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The Henry B. Joy Historical Research (HBJHR) was an office established and funded by Detroit businessman Henry B. Joy in 1928 to do original research into the life and career of James F. Joy; the series in the collection are James F. Joy Papers, Railroad Enterprises, John W. Brooks Papers, Abraham Lincoln Research, and Office Correspondence.

The materials accumulated by The Henry B. Joy Historical Research organization consist largely of copied documents from historical repositories. The vast bulk of the collection was taken from the James Joy papers on file at the Burton Historical Collection. The source of other copied material is not readily apparent but might have come from the archives of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad which since 1943 has been at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The HBJHR must have had a considerable budget as the collection consists of many hundreds of photostatic copies (both positive and negative) as well as typescripts for many of the same materials.

This volume contains the text of two debates held by a debating society during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The society compared the relative merits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and discussed whether men and women have equal mental capacities.

This manuscript book of a late 19th-century meeting of an unknown debating society contains the text of two debates. The first argument (76 pages) was to debate whether George Washington or Abraham Lincoln was "the greater man." Individual speakers, whose names have often been added in pencil, are identified as supporting either Washington or Lincoln. Those who advocated for Washington concentrated on his military service and his role in establishing the United States. One repeated argument in his favor, for example, was his refusal to accept a royal title after leading the Continental Army to victory over British forces. Those who favored Lincoln focused on his character, decisions made during the Civil War, and eventual martyrdom. The matter was taken to a vote following an argument that both presidents deserved to be lauded. The middle of this debate is marked by a brief foray into Constitutional issues, particularly the advisability of introducing amendments, though the argument soon returned to its original topic. An additional argument in favor of Washington, written on a separate piece of paper, is placed inside the book's front cover.

• "Abraham Lincoln: Lord of Himself, Leader of Others," laid into the front of the volume (undated)
• "Dallas Academy and Washington's Birthday," containing the program for the Philomethean Society's celebration of George Washington's 152nd birthday, pasted into the volume (1884)
• "Stand Points in the Life and Times of Washington," containing extracts from a speech delivered by Erastus Brooks on February 22, 1866, pinned into a page in the volume (undated)
• "Washington's Birthday," commemorating the 153rd anniversary of George Washington's birth, pasted into the volume (1885)
• Untitled article examining aspects of Abraham Lincoln's character, pasted into the volume (undated)

The second debate (50 pages) concerned a comparison of the "Mental Capacities of the Sexes," specifically whether the minds of women are equal to those men. After heated debate, centered on the more prominent historical roles of men and the impact of women in the domestic and maternal spheres, the group decided overwhelmingly ("Loud cries of All, All") that the genders did share equivalent mental capacities. This debate was briefly interrupted following a general outcry over contentious remarks made by a man named Spooner.

The New Hampshire carte-de-visite album contains photographic portraits of unidentified individuals and lithographic portraits of prominent Union Army officers, and President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln.

The New Hampshire carte-de-visite album (15cm x 12cm) contains 20 studio portraits of unidentified individuals and 8 lithographs of famous individuals. The photographs show men, women, children, and infants -- one, Louize M. Rollins [sic], is identified. The lithographs are portraits of Union officers Elmer Ellsworth (2 items), William Rosecrans, Samuel Francis Du Pont, Ulysses S. Grant, and George Meade, and of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. The volume's brown leather cover has a geometric design in relief, with additional floral designs stamped in gold, and two metal clasps.

Levi Hines enlisted as a private in the 11th Vermont Infantry (later converted to the 1st Vermont Heavy Artillery) on December 10th, 1862. Seventy of the letters in this collection were written by Hines to his sister Maria, his brother Chester, and parents or other relatives while he was in the service. The remainder of the collection consists of letters from relatives to Hines, with the majority coming from Maria (8 letters), John (5), Chester (4), brother Joseph (7) and E.C. Fisk, who served with Hines in the 1st Vermont Heavy Artillery.

Levi Hines' letters are intimate in nature and provide access to an individual soldier's personal feelings. Seventy of the letters in this collection were written by Hines to his sister Maria, his brother Chester, and parents or other relatives while he was in the service. The remainder of the collection consists of letters from relatives to Hines, with the majority coming from Maria (9 letters), John (5), Chester (5), brother Joseph (7) and E.C. Fisk, who served with Hines in the 1st Vermont Heavy Artillery.

A notable letter in the collection is Hines' account of seeing Lincoln and his entourage in Washington. Hines writes that Lincoln "is a much better looking man than I I [sic] expected to see... There is something in his Eye and in his physiognomy, that denotes firmness decision impressing one with an idea that when he had once taken his course he would not be easily swayed from it..." (1863 August 7-15). Hines also provides an account of the raising of the statue of the Goddess of Liberty on top of the Capitol Building, an occasion upon which he fired the fourth of seven shots in celebration. In the garrison, he recounts the story of a scam run in camp by three men of Company K who bought watches on credit and then deserted (1864 March 4). Another letter includes a humorous account of lice infestation (1864 March 5). Other noteworthy subjects include: Hines' thoughts of home while looking at the night sky (1862 October), his feelings regarding the lines of graves of soldiers who died of disease, and his comments on guard duty or fetching water for the regiment.

Hines' four letters from the field were written while in the trenches at Cold Harbor and Petersburg. He writes of how soldiers become inured to the violence surrounding them and the constant crash of shells and whistling of shot over head. These letters afford insight into one soldier's reactions to intense conflict.

Student papers, 1930-1987 prepared for classes in history at the University of Michigan (primarily Michigan history class taught by Lewis G. VanderVelde, but also including research papers for classes taught by Sidney Fine and others); topics concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; and local community history.

The student papers are organized alphabetically by author in two series, which are similar in date range and topics covered. Topics of papers concern Michigan social and political history; Michigan biography and bibliography; local community history and University of Michigan history. A topical index to the papers is available in the first box of the collection.

The Ocean House scrapbook and register is a repurposed guestbook from the Ocean House hotel in Old Orchard, Maine. The volume has a manuscript inventory of the hotel's furnishings and pasted-in newspaper clippings about Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and local political meetings.

The Ocean House scrapbook and register (around 70 pages) is a repurposed guestbook from the Ocean House hotel in Old Orchard, Maine. The volume has a manuscript inventory of the hotel's furnishings; pasted-in newspaper clippings about Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and local political meetings; and advertisements for a variety of manufactured goods and services. Generally, the writer organized the inventory by floor, listing each room's furnishings and amenities underneath the room's name or number. Most guest rooms had beds, mattresses, chairs, and sinks, among other furniture, and many were painted and carpeted. Lists of items present in communal guest rooms (such as parlors, a music room, and a dining room) and service rooms (such as a laundry room, bake shop, pantry, kitchen, and stable) follow the inventories for individual guest rooms.

Newspaper clippings are pasted onto 16 pages, including the first few pages of the furniture inventory. Most of the clippings pertain to reminiscences about the life of Abraham Lincoln, the death of Frederick Douglass, and meetings of the Young Men's Republican Club of Vermont. Many items are attributed to newspapers in Vermont, and some date from early 1895. Though never used as such, each register page has pre-printed information about the Ocean House and labeled columns for information about guests' stays. Two identical pages of printed advertisements for numerous goods and services are bound into the volume between most register pages.

The Arabella Chapman carte-de-visite albums primarily contain carte-de-visite and tintype photographic portraits of members of the Chapman family, middle-class African Americans from Albany, New York. Also pictured are friends, neighbors, and a few prominent abolitionists and public figures.

The Arabella Chapman carte-de-visite albums (16cm x 13cm) contain 95 carte-de-visite and tintype photographic studio portraits of the family, friends, and associates of Arabella Chapman, along with public figures and role models. The photos were taken from the 1860s to the turn of the century, with the bulk from the 1870s and 1880s. An inscription indicates that "Bella" Chapman received the second album from R. H. Bundy on October 3, 1878. The albums' covers are bound in blue leather, with designs carved in relief and metal clasps.

The first volume has 32 cartes-de-visite and 17 tintypes, including commercially produced photographs of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and John Brown. Also included is an autographed carte de visite by New York State Representative and Underground Railroad organizer William Henry Johnson (1833-1918). The second volume has 24 cartes-de-visite and card photographs, as well as 22 tintypes. Each volume has a partially completed index, with some manuscript captions written directly on some mounts and album pages. The sequence of photographs does not correspond to the indices.

Many of the photographs were taken by photographers in Albany, New York, along with a few images taken during visits to Pleasure Island Park; Saratoga, New York; and other locations. Arabella Chapman appears in six photographs taken at different times in her life.

Portraits of Arabella Chapman's immediate and extended family make up the largest portion of the photographs, including repeated photographs of her parents, future husband, siblings, cousins and nieces, daughter, and in-laws. The majority of the remaining images show Chapman's school friends, family friends, and neighbors from Albany. These include William Brent, a hotel waiter born in Washington, D.C.; Jim Goines, a porter; Charlie Butler, the son of a billiard hall owner and also employed as a waiter; and Anna Latour, the Chapmans' next-door neighbor, whose brother William was a waiter. Some portraits show Arabella's female peers, such as Elizabeth Myers, the daughter of Stephen Myers; Anna Bolden, listed both as a student and as a servant in a white household; and Mary Crosby, who with Chapman formed the only recitation team from Wilberforce in Albany's 1868 annual public school exhibition. A photograph pasted into the last page of the second volume shows Arabella's children and their neighbors, the Spragues.

This collection consists of 113 letters, written primarily between Union soldier Doctor Tarbell and his fiancée, and later, wife, Mary Lucy Conant. Doctor served as a Sergeant in New York's 32nd Infantry, Co. A, and as a Lieutenant, Captain, and Brevet Major in the Commissary Regiment, U.S. Volunteers.

The Doctor Tarbell and Mary Conant papers are comprised of 112 letters, written primarily between Union soldier Doctor Tarbell and his fiancée (and later wife), Mary Lucy Conant, and one genealogical document. Doctor served as a sergeant in the New York 32nd Infantry, Co. A, and as a lieutenant, captain, and brevet major in the U.S. Volunteers. The collection covers Doctor’s war-time service in the Union Army and some of his post-war career. The Civil War letters form a remarkably dense series that highlights the intimate relationship of Tarbell and his fiancée Mary. The collection contains 35 letters from Doctor to Mary, and 46 letters from Mary to Doctor, mainly during 1864 and 1865. Additionally, Doctor wrote one letter to his parents T. B. and Lydia Tarbell, and received two letters from them and two from his siblings. The remaining 29 letters are either from relatives of Mary or they pertain to post-war activities of the Tarbells.

Both Tarbell and his fiancée wrote in an educated and literary style; their letters reveal an affectionate relationship. Between January and February 1864, both Tarbell and Conant wrote almost exclusively about their relationship. However, as the Army of the Potomac moved south, both writers began to focus more on the progress of the war and to assume a more fervently patriotic tone. Many of Mary's letters contain political asides ("Does the Army weary of Gen. Meade, or is it politicians & aspirants that wish to oust him?" March 13, 1864); references to life at home during wartime; and several extended lyrical passages and pro-Union sentiments. Tarbell's responses, which were also substantive and descriptive, often referred to military matters, his work as a commissary, and army morale.

At times, Tarbell's patriotism and pride in his commission shine through, as during his company's inspection by General Ulysses S. Grant (April 18, 1864). Tarbell described the journey down to Richmond, his regiment's movements, what he knew of the progress of the war, the actions of the 6th Cavalry Corps, and his encounters with southern civilians. He wrote to both Mary and his parents from Danville Military Prison, expressing his hopes that an exchange of officers was imminent (October 22, 1864, and November 20, 1864). After his release, he recounted the parades in Washington, D.C. following the ending of the war, and the review of General Sherman’s Army (May 25, 1865). On July 28, 1865, he mentioned his promotion to brevet major.

The 5 letters written to Mary during Tarbell's imprisonment are filled with sympathy and encouragement, along with family news. In a letter from Mary's young niece, Hattie Carpenter, she described the return of soldiers to Iowa (January 15, 1865). Mary A. E. Wages wrote to Miss Hardy requesting funds to establish a freedman's high school in Richmond: "The black people of Richmond are the only loyal people in the whole city...They not only need help, but are worthy objects of it" (Nov. 18, 1866).

The 13 letters from 1881 suggest that the Tarbells were in some unspecified financial difficulty, and that Doctor had been employed as a typewriter agent. The remaining 10 letters were written by Tarbell or Conant relatives and friends.

This collection also contains one genealogical document that lists the birth and marriage dates for members of the Conant and Tarbell families (1793-1884). Included is a list of Doctor and Mary Tarbell's children. This document is undated and unattributed.

The Francis Brown papers describe Brown's experience as a cook for the 1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery Regiment stationed outside of Washington, D.C. during the Civil War.

The Francis Brown papers consist of twenty-six letters, twenty-three of which were written by Brown to his wife and son while in the service of the 1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery in the defenses of Washington. Brown describes his duties as cook, the menu for the troops, and his methods of supplementing the army diet, such as fishing and collecting fifty cents from each man to purchase fruits and vegetables. He also discusses a side line he had developed to earn extra income: selling grease from the cookhouse. In addition to bits of everyday camp life, Brown discusses reforms in system of draft substitution, absentee voting by soldiers, and the problems caused by drunkenness and prostitutes. In writing to Frank, Brown urges him to help his mother and to practice his writing so that he can write to his father.

The collection also contains one letter from Mary to Brown and two from Jonathon Sleeper to Brown. Nearly every letter is accompanied by an envelope pre-printed with Mary's name and address, an oddity for a private soldier.

The Henry Yates Thompson papers contain the letters, diaries, and lectures of Thompson, an Englishman who visited the United States in 1863 and witnessed several battles in the Chattanooga Campaign, while making observations on politics, slavery, and education.

The Henry Yates Thompson papers contain 38 letters, 6 diaries, 4 documents, 2 maps, and 43 printed items (including newspaper clippings), spanning 1863-1928.

The Correspondence series covers 1863-1918, with bulk centering around 1863-1866. Thompson wrote the vast majority of letters home to his parents and siblings, while he traveled the United States and Canada; he filled his correspondence with thoughtful observations on slavery, the Civil War, women's education, and comparisons between England and the United States. On July 29, 1863, he noted the objections to the military draft by "copperheads" in New Hampshire and commented unfavorably on them. In late summer, he remarked about the Canadian support for the Confederacy (August 7, 1863); the growth of slavery, which he believed had been slowed by objections from the North (August 15, 1863); meeting abolitionist Samuel J. May (September 1, 1863); and the "marks of quiet industry" that he saw in free African Americans in the North. On September 29, 1863, he wrote a long, detailed letter about a visit to a "colored camp" in Baltimore, in which escaped slaves trained and drilled in front of Yankee officers. He also recorded the comments of several slave owners, who discussed the escape of slaves and expressed doubt that slaves would fight. In several letters, dated November 23 and December 3, 1863, Thompson described several battles in the Chattanooga Campaign at the side of Ulysses S. Grant. He wrote about the intensity of firing, expressed horror at the injuries and deaths he saw, and gave his impressions of Grant. Thompson also wrote about slaughterhouses in Chicago and the benefits of co-education to women (October 16, 1863), a journey to the Isles of Shoals (September 12, 1863), and the people he met in Keene, New Hampshire (July 23, 1863).

The letters postdating 1863 document Thompson's failed attempts to establish a lectureship on American history at Cambridge in 1865. On May 16, 1907, he declined a revival of the idea by Cambridge, citing possible objections from Harvard and the diminishing need for such an academic collaboration.

The Diaries series contains four volumes, which cover July-December 1863, with overlap in periods and events covered between volumes. As in his letters, Thompson wrote frankly about slavery and abolition, American politics, education, and various places that he visited. He also enclosed letters and ephemera related to these, such as tickets, pamphlets, advertisements, and clippings, which remain with the volumes. In Volume I (July 10-November 3, 1863), Thompson discussed the circumstances of Lincoln's election (pp. 3-4), a visit to Niagara Falls (p. 45), and the National Bank system (p. 53). Volume II (September 13-November 13, 1863) contains another account of the Battles for Chattanooga (pp. 22-31), and discussion of slavery and both sides of the conflict. Volume III (September 25-November 26, 1863) describes travels through Missouri with a German friend, and also covers the Battle of Chattanooga, but more briefly and informally. It may have served as a field notebook. Volume IV (November 15-December 15, 1863) contains further discussion of the Chattanooga Campaign and the war, as well as a description of people that Thompson encountered during his travels to Brooklyn, New York.

The Lecture Notebooks series contains two items: a rough draft and an apparent final draft of a speech on the Battles for Chattanooga, given by Thompson at Harrow School on March 7, 1865. The lecture gives a very detailed description of many aspects of the battle, including troop movements, casualties, supplies, and the role of the United States Sanitary Commission.

The Documents series contains an 1862 "Requisition for Forage" for the Confederacy, and essays entitled "Then and Now at the University of Cambridge" (1918) and "The American Lectureship" (n.d.).

The Maps series contains just one item: a manuscript map illustrating the geography and positions of troops at Chattanooga on November 23, 1863.

The Printed Materials series, spanning 1865-1941, primarily contains printed materials related to Thompson's proposed lectureship on American history at Cambridge. Also included are several obituaries for Thompson, and a book by Christopher Chancellor, Thompson's great-nephew, containing excerpts from the diaries and letters. Published in 1971, the book is entitled, An Englishman in the American Civil War: The Diaries of Henry Yates Thompson, and is housed in the Clements Library's Book Division.