Collections : [Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library]

The collection includes photographs of the Polar Bears in Archangel (Russia), part of the American North Russia Expeditionary Forces.

Most of the collection consists of photographs of the Polar Bears and Russians at Archangel. Included are views of camp, group and individual portraits of Americans and Russians, shots of surgery, and Russian women laundresses.

Garneau’s correspondence, June 25, 1918-July 12, 1919, is addressed to his family and then girlfriend, Florence. Most of the correspondence concerns his unit’s travel plans, his health, some training and social activities, and the weather. There are some descriptions of travel and living conditions and news of family and friends.

Family papers, photographic images, promotion papers, and medical writings of Joseph Rowe Smith, Jr., letters to/from his brother, Henry Smith, military and medical papers of Joseph Rowe Smith, Sr., and miscellaneous family materials.

The papers of Joseph Rowe Smith, Sr., 1823-1859, and undated, document his diary of his military career, 1823-1835, which traces his traveling, survey work in Florida, illnesses, births, and deaths of children, his affection for his wife, and conversion to Christianity following exposure to several severe cholera epidemics are particularly interesting. His faith comforted him through the loss of two babies. Also of interest are medical reports on his injured elbow, and estate papers.

The papers of Joseph Rowe Smith, Jr., 1848-1910, and undated, include his promotion papers, photographic images, and his medical writings. Also found in Box 1 are letters from Henry Smith to his brother Joseph R. Smith, Sr., and a journal, 1870-1878, and several folders of miscellaneous materials of Horace Smith, 1870, 1920.

Miscellaneous family papers and photographic materials, mostly undated, complete the collection. Item-level index cards are also found in Box 3. Note: The Clarke also has two portraits of Smith: one is a small. framed, damaged water color portrait probably from his West Point graduation, circa 1823;the second is an oversized, framed, painted portrait of Smith in uniform with his arm in a sling, undated. For more information about the portraits, please refer to the Framed Art Inventory binder.

A letter Smith wrote on November 13, 1862 to President Abraham Lincoln recommending Rev. S. T. Carpenter of Polo, Illinois for chaplain at the Washington Park Hospital in Cincinnati. Note by Surgeon General W. A. Hammond concurring is housed in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. A link to the finding aid describing the letter is found at https://illinois.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/2557.

Family papers include correspondence, diaries, account books, school notebooks, autograph books, legal papers, obituaries, teaching contract and certificate, a history of Shepherd, Michigan, and specifications for the Shepherd town hall.

This collection of family papers includes correspondence, diaries, account books, school notebooks, autograph books, legal papers, obituaries, a teaching contract and certificate, a history of Shepherd, and specifications for the Shepherd town hall. It provides an interesting view of the lives of early Shepherd pioneers.

The collection consists of materials documenting the life, career, and research interests of Jo Stephenson, including her master's work on Gerald Heard, for which she studied with Russell Kirk, and materials documenting her husband, David Schock.

The collection, 1944-1998, and undated (Approx. 1 cubic foot) consists of materials documenting the life, career, and research interests of Jo Stephenson, including biographical materials, poetry, creative writing, embroidery, school papers, articles she wrote for publication in newspapers, her husband, David Schock, her master’s work on Gerald Heard, and Heard’s writings and presentations (copies or transcriptions), and notes or comments on them she used as reference materials (12 folders). A later addition added two folders of freelance work she did on Lake Isabella, Michigan, and the Veterans Memorial Library in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and 5 slide boxes of slides documenting Lake Isabella. The collection is organized alphabetically by folder title.

The collection documents Dr. Baugh’s time as a professor at CMU, the Affirmative Action Council, materials from Ken Hechler, Secretary of State, after his (and former Republican Congressman George Wortley’s) visit to CMU through the Congress to Campus program, Eyes on the Prize course materials, Task Force folder includes some extremely hateful and inappropriate terminology in letters and songs that students and faculty received at CMU which demonstrate the racism/prejudices theyfaced in the early 1990s.

The collection, 1984-2017 (scattered), and undated, . 5 cubic feet in 1 box, 1 Ov. Folder) consists of materials documenting biographical information about Dr. Baugh’s time as a professor at CMU, email correspondence regarding the materials she donated, meetings minutes and information pertaining to the Affirmative Action Council, and a newspaper clipping and associated letters and songs from Ken Hechler, Secretary of State, after his (and former Republican Congressman George Wortley’s) visit to CMU through the Congress to Campus program. The collection also includes early notes and a class syllabus for the Eyes on the Prize course, and meeting minutes, meetings notes, and three days of transcripts from the public hearings held on campus and the report done after they were concluded. The Task Force folder includes some extremely hateful and inappropriate terminology in letters and songs that students and faculty received at CMU which demonstrate the racism/prejudices they were facing even in the early 1990s.

This collection, 1956, 2020, and undated, consists mainly of land and timber statistics, maps, and reports that Trygg researched, compiled and wrote, which were used as exhibits during various Indian Claims Commission trials in the 1960s to prove that Indian tribes were undercompensated for land in Michigan and Wisconsin that they ceded to the United States Government.

This collection, 1956, 2020, and undated, consists mainly of land and timber statistics, maps, and reports that Trygg researched, compiled and wrote, which were used as exhibits during various Indian Claims Commission (ICC) trials in the 1960s to prove that Indian tribes were under compensated for Michigan and Wisconsin land they ceded to the U.S. Government. Trygg was a meticulous, detailed researcher, as demonstrated by this collection. Information includes land acreage, value, abstracts of deeds and land surveys; historical and economic background reports about the land by Dr. Helen Knuth and its settlement; data about the economic value of land on water ways; and timber and forest statistics, value and prices. Other information includes: a report on school forest in Michigan by John H. Carroll, Michigan State University, [1968]; a predictive article Water Supply, Water Demand 1960-1980 by C.R. Humphrys in 1959; and a Report of Investigation of the Value of the land, by Thomas LeDuc, 1958. There are four folders in the front of the box related to Trygg, including: Biographical Materials (about him, his family and others whose research helped Native Americans), information about books he wrote, his collections at other institutions, and some of his historical research correspondence, 1961, 1965.

Native American tribes of Michigan and Wisconsin documented in the collection include the Chippewa, Odawa, Potawatomi, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, and the Red Lake Band, including the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan, Wyandot and Winnebago. Royce areas documented in the collection, include 111, 117, 177, 205, 211, 242, 220, 261, and 268.

Most of the material is in good condition, with some acidification and brittleness. Many pages are copies, dittos, faded, or onion-skin paper

Researchers may be interested in his collections at the Minnesota Historical Collections and Bois Forte Heritage Center in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Trygg also wrote several books, copies of which are separately cataloged in the Clarke.

Processing Note: During processing 4 cubic feet of duplicates, heat-transfer copies of reference and reading materials and unidentified materials were withdrawn from the collection during processing. Pages which were severely acidic, often heat-transfer copies, were photocopied and the modern copies retained in the collection. Seven titles were also separately cataloged.

The collection consists of his various publications and his vitae/biographical materials.

The collection, 1937-1984, and undated, is almost entirely composed of Lagler’s publications, including abstracts of papers, addresses/presentations, articles and reprints, bibliographies, a forward and preface for a book, book reviews, research project reports, and a draft copy of Fishes of the Great Lakes Region, 1947. There is also a folder of his biographical materials and his vitae.

This is an extended family collection collected by Ken "Casey" Carstens, documenting his Carstens, Ranney, Bloch, and Wicke family members.

This is an extended family collection collected by Ken “Casey” Carstens, documenting his Carstens, Ranney, Bloch, and Wicke family members. The collection is in original order, divided by series by the names of families, couples, or individuals and then by size, alphabetically, and chronologically. Materials in the collection include textual and photographic materials. Textual materials include letters and emails, vital records, family trees, reunion materials, information from Ancestery.com, and U.S. service members’ documents. Books in the collection include family Bibles with family history written into them, religious texts, family histories, and books documenting the history of non-Michigan areas and people related to the family’s history. Photographic materials include photographs, negatives, photograph albums, scrapbooks, and audio and video recordings in several formats. There are also drawings by family members, including children. Some of the materials are in German, which is noted in the folder labels.

Series in the collection include: Anna and William Carstens Scrapbooks; Calvin and Dottie Carstens Scrapbooks and Photograph Albums; Calvin Z. “Cal” Carstens papers; William John Carstens, Jr. papers; Ranney and Bloch families materials; William and Anna Carstens and their family papers: Anna Wicke Carstens papers; Ernestine Wicke papers; Rev. Heinrich Wicke papers; Marie Wicke papers; and Elizabeth Vandevoord papers.

Anna and William Carstens Scrapbooks:

There are three volumes of scrapbooks, 1986-1992. Each volume contains family photographs primarily of their children Calvin, Robert, Aldor, William, Delores, Marjorie, and Edwin; of World War I and early twentieth century baseball, newspaper clippings, postcards, and other topics. Photographs are well documented and identified. Volume pages were removed from binders and foldered during archival processing.

Calvin and Dottie Carstens Scrapbooks and Photograph Albums

There are four volumes of scrapbooks and three volumes of photograph albums. The scrapbooks span 1920 to 1960. Each volume contains family photographs primarily of Cal and Dottie and their children Mike, Ken (Casey), and Diane, with newspaper clippings, postcards. The photograph albums span 1985-1986 and 1996-1999. These volumes contain family photographs in Michigan and Cal and Dottie’s travels in the U.S., to Washington University (where Ken earned his master’s and Ph.D.), the Grand Canyon, and the Pacific Northwest. Photographs in scrapbooks and albums are well identified and annotated by Ken Carstens and family. Volume pages were removed from binders and foldered during archival processing.

Calvin Z. “Cal” Carstens papers:

Many materials in this series relate to the history of Cal’s life and the family histories he created in the late 1990s, with related materials. This series includes four diaries, 1939-2016, with the exception of most of 1944. The diary entries are mostly daily, but become more scattered in later years, and describe Cal’s daily life. These diaries were later turned into a multi-volume family history about Cal and Dottie’s lives with many photographs from throughout their lives. Other compiled histories include one volume about Cal’s parents, a three-page history of Pinconning railroads, and a history of Jonathan “Zeno” Theodore Carstens’ life given to Cal by his children. Digital copies of some of these compiled histories are in Box 7. There are copies of news clippings about Cal’s fiftieth mission, the opening of Sportsmen’s Airfield, Cal rescuing ice fishermen from an ice float, photographs of Carstens veterans, a photograph of Cal Carstens, his siblings, and classmates at Rhodes School, and Al Hoffman, a Michigan pilot and good friend of Cal. The series also includes several other bibliographic materials for several people. These include a copy of Cal’s Baptismal record, two church records for Wilhelm Johann Carstens in German, Edwin “Jack” John Carstens’ obituary and a church bulletin from the funeral, and Michael “Mike” Robert Carstens’ obituary and a police report about his death. There is also correspondence to Cal and Dottie, including letters from the Carstens’ old family friends from Rhodes, giving recollections of the 1920s and 1930s to help Cal with his research and from a Norwegian friend who visited Pinconning in 1965, recalling her visit with the Carstens. This series also contains two CD audio recordings of conversations between Cal and his parents. There are also many family photographs, primarily 1980s-1990s. Additional photographs are on the VHS tape.

The 1989 VHS videotape of 1950-1989 Carstens family slides includes color slides of Dottie, Cal, Ken (Casey), and Mike from San Antonio, Texas, the base, planes, family activities, swimming, parades, hunting, fishing, canoeing, archery, caverns, parties, picnics, holidays, local events, and the birth of their sister, Diane, who is then documented in the rest of the slides. The rest of the slides are mostly in Pinconning with lots of snow scenes and winter activities, with extended family, family and local events, including church, Christmas, birthdays, First Communion, high school graduation, CMU Commencement and images inside CMU Museum, Ken’s archaeology presentation display, family trips to Mackinaw, Tahquamenon Falls, Niagara Falls, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Hartwick Pines in Grayling, and Detroit Tigers games. The video ends with the boys’ dates, engagements, weddings, and grandbabies. Additionally, there is a 2-volume CD set recording of the VHS tape.

The June 2024 addition to the collection includes wedding CDs, Kenneth “Casey” Carstens’ sister, Diane, and his son, Jason. Diane’s CD is an audio recording and Jason’s CD is still photographs.

William John Carstens, Jr. papers:

Materials in this series are mostly related to William John Carstens, Jr. and some to Ken and David Carstens. There are several handmade and printed school graduation bulletins from William’s middle and high schools. His World War II service is documented by a photograph album and honorable discharge card, several individual photographs, and many items in the oversized scrapbook. His Flight Record and Log Book are a record of his flight dates and locations as a private pilot and contains a photograph of a biplane. Materials documenting his time playing baseball as a pitcher in the NEML, include several photographs, a newspaper clipping, and many items in the scrapbook. In 1964, William was temporarily stranded on an ice float in Saginaw Bay. There are a few newspaper clippings about the event and it is retold in his Magline employee of the month article. There is a photograph of William’s son, David Carstens, while in military service. There is a newspaper clipping about Ken Carstens, nephew of William, and his involvement in the creation of an archaeology program at CMU. A letter from Casey [Ken Carstens] to Uncle Bill [William] from July 19, 1992, contains two stone projectile points.

Ranney and Bloch families materials:

This series contains materials related to the Ranney and Bloch families. Many of the materials were found and compiled by Ken Carstens, who was researching genealogy of his mother’s maternal family line, that of Marie (Bloch) Ranney. Some of the materials in this series are print offs from genealogical research websites such as Ancestry.com and Find A Grave.

For Dottie’s 90th birthday, Ken and his siblings gifted her a Ranney Family History. It covers 11 generations back to Thomas Ranney (1578-1650). The History contains an opening letter from Ken, a history of English Puritans and their relocation to North America, a chronology and genealogy of the Ranney line, a history of several American Revolutionary War battles (Bunker Hill, White Plains, and Saratoga) that a Ranney ancestor fought in, a history of the ship Oliver Cromwell on which Amos Ranney served as the assistant carpenter, a history of the 23rd Michigan Infantry in which William E. Ranney (Dottie’s paternal great grandfather) served, newspaper clippings about Clyde E. Ranney (Dottie's father) being in trouble for illegal gambling in 1940, and annotated family photographs, which may be copies from Cal’s compiled family history books.

Dottie Carstens material in the series are her high school yearbook, a copy of her diploma, a booklet from her fiftieth-year high school reunion, and materials related to her Daughters of the American Revolution application and membership. Ken spent several years applying for membership for Dottie using Amos Ranney (Sr.) as her ancestral link to the war. A letter from Ken to Dottie showed excitement at the prospect of the application being accepted soon and noted that they were the first from Amos’ lineage to apply (in other words, Amos Ranney was new to the D.A.R.’s records). Ultimately, Dottie gained membership through her ancestor Moses Hawley. There are also family photographs of Dottie, Marie, Emil Bloch, and their families.

Marie (Bloch) Ranney materials include a letter from Arnie and Marion to Dottie and Cal about how Marie’s U.S. citizenship was obtained and the family’s connection to Germany and Kurland, a brief history of Marie written by Dottie, a CD and Cassette recordings of Marie playing the piano, her death certificate, obituary, and a funeral card. The CD recording can be accessed with Windows Media Player Legacy.

Bloch family genealogical materials are a copy of a ship manifest from the vessel Emil Bloch, Marie’s father, traveled to the United States on and a couple CDs containing Bloch family photographs and the emails they were sent with from Micheal Field to Cal and Ken Carstens. The files on these CDs are Outlook files and can be accessed with Outlook.

Ranney family genealogical materials include family print outs from the Find A Grave website about Thomas Ranney I, Thomas Ranney II, John Ranney I, and Amos Ranney (Jr.); a copy of the obituary for George E. Ranney who was a prominent doctor in Lansing, MI, three records from Ancestry.com about Nathaniel Ranney, records from Ancestry.com on Amos Ranney (Sr.) including basic genealogical information from family histories, birth records, and federal census data, several Revolutionary War service records of his involvement with Connecticut’s first battalion state regiment and the fifth company in the ninth Connecticut battalion, a death record for his wife listed as “Mrs. Ranney,” copies from Ancestry.com of correspondence between Charles Adams and The Bureau of Pensions concerning Amos’ war pension, and genealogical information about Andrew Ranney, the son of famous painter Willaim Ranney, from Ancestry.com and the 1880 federal census. The series also contains parts A and B of ‘Middletown Upper Houses’ by Charles Collard Adams which contains genealogical information about the Ranneys which was used by Ken during his research.

Five books about the artworks of famous painter William Ranney (1813-1857) and a CD of Lisa (Carstens) Slater playing Christmas Carols on a piano in 1983 and 1985 complete this series. The CD can be accessed using Windows Media Player Legacy.

William and Anna Carstens and their family papers:

This series contains materials related to William and Anna Carstens and their family. Biographical information about them comes from their funeral cards, William’s obituary, Anna’s written recollections of her youth from birth to young adulthood, and a 1914 postcard she wrote to her mother in German. There are newspaper clippings about William and Anna’s 50th wedding anniversary and William’s bowling association. There are several photographs of the pair, William’s General Store, his World War I medals, his baseball team, and Anna’s childhood home. There is a genealogy of their family, compiled by their grandson Ken Carstens, with materials he gathered in creating it. Among these materials are: a plat map of William’s father’s 80-acre farm, genealogical information about William and Anna’s son, Jonathan “Zeno” Carstens, family history forms that relatives mailed to Ken, a letter to Ken from a German researcher about the Carstens family’s history in Germany, a family tree and several photographs of the Bloch family that were emailed to Ken’s mother from her cousin, a Wicke family tree, Fred Rohr’s obituary, family wedding invitations and baby announcements, newspaper articles about William’s brother Otto and William’s grandson Mike, and family photographs with people in them identified. There is also correspondence to Ken from relatives about family history and creating a bench memorial for William and Anna Carstens in Pinconning.

Anna Wicke Carstens papers:

This series documents Anna Wicke Carstens and her husband, William (Bill) Carstens Sr. Photographs of Anna, William, Marie Ranney, Grandfather William with Grandmother Ida, daughter Ida, and the old Rhodes schoolhouse are included. Personal correspondence to Anna are written in German. Additional correspondence concerns a park bench memorial for both Anna and William Carstens in their native town of Pinconning, planned by their grandson, Ken Carstens. Anna’s obituary and memorial guestbook, William Carstens’ obituary, and selected pages from Bentley Township Centennial 1892-1992 about the Carstens family home, Carstens store, Rhodes schoolhouse, and registered Carstens voters in the 1892-1919 period complete the series. A CD of the full Bentley Township Centennial 1892-1992 is in Box 7.

Ernestine Wick papers:

This series contains the drawings and poetry collections of Ernestine Wicke, her Im Kreise der Kinder book, and writings. Also included are Wicke family, Merle family, and Keller family photographs and a marriage license for Gustav Keller and Anna Martha Wicke Keller.

Rev. Heinrich Wicke papers:

This series documents the Reverend and his family via Bibles, journals, letters, poems, and assorted writings. Materials that are in German are so noted on the folders. The series is organized alphabetically and chronologically. The books, Die Bibel and Die heilige Schrift, both contain family history. His Writings and Muses was translated from the original German into an English booklet by his great-grandson Ken Carstens, as a gift to Ken’s father, Cal Carstens. A CD of Wicke/Merle family history provides more insight into the family. Some of the Bible Passages booklet pages are covered in tape and very acidic.

Marie Wicke papers:

Materials in this series mainly relate to Marie Wicke, with some folders documenting her daughters, Elizabeth and Ernestine, as well as more general family information. This series includes Marie’s Obituary and Memorial Guestbook, a Carstens’ family Forget-Me-Not book (in German, and a German Hymn book given to the family by a friend. The majority of her papers are in the form of letters written in German by her brother, Fritz Merle. Also included in this series are other Wicke family letters, photographs, books, obituaries, memory cards, and memory books.

Elizabeth Vandevoord papers:

This series contains Elizabeth (Wicke) Vandevoord’s correspondence with her mother, other scattered correspondence, a photograph, handwritten prayers, obituaries, memory cards, and a family photograph.

Processing Notes:

During processing approximately 3 cubic feet of peripheral and miscellaneous material, duplicate photographs, and objects were withdrawn from the collection and transferred to the CMU Museum. Nine titles were separately cataloged. Books which related to non-Michigan family history were retained within the boxes of the collection.

The papers consist mainly of Professor Brooks' grade books for his physics classes, 1910-1947, and for other classes he taught at Central Michigan University, his research work, and personal papers.

The collection consists mainly of Prof. Brooks’ grade books for his physics classes, 1910-1947, physics, philosophy, and mathematics note notes, papers in German related to his studies at the University of Berlin, other academic notes and papers, a few personal certificates and personal property of Brooks and his wife, his Alma College mementos, and a copy of his obituary. In the fall 1918 term some of the students in his physics classes are listed as members of the CMU S.A.T.C, or Student Army Training Corps. There are also some grade books of H.S. Doolitle in this collection.

The collection consists of copies of photographs (in which most actors are identified), slides, posters, Daily Times-News (Mount Pleasant, Michigan) newspaper clippings, inventories of these copies, media files of the reunion events of August 14, 16, 2009 held in Mount Pleasant, alumni invitations, questionnaires, and an attendance report. The only original format item is the McDonalds place mat advertising the Central Michigan University Summer Repertory Company, [1977]. Media Player, Excel, and Windows are necessary to play or view all the electronic files in this collection. Additions includes reunion sound recordings on 3 SOny DVCams, digital copies of the DVCams on a hard drive, 2013, and 1 microcassette, 2009.

The collection consists of copies of photographs (in which most actors are identified), slides, posters, Daily Times-News (Mount Pleasant, Michigan) newspaper clippings, inventories of these copies, media files of the reunion events of August 14, 16, 2009 held in Mount Pleasant, alumni invitations, questionnaires, and an attendance report. The only original format item is the McDonald’s place mat advertising the CMU Summer Repertory Company, [1977]. An addition to the collection includes reunion sound recordings on three Sony DVCams, 2009, and one microcassette, [2009]. Media Player, Excel, and Windows are necessary to play or view the 15 CDs and small 2009 external hard drive. A later addition includes a digital user copy of the 3 DVCams on an external hard drive. The digital copy was created in May 2013 by CMU. FACET, now CETL. Also on the hard drive are transfers with reformatted code to allow playback on non-proprietary software. The digital copies play with VLC media player and occupies 213 GB. The digital 1970s Theatre Reunion Folder includes: Fri open mike night, 2 hours 6 minutes, 31 seconds of open mike discussion; Sat night dinner, 52 minutes, 1 second of assorted piano and singing by reunion attendees and their memories; Sat round table 1 (2 hours, 13 minutes, 41 seconds) and 2 (5 minutes, 15 seconds) of alumni discussing their experiences at CMU and in CMU theatre; State of theatre, 51 minutes 57 seconds of discussion by Steve Berglund, CMU Theatre Director talking about what CMU theatre provides in experiences and opportunities for students; and Thrs setup, 8 minutes, 35 seconds, of background noise of people literally setting up the space, moving chairs, laughing and talking.

Other Clarke collections with CMU. Theatre materials in them include the CMU Vertical Files, Theatre Scrapbooks, CMU Public Relations and Marketing (CMUPRM) Videotapes and CMUPRM Posters.