailing the professional career and activities of a distinguished engineering educator. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; University of Michigan and College of Engineering materials; Genealogical and Miscellaneous; Arbitration, appraisal, and consultation files; Photographs; Naval Logs; and Testimonial and celebratory materials. Box 47 was eliminated during 2001 reprocessing.

Collection

Murray D. Van Wagoner Papers, 1921-1949

4 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes — 10 film reels

Online
Construction engineer and Michigan Democratic politician; served terms as Oakland County Drain Commissioner, Michigan State Highway Commissioner, and as Governor, 1941-1942; include correspondence, scrapbooks, appointment books, and assorted miscellanea.

The series in the Van Wagoner collection are Correspondence (1933-1945); Newspaper clippings/Scrapbooks (1930-1933 and 1940-1949); Miscellaneous/Political; and Visual Materials. The collection is largely an accumulation of personal materials from his career as a public service. There is very little of these papers that might be classified as administrative or office files from his years as highway commissioner or his term as governor.

Collection

Paul L. Adams papers, 1924-1976

4 linear feet

Attorney, regent of the University of Michigan; state attorney general; justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. Correspondence with Adams' family concerning his activities as a student at University of Michigan and as Supreme Court justice; also topical files, speeches, and miscellaneous legal records.

The papers of Paul Adams concentrate on his years as a student at the University of Michigan,1926-1936,and on his years as a Michigan Supreme Court Justice, January 2,1962-January 1,1973. These papers include detailed letters to his family and topical files on his various interests and affairs. The correspondence file contains letters from former Governor Williams, Senator Philip A. Hart, Mrs. Chase Osborn, and other leading Michigan figures and politicians. His speech file includes topics on law, crime, politics, and religion.