10 linear feet
The record group includes minutes of board of directors, office files, tapes of educational programs and talks, and reports and publications.
0.6 linear feet (in 2 boxes) — 5 oversize volumes — 4 oversize folders
The record group has been arranged into the following series: School records; Elections; Taxation, assessments, etc.; Census reports; and Miscellaneous. Items of interest include school reports, 1835-1883 and school census, 1914 and 1920; election registrations, poll lists and election returns, 1820-1888; highway assessment and tax records, 1819-1943; assessment roll of Milan township, Michigan, 1902, lists and abstracts of sales of state lands, 1860-1899; tavern permits, 1836-1838; abstracts of permits, occupations and new establishments, 1830-1840; bonds, 1822 and 1841-1892; drain survey, 1861; certificates of sales of swamp lands, 1867; census reports of Port Lawrence township (later part of Ohio), 1827, and Ida township, 1837; military lists,1869-1886; and contracts of Monroe County Detecting Society (vigilance committee) for 1848 and 1853.
2 linear feet (in 3 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 4,237 digital images
The collection is divided into two series: Correspondence and Other papers: anti-slavery, medical practice, and family.
The correspondence is of Thomas, his wife Pamela S. Brown Thomas, their children Ella, Malcolm, and Stanton, and relatives, friends, public leaders, abolitionists, and publishers. These letters deal largely with family affairs, land transactions, medical discoveries, woman suffrage, the Liberty Party, and Thomas's anti-slavery activities. There are also letters of Stanton B. Thomas while a student at the University of Michigan (1859-1864) and Civil War letters of S. B. Thayer, medical director of the Merrill Horse Regiment. Other Thomas papers include manuscript addresses, essays and other papers; a manuscript autobiography of Thomas; three account books, 1832-1879, pertaining mainly to his medical practice and other business affairs. Of interest is a prospectus for a newspaper, the American Freeman, which lists Schoolcraft area subscribers.
13 items
The Rufus Putnam letters (1797-1799) are made up of 13 drafts of letters written by Putnam, primarily concerning the Greenville Treaty boundary line. Putnam was surveyor-general of the United States from 1796 to 1803, and the letters provide insight into his duties related to the partitioning of the Northwest Territory. Putnam wrote twelve of these letters to Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott, informing him of progress in drawing the treaty line, and of various other activities.
The earliest letters in the collection pertain to contracts for ax men and deputy surveyors needed in order to complete the "Greenville Treaty Line" survey in a timely fashion, as well as keeping Wolcott informed of Putnam's surveying plans. In a letter dated May 10, 1797, Putnam humorously reported that he had to acquire a new certification of his appointment as surveyor-general because the Senate revised his original commission, which meant he had to swear into office again. As surveyor-general, Putnam wished to avoid difficulties when working with Native Americans; on January 25, 1797, he wrote, "It will be proper to have the boundary lines between these lands & the present Indian claims ascertained as soon as may be to prevent all danger of our encroaching on the Indian Lands." To aid in the distinction between U.S. territory and Indian lands, Putnam believed that the construction of a "great road" was the best way to give the Indians "satisfaction & leave the white people without excuse with respect to their knowledge of the boundary line" (March 15, 1799).
The Rufus Putnam letters offer a glimpse into different native tribes' responses to the drawing of the Greenville Treaty line. A letter dated August 15, 1799, respects military officer Israel Ludlow's invitation to Indian chiefs to appear at the surveying of the line. However, after waiting for two weeks, no chiefs presented themselves to Ludlow. In a subsequent letter, Putnam described an encounter between Ludlow's men and "a party of Indians at Greenville; the Indians told them that they must go no farther [on] that course, that they would all be killed if they continued on." (10 September 1799) These situations left no doubt in Putnam's mind "that it was the intention of the Indians to prevent runing [sic] the boundary line, if it was in their power to effect a delay without employing actual force." (September 10, 1799) Ludlow completed the survey without any Indian representatives present.
The collection includes a copy of a letter from Shawnee chiefs to Ludlow, expressing their displeasure at Ludlow's apparent condoning of Chickasaw raids against the Shawnee (July 16, 1799). The Shawnee chiefs explained their dissatisfaction: "Brother you help the Chickasaws, you gave them provisions & they come here secretly to kill us and our families, we see them every morning but the woods is so thick we cannot catch them… When you send word that the Chickasaws are gon we will come to you to make the road, but if the Chickasaws kill one Shawonnoe we will follow them through your Town until we kill the most of them."
7.4 linear feet
The Theodore Huntington Hubbell papers form a disparate collection that documents not only his professional career as an entomologist and curator, but also sheds light on the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Hubbell and Hussey families. The far-reaching scope of these papers derives from Theodore H. and Grace Griffin Hubbell's diligent collecting of family papers and photographs. The bulk of the early materials are Hussey family papers consisting of the personal papers of Grace's mother, Lenora Hussey Griffin, and her mother's nuclear family. This family consisted of Lenora's parents, John Milton and Mary C. Hussey, and her siblings, William J., Edgar P., Arthur, and Alice, and their spouses.
The Theodore H. Hubbell papers should be viewed as a subset of a larger universe of collections which include the Hussey family and Hubbell family collections here at the Bentley Historical Library and the John Milton Hussey letters and diary at the University of Michigan's William Clements Library. The strengths of this collection are diverse, ranging from a rich run of Civil War correspondence between John Milton and Mary C. Hussey, to Lenora Hussey Griffin's letters to her family about her education at Stanford, to Theodore Hubbell and J. Speed Rogers correspondence with various entomologists regarding field work and collecting. The collection will be of use to researchers interested in nineteenth-century agriculture, the Grange in Ohio, family life and customs, Joseph B. Steere's expedition to the Philippine Islands, and visual images of turn of the century Michigan and the University of Michigan. The collection is weak on documenting Theodore Hubbell's work as a teacher and curator of the Museum of Zoology; these records are retained by the museum for use in administering their collections.
The Theodore H. Hubbell papers span the years 1833-1988, with the bulk of materials covering the years 1852-1970; they are organized into five series: Genealogy, Hussey Family, Hubbell Family, Personal, and Professional. The first three series reflect Theodore and Grace Griffin Hubbell's efforts as genealogist/archivist for their respective families. The Personal series primarily deals with the private lives of Theodore and Grace Hubbell, but it also contains some materials linked to the first three series in the correspondence with Lenora Hussey Griffin. The materials in the first four series were rearranged during the course of processing to facilitate access to the Hussey and Hubbell family papers. The last series consists of Theodore Hubbell's professional correspondence (including letters to his cousin Roland F. Hussey) and project related materials; this series retains its original order.
8 linear feet (in 10 boxes)
Hankinson's papers are contained in five boxes. Types of materials in the collection include correspondence; topical files on fish studies from Michigan, Illinois, and New York; materials on the Michigan Audubon Society; and field notes (loose leaf, bound volumes, and card files). The time period of these materials ranges from 1899 to 1935.
The archives at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan has additional papers of Professor Hankinson.
approximately 1,530 items in 12 boxes
The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.
The subject matter of this collection is thematically and chronologically diverse and reflects the broad interests of the collector, with the U.S. Civil War and 19th-century views of American and European cities being particularly well-represented topics. The collection is organized into four main series according to subject matter and is further divided into specific subject groupings within each series. In most cases, multi-item sets have been kept together and placed within the most generally appropriate subject grouping. An extensive number of photographers and publishers are represented throughout the collection including the likes of H. H. Bennett, C. B. Brubaker, John Carbutt, Centennial Photographic Company, B. F. Childs, E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, Alexander Gardner, T. W. Ingersoll, International Stereoscopic View Company, Keystone View Company, William Notman, Timothy O'Sullivan, William Rau, Strohmeyer & Wyman, Underwood & Underwood, and F. G. Weller.
The following list provides a breakdown of every topical subsection of the collection and includes item counts for each grouping:
2.5 linear feet
The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899.
The William Bosson Scrapbook includes approximately 140 manuscript and printed items largely dating from 1789 to 1899, including biographical sketches, reminiscences, reflections, correspondences, courtship and family letters, documents, an autobiography, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, engravings, railroad passes, and convention tickets. Of particular note are 10 documents signed by W. G. Brownlow and D. W. Senter; five letters sent by William Bosson to W. G. Brownlow; five biographical sketches and reminiscences related to the reception of the Declaration of Independence in New York, Thomas Hickey's betrayal of General Howe, General Joseph Warren, General Knox, and General George Henry Thomas; nine letters George H. Thomas sent to William Bosson between 1864 and 1868; four letters between Edward Everett and William and Charles Bosson; three letters of introduction for Charles Bosson exchanged between W. Heath and Elbridge Gerry, Elbridge Gerry and Henry Clay, and Josiah Quincy and John Rowan in 1813; one letter from Amos Kendall to Charles Bosson; one letter from Samuel Gilman to Charles Bosson; and one manuscript addressed to the Tennessee Teacher's State Association by W. G. Brownlow.
The scrapbook contains content pertinent to many subjects, including the Revolutionary War; the War of 1812; the Civil War; the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee; Tennessee reconstruction; and Tennessee mining, cotton manufacture, railroads, government, and education (particularly the development of Common Schools) following the Civil War.
The Genealogical Papers series includes Colonial Dames applications, a Middlesex County genealogy, two transcriptions of William Bosson's autobiography for his sons, two transcribed copies of Thomas Mayo Bosson's "Genealogy of the Bosson Family," transcribed copies and photocopies of genealogical records, and genealogical notes and materials related to the Ushers, Hills, Denisons, Terrells, Powers, Newnans, and Bossons. The genealogical papers also contain two books of compiled information on the Bosson, Usher, and Hill families from items contained in the William Bosson Scrapbook and Genealogical Papers: a book Henry Loring Newnan refers to as the "Bosson-Usher-Hill book" in his letters, and two copies of "William Bosson 1630-1887 Seven Generations."
The genealogical papers include notable content on the Civil War, the First World War (in Richard Bosson's account of service in the Rainbow Division), and World War II (William Loring Newnan and Henry Loring Newnan Jr.).
The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers is a heterogeneous collection, spanning many years and pertaining to many individuals and events. Please see the box and folder listing below for details about individual items in the collection.
In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.
3 linear feet
The collection has been arranged by name of family member. Included is personal correspondence of Fannie Wright with her husband Philo E., her brother Sherman Pettibone, daughters Virginia, Maude, and Evelyn, son Philo S., and other members of the family, concerning family affairs and the genealogy of the Wright and Pettibone families. There are also fifty-seven volumes of Fannie E. Wright's diaries, 1863-1925, recording family news, social events, and home activities in Detroit, Michigan. Also of interest are account books of the Sherman Pettibone farm of Tallmadge, Ohio, and account books of Philo S. Wright, 1893-1913. Photographs in the collection consist of individual and group portraits of family members; photographs of family homes; and photographs of boating on the Detroit River.