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The Asa Waldo Wildes daybook contains an account of his 1857 trip from Detroit to Michigan's Upper Peninsula via Lake Huron and Lake Superior, as well as poetry, financial accounts, and a draft of an 1857 survey report.

The Asa Waldo Wildes daybook contains an account of his 1857 trip from Detroit to Michigan's Upper Peninsula via Lake Huron and Lake Superior, as well as poetry, financial accounts, and a draft of an 1857 survey report.

The daybook opens with a note regarding the death of Wildes's young son Francis on September 17, 1849, accompanied by a pair of short poems; other poetry, dated 1857 and 1858, appears on the next 11 pages. The next segment consists of a 28-page draft of a survey made for the Marquette & Ontonagon Railroad.

A 38-page account concerns Wildes's journey to the Upper Peninsula on the steamer Illinois, beginning May 18, 1857. Wildes wrote about the 1812 Siege of Detroit, seen through the eyes of a War of 1812 veteran (pp. 11-12), but focused primarily on the sights and people encountered along Michigan's eastern and northern coasts. He described both American and Canadian cities along the lakeshore, and on one occasion detailed his interactions with local Indian traders, whom he met near Saginaw Bay. Despite its springtime start, the Illinois frequently encountered ice while on Lake Superior and became trapped on several occasions before reaching Fort Wilkins and Portage Charter Township. Once on land, Wildes focused on natural resources, paying special attention to the local copper and iron industries along Lake Superior's southern coast and around L'Anse, Michigan, where he concluded his narrative. The volume concludes with poetry and financial accounts related to the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, dated as late as 1864.

This manuscript volume chronicles the genealogy of the descendants of Robert Williams, a native of Wales who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, around 1638. The book, written by Ephraim Smith Williams in 1868 and presented to his daughter Jenny, concentrates on his branch of the family and includes information about the Gotee family, his wife's ancestors, and a brief biographical sketch of his father, Oliver Williams.

Ephraim Smith Williams wrote this 52-page genealogical manuscript, titled Genealogy of the Williams Family from Their First Settlement in America, for his daughter, Jenny M. Williams, in 1868. The book chronicles the genealogy of their branch of the Williams family from the arrival of Welshman Robert Williams in Roxbury, Massachusetts, around 1638. Most Williams family members were born in Roxbury until the early 19th century, when Oliver Williams, the son of Benjamin Williams and Anne Fuller, moved his family to Detroit, Michigan. Genealogical information includes the names of Williams family members, their spouses, and their descendants, covering successive generations into the 1860s. Dates of births, deaths, and marriages are recorded when known. Ephraim Williams added information until at least 1885, often making notes of recent deaths. Other annotations record his relationship to certain family members, and he identified his two namesakes as well as his father's half-siblings. Though most branches of the family remained in Massachusetts, others lived as far away as Michigan, Texas, and California. Several generations of the Gotee family, ancestors of Ephraim's wife, Hanna Melissa Gotee, are also represented.

The genealogical information is supplemented by a half-page dedication note and 3 pages of family history. This additional information briefly relates some events from the lives of Oliver Williams and his son, Ephraim Smith Williams, including Oliver's experiences as an early settler in Detroit, Michigan, and as a British prisoner during the War of 1812. Other topics include a description of travel between Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan, in the 1810s and 1820s, and observations about the region's development, especially the diminishing Native American presence. Also included are brief biographical notes regarding Ephraim Smith Williams.

The family papers include mostly business and financial records of this early French Detroit, Michigan, and an account of St. Anne's Catholic Church with Campau.

The papers include mostly business correspondence and financial records, including accounts with St. Anne’s Catholic Church (Detroit, Michigan) in 1770, taxes, and accounts relating to the administration of the estates Joseph Campau, administered by Theodore J. and Denys (Denis) J. Campau, and Nic(h)olas Campau, administered by Louis, Joseph, and Barnabas Campau. Other materials include wills, inventories, baptismal certificates, deeds, and a copy of the Campau genealogy. Some of the business correspondence is related to his sons’, Jacques, Nicolas, and Louis, business or financial interests. There is also a document concerning the capitulation of Detroit, 1812. Materials are written mostly in French up to 1849, and, afterwards, in English.

The Sylvester Day collection (1813-1920) is made up of 17 letters and documents written by or related to Sylvester Day, a surgeon for the United States military during the War of 1812.

The Sylvester Day collection (1813-1920) is made up of 17 letters and documents written by or related to Sylvester Day, a surgeon for the United States military during the War of 1812, respecting Day's work, his son's education, and additional topics.

Day wrote to his son, Hannibal, praising his academic successes and urging him to continue working hard. Day wrote, "it affords me much pleasure to hear from you, and learn that you are assiduous in the prosecution of your studies … I have no doubt of your being qualified to enter college by next commencement" (October 17, 1817). In a second letter to Hannibal, Day wrote, "It affords me much satisfaction to hear of your good conduct and progress in your studies. I wish you to perfect yourself in the rudiments of arithmetic" (March 27, 1818).

Items pertaining to Day's claims against the United States for reparations reveal the surgeon's professional work ethic. The testimony of David Beard, a purveyor and resident of Detroit, provides insight into Day's dedication to his patients. Beard recalled that Day volunteered to stay in Detroit, even after its surrender to British troops, in order to "attend upon the sick and wounded American prisoners who were unable to be removed. These services were specially important at that time, as no other medical man of either army remained there" (January 6, 1835). The official memorial of Sylvester Day contains an account of Day's departure after the surrender of Detroit and his subsequent detainment and loss of property at the hands of his own countrymen. Day's attorney claimed, "the petitioner ordered on shore, but forbidden to take his baggage & effects which remained in the vessel, and was destroyed when she was burnt by order of Col. Schuyler" (undated).

Three manuscripts from the United States War Department outline milestone dates of Day's military career, along with the locations of specific postings and different positions he held over his lifetime. Also of note is an illustrated, partially printed document certifying Day's contribution of five dollars towards the building of the Washington Monument. This contribution entitled Day to "all the privileges of Membership in the Washington National Monument Society," and bears printed signatures of Zachary Taylor, Elisha Whittlesey, and George Watterston (July 12, 1850). The collection also contains a dinner invitation from Michigan's Governor Lewis Cass, as well as a request for medical aid or referral from General Alexander Macomb in regard to his wife.