Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection is made up of 8 letters that Constance and Samuel C. Lewis wrote to his mother, Elizabeth Lewis of Springfield, Pennsylvania, about life in Iowa in the late 1850s. They commented on farm work, their sons, and their health.

This collection is made up of 8 letters that Constance and Samuel C. Lewis wrote to his mother Elizabeth Lewis, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, about their life in Iowa in the late 1850s. Constance wrote regularly to her mother-in-law from September 9, 1858-November 27, 1859, while living in Trenton, Iowa. Samuel contributed to 3 of his wife's letters. The Lewis family owned a farm that produced rye, wheat, and Hungarian grass, and the letters often concern farm labor, hired hands, livestock, agricultural production, and the cost of goods. Constance thanked her mother-in-law and acquaintances for gifts and discussed housekeeping issues, such as wallpapering, and her work on the farm. She often reported news of her sons, Johnny and William, and of her neighbors.

The Constantin family papers are made up of correspondence, financial records, and other items related to the family's involvement in transatlantic shipping in the early 19th century. Personal and professional acquaintances corresponded with Barthelemy Constantin and his son Anthony of Bordeaux, France, and New York City, and the Constantins also compiled accounts, inventories, and receipts.

The Constantin family papers (1 linear foot) are made up of correspondence, financial records, and other items related to the family's involvement in trans-Atlantic shipping in the early 19th century.

The Correspondence series (around 330 items) contains personal and business letters, most of which were addressed to Barthelemy Constantin and Anthony Constantin from 1806-1809. Most items pertain to the Constantins' ship brokering business, finances, and shipments of goods between Europe and the United States. Personal letters to Anthony Constantin from his father, Barthelemy Constantin, and his brother, Simon Constantin, provide personal advice and news from Bordeaux. In a letter of August 9, 1806, Simon warned Anthony about potential military conflicts, and later letters from that year concern financial difficulties and disputes.

The Documents and Financial Records series (around 275 items) is divided into five subseries. The Accounts and Account Books subseries (8 items) pertains to cargo shipments, and 2 items also contain copies of business and personal letters. The Invoices and Receipts subseries concerns ships carrying building supplies, clothing, and other cargo between Bordeaux and New York. Fifteen printed Import Price Lists concern the wholesale prices of goods in Bordeaux and Nantes in 1806-1808. Twenty-five Inventories detail the goods aboard ships and other materials of the shipping business. The Financial Documents and Inventories of the Brig Batavian subseries includes cargo inventories and receipts of goods received in New York.

Anthony Constantin's Waste Book (8" x 12", 44 pages) has personal correspondence, poetry, accounts, and drawings. Visual subjects include architecture, a portrait, sketches of combs with pearls, and a drawing of a skeleton holding a sickle and a bottle. The Poem Book (4" x 6", 35 pages) belonged to Eloise Maria Le Comte. Miscellaneous items include an incomplete newspaper article about female heroism and a printed document, "Instruction contenant les principals dispositions des ordaonnances et reglemens applicables aux ecoles primaires de filles," as well as other items.

The Constantine Richard Schaefer papers primarily consist of incoming correspondence to Constantine Richard Schaefer of Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Constantine Schaefer papers (126 consist primarily of Correspondence (119 items) pertaining to Dr. Constantine Richard Schaefer of Indianapolis, Indiana, and to his father, Constantin. Constantin Schaefer wrote the earliest letters (in German) from Indianapolis and New York City. Prior to 1883, most of these were addressed either to "Lieber Anna" or to Constantine ("Richard" or "C. Richard") in Worms, Germany. The bulk of the material relates to the Indianapolis physician rather than to his father, and comprises both personal and professional correspondence. The letters from the mid- to late 1880s are mostly Philadelphia and New York booksellers' responses to Constantine R. Schaefer's inquiries about available titles. His friend Oscar often shared news of his life in Terre Haute, Indiana, and his cousin Henry provided updates on members of Schaefer's extended family. A few letters and postcards are addressed to Anna Schaefer.

Much of the professional correspondence directly concerns Constantine R. Schaefer's medical practice, with content pertaining to medical equipment, publications to which Shaefer subscribed, and medical equipment. The collection also has several receipts for medical supplies and notes from the dean of the University of Indianapolis Department of Medicine. The Documents series (7 items) includes a certificate giving the 1841 birthdate of Constantin "Schöefer," a pamphlet offering "Valuable Pointers" for various medical tonics, Constantine R. Schafer's credentials for the 1890 meeting of the American Medical Association, and a catalogue offering medical supplies.

The United States Continental Army record book contains weekly and monthly military returns for various Continental Army brigades and regiments between March 1778 and August 1783.

The United States Continental Army record book is an elephant folio with 98 leaves, containing military returns for March 1778 to August 1783. The volume begins with returns for March 7, 1778, for brigades "under the immediate command" of George Washington stationed at Valley Forge. The regular weekly and monthly reports document the number and types of commissioned and non-commissioned officers, staff, and "rank and file members" at the brigade and regimental level. Also present are records of any alterations since the last return, including the number of soldiers killed, injured, deserted, transferred, and promoted. Various functions within the Continental Army, including artillery, cavalry, and "sappers and miners" are represented periodically within their own tables, as are invalids. After the Continental Army left Valley Forge, the adjutant general produced statistics on brigades and regiments encamped at White Plains, New York (August 1778); Fredericksburg, Virginia (October 1778); Middlebrook, New Jersey (March 1779); and New Windsor, New York (January 1781).

On December 8, 1780, the adjutant general recorded the returns of the Southern Army, commanded by Nathanael Greene. Also included are returns for regiments under General Heath in March 1781 and for Sheldon's Legion in May 1782. The volume ends with returns for August 16, 1783, and Adjutant General Edward Hand signed the final page.

This collection contains miscellaneous single items authored by, signed by, or relating to members of the Continental Congresses, the Confederation Congress, and the United States Congress. The bulk of the collection dates from 1761 to 1862, and while some content relates to political positions and actions, most of the items concern congressional representatives' financial and business affairs, legal practices, and various personal matters.

This collection contains miscellaneous single items authored by, signed by, or relating to members of the Continental Congresses, the Confederation Congress, and the United States Congress. The bulk of the collection dates from 1761 to 1862, and while some content relates to political positions and actions, most of the items concern congressional representatives' financial and business affairs, legal practices, and various personal matters. Of particular note are items relating to the military during the American Revolution, including one item from January 27, 1778, that appears to have a separate message visible by backlight. The collection also contains materials relating to wampum and Native American relations, as well as Shay's Rebellion. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing below for more information about each item.

The Cook family photograph album contains carte-de-visite and tintype studio portraits of members of the Cook, Augusbury, and Zoller families of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Boone, Iowa; and Watertown, New York.

The Cook family photograph album (15cm x 12cm) contains 16 cartes-de-visite, 6 tintype prints, and 2 card photographs. The pictures are studio portraits of members of the Cook, Augsbury, and Zoller families taken in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Boone, Iowa; and Watertown, New York, in the late 19th century. Most photographs feature women, infants, and young children, and a list of captains identifies each person pictured. One card photograph shows a daguerreotype studio portrait of a young girl. The album's brown leather cover is stamped with decorative designs, some in gold. One of the volume's two original metal clasps is still affixed to the back cover.

This collection contains 3 letters written by members of the Coon and Howard families in Lakeview, Michigan; Waukee, Iowa; and Orchard Park, New York, in the late 1800s. The women of the Howard family contributed to each of the letters, describing their farms and sharing aspects of their everyday lives.

This collection contains 3 letters written by members of the Coon and Howard families of Lakeview, Michigan; Waukee, Iowa; and Orchard Park, New York, in the late 1800s. Hiram Cornwell of Lakeview, Michigan, wrote the first letter to his sister-in-law, Jane Coon of Belleville, New York, noting the difficulties of earning a living in Michigan (November 11, 1877). Phebe Howard contributed to the letter, suggesting that Jane move to Michigan, where land was cheap and weaving work was available.

Ida H. Elliott wrote the second letter to her mother from Waukee, Iowa, on September 22, 1889. Elliott discussed her work tending the house and farm, her children's school, her sale of chickens, and the quantities of crops they had stored, including potatoes, sweet corn, and apples.

Lena B. of Orchard Park, New York, sent the final letter to her sister, Miss E. Blanche Coon of Sandy Creek, New York (postmarked March 24, 1890); she commented on the family and described a trip to Buffalo, New York, including the cost of velvet and a photographer's rates.

This collection contains correspondence and newspaper clippings collected by Cora Clarke, a respected female botanist and entomologist.

This collection consists of 23 letters, five newspaper clippings, and six miscellaneous items. Nineteen of the letters are addressed to Cora Clarke, with four to her mother and one to her father. No single correspondent or time frame dominates the collection, nor are there themes which run through all the letters, except in the most general sense. Prominent people represented in the collection as correspondents include Grace Greenwood (a.k.a. Sarah Jane Clarke Lippincott), Jacob Abbott, James Freeman Clarke, Edward Sylvester Morse, Alpheus Spring Packard Jr., Robert Collyer, Samuel Eliot, Francis Parkman, and Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz.

The Clarke Papers appears to consist largely of letters retained for their autograph value, more than their substance. Clarke's botanical and entomological activities appear most clearly in letters from the Cambridge Entomological Club (1878 November 16) and Francis Parkman. However, only Charles Russell's letter discussing the anatomy of flowers (1870 December 19), provides anything approaching a lengthy or in-depth discussion. More typical are a letter dated 1875 May 25, mentioning the Boston Society of Natural History and the "Society to encourage studies at home," and a receipt for a summer botany course (1874 August 4) suggesting Clarke's commitment to continuing education. The value of the collection lies primarily in creating an impressionistic portrayal of a respected female scientist at a time when she was maturing into adulthood.

The Cora Smith photograph album contains approximately 214 photographs documenting the travels and daily life of a woman living in Cornwallville, New York, in the late 1890s.

The Cora Smith photograph album contains approximately 214 photographs documenting the travels and daily life of a woman living in Cornwallville, New York, in the late 1890s.

The album (26 x 22 cm) is a blank page scrapbook with "Cora M. Smith" written in pencil on the fly leaf. Photographs consist primarily of snapshots and cyanotypes, and many of the people represented in this album (including members of the Smith and Olcott families) are identified with captions. Several trips are documented including visits to New York State destinations such as the Catskills, Niagara Falls, and Cambridge as well as Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Images of note include views of the Brooklyn Bridge; an older African American woman captioned "Aunt Caroline, Virginia"; young girls on "Poverty Row"; scenes around Cambridge, New York, and Cornwallville; a wedding party; the Smith family home; “Dr. Carter” preparing to remove a tooth from the mouth of an African American man; a semi-domesticated bear; the 1899 Dewey Land and Naval Parade; and Niagara Falls. Cora Smith appears in photographs on pages 24 and 33. Also present is a note regarding a store display designed by Cora to advertise Payne’s Celery Compound.

The Cordelia Hagen letters consist of four incoming letters to Hagen, including 3 from her brother Wyatt and 1 from a friend, Will Bruck. The two men were serving in the 20th Kansas Infantry regiment near Manila just after the Spanish-American War.

The Cordelia Hagen letters consist of four incoming letters to Cordelia, including 3 from her brother Wyatt and 1 from a friend, Will Bruck. The two men were serving in the 20th Kansas Infantry regiment near Manila just after the Spanish-American War.

Wyatt Hagen focused on his daily activities and military duties, including training and the anticipation of overseas service, during a posting in San Francisco (October 16, 1898). After his arrival in the Philippines, he described life in the field, including discussions of the impact of diseases on the troops and of the unconventional native methods for curing ailments (January 20, 1899). Hagen's correspondence also includes lengthy accounts of trench warfare, in which he participated for several weeks in early 1899, and other military engagements against native insurgents (February 20, 1899). Will Bruck, a friend of Cordelia, wrote the final letter (April 18, 1899). He echoed Wyatt Hagen's descriptions of life in Manila and expressed cynicism about what he saw as exaggerated newspaper reports. According to him, one particularly lauded California regiment "did less than any other [regiment] on the island."