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Collection

Andrew W. Tanner Photographs, 1894-1909

15 linear feet (including 280 glass plate negatives and 2 videotapes)

Andrew Tanner was photographer, born in Missouri, who traveled about the United States. He lived for a time in Ann Arbor, Michigan and on Coryell Island (part of the Les Cheneaux Islands) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The collection consists of glass plate negatives of images taken while in different parts of the United States and Mexico.

The Andrew Tanner Photograph Collection includes glass plate negatives from his travels across the United State and in Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Images in the collection demonstrate in a vivid way life in the United States, the natural environment, and the photographic processes of the time. The plates are in excellent condition and images are of very good quality. Tanner's original plate numbers are indicated on the slides, and where known, are indicated on the sleeves containing the plates; some plates were also assigned numbers by their intermediate owner, Jack Kausch, and, where known, these are also indicated on the envelopes. The images in the collection (14 boxes) date from 1894 to 1909, and are organized into three series: 5x7 Plates, 1894-1909 (13 boxes), 8x10 Plates, ca. 1900 (1 linear foot), and Miscellaneous (1 linear foot).

Collection

Elizabeth Rous Comstock papers, 1740-1929 (majority within 1860-1880)

0.5 linear feet

The Elizabeth Rous Comstock papers contain letters and writings related to Comstock's family, her Quaker ministry, and her social reform activities. The letters span her entire career with the greatest concentration of correspondence centering on her work with the Kansas freedmen's program and her family life. In addition to the Elizabeth Comstock material, the collection includes content related to her daughter Caroline, her grandchildren, and papers related to the Kempton family.

The Elizabeth Rous Comstock papers (282 items) contain letters and writings related to Comstock's family, her Quaker ministry, and her social reform activities. The letters span her entire career with the greatest concentration of correspondence centering on her work with the Kansas Freedmen's Association and on her family life. In addition to the Elizabeth Comstock material, the collection contains content related to her daughter Caroline, her grandchildren, and to the Kempton family.

The Correspondence series (151 items) contains 123 items related to Elizabeth Comstock and her family. The bulk of the collection consists of letters written by or addressed to Elizabeth Comstock between 1847 and 1890.

These letters fall into roughly two groups:
  • Elizabeth’s correspondence with her friends, acquaintances, and immediate family, particularly with her husband, daughter, and sister Caroline.
  • Correspondence related to Elizabeth’s work with social reforms and social justice, primarily concerning her relief work in Kansas in 1879 and 1880.

The family and friends correspondence primarily relates to everyday life, such as work, homemaking, visiting, family life; contemporary issues such as the Civil War and slavery; and news of friends and family, including illnesses, marriages, and deaths. Elizabeth wrote many of the letters, which document her perspective on her work, her marriage and relationship with her husband, and on religion and the Society of Friends. Elizabeth’s preaching, charitable work, and travels are often mentioned in these letters, including her trip across the Atlantic in early 1884. These letters cover both theoretical discussions of religious topics and discussions of the Society of Friends, its policies, and its schools. A subset of these letters regards Caroline De Greene’s serious illness and "mental suffering" in 1870, which may have been related to childbirth. Also of note is a letter from Elizabeth Steere that describes her experiences living in the remote Minnesota Territory (December 9, 1856).

The second group of Elizabeth's correspondence mainly consists of letters between Elizabeth and Joshua Longstreth Bailey, a dry goods merchant and philanthropist, who assisted her in her work with the Kansas Freedmen’s Relief Association from 1879 to 1881. Elizabeth discusses the logistics of supplying newly arrived African Americans with food, shelter, and a means of subsistence, and relates information about the migrants and their experiences in both the South and in Kansas. Elizabeth shares, in depth, her perspective on this large migration, which she refers to as "the Exodus." An item of note is a letter from John W. Snodgrass proposing a plan to buy land to aid resettled former slaves in Kansas (May 3, 1881). Other items concern Comstock's work to improve the lives of former slaves and prisoners during the Civil War, including a letter from Ed Howland who wrote to Comstock of a "plan before Congress to change the whole plan of taking care of colored people" (February 3, 1865). B. Dornblaser, the warden at the Illinois State Penitentiary, wrote to Comstock about pardoning Frederick Marx from Kentucky who was "tricked" into buying a stolen mule (April 5, 1865). She also communicated with Thomas Story Kirkbride, superintendent of the Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane (March 6, 1870).

The collection also contains material related to her daughter Caroline and to Elizabeth's grandchildren. Much of this is correspondence between Caroline and members of her family, regarding news, daily life, traveling and visiting, religion, work, and school. Of interest are letters of reference for Caroline "Calla" De Greene in support of continuing her education and recommending her for positions teaching French and German at the college level (May 2, 1893, July 11 and October 5, 1898, May 10, 1905, and March 19, 1906).

The Kempton Family material consists of 26 letters, which largely concern religious issues, everyday life, and news of family and friends. These include the 7 earliest items in the series, from 1827-1828, with the rest scattered throughout.

The Commonplace Book and Diary series (2 items) contains an 1839 commonplace book (52 pages) of poems and essays inscribed as belonging to Charity Kempton. Many entries center on the theme of a loved one leaving on a sea voyage. These include passages called "Seamen's Hymn," "Matrimonial Chart," and "The Old Oaken Bucket." The second item is Elizabeth Comstock's 34-page travel diary (8 blank pages) during the summer of 1878. It contains Biblical verses, brief descriptions of places she visited, notes on her activities, and notes on religious services she attended.

The Poems Series (10 items) contains handwritten copies of poems, all of which are religious in nature. Included among the 9 unattributed poems are a cautionary poem on dancing and drinking, a 16-page poem called "The Ministry of Angels," and a poem entitled "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: A Dialogue in Verse." The single attributed poem is a copy of William Cowper's "God Moves in Mysterious Ways."

The Corrections for Caroline Hare's Life and Letters of Elizabeth Comstock series (1 item) is 7 pages of notes and corrections for Caroline Hare's biography of Elizabeth Comstock (see the Related Materials section for information on the Clements' copy of this book). The comments range from grammatical edits to insights into personal events and her ministerial efforts.

The Miscellaneous Writings series (25 items) contains non-correspondence material including: religious quotations, miscellaneous notes jotted down on scraps of paper, Friends meeting minutes, recipes, and essays on religion and marriage. Most of these items are unattributed but are likely from Elizabeth Comstock, Chastity Kempton, and others. Of note is a three-page item containing "Dying expressions of Soldiers," including the last words of a soldier on the Battlefield of Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862), and those of a man about to be hung in Nashville, Tennessee. This series also contains instructions for refining sugar, and remedies for common maladies, such as heartburn, dysentery, snake bites, and nausea, "By the celibrated Indian Doctor John Mackintosh, of the Cherokee Nation; None of which have ever before been communicated to the world" (undated).

The Documents series (11 items) contains various official documents related to the Comstock and Kempton families.

Of note are:
  • Elizabeth Comstock's ancestors’ 1740 marriage covenant between William and Mary Moore
  • A deed from Isaac Steer to Aaron Kempton in Woodstock, Michigan (1845)
  • A handwritten pass from Philip Henry Sheridan allowing Comstock and her companion Mary B. Bradford to travel by rail to Baltimore, through enemy lines (December 9. 1864)
  • A document entitled "The Colored Exodus. A Statement of Monies Received from Various States, Canada, and England.
  • Elizabeth's sister Lydia Rous' last will and testament (March 5, 1889).

The Accounts series (6 items) contains 3 lists of books to be sent to various Friends libraries and associations, 1 list of donated goods such as fabric and clothes addressed to E. Smith of Victoria Road, an 1875 bill for goods, and an item documenting money owed with interest for an unspecified purpose.

The Printed Ephemera series (24 items) includes miscellaneous printed material: passes to cross Union and Confederate lines during the Civil War; 8 "Bible Reading Leaflets;" two Quaker related essays; a fragment of a book labeled "Self-Communion" (pages 3-10); 4 poems (prayers); 4 event cards; and a catalogue for mechanical farming equipment. The collection also holds one of Comstock's hymn books entitled, Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs (Words Only) , by P.P. Bliss and Ira Sankey. The handmade cover is reinforced with a portion of a postcard stamped March 9, 1878 (95 small pages of hymns).

The Newspaper Clippings series (50 items) is composed of printed items related to the Kansas Freedman's Relief program. These include several essays and articles written by Comstock and her colleagues, as well as newspaper stories about Comstock's activities aiding African American "refugees" in Kansas, who were suffering from sickness, poverty, and unemployment. Many of these include pleas for charity. The clippings come from newspapers across America, as well as from England.

The Prints and Photographs series (8 items) consists of 7 photographs, including 2 of Elizabeth and 1 of her daughter Caroline, one print of the residence of R. Hathaway in Rollin, Michigan.

The photographs depict:
  • Elizabeth Comstock, taken in Philadelphia for De Greene, undated
  • Elizabeth Comstock portrait, hand colored and in a small square wooden frame (Behind his photograph, as part of the backing, is a small picture of 7 angels with trumpets, clipped from a postcard).
  • Carrie Wright De Greene O'Harrow, 1881
  • Freddie Hare at age 4 ½, August 1874, labeled "for Carrie" (Carte-de-visite)
  • Unlabeled picture of a girl, undated
  • Woman reading (likely Caroline Hare), accompanying the letter dated February 22, 1882 (Carte-de-visite taken by J. Cooper)
  • A portrait of a woman in a small metal frame accompanying the letter from March 16, 1870.
Other Images include:
  • A machine catalogue with images of: Cooks Sugar Evaporator, Cross-Cut sawing machine, a victor mill, vertical mill with sweep below, and a back-geared mill
  • Ink sketch of Caroline Hare’s home in letter, February 13, 1870
  • An engraved portrait of Comstock in a newspaper clipping from early 1881
Collection

Frank Perkins letters, 1904-1906

36 items

Warren F. Perkins, Jr. ("Frank") wrote 36 letters to his parents in Providence, Rhode Island, while traveling and working in Canada, the Midwest, and New York from 1904-1906. He commented on his life and work in Chicago; Saint Louis; Topeka; and Kokomo, Indiana, and also discussed his travels to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and his work on a houseboat in and around the state of New York.

Warren F. Perkins, Jr. ("Frank") wrote 36 letters and postcards to his parents in Providence, Rhode Island, while traveling and working in Canada, the Midwest, and New York from February 21, 1904-July 15, 1906. In his first letter, Perkins discussed his attempts to find work in Chicago and the strike-related violence he witnessed there (February 21, 1904). In August and September 1904, he traveled to Toronto and Niagara Falls before settling in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he first stayed at "Camp Lewis," a tent city. While living in Saint Louis, Perkins and his companions occasionally visited the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and traveled to the surrounding area. He complained about inflated prices resulting from the exposition, described his accommodations, and discussed his series of blue-collar jobs. His letter of October 16, 1904, contains a sketch of his boarding house.

In November 1904, Perkins left for Topeka, Kansas, where he considered further travel to Omaha, Nebraska (November 28, 1904). By December, he had returned to Chicago, where he again reported on labor disputes, striking workers, and a contentious mayoral election in early 1905. In May 1905, Perkins wrote to his family from Kokomo, Indiana; he drew a map of Kokomo in his letter of May 30, 1905. A final group of 7 letters pertains to his time working on a houseboat in upstate New York and around New York City in June and July 1906. He described the boat and commented on his experiences on the Erie Canal, on the Hudson River, and in New York City. Perkins reached Connecticut by the time he wrote his final letter on July 15, 1906.

Collection

Harold K. and Betty Phillips collection, 1938-1942 (majority within 1938-1941)

1 linear foot

This collection contains letters to and between Harold K. Phillips and his wife, Betty Austin. Phillips, a native of Kansas, served on the USS Antares in the years before World War II. The majority of items dated 1938-1939 are letters to Harold and Betty from friends and family members in Kansas, Missouri, and Montana; the majority of letters dated 1940-1941 are letters from Harold K. Phillips to Betty Austin Phillips.

This collection is comprised of letters to and between Harold K. Phillips and his wife, Betty Austin. Phillips, a native of Kansas, served on the USS Antares in the years before World War II. The majority of letters dated 1938-1939 are letters to Harold and Betty from friends and family members in Kansas, Missouri, and Montana; the majority of letters dated 1940-1941 are letters from Harold K. Phillips to Betty Austin Phillips.

The first letter is dated April 18, 1938, around the time of Harold Phillips's enlistment in the United States Navy. At that time, Betty Austin lived in Kansas City, Missouri, where she received letters from friends and from her mother in La Harpe, Kansas. Friends and family members continued to write to Betty after she moved to Long Beach, California, in the summer of 1938. During his naval training, Harold received letters from his father in Spivey, Kansas, and his mother in Topeka, Kansas, as well as from his brother Bill in Great Falls, Montana, and from a girlfriend, Ethel Wardien, also in Great Falls. Harold (sometimes addressed as "Phil" or "Phill") and Betty began to write each other in August 1938, having been introduced by Harold's cousin Vivian. Harold continued to receive letters from Ethel Wardien; one of her letters contains a colored ink drawing of a sailor in uniform (June 1, 1939).

Following their marriage in October 1938, Harold and Betty received letters from family and acquaintances expressing congratulations and surprise. Harold occasionally wrote to Betty about life on the USS Antares while stationed at San Pedro, California; Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; and Mare Island, California. In 1940-1941, Harold wrote to Betty from the Antares, which was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The final letter, written to Betty from her mother, concerns the possibility of Betty moving to Kansas following "hard luck" (August 15, 1942). The collection also includes a birthday card; a printed document about the United States Naval Training Station in San Diego, California; and a pornographic poem by an Antares sailor entitled "A song of ABC's."

Collection

Puffer-Markham family papers, 1794-1910 (majority within 1860-1879)

2.5 linear feet

Online
The Puffer-Markham family papers (1,875 items) is comprised of business letters, personal letters, legal documents, and financial records related to an extended family with business and agricultural interests in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, and South Carolina. Also present are letters from five Civil War soldiers, containing descriptions of their wartime experiences.

The Puffer-Markham family papers (1875 items) is comprised of business letters, personal letters, legal documents, and financial records related to an extended family with business and agricultural interests in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, and South Carolina. Also present are letters from five Civil War soldiers, containing descriptions of their wartime experiences.

The Correspondence series (1535 items) contains family business and personal letters. These largely document William G. Markham's business activities in selling wheat, cattle, and sheep, as well as personal letters from Guy Markham's children, grandchildren, spouses, and friends from upstate New York. The family letters report on news, daily life, sickness, and courtship. Also present are letters related to Charles C. Puffer's business activities: as a banker in Massachusetts before the war, and as a plantation manager in Reconstruction-era South Carolina. Among the personal papers are many Civil War-era letters, involving both business carried on during the war and letters from Union soldiers on the frontlines.

The papers concerning Guy Markham and his son William Guy Markham are almost exclusively related to business matters. Guy was involved with farming in and around Rush, New York. William G. Markham, who inherited much of his father's land, established himself in the cattle industry. Throughout the 1870s, he received orders for Durham cattle (shorthorn heifers) from New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, and as far as Denver, Colorado, and Walla Walla, Washington Territory. Letters concerning his interest in cotton are also represented. He was president of the Sea Island Cotton Company, trustee of the Port Royal Cotton Company, and an associate with the United States Cotton Company. Beginning around1880, Markham became heavily involved with wool production and corresponded with other national and international woolgrowers, including the National Wool Growers Association, headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, which lobbied the House of Representatives against a congressional act that would lift overseas wool tariffs. He had multiple dealings with selling sheep and wool in Australia and South Africa.

Other Markham letters relate to William's siblings Wayne and Mary. Wayne Markham described his agricultural activities and his life in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mary wrote of her experiences at the Music Institute of New London, Connecticut, and frequently requested money to cover her school expenses.

The Charles Puffer letters cover his business interactions with the Shelburne Falls Bank, and the Puffer-Markham partnership, which purchased plantations in Beaufort and Hilton Head, South Carolina (summer of 1865). In 15 letters to his wife Emma Puffer (1870-1876), Charles, while living in Columbia, South Carolina, described managing plantations for his family, working as an activist for the state’s Republican party (particularly in the 4th congressional district), and his relationship with Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain. He reported on a disorderly state convention in 1870, and of receiving $16,000 from Governor Chamberlain to distribute to county convention attendees with the promise that Charles would become county treasurer (September 4, 1874). By 1876, Charles had declared that he had left politics.

Listed below are the dates of these letters:
  • January 2, 1870
  • January 13, 1870
  • March 11, 1870
  • June 2, 1870
  • July 27, 1870
  • August 1, 1870
  • January 1, 1871
  • February 10, 1871
  • August 22, 1874
  • September 4, 1874
  • October 7, 1874
  • December 1874
  • January 14, 1876
  • April 12, 1876
  • [1870s]

Between 1887 and 1890, the collection focuses on the lives of sisters Linda and Isabel ("Belle") Puffer, daughters of Charles and Emma Puffer. These comprise 12 items sent from and 39 items addressed to the sisters, while they were attending Wellesley College.

The collection contains 22 letters from five Civil War soldiers: Horace Boughton (9th and 143rd New York Infantry), Morris R. Darrohn (108th New York Infantry), Isaac R. Gibbard (143rd New York Infantry), Charles W. Daily (50th New York Engineers), and Samuel P. Wakelee (54th New York National Guard). Horace Boughton, who wrote eleven of these letters, described his regiment's activities and instructed his friend William Guy Markham on how to allocate his paychecks to his family and business interests. Below is a list of Civil War soldiers' letters.

All are addressed to William Guy Markham unless otherwise noted:
  • October 27, 1861: Horace Boughton at Fort Corcoran
  • December 1, 1861: Horace Boughton at Fort Cass
  • May 4, 1862: Horace Boughton at a camp near Fort Davis, Virginia
  • July 27, 1862: Horace Boughton at Westover, Virginia, concerning recruitment problems and arguing that seasoned troops are much more valuable than new recruits
  • July 27, 1862: Horace Boughton at Westover, Virginia
  • August 6, 1862: Horace Boughton at Westover, Virginia
  • October 28, 1862: Morris R. Darrohn on picket duty near Harper's Ferry; at Bolivar Heights he had a view of the house where John Brown took Louis Washington prisoner; he mentioned meeting the enemy at the battle of Antietam; that day he milked a stray cow so they could have cream in their coffee
  • November 14, 1862: Horace Boughton now with the 143rd New York Infantry stationed at Upton Hill, Virginia, and president of a court martial
  • February 25, 1863: Horace Boughton at New York 143rd Infantry headquarters, to Susan Emma Markham, discussing his ideas on womanhood and "the yoke of matrimony"
  • March 27, 1863: Morris R. Darrohn at Falmouth, Virginia, concerning drills, dreaming of home, and being trapped along the Rappahannock River at the Battle of Fredericksburg
  • March 29, 1863: Horace Boughton requesting photographs of the Markham family for his album
  • June 5, 1863: Morris R. Darrohn near Falmouth, Virginia
  • June 13, 1763: Isaac R. Gibbard near Williamsburg, Virginia, concerning leaving Yorktown with a division led by General Gordon; notes that "miasmas and diseases at West Point came very near whipping our regiment out…the Rebels said they would not attack us but let the diseases do it."
  • July 30, 1863: Isaac R. Gibbard sick at the Seminary Hospital at Georgetown, mentioned starting a band of musicians
  • August 16, 1863: Horace Houghton at New York 143rd Infantry headquarters, advising William not to join the war if possible
  • January 3, 1864: Morris R. Darrohn near Stevensburg, Virginia, cautioning against joining the Masons or the military
  • January 31, 1864: Horace Boughton at Bridgeport, Alabama
  • April 16, 1864: Charles W. Daily at Rappahannock Station, Virginia, expecting a march on Richmond that may be "the greatest battle of the war within 10 days"
  • [1864]: Samuel P. Wakelee to Puffer while guarding "Johnnys at Elmira" prison; he paid a prisoner tobacco to mould a Delta Kappa Epsilon ring in silver; he described the prison and wrote: "We have 10,600 Rebs in the Pen [,] Dirty, Lousy, Godforesakin crew[.] The majority of them are stalwart & robust…"
  • January 19, 1865: Horace Boughton on board the ship St. Patrick and discussed traveling by railroad
  • February 7, 1865: Horace Boughton at Bridgeport, Alabama
  • February 26, [1860s]: Cousin William reported on visiting various corps and hearing members of Congress, "the negro minstrels have a dance" and meeting General Fitzgerald
Below is a list of highlights from the Puffer-Markham correspondence:
  • July 1, 1842: School essays by Margaret G. Greenman
  • September 19, 1853: Homer Broughton to Guy Markham concerning picking out a tombstone for their grandmother
  • June 7, 1855: Horace Boughton's description of a trip from Rush, New York, to St. Paul, Minnesota, with details on the town
  • October 14 and 25, 1855: Wayne Markham in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to his brother, discussing moving into a new house, noting the price of meat in Michigan, and reflecting on the moral and industrious character of the citizens of the town
  • December 4, 1860: Mary Markham to her father describing visiting family in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Ionia, Michigan
  • November 6, 1763: Certificate for William Markham joining the Lima, New York, chapter of Freemasons
  • August 18, 1864: A letter from Mt. Morris, New York, concerning a lawsuit over a $50 cow killed at an Avon railroad crossing
  • September 5, 1864: Henry Puffer to Charles Puffer concerning purchasing land in Hilton Head, South Carolina
  • January 15, 1865: This letter from Henry M. Puffer and Company contains a drawing of a house on Gardner Plantation
  • February 11, 1865: News sent to Charles Puffer concerning land purchased for plantation farming in Beaufort, South Carolina
  • March 1, 1865: William Markham concerning returning soldiers purchasing land that is interest free for three years, and other news from South Carolina
  • June 19, 1765: Robert C. Clark to William Markham regarding visiting Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, and noting the failure of the Genesee Valley Oil Well
  • January 6, 1866: George Fisher of Rochester, New York, concerning the state of the local Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter
  • September 13, 1866: Letter from the Cook and Martin Music Dealer in Rochester, New York, concerning the sale of a piano, on letterhead featuring a picture of a piano
  • August 26, 1868: From a St. Louis member of Delta Kappa Epsilon providing for a member who can write in shorthand
  • April 15, 1869: Brooklyn photographer E. Bookhout gives prices for his services
  • [1860s]: M.F. Randolph to William Guy Markham detailing the price of cotton before the Civil War
  • January 5, 1870: Homer Broughton in Topeka, Kansas, to his family in New York concerning his productive new farm on an "old Indian field" and the many new settlers in the area purchasing land at "government prices"
  • January 13, 1871: A pencil sketch of people standing at podiums
  • June 1891: Papers related to shipping ewes and rams to Cape Town, South Africa
  • 1892: Print of an Atwood Ram named Wooly Bill, 1549, bred by C.W. Mason in Vergennes, Vermont
  • December 28, 1893: Instructions for judging sheep at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago sent to W.I. Buchanan of the Department of Agriculture
  • July 2, 1902: Francis E. Warren of the National Wool Growers Association to William G. Markham concerning a treaty with Argentina that would harm the American wool industry

The Correspondence series contains 172 undated items. Of note is a letter with a hand-sketched map of plots of farm land near St. Joseph, Michigan, and a series of school essays written by Margaret G. Greenman (Mrs. Sumner Clark) on "Broken Friendships," "Penmanship," "Envy and Deceit," and "Buds of Flowers" among others.

The Documents series (114 items) contains legal and business documents relating to the family's land holdings and entrepreneurial endeavors. Included are the land deeds and mortgages of William Markham, Guy Markham, Phoebe Markham, and William Markham (primarily in Genesee County, New York), records for debts, land purchases, whiskey purchases, estate documents, and business agreements between the Sea Island Cotton Company and the United States Cotton Company.

The Accounts and Financial Records series (199 items) consists of material related to the personal and business activities of the Markham and Puffer families, including materials documenting management of the cotton companies during Reconstruction. Personal records amount to accounts and bills for tuition, day labor, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, furniture purchase and repair, insurance, and groceries. The business accounts document the Sea Island Cotton Company, the Hilton Head Cotton Company, and the accounts of C.C. Puffer (1865-1767). Present are accounts for plantation supplies, office expenses, salaries, cotton sold on speculation, sales of stocks, lists of share owners, and various receipts. Of note are the records for salary advances made to South Carolina freedmen in 1866.

This series also contains four account books:
  • April-October 1840: Accounts of C.S. Boughton
  • September-December 1856: Accounts of William Guy Markham
  • 1865-1867: Two accounts of William Guy Markham's accounts with D.W. Powers Bank of Rochester

The Printed Items series (21 items) is comprised of blank Sea Island Company stock certificates, and government records related to the regulation of United States wool and fabric production. These records include the following bills from the 57th Congress: H.R. 6565, H.R. 14643, H.R. 14488, and documents concerning "Shoddy vs. Wool" and the National Wool Growers Association (1901-1902). These items were of interest to William Guy Markham, a wool producer and sheep expert.

The Miscellaneous series (6 items) contains photographs, stamps, and other miscellaneous material. One photograph is of Mrs. Hinkley Williams, Mrs. L. Boltwood, and Mrs. E. Boltwood ("Three Generations") sent to Guy Markham in 1892. The second photograph is of 84-year-old Hinkley Williams of Gorham, Massachusetts (1892). Also of interest is a list of Guy Markham's presidential picks from 1824-1888.