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2.5 linear feet

The Billings family collection contains correspondence, invitations, ephemera, and other items related to Marcia Billings of Denver, Colorado; Owego, New York; and Brookville, Pennsylvania. Much of the material pertains to her social life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Billings family collection (2.5 linear feet) contains correspondence, invitations, ephemera, and other items related to Marcia Billings of Denver, Colorado; Owego, New York; and Brookville, Pennsylvania. Much of the material pertains to her social life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Correspondence series (551 items), which comprises the bulk of the collection, includes several Civil War-era letters to Mary Pearsall from her friend Emily Jewett, as well as other earlier items addressed to Marcia Billings. Most items concern the social lives of Billings's friends and family members in Denver, Colorado; Owego, New York; and Brookville, Pennsylvania, in the 1880s and 1890s. A series of 5 letters from September 1890 pertains to Colorado travel, including newspaper clippings with information for tourists. Two letters enclose photographs (January 19, 1909 and April 2, 1913) and one picture postcard shows a view of a town (August 14, 1911). Later items include letters by Marcia's husband, Benjamin Thomas, and letters to her mother, Gertrude Billings.

The Diaries series (4 items) is made up of a diary that Marcia Billings kept in 1870, the diary of an unidentified writer covering the year 1909, and 2 books containing records of correspondence and personal finances.

The School Papers series (17 items) consists of a Denver High School report card for Marcia Billings, 4 lists of examination questions from geography and grammar exams, 8 manuscript essays, and a card with the program from a "Friday Evening Club [Soiree]" held at Warren's Dancing Academy on November 30, 1882. The series also contains 3 sets of graded notes by Helen C. Jones, October 5-7, 1896, on arithmetic, history, and physiology.

The accounts and receipts in the Financial Records series (6 items) pertain to the personal finances of Marcia Billings and Benjamin Thomas.

The Photographs (6 items), taken in the early 20th century, show unidentified women. The series includes a group of photographs whose images are no longer discernible (counted as 1 item).

The Illustrations series (3 items) contains a colored drawing of a young girl sewing, a colored drawing of a woman holding flowers, and a sheet with sketches of farm animals and people.

Invitations, Responses to Invitations, Cards, and Ephemera (94 items), mainly addressed to Marcia Billings, concern events such as marriages, birthday celebrations, and casual outings. Ephemeral items include lists of dances from social events.

Printed Items (39 items) include over 30 newspaper clippings, most of which concern social events, elopements, and deaths; others contain poetry, cartoons, and news stories. Other printed items are advertisements, a poem entitled "The Mark of a Man-Child," and a poem entitled "The Type-Writer," which contains a printed illustration of a woman typing.

The Realia items are a ribbon, a sock, and an accompanying poem about a "Sock Social" held by the Ladies Aid Society.

1 result in this collection

57 items

The Binney family papers, compiled by Boston real estate agent Amos Binney in the late 1800s, contain correspondence, documents, newspapers, and photographs related to his ancestors John Binney, Amos Binney, and Horace Binney, Jr. John and Amos Binney served in the War of 1812, and Horace was a lawyer in Philadelphia. The collection also includes a published copy of Genealogy of the Binney Family in the United States, with manuscript annotations and enclosures.

Amos Binney, a Boston real estate agent, compiled the Binney papers (57 items) in the late 1800s. They include correspondence, documents, newspapers, and photographs related to his ancestors John Binney, Amos Binney, and Horace Binney, Jr.

The Correspondence and Documents series, originally housed in a red leather file folder, consists of several thematically distinct groups of material. The first is a series of six letters that Captain John Binney wrote to his brother Amos between 1809 and 1811, about his military service near Wiscasset, Maine. He defended his honor against recent defamations, discussed supplies for the forts under his command, and commented on the international tension immediately preceding the War of 1812. This group also includes an indenture for land Binney purchased in Plymouth County, Massachusetts (October 18, 1813).

The next group of items is a pair of legal documents concerning Horace Binney, Jr., and a transaction involving land in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The documents list payments made between 1844 and 1852. The third group is a set of three letters between the younger Amos Binney and the United States auditor of the treasury concerning the Binney family genealogy. Binney requested information about Amos and John, his ancestors (particularly their military service), and received responses from Samuel Blackwell (August 18, 1894) and F. M. Ramsay (September 5, 1894). The series also holds an undated letter written by John A. Binney and a map showing property bordered by North, East, Bridge, and Short Streets in an unknown town.

The Newspapers series consists of the following items, each related to the elder Amos Binney:
  • Nonconsecutive issues of the Boston Castigator, bound together (August 7, 1822-October 2, 1822)
  • The Independent Bostonian (October 5, 1822)
  • American Statesman and Evening Advertiser, with several additional clippings pertaining to Amos Binney's service as navy agent in Boston (November 18, 1822)
  • Bostonian & Mechanics' Journal (November 23, 1822)
  • Boston Patriot & Daily Mercantile Advertiser (November 25, 1824)

The third series is a printed, annotated copy of Genealogy of the Binney Family in the United States , which includes enclosures compiled by the younger Amos Binney in the 1890s. Several entries, such as those on Amos and John Binney, have margin notes. The annotations and loose items provide additional information on the family's history, and include family trees, letters between the younger Amos Binney and his uncle, and photographs of Binney family residences and graves.

1 result in this collection

2.25 linear feet

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania. A number of letters written between George Niles Bird and Frances Rowe depict their lengthy, occasionally difficult, courtship in the late 19th century. Letters from other friends and family members are interspersed, including a letter from Hope Rowe recounting the funeral of President James A. Garfield (October 9, 1881).

Nancy N. Bird's correspondence consists primarily of incoming personal letters. Nancy's cousins wrote many of the letters, with the family's religiosity influencing much of their writing. The Bird family papers include many of Nancy N. Bird's speeches, including a series of talks delivered to fellow members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) between 1886 and 1912. She discussed temperance, religion, and topics of local interest, including the history of Smithfield, Pennsylvania. Nancy N. Bird's printed materials consist primarily of ephemera, programs, and newspaper clippings, largely related to her work with the WCTU and to the Bradford Baptist Association. Also present are three items written by Nancy: a short book entitled A History of the Sunday Schools in East Smithfield, PA. Since 1822, and two copies of The History of the Baptist Church of East Smithfield, PA. Other materials related to Nancy include journal pages, a photograph, and Sunday School papers.

Helen Bird's letters, written to her mother, chronicle her year at the West Chester Normal School, 1912-1913, and include frequent complaints about the atmosphere, the people, and the food.

Materials relating to George Bird consist primarily of incoming correspondence from friends and from his cousin Geraldine ("Jerry"). Jerry, who financially supported George during his time at Pennsylvania State University, also offered advice and updates on her academic life at Cornell University, while George's friend Eugene Edgar Doll discussed his experiences at the University of Chicago and his patronage of the arts. The collection also includes reports from George Bird's early studies and from his time at Pennsylvania State.

Personal letters from other members of the Niles and Bird families include early letters from Hannah Niles to her husband Samuel, and letters addressed to George N. Bird, his wife Frances, and their daughter-in-law Carrie. Two printed letters from "Robert and Bernie" in Impur, India, describe the country and their educational and missionary work; on January 7, 1921, they mentioned Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.

The collection contains diaries and journals, account books, and albums. The diaries include an 1844 unsigned journal, Hannah Minor Niles' 1866 diary, Nancy Niles Bird's 1851 diary, and Carrie M. Bird's 1921 diary. An account books tracks John Bird's expenses between 1846 and 1858, and a record book kept by Nancy Niles Bird includes the meeting minutes from the Soldiers Aid Society during the Civil War and household accounts. George Bird's autograph album covers the years 1879-1881 and Nancy Niles Bird's scrapbook, kept between 1850 and 1925, contains newspaper articles about her mother Hannah, members of the Bird family, and acquaintances from Pennsylvania and Kansas.

Other miscellaneous items include a printed map, a document related to the military chapel at Ellington Field, Texas, genealogical items, and manuscript poems.

1.5 linear feet

The Blanche and Lena Smith letters consist of the correspondence of the Smith sisters as young women living in the Western United States including their time spent at a sanitorium in Colorado Springs.

Although most of this correspondence relates to Lena and Blanche Smith, the earlier letters include six excellent courtship letters from their mother to their father, while she was still in Connecticut and he was in Chicago. There are a handful of letters from Fannie's sister Jennie and other relations, and from Horace's Aunt C. Manning Watson, and her daughter Elizabeth. Most of the letters are from Blanche's friends and Lena's boyfriend Will Brown; there are also a significant number from the sisters, written from Colorado Springs, back home to their parents. In addition to over 500 letters, there is a large amount of ephemera, including school papers, sketches, unidentified photographs, invitations, and some items relating to tuberculosis.

Miss Fannie had a wonderfully forthright writing style. She informed Horace, "I do not want to deceive you, and I tell you frankly, that we are poor but respectable, and that we work for what we have" (1876 April 16). Fannie had learned dressmaking, and was prepared to support herself if necessary. Although she liked to tease Horace, she also seemed to write straight from her heart. For instance, she reflected on the continuing impact of her father's death: "I thought I shed as many tears as I could when he died, but I have found I was mistaken for there are times when I miss him as much if not more than at first. And if he had lived I don't think I should have ever have left home seeing I was the youngest and the only one left, and he was lame and thought so much of his home, and of having me stay there" (1876 May 3).

Both Horace and Fannie's complaints about their health foreshadowed their daughter's tuberculosis. Horace had "weak lungs," and when they were courting, Fannie informed Horace that "I think sometimes I am troubled by Catarrh, but not as bad as I was before I went West, the climate helped me I think for I did not doctor for it any. I am so afraid it will lead to Consumption if not taken care of at first I was frightened about myself once but it was more imagination than anything else" (1876 May 17).

For her part, Blanche maintained a fairly straightforward, patient view of her illness, which was often tinged with humor. She described her doctor in San Francisco as "just like all the other doctors in Calif. thump you a little, ask you a string of questions just for show, & charge you $10.00" (1904 December 2). Once she was in Colorado, she wrote her parents. "You know I don't want to keep any thing from you, but I do hate to fill up a letter with my aches & pains. I can stand it better than being punched twice a day" (1904 December 30).

She kept true to her word about not wanting to keep anything from her parents. She wrote frankly about the Ranch -- "The only thing I think is wrong about the place is their emptying all the old slop right out on the ground about 20 ft. from my tent..." -- and her inner workings: "I eat all I possibly can & have quite a time keeping my bowels in order. I drink 6 glasses of milk & take 6 raw eggs a day" (1905 January 5, January 20).

Both sisters also kept their parents well-informed about each other's good and bad behavior. Lena often got frustrated with her needy sister, and after working all day, did not always want to sit with her, or devote her time to writing letters home or to her boyfriend back in Friend, Will Brown. Blanche complained about feeling lonely, and that Lena was spending too much time with various men. One man "always turns up just at the right time. If Will Brown knew half she was doing I think he would make sure of her inside of a month. Some of her actions surprise me, and that's saying a good deal" (1906 January 15). In her last letter to her father, marked "Private," Blanche was still sharply voicing her concern about her sister's behavior (1906 March 9).

Blanche may well have been jealous of the attentions paid to her sister, and of the men who took up Lena's free time. Her reports, however, were probably not exaggerated. One letter in the collection, from "Sam," to Lena, includes this startling bit: "I do love you Lena today as much as any time we were together and I do hope all will go well as we had planned. Do you still hope the same?" (1904 May 24).

Will Brown began writing to Lena in 1902, and after reading his prolific letters it is easier to sympathize with the errant Lena. Will was constantly traveling on business, and would write Lena tedious descriptions of where he was, what he was doing, and what his prospects for the future were. The fact that all of his plans for getting ahead in business fell through, year after year, probably did not enhance Lena's reading experience. In June of 1905 she evidently berated Will for his writing style, but although he admitted "I have felt that my letters to you were not what they should be," he excused himself by saying he thought Blanche would probably be reading the letters too, so he did not want to get too personal (1905 June 22). Lena even confided in her father about Will, telling him, "I'm afraid I feel more each day that I'm getting out of the notion of marrying anyway -- that I'd rather take care of myself again," indicating that caring for Blanche was taking its toll on her sister (1906 February 9).

Will never did get very romantic, and his overall tone was more one of defeat. Even a turn as a successful hotelier in Loveland, Colorado, was brought to a screeching halt by an appendectomy, which left Will in terrible debt and unable to work for several months. He released Lena from her engagement, and although she was entertaining a very familiar correspondence with Billy Taylor, whom she had met in Colorado, and complaining again about Will's letters and the long delay in their plans, Lena did eventually marry Will Brown (1907 November 9, 1908 July 5).

Blanche corresponded with friends she had made at various stages in her life. Lulu Hall, Carrie Roehl, and the Browns were all people she had met while living in Friend. Her California friends included Babe Sinclair, Miss Rich, Isis Gasaway, Freda Wisner, and Charles Putnam, a boy she had probably gone with in San Francisco. Charles seems rather immature, and Blanche evidently found him too "spoony" and got tired of him writing about how much he loved her (1905 April 17). Charles thought she was only discouraging him because of her sickness, and relied on that old but effective trick, jealousy, to warm her up again. After nonchalantly describing various events he had attended as the escort of "Miss C.," Charles apparently began hearing from Blanche more regularly.

Isis and Freda both got married while Blanche was in Colorado. Isis still lived with her family, which she found a bit disconcerting. She confided in Blanche, "as it is, it just kind of seems like Sherm just came here to stay with all of us. Don't tell anybody but the only time it really seems like I'm married is when I go to bed with Sherm" (1906 February 17).

After she moved into the cottage in Colorado Springs, Blanche received a few letters from Fred Davis and Bob Ferris, two "lungers" she had met at the ranch. Fred, who had moved on to the Adam Memorial Home in Denver, wrote, "I am so tired of these institutions. I long -- oh how I long for a home with a little h where I can put my feet on the parlor furniture and hoist the curtains above see-level and go to the pantry and detach choice bits from the cold turkey left from dinner and -- oh just holler" (1906 January 23).

In the last few months of her life, Blanche met and began going to see Mrs. Carpenter, a Christian Scientist who changed the way Blanche thought about her illness. "It isn't our body that's sick, its the thought," she informed her parents (1906 January 26). Lena thought the influence of Christian Science might do Blanche some good, for Mrs. Carpenter "told Bee that fear was one of her greatest troubles -- that because she had this trouble she was scared all the time for fear she wouldn't get well" (1906 February 9). Putting her faith in God as a healer freed Blanche from her fear. In her last letter to her "Popsie" before her death, even as her limbs were swelling up "large & hard," Blanche wrote: "Christian Science is wonderful and O, so much good is done by it. I feel such a decided change going on, all over my body & I know its God's healing power. He is healing me every day papa & I want you to know it. Think it & declare it every day for your thots will do me so much good" (1906 March 9). Within three weeks, Blanche had died.

1 result in this collection

58 items

The Bland family papers contain correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to the family of Theodoric Bland, a Continental Army officer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and Virginia politician.

The Bland family papers contain correspondence, documents, and genealogical information related to the family of Theodoric Bland, a Continental Army officer, delegate to the Continental Congress, and Virginia politician. The earliest items in the Correspondence and Documents series are related to his ancestors, including a court document from "James Citty," listing a "Theo. Bland" as a member of the court (October 16, 1665), and a 1720 letter regarding British military affairs. The Theodoric Bland in this collection wrote the majority of items, often copies of his outgoing correspondence related to local and national politics in the latter years of the American Revolution; among these are letters to Benjamin Harrison and to Patrick Henry. Two items concern the Siege of Gibraltar, including a 1778 warrant for John Sweetland and a letter by Thomas Cranfield to his mother and father about his experiences during the siege (September 7, 1783). The collection also holds a muster roll of Lt. Purviss's Company, in a regiment of guards, from 1779. Later legal documents pertain to the career of Maryland judge Theodorick Bland, of another branch of the Virginia Bland family. Later material includes several personal letters to "Mr. and Mrs. Bland" from family and friends dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as responses to genealogical inquiries.

The Genealogy and Images series contains engravings and drawings of several Bland family members, including a detailed pencil drawing of P. E. Bland, who served as a colonel in the Civil War. Other genealogical notes trace branches of the family through the mid-19th and early-20th centuries.

The Bookplates and Printed Items series holds several bookplates, 20th century newspaper clippings, and pages from books.

1 result in this collection

2 linear feet

The Boardman papers are made up of correspondence and business documents of the Connecticut merchant and senator, Elijah Boardman. The collection also holds the research notes and draft of a biography of Boardman written by Walter G. Drogue, and an 1849 memoir of Boardman's wife, Mary Anna Boardman.

The Correspondence series consists of 167 personal and business letters of Elijah Boardman and his family. Many of the letters are copies sent to Eli Baldwin, who managed Boardman's property in Ohio. Oliver Wolcott, from the Connecticut Council Chamber, sent multiple letters (1818, 1820) informing Boardman of his elections to state office. The collection also contains letters between friends and family members, including a number of items between Elijah and his son William, who was studying at Harvard College in Massachusetts, and letters to and from William's brother George and his mother Mary ("Mama"). In addition to the Boardman material is a small set of fifteen 20th century letters pertaining to Walter G. Drogue, comprising.

The Documents series contains 10 items, mostly inventories of Boardman's estate and property, along with his last will and testament.

The Business and Financial Papers series of 163 items consists of promissory notes, tuition receipts from Harvard and Yale, correspondence on orders and shipments from Villee and Burrail, and miscellaneous receipts and financial accounts.

The Miscellaneous: Political and Other series holds 30 items, both related to Boardman's public work as well as some truly miscellaneous items, such as a poem titled Oh Unfortunate, and a printed list of prices for produce in New York. Two items of note are a booklet with a list of names of "Freemen Republicans" and "Freemen Federal," and Boardman's Political Notebook from 1803.

The Drafts, Research, and Notes and series contains an undated manuscript draft of Walter Gerald Drogue biography of Elijah Boardman and the the materials he used to write the history. This series is comprised of 1,848 dated and undated items such as letters from libraries and special collections detailing their related holdings, and note cards with citations from primary and secondary sources.

The Books series contains two volumes: William Boardman's "Commonplace Book," which mentions topics such as philosophy, astronomy, and poetry; and the published Memoir of the Life and Character of Mrs. Mary Anna Boardman, with a Historical Account of Her Forefathers, and Biographical and Genealogical Notices of Many of Her Kindred and Relatives, by John Frederick Schroeder, published in New Haven, in 1849.

1 result in this collection

1 linear foot

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection also contains miscellaneous letters pertinent to autograph and manuscript collecting during the same period.

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Book Collectors collection includes letters by many prominent collectors, historians, and political figures. A selection of items relates to the collections of the William L. Clements Library and to its namesake, including 2 letters from William L. Clements to Worthington C. Ford, one of which regards Ford's contribution to the newly opened library (June 27, 1923). Clements Library directors Randolph G. Adams and Howard H. Peckham also contributed to the collection. See the box and folder listing below for an inventory of contributors' and subjects' names.

351 pages

The Box Butte County (Nebraska) jail record, kept by the sheriff, is a register of prisoners' names, infractions, dates of residency, disposition, and related financial accounting from 1887 to 1966.

The jail record for Box Butte County begins in October 14, 1887 and concludes February 14, 1966. The ledger, maintained by the Sheriff, is divided into two parts: first, an incomplete alphabetical register of defendants, and secondly, a chronological record of prisoner's names, crimes, dates of residency, disposition, and financial accounting. The ledger records a variety of infractions, such as drunk and disorderly behavior, assault, adultery, rape, robbery, theft, forgery, gambling, destroying railroad property, and illegal train-riding. The early, less populated years seem to have been fairly free of crime, with only five partial pages devoted to the entire span from 1887 to 1901. The few crimes that were reported are generally very minor in nature.

During Prohibition, the preponderance of crime related to the production, distribution, and consumption of alcohol (e.g. bootlegging, drunkenness, possession of still, and sale of liquor to Indians) With the advent of the automobile, the infractions include moving violations, such as speeding, driving without lights, driving without a license, reckless driving, "joy riding", driving while intoxicated, and auto theft (replacing horse-stealing). At lease two persons, one with Hispanic surname, were jailed for possession of marijuana (1948 and 1950). Given the paucity of data, it is difficult to identify any clear patterns of change in criminal behavior, however, during and after the Second World War, the number of offenders with Native American names appears to increase significantly, perhaps reflecting a trend toward integration into town life.

1 result in this collection

2.5 linear feet

The Brasee-Scofield family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, and ephemera related to Elnathan Scofield, John Trafford Brasee, and John Scofield Brasee, who lived in Lancaster, Ohio, in the early 1800s. The collection concerns their business affairs, Lancaster's early history, the Lancaster Lateral Canal, and the Lancaster Canal Mill Company.

The Brasee-Scofield family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, and ephemera related to Elnathan Scofield, John Trafford Brasee, and John Scofield Brasee, who lived in Lancaster, Ohio, in the early 1800s. The collection concerns their business affairs, Lancaster's early history, the Lancaster Lateral Canal, and the Lancaster Canal Mill Company.

Personal and business letters, indentures, military documents, and other items concern many aspects of the men's business careers and personal lives, including Scofield's surveying work in central Ohio, John T. Brasee's studies at Ohio University, John T. Brasee's courtship with Mary Jane Scofield, and John Scofield Brasee's Civil War service. Local legal cases are also represented. Of particular interest are letters by William Tecumseh Sherman (December 3, 1883) and Edwin L. Stanton (August 7, 1863, and December 4, 1864) to Morton Brasee. Among other topics, Stanton discussed West Point admissions and the 1864 presidential election.

The collection holds legal documents and ephemera pertaining to the early history of central Ohio, particularly the area around Lancaster. Materials relating to the Lancaster Lateral Canal (1825-1838), the Lancaster Canal Mill Company (1840-1846), and railroad companies are also included.

The collection also contains ephemera and other items, such as family photographs, funeral notices, printed programs, newspaper clippings, a political cartoon, and lists of toasts used on different occasions.

approximately 166 photographs, 36 manuscript items, and 2 bound volumes

The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. In addition to the photographic materials, 36 manuscript items and two bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. An additional 36 manuscript items and 2 bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The collection appears to have been first started by Brearley during the mid-1860s, possibly during or immediately after his Civil War service. He seems to have solicited the autographs of a variety of famous individuals (including authors, performers, musicians, scientists, spiritual leaders, politicians, foreign rulers, and military officers) primarily by mailing them photographs of themselves and requesting their signatures. Possession of the collection appears to have been transferred to Pingree at some point, and he continued to make further contributions. Pingree’s daughter Hazel retained possession of the collection after her father’s death before eventually donating it to the Clements Library. All components of the collection are stored together in one box.

While most portraits in the collection are original studio photographs taken by a variety of photographers including Mathew Brady and Napoleon Sarony, a relatively small number of photographic reproductions of non-photographic portraits are also present (including depictions of James Monroe, Stonewall Jackson, and Henry and Clara Ford).

Volume 1: Brearley collection reproduction souvenir album

This album (16.5 x 15 cm) has green leather covers with lines of poetry from Henry W. Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life stamped in gold on the front. An index included at the beginning lists the names of 96 individuals represented across the album’s 24 pages. After the index, a passage written by William H. Brearley and dated August 1st 1874 explains that he created a limited number of facsimile copies of his original autographed portrait collection at the “urgent solicitation” of many interested friends. Brearley also explains that he acquired the original photographs and autographs in his collection “by long and patient effort, & tending over a period of ten years, and involving an expense of several Hundred dollars.” Subsequent album pages each contain four individually pasted 5.5 x 4 cm albumen print photographic reproductions of original portraits found in Brearley’s collection. This item was acquired from a separate source and was not part of the original collection of materials donated to the Clements Library by Hazel Hope Pingree Mills.

Volume 2: Brearley-Pingree collection original album

This album (30 x 26 cm) has brown leather covers and the words “Portraits. Autographs” and “Brearley” stamped in gold on the spine. The original autographed portraits of the Brearley-Pingree collection were once housed in this album before Clements Library staff removed the original photographs and substituted them with photocopies in 2010 for conservation and preservation purposes. Manuscript captions were also added by Clements Library staff. The original photographs are housed separately in smaller boxes and have been arranged according to size/format and ordered alphabetically by subject surname. See below for a complete list of photographic subjects contained in each box.

Of additional interest are three manuscript items, including the clipped signature of Hyacinthe Loyson and an October 15th 1873 letter from Henry W. Longfellow containing the same lines of poetry from A Psalm of Life that appear on the cover of the Brearley collection souvenir album. Also present is a letter from Buckingham Palace sent to Brearley in 1873 by Sir Thomas Biddulph explaining that the “enclosed Photograph” of Queen Victoria is being returned but that “The Queen’s Autograph is never given away.” Three wax seals are also included in the volume including an “Imperial Chancellor’s seal” (associated with a portrait of Otto von Bismarck); “the Napoleon Seal” (associated with a portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte); and a Great Seal of the Realm attached to the 1873 letter from Buckingham Palace.

Box 1.1: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, A-E

This box contains 47 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

  • Adams, Charles Francis, 1807-1886.
  • Agassiz, Louis, 1807-1873.
  • Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888.
  • Anderson, Richard Heron, 1821-1879.
  • Anderson, Robert, 1805-1871.
  • Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906.
  • Bancroft, George, 1800-1891.
  • Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891.
  • Barrett, Lawrence, 1838-1891.
  • Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893.
  • Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887.
  • Billings, Josh, 1818-1885. [Henry Wheeler Shaw]
  • Birney, David Bell, 1825-1864.
  • Bishop, Anna, 1810-1884. [Anna Riviere Schultz]
  • Bismarck, Otto, Fürst von, 1815-1898.
  • Bonaparte, Jérôme, King of Westphalia, 1784-1860.
  • Bonner, Robert, 1824-1899.
  • Booth, Edwin, 1833-1893.
  • Breckinridge, John C. (John Cabell), 1821-1875.
  • Bright, John, 1811-1889.
  • Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878.
  • Buchanan, James, 1791-1868.
  • Bülow, Hans von, 1830-1894.
  • Bunker, Chang, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Eng Bunker]
  • Bunker, Eng, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Chang Bunker]
  • Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881. [two portraits included]
  • Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893.
  • Carleton, Will, 1845-1912.
  • Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell), 1814-1880.
  • Clem, John Lincoln, 1851-1937.
  • Clough, J. E. (John Everett), 1836-1910.
  • Coan, Titus, 1801-1882.
  • Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885.
  • Collins, Wilkie, 1824-1889.
  • Cook, Eliza, 1818-1889.
  • Coombs, Jane, 1842- .
  • Curtis, George William, 1824-1892.
  • Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876.
  • Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897.
  • Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.
  • Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889.
  • Dickinson, Anna E. (Anna Elizabeth), 1842-1932.
  • Dix, John A. (John Adams), 1798-1879.
  • Doré, Gustave, 1832-1883.
  • Doubleday, Abner, 1819-1893.
  • Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895.
  • Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882.
  • Emory, William H. (William Hemsley), 1811-1887.

Box 1.2: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, F-N

This box contains 46 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

  • Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870.
  • Ferrero, Edward, 1831-1899.
  • Field, Cyrus W. (Cyrus West), 1819-1892.
  • Field, Kate, 1838-1896. [Mary Katherine Keemle Field]
  • Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874.
  • Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821-1877.
  • Fowler, O. S. (Orson Squire), 1809-1887.
  • Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879.
  • Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart), 1809-1898.
  • Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885.
  • Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872.
  • Greenwood, Grace, 1823-1904. [Sarah Jane Clarke Lippincott]
  • Hall, John, 1829-1898.
  • Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872.
  • Hancock, Winfield Scott, 1824-1886.
  • Hay, John, 1838-1905.
  • Heintzelman, Samuel Peter, 1805-1880.
  • Hoar, E. R. (Ebenezer Rockwood), 1816-1895.
  • Holland, J. G. (Josiah Gilbert), 1819-1881.
  • Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894.
  • Hooker, Joseph, 1814-1879.
  • Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909.
  • Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885.
  • Jackson, Stonewall, 1824-1863.
  • Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875.
  • Kirby-Smith, Edmund, 1824-1893.
  • Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905.
  • Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870.
  • Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
  • Locke, David Ross, 1833-1888. [Petroleum V. Nasby]
  • Logan, John Alexander, 1826-1886.
  • Longstreet, James, 1821-1904.
  • Loring, Charles G. (Charles Greely), 1794-1867.
  • Loyson, Hyacinthe, 1827-1912.
  • Lucca, Pauline, 1841-1908.
  • Mario, Giovanni, 1810-1883. [Mario, T.]
  • McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
  • Mitchell, Maggie, 1837-1918.
  • Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von, 1800-1891.
  • Monroe, James, 1758-1831.
  • Morse, Edward Sylvester, 1838-1925.
  • Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877.
  • Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1831-1896.
  • Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902.
  • Nilsson, Christine, 1843-1921.
  • Nutt, Commodore, 1848-1881. [group portrait with Minnie Warren]

Box 1.3: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, O-Z

This box contains 36 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

  • Ord, Edward Otho Cresap, 1818-1883.
  • Parepa-Rosa, Euphrosyne, 1836-1874.
  • Patti, Adelina, 1843-1919.
  • Phillipps, Adelaide, 1833-1882.
  • Porter, David D. (David Dixon), 1813-1891.
  • Rogers, Randolph, 1825-1892.
  • Salvini, Tommaso, 1829-1915.
  • Saxe, John Godfrey, 1816-1887.
  • Schurz, Carl, 1829-1906.
  • Scott-Siddons, Mary Frances, 1844-1896.
  • Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888.
  • Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891.
  • Sothern, Edward Askew, 1826-1881.
  • Spinner, Francis Elias, 1802-1890.
  • Spurgeon, C. H. (Charles Haddon), 1834-1892.
  • Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904.
  • Stephens, Alexander H. (Alexander Hamilton), 1812-1883.
  • Strakosch, Max, 1835-1892.
  • Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874.
  • Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892.
  • Terry, Alfred Howe, 1827-1890.
  • Thiers, Adolphe, 1797-1877.
  • Thomas, George H. (George Henry), 1816-1870.
  • Thomas, Theodore, 1835-1905.
  • Thumb, Tom, 1838-1883. [Charles Sherwood Stratton; group portrait with Lavinia Warren]
  • Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. [Samuel L. Clemens; both names signed on photograph]
  • Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794-1877.
  • Waite, Morrison R. (Morrison Remick), 1816-1888.
  • Warren, G. K. (Gouverneur Kemble), 1830-1882.
  • Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878.
  • Willcox, Orlando B.
  • Wilson, Henry, 1812-1875.
  • Woodhull, Victoria C. (Victoria Claflin), 1838-1927.
  • Wright, Horatio Gouverneur, 1820-1899.
  • Yates, Edmund, 1831-1894.
  • Young, Brigham, 1801-1877.

Box 2: Brearley-Pingree collection cabinet cards

This box contains 27 cabinet cards. Represented individuals include the following:

  • Andrade, Ignacio, 1836-1925.
  • Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886.
  • Bernhardt, Sarah, 1844-1923.
  • Booth-Tucker, Emma, 1860-1903.
  • Booth-Tucker, Frederick St. George de Lautour, 1853-1929.
  • Bull, Ole, 1810-1880.
  • Cable, George Washington, 1844-1925.
  • Chamberlain, Joseph, 1836-1914.
  • Dickinson, Donald McDonald, 1846-1917.
  • Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.
  • Garfield, Lucretia Rudolph, 1832-1918.
  • Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893.
  • Janauschek, Francesca Romana Magdalena, 1830-1904.
  • Kellogg, Clara Louisa, 1842-1916.
  • Kennan, George, 1845-1924.
  • Kruger, Paul, 1825-1904.
  • Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882.
  • Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884.
  • Ranavalona III, Queen of Madagascar, 1861-1917.
  • Reed, Thomas B. (Thomas Brackett), 1839-1902.
  • Stead, W. T. (William Thomas), 1849-1912. [three portraits included]
  • Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896.
  • Urso, Camilla, 1842-1902.
  • Victoria, Queen of Britain, 1819-1901.
  • Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892.

Box 3: Brearley-Pingree collection large photographs and manuscript materials

This box contains 9 large format mounted photographs and 33 manuscript items. Represented individuals among the photographs include the following:

  • Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 1864-1947.
  • Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908.
  • Ford, Clara Bryant, 1866-1950.
  • Ford, Henry, 1863-1947.
  • Gibbons, James, 1834-1921.
  • Guzmán Blanco, Antonio, 1828-1899.
  • Mace, Aurelia Gay, 1835-1910.
  • Milles, Carl, 1875-1955.
  • Wilder, Marshall P.

Manuscript materials of interest include a number of letters dating to the mid-1870s from various individuals (including John A. Dix, C. H. Spurgeon, H. W. Longfellow, and Lucretia R. Garfield) possibly sent to William H. Brearley in response to autograph solicitations and other requests; and numerous letters addressed to Hazen S. Pingree from various individuals (inlcuding William Thomas Stead, Ignacio Andrade, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, and William McKinley) dating to the 1890s. Other items of interest include a copy of "Special Order No. 166 'Extract' Head Quarters 2d Brigade 3d Div 2d A.I." dated June 15th 1865 stating that the 1st Mass Heavy Artillery had been ordered by Brig. Gen. Franklin Pierce to repost to General Hancock; calling cards for "Sixto Sanchez Director General de Coreeos - Postmaster" as well as "The Admiral of the Navy" George Dewey from "when he called on Gov. Pingree in Detroit"; a clipped signature of "Louis Botha Commandant General"; an undated note to poet Louise Chandler Moulton; a document dated August 1st 1892 detailing financial investment information related to the Michigan-Peninsular Car Company with pasted clippings of wealthy politicians and their net worths as well as annotations by Pingree; a letter dated Feb 19th 1892 from Don M. Dickinson to Pingree regarding the prospective visit of Grover Clevland to Detroit, Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan; a letter dated March 9th 1949 from Hazel Hope Pingree Mills to Director of the William L. Clements Library Randolph G. Adams regarding progress being made on research regarding the life of William H. Brearley; and an undated typed copy of a short essay titled "Brearley - Man of Action, Started Many Important Detroit Activities" by historian George B. Catlin.

1 result in this collection