Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Helen C. Hough and Charles Stevens family collection contains correspondence related to several families in northern New York, particularly to the relatives of William J. Hough. The collection includes letters to Clarinda Hough, William's wife, as well as letters exchanged by their daughter, Helen Clarinda Hough, and her future husband, Charles E. Stevens of Flint, Michigan.

The Helen C. Hough and Charles Stevens family collection (0.5 linear feet) contains correspondence related to several families in northern New York, particularly to the relatives of William J. Hough. The collection includes letters to Clarinda Hough, William's wife, as well as letters exchanged by their daughter, Helen Clarinda Hough, and her future husband, Charles E. Stevens of Flint, Michigan.

The Correspondence series (172 items) includes several groups of letters between members of the Breese and Hough families of northern New York, and the Stevens family of Flint, Michigan. Clarinda Carpenter Hough received around 20 letters from Catharine F. Barrows in Utica and Cooperstown, New York, who wrote of her husband's religious work, local religious life, and family news. Helen Hough, Clarinda's daughter, wrote letters to her family, mainly her mother, while attending Mount Holly Female Seminary (also known as Chisman Hall and the Mount Holly Institute for Young Ladies) in the early 1850s. After 1856, she corresponded with Charles E. Stevens ("Charlie") of Flint, Michigan, whom she married in 1858. Stevens wrote the bulk of the letters that the couple exchanged, commenting on aspects of his life in Flint, including his admittance to the bar (October 5, 1857), and on his travels between New York and Michigan. The series also has letters between members of the McClelland family of northern New York.

The Helen C. Hough Reports series consists of 3 printed reports on Hough's academic progress at the Mount Holy Female Seminary. The reports are signed by two teachers and by the school's principals, Timothy Chisman and Catherine C. Chisman.

The Documents series includes 4 items pertaining to John McClellan of Utica, New York: a copy of his will, a surrogate's court document, a check signed by S. McClellan, and a receipt.

This collection is comprised of a drawing book and an illustrated journal that Helen Lincklaen Seymour Ledyard kept from 1887-1890. She discussed and drew scenes from her daily life in Cazenovia, New York.

This collection is comprised of a drawing book and an illustrated journal that Helen Lincklaen Seymour Ledyard kept from 1887-1890. She discussed and drew scenes from her daily life in Cazenovia, New York.

The first volume is Ledyard's drawing book, entitled "Chronicle's and Chroma's." It contains 43 watercolors, 4 ink drawings, and about 25 pencil sketches. Captions accompany most of the images (dated 1889-1890). Much of the artwork depicts scenes from activities such as dinner parties, balls, picnics, and a wedding. Other pictures show everyday scenes such as carriages, boxers, men and women in formal dress, and buildings. One drawing, labeled "Dynamite Danger," illustrates an explosion, and another represents a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. Ledyard often labeled pictures of herself and several acquaintances.

Helen Ledyard's journal ("Memoirs of Me") is dated December 19, 1887-February 22, 1888, and most pages have ink illustrations. The diary entries span 54 pages, with around 10 pages of additional sketches and notes in the back. In her daily writings, Ledyard discussed her social activities, which included meetings with family and friends and frequent visits to Syracuse, New York. She often participated in winter outdoor leisure activities, such as tobogganing and ice skating. Laid into the volume are a diagram of a football team on-field position ("The Seats of the Mighty"), a small watercolor landscape, and a page of ink sketches.