Search

Family papers of Amasa B. Watson are divided into the following series: Amasa B. Watson Papers, Amasa B. Watson Family and Associates Papers, Mrs. Martha A. (Brooks) Watson Papers, and Miscellaneous Papers The papers include: biographical materials; family correspondence; business correspondence, mostly related to lumber and timber, but also the Republic National Convention, 1888; education of his nephews at the Michigan Military Academy (Orchard Lake, Mich.); General Orders, 1861; and after his death, his wife's correspondence related to the building of his mausoleum and the Amasa B. Watson Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post No. 395.

Family Papers, 1854-1932 and undated. The collection is divided into the following series: Amasa B. Watson Papers, Amasa B. Watson Family and Associates Papers, Mrs. Martha A. (Brooks) Watson Papers, and Miscellaneous Papers. Most of the collection documents Watson's business interests in pine lands and lumber sales.There are five folders of lumber correspondence with Hull and Watson; later M. B. Hull and Company, and finally Hull, Ulrich, and Company, 1879-1888, and four folders of related receipts and land taxes, 1860-1888. Eventually, Hull became executor of Watson's estate.

Family correspondence often relates to pine and land interests inherited from Watson. Family correspondence from his siblings concerns lumber and shingle sales. Correspondence from Watson's adopted sons, James and John Mead, is more personal in nature, and quite warm. In the correspondence, the boys describe their lives and experiences at school.

In the family and associates papers, there is correspondence with the family lawyer (and son-in-law) Thomas F. Carroll, and Watson's Mississippi agent, D. D. Carter, concerning land and estate concerns, 1903-1923. Correspondence to James and John Mead also concerns these issues, 1892-1894. The papers of Philander J. Mead (d. 1853), paternal grandfather of the Mead children and father of William J. Mead, are of little interest except where they concern pine and land interests. The papers of William W. Mead, 1888-1932, cover mostly his and his aunt/ mother's business concerns, estates, and the building of Amasa Watson's mausoleum. William was his aunt/ mother's right hand man. Mrs. Watson's papers cover her husband's estate, mausoleum, and land and timber business concerns. The Amasa B. Watson Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) Post 395 correspondence documents Mrs. Watson's donations, both to Post 395 and to individual Civil War veterans. The G. A. R. letterhead has an illustration of Watson as an older man. Also included is a 1912 meeting booklet listing the Post's officers and regular meetings, held on the first and third Friday of each month at 325 Central Avenue. The booklet has an oval portrait of Amasa B. Watson on the title page.

Additional family and miscellaneous papers relate to land patents, mostly copies, 1884-1919, and abstracts of titles of Amasa B. Watson's land, created for his heirs and for legal purposes. Biographical information and a carte-de-visite of Amasa B. Watson in his Civil War uniform complete the collection.

The collection documents the activities and interests of Bernice Watson before, during, and after serving in the 64th Michigan Legislature, 1947-1948.

The collection documents the activities and interests of Mrs. Watson before, during, and after serving in the 64th Michigan Legislature, 1947-1948.

The collection contains copies of exhibits that Planisek created on a wide variety of subjects that are related to local history including: shipwrecks, lighthouses, Mackinaw City history, and Emmet County history. The bulk of the Boxes 1-4 is information gathered on the Enbridge Energy line 5, which carries oil under the Straits of Mackinac. The 2020 Addition, Acc#76337, Boxes 4-11 and Oversized folders #2-3, focuses on the work by Sandy Planisek and Dick Moehl planning, creating, and running the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum on the decommissioned United States Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Mackinaw (WLGB-83), moored in Mackinaw City.

The collection, 1998, 2017, and undated contains copies of exhibits that Planisek created between 1998 and 2017. These displays cover a wide variety of subjects that are related to local history including: shipwrecks, lighthouses, Mackinaw City history, and Emmet County history. The bulk of the collection is information gathered on the Enbridge Energy line 5, which carries oil under the Straits of Mackinac. Planisek was decidedly anti-Enbridge. Contents of this collection included newspaper clippings, photographs, online articles, letters and pamphlets. A folder of biographical materials is also included. A later addition includes oral histories (on CDs), 2017: a recorded presentation by Bob Sweeney, Executive Secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority about the Mackinac Bridge; Jim Tamlyn about the A-frame used to un/load the Chief Wawatam railroad cars in Mackinaw City, and a CD of related images; and a joint interview about how the Michigan State House really used to work, with Patricia “Pan” Godchaux, who served 1997-2002, and Pan’s campaign manager, Susie Stafford. The collection is organized alphabetically and chronologically in the order in which it came to the Clarke.

The 2020 Addition, Acc#76337, Boxes 4-11 and Oversized folders #2-3, focuses on the work by Sandy Planisek and Dick Moehl planning, creating, and running the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum on the decommissioned United States Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Mackinaw (WLGB-83), moored in Mackinaw City. The ship was decommissioned in 2006. There are also materials related to the later working years of the WLGB-83 before it was decommissioned, and the new USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB-30). On the back of many of the photographs in the collection, the names and ranks of the ship’s crew are listed. Audiovisual materials including microcassette, Hi8, MiniDV, VHS, DVDs, CDs, and photographs are found throughout the addition. Oversized materials include a signed pennant and proposed master site plans. The addition is also organized alphabetically and chronologically. All boxes in the Addition are .5 cubic foot boxes.

Researchers may be interested in related collections by Richard L. “Dick” Moehl, the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, and those related to Mackinaw area history which are also in the Clarke Historical Library.

Most of the text collection was originally received on four CDs. For the convenience of researchers, we printed off all the contents of the CDs and organized the papers. For reference to the CDs, each document has been labeled in the upper right-hand corner with a number that corresponds to the disc from which it came, in order to keep some resemblance of the original order of the collection. The original CDs are filed under miscellaneous materials in the Enbridge collection. In the 2020 Addition, six items were separately cataloged and 3 cubic feet was returned to the donor as per the donor agreement.