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

The topical files are comprised of materials collected on a variety of subjects by Norton Strange Townshend. Topics are arranged alphabetically. Especially voluminous are his files on the Civil War, which include inspection forms of prisons filled out by Townshend, circular letters to medical inspectors and surgeons, instructions and orders, and official correspondence. Also of interest are the "Fliers for Lectures," which document some of the venues and topics of Townshend’s many public speeches, and his files on "Abolition," "Liberty Party," and "Republican Party," which contain printed matter relating to these topics, revealing to some extent the day-to-day functioning of local antislavery organizations. Townshend’s file on the "Ohio State Asylum for the Education of Idiotic and Imbecile Youth" contains information on the institution’s founding, an application for admission, ephemera, and a set of meeting minutes for a policy meeting in which Townshend participated. Files on Ohio Agricultural & Mechanical College/Ohio State University and Ohio State Agricultural Experiment Station document the early history, policies, and actions of these institutions.