Frances D. Huntington Family papers, 1832-1991, and undated
4.25 cubic foot (in 9 boxes)
About 2.5 cubic ft. (4 and one-third of the boxes) of the collection specifically documents Frances D. Huntington’s personal and professional life. The rest of the collection documents her immediate family and ancestors.
Frances’ Personal Papers (approximately .5 cubic foot) consist mainly of her Personal Correspondence with family and friends. The series is divided by 1) those people she only received correspondence from, 2) those people and issues she had correspondence about, and 3) those to which she sent correspondence. Each subseries is in alphabetical order by surname of the correspondent. Of special interest here are her correspondence to her immediate family while she was in California at a finishing school, 1918-1919; her correspondence with her Smith College friend, Helen “Greenie” Bacon, 1927-1981, and undated, which mentions the Bacons’ experiences in Communist China and Lee Bacon attending the Nuremburg trials, as well as more general news of their travels, jobs, mutual friends, Smith College, and family; and warm, extensive correspondence with Frances’ nieces Barbara and Cynthia Huntington and their maternal Grandmother, Mrs. Buckley, 1958-1981, in San Francisco (California), which covers a wide variety of topics relating to the girls and includes examples of the girls’ homework. Frances’ correspondence with Mary’s doctor, Dr. J. Clark Maloney, provides sad documentation of Mary’s downward spiral into progressively worsening mental illness and its impact on various family members.
Additional correspondence was labeled by Frances as “Serbian Correspondence”, so the separate subseries were maintained here. This includes letters between Frances, Mio and his brothers, their families, and other Serbian relatives. The letters and cards are written or typed in English and Serbian, many of the latter having English translations written on the accompanying envelops or on scrap paper, and a few photographs, 1965-1988, and undated (.75 cubic ft.). The letters note family news, vacations, illness, death, travels, the differences between life and customs (burial of a relative) in the U.S. and Serbia, and money and gifts they sent to each other. Of particular interest is Frances’ letter to Zorica, dated July 29, 1967, in which she discusses the 1967 Detroit race riot and resulting damages, as well as what she believed were the contributing factors, namely poverty, lack of education, lack of affordable housing, lack of jobs for the uneducated, and the “indifference of Negro parents.”
Other Personal Papers which provide biographical information include: Biographical Materials, including Frances’ obituary, 1991; her brief Diaries, 1962-1963, the Huntington Family History, 1983; a List of Wedding Guests for Frances and Mio’s wedding, 1962; Family Photographs, 1880-1903, and undated; Legal Papers, 1953-1976; and other materials.
Frances’ Professional Papers (approximately 1 cubic ft.) mainly document her activities in the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), Inc.-Greater Detroit Section. ASQC materials include Executive Committee and other meeting minutes, agendas, correspondence, membership lists, photographs, and other materials.
The F. D. Huntington Company is documented by business correspondence, 1961-1976, publications, financial records, manuals, photographs of equipment, etc.
Program books, 1960-1973 (Scattered), of the Society of Women Engineers, both the national and Detroit section, document Frances’ membership in the organization.
The rest of the collection consists of the Family Papers, which totals approximately 2 cubic feet (4 and 2/3 boxes), and consists of the papers and materials of Frances’ parents, siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other relatives, including Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. A few general materials are filed first. Then, materials of individuals filed in alphabetical order by the surname, and then the first name, of each relative.
Materials relating to Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker are found in the Correspondence and Legal Papers of his sister, Mary S. (Hooker) Brainard, who was the administrator of his estate, 1863-1891; in the Correspondence and Accounts of Joseph Hooker, 1863, 1877-1878, and undated; related Newspaper Clippings (copies) re: the painting, 1903, 1986, and undated; and some of the Correspondence, 1882, of John H. Treadwell and those of his wife, Mary S. (Brainard) Treadwell, 1891, and undated, all of which relate to the painting Joseph Hooker owned entitled “The Battle of Lookout Mountain”. Hooker paid the artist, James Walker, $20,000 himself, although Congress had commissioned the painting on April 30, 1875. The sheer size of the painting, which measures 13x30 feet, was such that finding a public building in which to hang it permanently was a long process. Mary S. (Brainard) Treadwell assumed the responsibility of the painting when her brother died until her death in 1894. Then, her son-in-law and daughter, John H. and Mary S. Treadwell, took responsibility for the painting until he died in 1967. After two restorations and a long period in storage, the painting was finally installed at the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at the Point Park Unit of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park on August 19, 1986.
Papers of Frances’ immediate family (approximately 1.5 cubic feet) include those of her siblings and parents.
Danforth Huntington ‘s papers include Biographical Materials, World War II Naval Citations, Correspondence, Orders, Personal Correspondence, Photographs, and Newspaper Clippings (copies), 1934-1959.
George D. Huntington Papers include a few Business and Personal Correspondence, 1915, 1938 (Scattered), and undated.
The papers of Helen I. (Treadwell) Huntington consists mostly of extensive Personal Correspondence with her immediate family and friends, 1918, 1930-1956, and undated. Of interest (for fun) is the 1918 correspondence from her son John, then twelve-years-old, at Camp Nissokone in Oscoda (Michigan), in which he begs hysterically and repeatedly for her to send more candy. Also there is correspondence with Walter H. Hebert about a book on Joseph Hooker that Hebert was writing.
John T. Huntington ‘s papers consist mostly of Correspondence from his sister, Frances, and Helen “Kinkie” King, when the ladies attended Smith College, and Newspaper Clippings (copies) of his wedding to Anita Pierce on February 24, 1938.
Mary L. (Huntington) Kerr papers consist mostly of Personal Correspondence from friends, including numerous Sardoc invitations and notes with other members in her 1920s correspondence, and with her future husband, 1932-1934.
The papers of Frances’ Great-grandparents, Martha D. (Mygatt) Treadwell of New Milford (Connecticut) and Henry R. Treadwell consists mostly of the extensive Personal Correspondence between them, which spans their courtship, his traveling job and long periods of time spent in New York (New York), and their married life, 1840-1850, and undated. The letters are very affectionate, detailed, and demonstrate that both were well educated and had neat penmanship.
Their son, John H. Treadwell’s papers consist mostly of his Correspondence to his Father, Step-mother, sisters, Mary and Kitty, and later his wife, Mary [S. Brainard], and his “dear baby” Helen (Frances’ Mother), detailing his travels and adventures. Several Travel Journals, 1861 and 1865, as well as several additional volumes of his Essays and Poetry, 1868-1869, some of which he noted were published locally in newspapers, are also included.
Processing Notes: Check stubs, cancelled checks, receipts, bills, tax information, miscellaneous notes, generic personal and business correspondence, purchase orders, and general reading materials (approximately 12 cubic ft.) were withdrawn from the collection. The newsletters and publications of organizations and institutions based in Detroit or Grosse Pointe were transferred to the Burton Historical Library. A folder of Michigan Nature Association publications was transferred to the Bentley Historical Library, where a large collection of the MNA is housed. Lastly, a printing block and biographical information on Virginia Traphaghan (Smith College 1927 graduate) and other Smith college publications were transferred to Smith College.