Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Presbyterian minister actively involved in bridging the Christian and Islamic faiths based in Dearborn, Michigan. The collection consists mainly of records documenting his interfaith initiatives, writings, and correspondence.

The collection consists of two series: Professional Papers and Visual Materials. These series document William Gepford's efforts to bridge the Muslim and Christian faiths, both within his own ministry as well as international efforts. These efforts include seminars, interfaith worship services, and international initiatives. The collection also documents his everyday activities with the Presbyterian Church and interaction with the Detroit community.

University of Michigan alum (Ph.D. in Geology, 1960), University of Michigan professor of Geology (1965-2000), and curator at the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology (1975-2000). Farrand's papers primarily document his career in geological archaeology through correspondence, field notes, research files, publications, and visual materials.

The William R. Farrand papers primarily document the research activities and career of William R. Farrand, an archeological geologist, educator, and scholar known for his work in the Near East and the Mediterranean. His papers mostly pertain to the various expeditions and excavations he conducted, including at Fontéchevade, France; Franchthi Cave, France; Karystos, Greece; Mt. Ararat, Turkey; Qafzeh Cave, Israel; Yabrud (Yabroud), Syria; and Yarimburgaz Cave, Turkey. Record types present include correspondence, field notes, research and reference materials, topical files organized by name, publications, slides, section maps, and photographs.

Remaining materials include materials that document his activities in professional organizations, publications, and topical files. Materials also include notes by Henry Wright, Curator of Near Eastern Archaeology at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology at the University of Michigan (as of May 2024).

Ann Arbor, Michigan attorney, American consul in British Guiana in 1905, and U.S. Congressman, 1911-1913. Political and business correspondence, notes and addresses, and other materials relating to his business interests and political career; also papers concerning his trips to Alaska, British Guiana, and Panama.

The Wedemeyer collection includes political and business correspondence, notes and addresses, and other materials relating to his business interests and political career. There are also papers concerning his trips to Alaska, British Guiana, and Panama. Some of his correspondents included Russell A. Alger, James B. Angell, Gerrit J. Diekema, Frederick Douglass, Benjamin Harrison, Frank Knox, Charles E. Townsend, James Schermerhorn, Henry C. Smith, and Fred M. Warner.

Corporate records of C.J.L. Meyer of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and Hermansville, Michigan, manufacturer of doors, lumber for sashes, hardwood flooring, and related products; records of the William Mueller Company of Escanaba and LaBranche, Michigan, a firm taken over by Wisconsin Land and Lumber in 1909. Financial journals, ledgers, inventories, payroll ledgers; letterbooks of C.J.L. Meyer, Edwin P. Radford, company superintendent, and of other company officials; office correspondence files; and photographs.

This record group which came from the Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company in Hermansville, Michigan is in fact an accumulation of records from three distinct business enterprises. First, there are records of C.J.L. Meyer business enterprises in Chicago and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Next are records maintained in Hermansville with the establishment of the Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company in the 1870s. A third, smaller portion of the records are from the William Mueller Company, which WLL purchased in 1909.

When originally received in 1948, the records consisted of nearly 500 volumes of business journals and ledgers, time books, and letterpress books. During 1979-1981, the library began a program of microfilming to reduce the size of the record group. With the permission of the company, records that had been microfilmed were discarded. Also discarded were records duplicative in content of the records on microfilm. Other records were retained in the original without filming. The record group then consisted of 53 reels of microfilm representing approximately 112 volumes of business records, 65 oversized volumes, and 42 linear feet of boxed records (volumes, letterpress books, and correspondence files). In 2006, the library received additional microfilm (18 rolls) and digital materials containing scanned images of the photographs in the possession of the IXL Museum, which is the repository for the records of the company not received with the first accession. These records, which were retained, include personal correspondence of C.J.L. Meyer, some records of Meyer prior to the establishment of WLL, and records then considered current or of continuing value to the operation of the company.

The record group has been arranged as much as possible into series, but the researcher should note that identification of individuals volumes or files was not as certain as one would like. Thus, for example, there are various ledgers and journals, some with overlapping dates, but it was not always clear where these records were created or what function or division within the firm they documented. The fact that the company retained some of the earlier records accounts in part for what appear to be broken series. Further complicating the structure of the following finding aid is the interspersing of microfilmed materials and oversize volumes. Similar kinds of records (such as time books), for example, are thus found both in original and on microfilm.

As much as possible, like kinds of records have been kept to together (letterpress books, etc.). These are followed by records known to be created by a specific organization or maintained in a specific locale (e.g. Fond du Lac). The series in the record group are: Letterpress books (mainly business correspondence); Letterpress books (mainly business correspondence); Inventories, order books, etc.; C. J. L. Meyer Business Records; Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company; William Mueller Company; Photographs; and IXL Museum additions.

In 2007, the IXL Museum of Hermansville, Michigan, successor to the company and custodian of additional records of the Wisconsin Land and Lumber Company, entered into agreement with the Bentley Library to exchange microfilm of selected portions of the records housed in the other's repository. In addition, the two repositories agreed that the Bentley Library would place on indefinite loan to the IXL Museum the originals of WLL photographs in its possession, and that the IXL Museum would donated to the Bentley Library digital copies of all of the many hundreds of photographs in its collection.

Singing group established in 1902 as the University of Michigan Girls' Club before changing the name to Women's Glee Club in the 1940s. The group performed on campus and throughout Michigan as well as touring nationally and internationally. The group disbanded in 1953 and was reactivated in 1976. This records include concert programs and posters, fundraising information, correspondence, photographs, audio/visual recordings of performances, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks. Also included are administrative papers including budget information, schedules, rosters and rules.

The Women's Glee Club collection dates from 1903 to 2017 and is comprised of multiple accessions. Because these accessions came with little discernible structure, and because their contents overlapped, they were combined into one collection made up of printed and manuscript materials, as well as posters, scrapbooks, sound and video recordings in a few different formats. The collection has been divided into four series: Audio/Visual Materials, Topical File, Scrapbooks and Concert Posters. The first two series of the collection have been arranged alphabetically by topic, and chronologically within the files. The Scrapbooks series is contained in Box 2, and each scrapbook has retained its original organization.

The Women's Research Club of the University of Michigan was founded in 1902 in response to the exclusion of women from the recently established all-male research clubs. Records include minutes, correspondence and reports of club officers and committees, papers concerning the club anniversaries, and photographs.

Records of the Women's Research Club include minutes, 1902-1999; correspondence, 1903-1939 and 1952-1994; membership lists 1904-1999; financial records 1903-1999; correspondence and reports of club officers and committees, including Loan Fund materials; papers concerning the 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th and 90th anniversaries; relationships with the men's research club; histories, memorials, photographs, and clippings.

Owner of Woody Pontiac Sales, Inc. in Hamtramck, MI and lifelong Republican and proponent of peace in the Middle East; correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

The Woodrow and Ann Woody papers are organized into two series: Correspondence and other papers and Photographs. The collection consists primarily of correspondence with public figures; newspaper clippings, photographs, and other materials from scrapbooks relating to the Hillcrest Wolverine Open golf tournament; photographs of Woody and his wife Ann with various public figures and attending different social occasions.

Workshop organized by University of Michigan faculty that investigates the causes, circumstances, and consequences of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Records detail the activities of the Workshop, including administrative functions and papers, materials from the Workshops themselves, and Workshop projects. Also included are materials related to the scope and topic of the Workshops.

The Workshop for Armenian/Turkish Scholarship (WATS) consists of records and related material from the WATS archives. The records are divided into five series: Administrative, Workshops, WATS Projects, and Related Materials. The collection was organized by Nora Nercessian prior to being presented to the Bentley Historical Library. The arrangement and description done by Nercessian has largely been retained.

W. Scott Westerman was a life-long educator and administrator who graduated with his PhD from University of Michigan's School of Education. From 1967 to 1971 he served as superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) and was dedicated to increasing equity for Black and female students. The bulk of materials in this collection are from AAPS and include school board materials, reports, curriculums, etc., and material related to gender and racial inequalities in education. Also, a book of his World War II letters entitled Letters Home (2015) and a White Panther report (1969).

This collection contains materials from W. Scott Westerman's career at Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS). Most of the contents are related to Westerman's role as superintendent. The bulk of these materials are from 1967 to 1971. Westerman collected school board materials including meeting minutes, correspondence, proposals, budget reports, and various other documents related to the district. Other related materials include teacher work plans, union master agreements, curriculums, superintendent recommendations, annual reports, policies, and documents related to schools in the district.

AAPS materials also include records related to Westerman's mission of increasing equity for Black and female students. Documents related to equity are referred to as "human relations". In 1968, Westerman's files describe a protest regarding AAPS's treatment of Black students. The students created a list of "21 demands to correct racial inequalities". There are various reports, correspondence, and documentation related to this event.

Other important topics listed across this collection include sex education, dress and grooming, desegregation, and other student issues.

Other professional files include a folder of teaching materials from University High School and a written history of Eastern Michigan University's College of Education. Three folders include personal files about Ann Arbor's Rotary Club, the Methodist church, and a White Panther report from 1969. Westerman's book Letters Home: World War II Through a Soldier's Eyes (2015) is also included.

Branch of the YMCA; Annual reports, clippings, correspondence, financial records, minutes of meetings, photographs, press releases, published materials, rosters, and scrapbooks; also includes collected branch records for the Railroad branch, 1877-1890, and the Downtown branch, 1890-1909; and publication, Detroit Young Men, 1911-1922.

The records of the Metropolitan Offices of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit consist of annual reports, correspondence, financial materials, minutes (Secretary's records), photographs, published brochures and pamphlets, and scrapbooks. The materials document, somewhat unevenly, the efforts of the YMCA to tend to the spiritual, physical, and social needs of the young men in Detroit. The strengths of this record group are in its minutes (Secretary's records) and photographs, each of which provides detailed and telling insight into the development of Detroit and the YMCA from the nineteenth century to 2006. The scrapbooks created by the YMCA, 1936-1973, are also of interest in that they accurately reflect all newspaper coverage of YMCA events and activities for this decade.

The records have been arranged in four series: Administration, Secretary's Records, Visual Materials, and Scrapbooks.