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A pioneer Detroit, Michigan family, established the Ferry Seed Company and other business enterprises, active in civic and cultural affairs. Papers document the family and its business, cultural, political and philanthropic activities.

The Ferry family papers document the rise to prominence of this family who first gained their fortune as seed merchants. The papers also reveal the workings of other Detroit businesses, the development of the Detroit Institute of Arts, turn-of-the-century Michigan politics, and the suburban development of Grosse Pointe. The papers span the years 1758 to 1989 with the bulk of the materials covering 1855 to 1959. The collection consists of: account books, ledgers, journals, and business reports; blue prints, deeds, titles, abstracts, and mortgages; correspondence (business and personal); appointment books, diaries, scrapbooks, and clippings; receipts and tax returns, photographs, and printed miscellanea. It is important to note that the Michigan Historical Collections does not house all extant Ferry materials. The donor, Dexter M. Ferry, III, retains possession of several early account books, ledgers, and journals related to D.M. Ferry & Co.; he also kept some family correspondence and virtually all photographs.

The Ferry family papers arrived at the Michigan Historical Collections in an order based on when the donor reviewed the materials. In the course of reprocessing, this order was altered, and an arrangement assigning primacy to the generation of Ferry who created the document was followed. This reprocessing has resulted in three series: Historical and Background, materials predating Dexter M. Ferry; Dexter M. Ferry; and Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. The few problems presented by overlap between generations are duly noted in the contents list. Within these generational series the materials are arrayed in business, personal, philanthropic, and political subseries. Given the natures of the family and the family business, the researcher should note that murkiness exists between subseries divisions. In general these dividing principles work well. They preserve Dexter M. Ferry, III's original order at the folder level while facilitating access by independent researchers.

The strengths of the Ferry collection are myriad. The family correspondence provide unique insight into a family which grew wealthy but remained close-knit. Especially interesting are the long runs of correspondence between Dexter M. Ferry and his mother, Lucy Ferry Crippen, and Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. and his mother, Addie Miller Ferry. The former run reveals much about the fluid society of late nineteenth-century Detroit, and the latter reflects the pressures of more rigidly defined social strictures. The correspondence between Ferry, Jr. and his sisters, Blanche Ferry Hooker and Queene Ferry Coonley, are illuminating on the handling of the family business in the changing economic climates of the twentieth century.

Some facets of the development of the Detroit business community are well documented as the family invested heavily in local real estate and business. The strengths of the present collection revolve around the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. materials relating to business and finance in Detroit from 1920 to 1950, particularly the banking community's reaction to the crisis of the Depression. The links between automobile touring, the good roads movement, and the development of ancillary industries to support the burgeoning automotive industry are fairly well documented by Dexter M. Ferry, Jr.'s papers. Young Ferry's close association with the development of the Detroit Institute of Arts is extremely well documented and these papers provide a case study of twentieth century patronage.

A somewhat refracted view of Michigan politics at the turn of the twentieth century is provided through the scrapbooks and clippings on Dexter Ferry's failed campaign in 1900 for governor of the state. The papers are stronger in their documentation of Dexter Ferry, Jr.'s political involvement with the local governance of Grosse Pointe. Here the details of community control are thoroughly covered by correspondence, reports, and minutes.

Berkley, Michigan insurance executive, poet and composer, and active alumnus of the University of Michigan; contain papers relating to activities of the class of 1911, to his involvement in the University of Michigan Club of Detroit, and to his interest in Michigan football, especially the career of coach Fielding H. Yost; also scrapbooks, and manuscripts of poetry and song lyrics.

The papers of J. Fred Lawton contain material relating to activities of the class of 1911, to his involvement in the University of Michigan Club of Detroit, and to his interest in Michigan football, especially the career of coach Fielding H. Yost; also scrapbooks, and manuscripts of poetry and song lyrics. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Poetry, musical compositions, and other writings; University of Michigan Class of 1911; University of Michigan Club of Detroit; Topical files; Photographs; Scrapbooks; and Sound Recordings.

Detroit businessman, Republican governor of Michigan (1873-1876) and candidate for the US Senate in 1881; correspondence, speeches, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning politics, business interests, and state government.

The Bagley collection includes correspondence, speeches, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning politics and his various business interests. There are also subject files relating to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876 which took place during his gubernatorial administration. The clipping files are of value for articles on Isaac P. Christiancy and Zachariah Chandler and for newspaper coverage of his term as governor and his unsuccessful campaign for senator.

Steel industry engineer; vice-president in charge of engineering of Great Lakes Steel Corp., Ecorse, Michigan; chief of steel plant facilities for steel division, U. S. War Production Board, during World War II. Correspondence, writings, professional papers, and files relating to activities with the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers.

The Julius Clauss collection has been arranged into the following series: Personal / Biographical; Writings, Presentations and Background material; Organizational files; Photographs; and Motion Pictures. Although reflecting all phases of Clauss' career, the bulk of the collection relates to his work with Great Lakes Steel and his overall interest in the history of the steel industry.

The Michigan Historical Collections Topical Photograph Collection offer a broad and varied glimpse into nearly one hundred years of Michigan history, from the 1860s into the 1950s. The provenance of most of the photographs has been lost and therefore these images have been grouped together by subject into an artificial accumulation. Subjects depicted range from industry and transportation to clothing styles and social customs.

The photographs in this collection were received from various sources. Subjects include carriages, automobiles, Great Lakes shipping, railroads, and mass transit, especially street railroads. There are also images documenting activities within the mining, forestry, and lumber industries, mostly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Also included are photographs of various ethnic groups and their societies, notably of Native Americans (1870s-1930s) of the Manistee and Ludington, Michigan, areas. Some of the images are street views and private residences in various Michigan towns and cities. Of interest are photographs of Michigan units taking part in the Spanish-American War and the "Polar Bear Expedition" of World War I. There is also a series of bookplates, [acquired from?] William H. Bicknell, many of which relate to the University of Michigan.