Collections

The Edward R. Mullin, USS Albany in Asia photograph albums consist of three volumes containing images and ephemera that document an American sailor’s experiences aboard a US Navy ship in the Asiatic Fleet from 1919 to 1920.

The Edward R. Mullin, USS Albany in Asia photograph albums consist of three volumes containing images and ephemera that document an American sailor’s experiences aboard a US Navy ship in the Asiatic Fleet from 1919 to 1920.

Volume A: This album (14.5 x 21 cm) contains photographs of scenes in Panama, Hawaii, Japan, Russia, China, California, and the Philippines that mostly depict the USS Albany, American soldiers and sailors, local citizens, and tourist scenes. Numerous ephemeral items compiled by Edward R. Mullin (the album’s creator) from various foreign places are also present, including tickets, stamps, bank notes, and an Asahi beer label. Of note is a “familiar phrases” card for translating English to Japanese. On the inside back cover of the album a handwritten log lists arrivals and departures of the USS Albany, while a typescript description of a military takeover of Vladivostok, Russia, is also included.

Volume B: This album (18 x 26 cm) contains photographs of scenes in Russia and China. Images show American soldiers and sailors exploring sites and interacting with local citizens as well as natural scenery and architecture. Of note are photographs of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in China. Some photos have handwritten captions that identify locations and/or persons pictured

Volume C: This album (20.5 x 29 cm) contains photographs of scenes in Russia, the Philippines, Panama, Japan, China, Hawaii, and California. Of note are photographs of the Panama Canal and some images showing the compiler of the album, Edward R. Mullin. Many photos have handwritten captions. Also present are various types of ephemera including a beer label, tickets, and a fabric poppy flower, as well as a photocopy of Mullin’s service record, a large portrait of the USS Albany in Shanghai, China, and a loose photo of the USS Albany in Vladivostok.

The Electric railway engineer photograph album consists of approximately 235 photographs and 1 booklet documenting the professional and personal life of an unidentified railway engineer specializing in electric rail line infrastructure.

The Electric railway engineer photograph album consists of approximately 235 photographs and 1 booklet documenting the professional and personal life of an unidentified railway engineer specializing in electric rail line infrastructure.

The album (25.5 x 30.5 cm) has dark green cloth covers with “Photographs” stamped on the front cover. All of the album pages are loose and fairly brittle, but the images are in generally good condition.

The first page contains sixteen signatures from participants in the 30th reunion of the Union College class of 1885. Subsequent photographs include several views of Union College campus, aspects of student life (including dorm room interiors and a group of portraits showing crossdressing men captioned “Minstrels"), and formal portraits of members of the Kappa Alpha Society in the mid-1880s, presumably including some of the attendees at the reunion whose signatures are represented.

The unidentified presumed compiler of the album can be seen in several photographs. He appears to have been an engineer specializing in infrastructure projects for electric-powered rail systems and was active in the early stages of when railroads in the United States were moving towards electrification. Many of the smaller circular photographs found throughout in the album were likely produced by a Kodak No. 2 camera, while larger format prints and cyanotypes are also present.

Contents are arranged chronologically starting with the compiler's student days before focusing on various professional assignments and elements of his personal life. During the ten years following his graduation from Union College the compiler apparently participated in several railroad development projects, mainly in what would become Washington State but also in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Idaho. Photographs from this period of his life include views of survey camps along the Columbia River and other regional waterways, interior and exterior views of the compiler’s home in Tacoma, portraits of his growing family, and snapshots of Klickitat people (including a group portrait of three women picking hops). By 1896 the compiler and his family appear to have moved back east, settling in New Rochelle, New York. Photographs from this period include documentation of projects on intercity lines on Staten Island and other nearby boroughs, a project in upstate New York, and numerous images of friends and family. The Albany and Hudson Railway and Power Company’s new electric train line to various towns between Hudson and Albany required establishing power sources along the route. As a small group of photographs in this album show, this necessitated constructing a dam at Stuyvesant Falls on the Kinderhook Creek which would provide electric power to the rail line and various local businesses. The final pages of the album document the construction of Hudson Park Dock in New Rochelle as well as leisure activities such as the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup auto races and a naval review in Oyster Bay.

A total of 18 loose photographs are included towards the back of the album. Images include a group portrait of Union College students from the 1880s, a studio portrait of a young woman and infant taken in the mid-1890s in Tacoma, and a double exposure of a woman standing next to an automobile in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1918. Also present is a printed pamphlet replete with numerous halftone reproduction images titled “Letter from Mayor Clarke to the Voters of New Rochelle with Pictures of Improvements Under His Administration” which highlights several civic infrastructure projects (including the Hudson Park Dock) undertaken during the tenure of mayor Henry Clarke.

Justice Weaver’s papers, 1959, 2014, and undated, are the only complete records documenting the inner-workings of a Michigan Supreme Court Justice in a public archive. The collection includes multiple series listed below.

Justice Weaver’s papers are the only complete records documenting the inner-workings of a Michigan Supreme Court Justice in a public archive. These records are invaluable for documenting the process of how justices reach opinions about cases (a process kept secret until now). The papers also document the career and the increasingly negative relationships she experienced while a Michigan Supreme Court Justice. Justice Weaver documented all these main points very well and wanted her papers preserved and studied.

Series 1, processed by Jennifer Bentley, is the Court of Appeals series, 1984-1995, 21.5 cubic feet (in 44 boxes), within the Weaver Papers, includes court documentation and court publications created by Justice Weaver during her time as an Appellate Justice for the Michigan Supreme Court. Some boxes within the series share overlapping series content with other series in the collection. The entirety of the series is comprised of legal manuscripts and court publications, as well as personal notes within docket packets that Justice Weaver used to form later legal opinions for several cases. Many of the manuscripts within the Court of Appeals series are legal-size with half of the collection in letter-size formats.

For the bulk of this series each court case handled by Justice Weaver’s office is stapled in its own docket. Each Docket consistently includes: case syllabus, orders from lower courts, per curiam (unanimous agreements between the justices), case notes, and court generated summaries of the case. Occasionally, in more notable case dockets, court transcripts are also included.

Besides court dockets there are corresponding case call notes for each case. All newspaper clippings have been copied. Also within this series there are Michigan Supreme Court rotation schedules for the justices. Memorandums between court officials and the justices appear throughout the case call notes as well as within the dockets. Within the Court of Appeals series, there are two mini cassette tapes labeled as “case notes”.

Throughout the entire Justice Weaver collection there are Post-it notes with hand-written notes by Weaver. A few pages exhibiting the plethora of extant notes taken on a case have been preserved in-situ to illustrate Weaver’s growing dissent over her sixteen-year career with Michigan’s Supreme Court. All other substantive notes have been copied and then the originals were withdrawn from the collection.

Series 1 Processing Note: As noted above, all newspaper clippings have been copied. A few pages exhibiting the plethora of extant notes taken on a case have been preserved in-situ to illustrate Weaver’s growing dissent over her sixteen-year career with Michigan’s Supreme Court. All other substantive notes have been copied and then the originals were withdrawn from the collection. Less than .25 cubic foot of this series was withdrawn during processing.

Series 2, processed by Sulaiman Albinhamad, is the Per Curiam series. Per Curiam is defined as a decision (or opinion) ruling issued by an appellate court of multiple judges in which the decision rendered is made by the court or at least a majority of the court acting collectively and unanimously. Per Curiam is Latin for “by the Court”. Per Curiam rulings are issued in the name of the Court, rather than by individual judges or a judge. Typically, the Court deals with issues deemed non-controversial.

The Per Curiam series, 1995-2006, 14 cubic feet (in 28 boxes) within the Justice Elizabeth Weaver collection, includes personal unpublished notes of Justice Weaver and others during her time as Justice (January 1995- August 2010) and Chief Justice (January 1999-January 2001) for the Michigan Supreme Court. The manuscripts within this series are both letter-size and legal-size, but are filed in legal-size folders and boxes to keep related materials together. Per Curiam cases in this series include a range from civil cases to murders.

Each Per Curiam case folder usually includes (in this order): case Syllabus (which is blue in color); Order; Notes from meetings to review the material organized by date, either weekly or monthly, or from Justice Weaver to her staff; Memorandum; and Reports (which are green in color). Drafts and final versions of the Per Curiam are included.

There may be one to three different docket numbers in the same Per Curiam case folder/s. Some folders have materials, each with a different docket number, but the numbers are cited in the related Memorandum.

Series 2 Processing Note: .75 cubic foot of materials were removed from the series during processing, mostly duplicates and peripheral or reading materials not specific to the files.

Series 3 and 4 in this collection are Disqualifications of Judges, 1995-2009, and undated, and Fieger Articles and Dockets, 1994-2009, and undated, which originally were somewhat interfiled, were both also processed by Sulaiman Albinhamad

Disqualifications of Judges (DQs), 1995-2009, and undated, 2 cubic ft. (in 4 boxes), includes Administrative Memorandum, Administrative Orders, articles, case examples, dissents, notes, resolutions, and folders on specific judges.

Fieger Articles and Dockets, 1994-2009, and undated, 1.75 cubic ft. (in 4 boxes), includes articles (copies) about Attorney Geoffrey Fieger and information from Dockets cases in which he was involved or justices were biased against him. In court, Feiger pushed the limits of what was considered appropriate behavior and language by attorneys, which led to questions about which justices should be disqualified or recuse themselves from judging him or other attorneys and why. The rules for disqualification of justices were not written down or encoded, and when Judge Weaver pushed for that to happen, the other justices, after much discussion and writing, eventually all sided against her.

Geoffrey Nels Feiger (1950-) is a controversial American attorney based in Southfield, Michigan. His law practice focuses on personal injury, civil rights litigation and medical malpractice cases, but he is best known as Jack Kevorkian’s defense attorney in doctor-assisted suicide trials. He also ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic nominee for governor of Michigan in 1998.

During most of this time period, Elizabeth Weaver served as a Michigan Supreme Court Justice, 1995-2010. She served on the Michigan Court of Appeals, January 1987-January 1995.

(This information is from the collection and a Wikipedia article accessed May 11, 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Fieger.)

Series 3 and 4 Processing Note: 4 cubic feet of copies and peripheral materials were withdrawn during processing.

Series 5, processed by Cassie Olson, is Michigan Supreme Court Campaign Materials, 1990, 1995 and undated,.75 cubic ft. (in 2 boxes), includes campaign materials such as: application materials, financial reports, speeches, endorsements, letters, itineraries, events, media plans, bumper stickers, Court of Appeal cases relevant to her campaign for the Michigan Supreme Court, and other, related materials.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s first campaign for the Michigan Supreme Court while serving as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals. Items of note include her decisions on Court of Appeals cases relevant to her campaign for Michigan Supreme Court, including Plummer v. Bechtel, Pulver v. Dundee Cement Company, Rodriguez v. General Motors Saginaw Steering Gear Division, Dedes v. South Lyon Community Schools, Paschke v. Retool Industries, and Chase v. Sabin. Weaver sought and received many unique endorsements from businesses, organizations and individuals such as Governor John Engler, Michigan State Medical Society, Michigan Police Legislative Coalition, National Black Women’s Caucus, the Korean Medical Association of Michigan and the Polish American Conference. Weaver ignored any materials sent by one organization – the Michigan Human Rights Campaign Committee – which supported lesbian and gay-friendly candidates.

Because this was the first year of her Supreme Court campaign and reelection materials, a sample of these materials was retained that will not be retained in the future, including sample ballots, acidic materials, event invitations, and sample letters.

Series 5 Processing Note: 8 cubic feet of copies, sensitive, and peripheral materials were withdrawn during processing. All acidic materials were copied and the copies were added to the collection.

Series 6, processed by Courtney Riggs, is the Hall of Justice Materials, 1997-2010, and undated, 4 cubic ft. (in 3 boxes, 1 Oversized folder) includes: newspaper articles, newsletters, financial reports, speeches, floor plans, dedication ceremony invitations, a plastic hard hat, and other, related materials.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s role in the planning of the Hall of Justice. Also included are her contributions to the Learning Center located in the Hall. Items of note include a personal note from Mary Stallings Coleman (1914-2001), the first woman elected to the Michigan Supreme Court, and a private conversation note containing information about a meeting that continued after Weaver left the room. Weaver, as Chief Justice from 1999 to 2001, oversaw the Advisory Committee and contributed to the Hall planning via floor plan changes, interior designs, etc. As The Learning Center was Justice Weaver’s idea, she oversaw these decisions with this as well (Box 1, folder 4). Albert Kahn Associates was the architecture firm and a variety of their architectural drawings are found in Oversided Folder 1.

Groundbreaking for the Hall occurred in 1999, in which Weaver participated by breaking ground and presenting a speech. When the Hall was completed in 2002, each Justice had the chance to prepare a letter to be placed into a time capsule. Although Weaver may have contributed greatly to the Hall, it seems that most of the other Justices did not approve of her involvement. The aforementioned side meeting and the unsuccessful attempt to name the Learning Center after her are indications of differences of opinion and perhaps a power struggle.

Series 6 Processing Note: 1 cubic foot of copies, reading materials, and peripheral materials was withdrawn during processing. Acidic newspaper clippings were copied and the copies were added to the collection.

Series 7, processed by Courtney Riggs, contains Brady v Attorney Grievance Commission (AGC) Materials, 2006 - 2010 and undated, .75 cubic ft. (in 2 boxes), including: case notes, a cassette, legal findings, a microcassette, news articles copies, a press release draft, and other, related materials.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s involvement in the Brady v AGC case. Also included are documents describing AO 2006-8, or what Weaver refers to as a “Gag Order” directed towards her, and information about the escalating tensions between the Justices. Items of note include Weaver’s notes on the Justices’ attitudes towards her (Box 1, folder 7) and the document indicating Justices Markman, Corrigan, and Young were against her (Box 1, folder 2).

The Brady v AGC case involves Paul Fischer, then Executive Director of the Judicial Tenure Commission, accusing Judge Steven Servaas of forfeiting his role as judge due to the moving of his office and inappropriate behavior towards staff. Brady, head lawyer on the case, represented Servaas. Weaver would ultimately disqualified herself on the case due to her disclosing information to her lawyer, who was also working on the case.

Also included is the Third Judicial Circuit Appeals Case. The impact of this case documents the split between Weaver and the rest of the Justices. Weaver was then found in contempt of court rules. It also documents the actions of Justice Mary Beth Kelly, who later served as Chief Justice for the 2009 – 2010 term. Included is a cassette documenting Justice Mary Kelly’s concerns and a microcassette of Justice Diane Hathaway’s conversation, most likely with Weaver herself. Of note are news articles regarding Justice Robert Young and a transcription of his racist comment (Box 2, folder 5).

It is unknown to the Archivist after processing (in 2018) why Justice Weaver talked to the lawyer. In Box 1, folder 7, there is indication that Weaver forgot the case was still open. Referencing Weaver’s book indicates that the other Justices wanted to get Weaver into trouble. In fact, Justice Weaver was advised to turn herself in to the Judicial Tenure Commission (Box 1, folder 2).

Justice Weaver’s book, Judicial Deceit: Tyranny and Unnecessary Secrecy at the Michigan Supreme Court, pages 648 – 656 was referenced for background information about AO-2006 and the Brady case.

Series 7 Processing Note: 1 cubic foot of copies and peripheral materials was withdrawn during processing. All acidic materials were copied and the copies were added to the collection.

Series 8, processed by Courtney Riggs, Wayne County v. Hathcock Materials, 2003-2005, .25 cubic foot (in 1 box) includes: a reference book, agendas, memorandums, news articles, notes, opinions and other, related materials.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s involvement in the Wayne v Hathcock County case. This case would come to overrule the 1972 case of Poletown Neighborhood Council v. City of Detroit, in which General Motors was allowed to take land from private owners. While Weaver initially agreed with the other Justices, she later changed her opinion, causing tension between Justices. The reference book included in the collection references what the Wayne County v Hathcock decision means to the public.

Series 8 Processing Note: .5 cubic foot (.5) of copies and peripheral materials was withdrawn during processing.

Series 9, processed by Courtney Riggs, Pellegrino v Ampco Materials, 2007-2010, undated, 1 cubic foot (in 2 boxes) includes: appeals, case notes, legal findings, and other, related materials.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s involvement in the Pellegrino v Ampco Systems case. Also included are documents describing the rules to disqualifying Justices from cases and information about the escalating tensions between the Justices. The Pellegrino case itself involves Anthony and Shirley Pellegrino’s involvement in a car accident driven by an Ampco employee. Shirley died in the crash, while Anthony was severely injured.

During the trial, Fieger represented Pellegrino. Fieger thought that Ampco should not be able to change jurors and thus, a Baston Challenge was called. Legally, the definition of a Baston Challenge is “an objection to the validity of a peremptory challenge, on grounds that the other party used it to exclude a potential juror based on race, ethnicity, or sex” (https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/batson_challenge). The Challenge resulted in the Justices questioning if the Judge should be turned into the Judicial Tenure Commission. While most of the Justices agreed, Weaver dissented to this, as well as to the idea of disqualifying judges. Weaver’s actions, and that of the other Justices, resulted in high tensions.

Processing Note: .5 cubic foot of copies and peripheral materials was withdrawn during processing. All acidic materials were copied and the copies were added to the collection.

Series 10, processed by Courtney Riggs, Speeches, 1975-2010, undated, .75 cubic foot (in 2 boxes) includes: speeches in paper, CDs, and microcassette (if no paper speech copy was available), information about Weaver’s Central Michigan University (CMU) courses she taught and other, related materials.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s Speeches from 1975 to 2010. Enclosed are her speech duties as a Justice, which include performing investitures and swearing in other legal officials (Box 1, Folder 6). Weaver also gave such speeches as Court House Dedications, Boy Scouts, and special events, like the 100th Anniversary of the Juvenile Court (Box 1, Folder 3). Weaver also performed marriages during her career.

One Court House dedication Weaver performed was the Isabella County Courthouse Dedication Ceremony, which took place on September 6th, 2000 (Box 1, Folder 5).

Weaver taught two classes, Educational Administration: Introduction to School Law and Elementary Education/ Secondary Education: Law for Teachers, for CMU Off Campus extension courses (Box 2, Folder 4). These classes took place in Traverse City.

A list of copyrighted interviews with or coverage about Justice Weaver is included in the back of Box 92, Speeches, August 2002 – 2005, folder. These CDs or DVDs were withdrawn from the collection due to copyright issues.

Processing Note: 7 cubic feet of copies, correspondence, drafts, floppy disks, memorandums, microcassettes (if paper speech was available), and peripheral materials was withdrawn during processing.

Series 11, processed by Jonathan Strom, Trial Court Assessment Commission (TCAC), 1993, 1999, undated, 1 cubic foot (in 2 boxes) includes: Meeting minutes of the commission and its subcommittees, correspondence between commission members and various people related to TCAC’s mission, reports generated and /or used by the commission, memorandums, and other related material.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s involvement in TCAC as Chairman. It exhibits how the commission function, how they developed and executed their plan of trial court reform, and how they managed blowback from the legal community. Portions of this series which may be of particular interest are: data generated by the commission’s assessment, and documents related to the demonstration projects that included Barry, Berrien, Isabella, Lake, Washtenaw counties and the 46th Circuit Court. TCAC formed in 1997 to assess the status of trial courts in Michigan and to recommend a solution to streamline the process. They were dissolved in December of 1998 after conducting multiple studies and experiments.

Processing Note: 3 cubic feet of copies, blanks, drafts, trivial correspondence, job applications, and peripheral materials were withdrawn during processing.

Series 12, processed by Brian Schamber, Probate Court and Leelanau Materials, 1974-1990, and undated, 4.5 cubic ft. (in 9 boxes, 1 Oversized folder) includes: newspaper articles, publications, financial reports, cassette tapes, a county flag, correspondence, surveys, and other, related materials. All boxes in this series are Legal-sized boxes.

This series documents Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s time as the probate judge of Leelanau County, her service on the Committee for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), her controversial stance on jailing juveniles (Jailing, Box 97), and her dispute with some members of the county board of commissioners (Yarger Dispute, Boxes 102-103). CJJ meeting folders may contain the following: meeting minutes, charts related to the meeting, and other documents received at the meetings. This series also contains correspondences between other judges, a letter of recommendation from former Michigan Governor and Supreme Court Justice G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams, promotional and campaign materials, publications, mortgage and land dispute cases. A bicentennial flag, which measures 57x 35 inches made by the Spartan Flag Co. of Northport Mi. and bears the county seal of Leelanau County on a blue background, is stored in an oversized folder.

Within the Probate Court Series, is the Leelanau School subseries, which holds documents from Judge Weaver’s time as a board member for the Leelanau School, a private Christian Science school on the Crystal River. Documents in this series cover board meetings, correspondence from headmasters and Congressman Vander Jagt, legal paper work regarding property boundaries, and promotional materials related to the school.

Processing Note: 20 cubic feet of copies, reading materials, and peripheral materials was withdrawn during processing. Acidic newspaper clippings were copied and the copies were added to the collection. One publication was separately cataloged.

Series 13, processed by Ashley Blackburn, Court Reform Materials, 1975-2009, and undated, 6 cubic feet (in 12 boxes) includes: judicial reform documents, trial court reform documents, county court documents, meeting minutes, agendas, correspondence among the Justices, judge recommendations, Court of Appeals documents, media reports, business cards, legal notes, resolutions, newspaper clippings (copies), Demonstration Project documents, Justice Weaver’s notes on bills, and other related materials.

This series documents one of Justice Elizabeth Weaver’s most important platforms: court reform. Included in materials are recommendations on how all Michigan courts should be structured, run, and budgeted and how all judges and Justices should obtain office and behave while in office. Materials show Justice Weaver’s firm point of view on the subject and how other Justice’s communicated with her on the subject of court reform, and how the subject of court reform impacted her role in the courts. Some boxes include dissent documents and related communications among many of her fellow Justices. Many of the boxes also include documents showing support from the community and Justice Weaver’s contemporaries in the courts for her firm stance on Court Reform. Many of the boxes contain media relations, such as news articles showing positive or negative press on the topic of court reform or Justice Weaver herself.

In Box 104, AAUW stands for the American Association of University Women. In 1976, Irene Brown was the Grand Travers Area Representative on the State Board of AAUW. Michigan State Representatives H. Lynn Jondahl and Dennis O. Cawthorne are mentioned. Ingham County Probate Judge Donald S. Owens, who later went on to serve in the Michigan Court of Appeals (2000-2016), is corresponded with. There is also correspondence with Wayne County Juvenile Judge Gladys Barsamian who served in the court from 1975-1993; she died in January 2016.

Box 109 includes information on the Demonstration Projects, sometimes abbreviated Demo, in Michigan Courts. These projects, many of which were led by Justice Weaver, involve restructuring and merging county courts, including probate, trial, district, and circuit courts.

Boxes 111 and 112 mention State Representative Michael (Mike) Nye. Nye also served as a judge for the 30th Probate Court in Hillsdale County. In 1995, during his time as a state representative, Nye introduced House Bill 5158 which dealt with court restructuring and funding. Nye retired in 2012.

In Box 112, MACC stands for Michigan Association of County Clerks.

Box 115 also includes a few multimedia DVDs which record Justice Weaver speaking on the subject of Court Reform to the state of Michigan and a Michigan women’s group. These DVD’s must be played in VLC Media Player. Box 115 also includes an article referencing Senator Barack Obama. A few folders in Box 115 have specific mention of Central Michigan University (CMU) Professor James P. Hill and general Isabella County information.

All the boxes in this series are .5 legal-size cubic foot boxes. 12 boxes, 6 cubic feet in total.

Processing note: At least 5 cubic feet of material was withdrawn from the collection. Not all acidic materials were kept; news clippings that were kept were photocopied and added to the collection. The majority of the acidic items were newspaper articles. Some sticky notes were also photocopied and added into the collection; the rest were withdrawn. At least five items (publications and multimedia) were separately cataloged. Box 1 and Box 2 were processed by Brian Schamber (originally under Probate Courts), therefore the folder descriptions and look vary from the rest of the series.

Series 14, processed by Courtney Riggs, Orals, 1991-2010, and undated, 40.5 cubic feet (in 82 boxes) includes: case notes, legal findings, memorandums, morning reports, pre-orals, orals, orders, supporting constituent correspondence, syllabuses and other, related materials.

This series documents the Supreme Court cases for which the Justices required Orals. Also included are documents describing how the Court reached certain decisions. Such cases include; the People v Budzyn, (102654/102655), in which a black man was killed by a white police officer, and In Re Hon William Runco (113567), which was the first time the Supreme Court became involved in a Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) case.

Orals is the final step in the process of Michigan Supreme Court case review. First, the Justices decide if a case should be reviewed at all. Then, a case might require a Justice to review or research the case. Next, the Justice may require the lawyers to specifically address one or a few points (mini orals). If the Justices have many or various points to review, the case requires Orals, or presentations by lawyers for the case.

The process for Orals is complex. First, Weaver’s law clerks wrote up a Pre-Oral for her to read about the case. These law clerks include Susan Grace Davis, Graham Bateman, Stephanie, Angela Verner, and Elizabeth Bagley Roth. After the Pre-Oral, Justices hear the case for thirty minutes (Orals). Afterwards, a Justice wrote an opinion. The draft was then circulated to the other Justices. The Justices then edited and revised certain phrases to make it legally correct. If the other Justices did not agree, they wrote up a dissenting opinion or their own opinion. The Justices then decided whom they agreed with and a majority/minority was established. A Justice could also concur in part, and dissent in other parts. “I release my string” is a common phrase used to establish when a Justice threw out their own opinion, as there could only be one majority opinion.

“LIG” is another term used on the Supreme Court. This means leave to appeal improvidently granted, in which the Court believes the case was allowed to be appealed when it should not have been (as explained by CMU Emeritus Professor Joyce Baugh in an email to the Archivist, February 2018).

Abeyance is also a term used by the Supreme Court. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, this means “a state of temporary disuse or suspension.”

Justices made history by hearing an oral argument at the Lapeer County Courthouse in 2007. Completed in 1846, it is the oldest Michigan courthouse still in operation. The plan was to continue this tradition at various courthouses in the upcoming years, but this seemingly has not come into fruition. This is documented in Box #60.

Processing note: 40.5 cubic feet of copies, drafts, and peripheral materials was withdrawn during processing. All acidic materials were copied and the copies were added to the collection. 5 cubic feet of Orals VHS tapes and DVDs are separately cataloged.

Series 15, processed by Brian Schamber, Crystal River Materials, 1975-2005 (Scattered), and undated, 1.5 cubic feet (in 3 boxes) includes: correspondence, constituent letters, a DNR packet, EPA documents, zoning ordinance, directories, reports, newspaper clippings(copies), meeting minutes, circuit court case materials, memorandum, a VHS videotape, water level reports, plat map and a survey sketch

This series documents documents environmental issues in the Crystal River and Glen Lake, Michigan area. Of particular interest are documents related to the Homestead golf course development project (all boxes) which contain correspondence surveys from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, and Bill Ford (William Clay Ford, Jr.) and the Friends of Crystal River, a local grassroots environmental organization. The collection also documents a law suit related to water level control between Leelanau County and the Glen Lake-Crystal River Watershed Riparians verses the Glen Lake Association. Continued by Series 26.

Processing note: 1.5 cubic feet of peripheral materials, duplicates, copies, in several formats were withdrawn.

Series 16, processed by JoAnna Lincoln and Cassie Olson, Mini-Orals (MOAAs or Mini-Oral Argument on the Application), 2002-2010 and undated, 11.75 cubic feet (in 24 boxes) includes: case notes, legal findings, memorandums, orders, transcripts, supporting constituent correspondence, syllabuses and other, related materials.

This series documents the Supreme Court cases for which the Justices required Mini-Orals to determine if the case should be tried in the Supreme Court. Also included are documents describing how the Court reached certain decisions.

The Mini-Oral Argument on the Application, or MOAA, gives the Court an opportunity to explore the issues involved in the case without the full briefing and submission that follows a leave to appeal. Many times, the Court orders a MOAA to discuss more specific issues before elevating it to a full oral argument.

Each MOAA case included some variation of the following materials: memorandum opinion, orders, a syllabus, memorandums, applications, motions, supplemental reports, Weaver’s notes, conference agendas, a transcript, and photographs.

Some of these cases include; MOAA Docket 127292 wherein a baby was either thrown or fell accidentally out of a window, MOAA Docket 133988 wherein a woman crossing the street was hit by a police car, and Docket 135247 in which the MOAA was held at the Barry County Historical Courthouse with high school students present for educational purposes. In her notes, Weaver expressed her opinion that Docket 135247 was the worst MOAA they had ever heard.

Orals is the final step in the process of Michigan Supreme Court case review. First, the Justices decide if a case should be reviewed at all. Then, a case might require a Justice to review or research the case. Next, the Justice may require the lawyers to specifically address one or a few points (mini orals). If the Justices have many or various points to review, the case requires Orals, or presentations by lawyers for the case. For more information on Orals, see the finding aid for Orals.

Processing Note: 7.5 cubic feet of copies, miscellaneous agendas and notes, drafts, and peripheral materials were withdrawn during processing.

Series 17, processed by JoAnna Lincoln, Reference Materials, 1985-2010, and undated, 1 cubic foot (in 2 boxes) includes: various reports and publications by the courts for the state of Michigan, audits, forums, essays, materials for events Weaver attended, legal documents investigating Weaver and other justices for judicial malpractice, personal correspondence, correspondence from constituents with strong feelings, materials from organizations Weaver was involved with, and Weaver’s personal membership cards.

Processing Note: Ten feet of materials including duplicates, newspaper clippings, empty envelopes, advertisements, court orders, sticky notes, reference materials, floppy disks, FYIs, and peripheral materials were removed from the collection during processing. 19 items were separately cataloged.

Series 18, processed by Nikki Brabaw, Campaigns Material, 1974-2010, and undated, 2.5 cubic feet (in 5 boxes) includes: Materials relate to the various campaigns and elections Weaver ran for – Probate Court in 1974, Court of Appeals in 1986 and 1992, Michigan Supreme Court Justice in 1995 and 2002, and her appointment to Chief Justice in 1999. This series also documents Justice Weaver’s initial resignation from Supreme Court in 2005 that she later revoked, her campaign for a third term as Justice in 2010, that she revoked, and her official resignation in 2010. Justice Weaver’s attempts to reveal to the public the corruption of the other Michigan Supreme Court Justices are somewhat displayed in this collection, and the backlash she received from other justices that ultimately led to an investigation into her conduct as a justice and her later, forced, resignation. This series also documents that Justice Weaver legally changed her name from Betty to Elizabeth to help avoid confusion when the public assumed her full name was Elizabeth. Also included is the page from Corp! Magazine in which Weaver was named one of the top 95 most powerful women in Michigan in 2002. Along with Justice Weaver’s campaigns, this series also includes the other judges and politicians that she endorsed and supported during their campaigns and when she was not back up for election. The last box of this series also includes three-dimensional objects – two hats and one paper weight. Researchers may also be interested in Series 5 of this collection which covers 1990, 1995 and undated materials .75 cubic feet (2 boxes), of Weaver’s first run for Michigan Supreme Court. Researchers may also note that there are only three items in one folder pertaining to Weaver’s 1992 campaign for Court of Appeals. An exhaustive, unsuccessful search was completed to find additional materials.

Processing Note: Approximately 22.25 cubic feet of materials including duplicates, newspaper clippings, empty envelopes, post-it notes, reference materials, floppy disks, miscellaneous financials, miscellaneous notes, letters addressed to Weaver that have no response, miscellaneous cassette tapes, acidic paper, event invitations that Weaver did not attend, receipts, agendas and calendars, miscellaneous office supplies, unsupported CDs, and peripheral materials were removed from the series during processing. Cassette tapes of radio interviews with Justice Weaver in which she openly discussed the wrongdoings of the other Justices, and how she felt the court system should change, were also withdrawn due to their content. Twenty-nine photographs were removed from this series and interfiled with the other general photographs in the collection. Also withdrawn was a card from Nancy (who worked for Weaver) in which an actual flower was pressed insecurely into the front and was breaking off into the rest of the series. Researchers may also note that special attention was given to any materials from Justice Weaver’s first run for Michigan Supreme Court in 1994, Hall of Justice documents and speeches. A few of these items were found in this series and were appropriate interfiled. Thirty-four items were separately cataloged and twenty-one additional items were added to the Michigan Vertical Files.

Series 19, processed by Brad Davis, 46th District Court Docket No. 128878 materials, 2004-2006, 2018, and undated, 2.25 cubic ft. (in 5 boxes) includes: case overview, appendices, application to leave for appeal, and sealed exhibitions.

This series documents the suppressed case of the 46th Circuit Trial Court v. Crawford County. The Trial Court’s predecessor, the 46th Circuit Court, was the circuit court servicing Otsego, Crawford, and Kalkaska counties. There was a plan to evaluate the feasibility of consolidating various court functions into a single entity known as the 46th Trial Court.

In order to facilitate this consolidation, the Trial Court began a large-scale administrative reorganization for the purpose of standardizing wages, benefits, and personnel policies in 2004. During the reorganization, the Chief Judge requested that his employees switch to less-favorable prescription drug and health insurance plans and that they relinquish longevity plans for an enhanced employee pension plan funded by the counties. The Chief Judge presented his enhanced benefits plan to the Tri-County Committee, and subsequently to each county’s board of commission. The resolution was passed by the Otsego and Kalkaska county boards.

The Crawford County board refused to sign the contract because the board’s concern regarding the prospect of a sizeable unfunded liability, led to the District Court’s involvement. In 2004, Crawford County refused to pay its share of the costs of the enhanced benefit plans. In 2005, Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners rescinded its resolution on the basis of the concerns raised by Crawford County. Otsego County proceeded to fund the entire cost of the enhanced benefits plan without reimbursement from the other funding units.

Application for leave to appeal was answered in 2005. A major issue in the case was that Judge Davis tried inappropriately to impose his plan on the counties without the commissioner’s approval, super-ceding his authority. The case was decided in 2006, and later suppressed. The 46th District Court is now the 46th Circuit Court. (Information taken from the Case Overview provided in the collection.)

Processing Note: Nothing from the collection was withdrawn during processing.

Series 20, processed by Brad Davis, Reform Michigan Government Now Materials, 2008, .25 cubic ft. (in 1 box), includes: orders from the court, news articles, and memoranda.

This series documents the decision o f the courts on a proposed amendment to the Michigan constitution to be included on the ballot during the 2008 presidential election. Reform Michigan Government sought to amend the Michigan constitution to completely reform the Michigan courts by increasing the number of local judges and decreasing the number of Michigan Supreme Court Justices from seven to five. The proposed amendment became a topic of controversy between Michigan Democrats and Republicans.

72% of Michigan voters eventually favored the amendment. However, the proposal also encountered opposition, most notably among the Michigan Republican Party, which launched a campaign to stop the proposed amendment from being placed on the ballot in November 2008. The argument between supporters and the opposition to the amendment led to the proposal reaching the Michigan Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals ruled that the amendment was unconstitutional, causing a greater controversy.

The ruling by the Court of Appeals was challenged and the case was brought to the Michigan Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the lower court, leaving the proposed amendment off the ballot in the November election. (Video recordings of the oral arguments for this case are separately catalogued.)

Processing Note: .25 cubic ft. of material outside the scope of the collection were withdrawn during processing.

Series 21, processed by Lindsey Rogers, Macomb County Probate Court (MCPC) Materials, 1999-2009, .5 cubic foot (in 1 box), includes: correspondence, supporting documents (memorandums, emails, and statements from members of the court and the public) concerning the investigation of the behavior of MCPC judges.

This series was created due to apparent negligence on the behalf of certain judges on the MCPC. Justice Weaver became involved after an article appeared in the newspaper, which detailed the ongoing issues between Judge Pamela Gilbert O’Sullivan and then-Chief Judge Kathryn George. The series centers on several mishandled cases and issues surrounding the Addams Guardianship Services. These issues affected Justice Weaver’s personal life and her position on the Michigan Supreme Court.

Of particular note is Justice Weaver’s rapidly deteriorating friendship with Judge Kenneth Sanborn, as indicated in letters throughout this series. The materials within indicate that Justice Weaver may have been building a case against Judge George, and later newspapers articles show that Judge George was removed as Chief Judge and was investigated by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission (MJTC). Justice Weaver’s relationships with the other Supreme Court Justices is also documented throughout this series.

Weaver’s attempts to replace Sanborn with O’Sullivan and to file complaints against George with the MJTC all failed by October 2008 (“Probate’s acting chief judge will stay put,” Macomb Daily, October 3, 2008, accessed online December 21, 2018.)

Processing Note: 1 cubic foot of duplicates, out-of-scope materials, and blanks were withdrawn during processing.

Series 22, processed by Anna Dean, Emily Moran, and Mitchel Watts, Administrative Meeting Minutes, 1994-2010, 2.75 cubic ft. (in 6 boxes) is a compilation of minutes created by Justice Weaver for reference. Most of the boxes of this series include agendas and meeting minutes of the court and of court administrative meetings. The fourth box contains the opening and closing of files, Michigan Justice Tenure Commission (JTC) staff reports and letters of recommendation regarding JTC amendments

At the Court Administrative meetings the Justices discuss the inner workings and rules of the court themselves and approve meeting minutes from prior meetings. There are specific court processes that were often changed or adjusted. During these meetings important changes to the court, such as the nomination and acquisition of a new Chief Justice, were discussed. Towards the end of these meetings, Justice Young abstained from approving meeting minutes for a multitude of years. He stated that he will stop abstaining when Justice Weaver is removed from the court. These meetings occurred approximately once a week or every other week.

During court case file review meetings the Justices vote on whether or not a case showed the plaintiff guilty or innocent or decide whether or not they wanted to review a case. These meetings occurred approximately once a week or every other week.

The opening or closing of certain cases is also documented in this series. There is a statute of limitations so if the Justices wish to open or close these files they are allowed to do so only within a certain period. These meetings rarely occurred.

Box 244 (a .25 cubic foot box) includes two JTC folders. During JTC meetings complex changes for justices’ roles were discussed, including a large number of rule changes which govern judicial disciplinary proceedings. These changes were considered in 1999 and 2000. Some of these changes were accepted. There were also a number of recommendations by various people to amend these rules. The JTC met the second Monday of each month.

The Michigan JTC was established by the state in 1968. The Commission strives to hold state judges, magistrates, and referees accountable for their misconduct without jeopardizing or compromising the essential independence of the judiciary. The basis for Commission action is a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct or Rules of Professional Conduct, which are published with the Michigan Rules of Court. (This information is from the MI JTC’s website, accessed February 20, 2019.)

Processing Note: 58.75 cubic foot of duplicates, out-of-scope materials, and blanks were withdrawn during processing.

Series 23, processed by Carolyn Niehaus, Denials, 2007 – 2009, 9 cubic ft. (in 18 boxes), includes: case notes, legal findings, memorandums, orders, holds, transcripts, supporting constituent correspondence, Justice Weaver notes, syllabuses and other, related materials.

This series documents the Supreme Court cases for which the Justices determine that the case should not be reviewed or tried in the Supreme Court. Also included are documents describing how the Court reached certain decisions.

Each Denial case includes some variation of the following materials: memorandum opinion, orders, a syllabus, memorandums, hold orders, applications, motions, supplemental reports, Weaver’s notes, a transcript, photographs, and other documents relevant to the evaluation of individual cases.

Hold orders appear as regular correspondence between Justices within each Denial case docket. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a hold order is “an instruction to stop activity by a previous order” (March, 2019). Hold orders appear in the Denial cases through phrasing such as “Please hold this case for conference consideration”, “Please hold this case. I would like to review the file at greater length”, or “THIS IS NOT A HOLD”.

Orals is the final step in the process of Michigan Supreme Court case review. First, the Justices decide if a case should be reviewed at all. If not, the case is denied. Then, a case might require a Justice to review or research the case, and then it may be denied. Next, the Justice may require the lawyers to specifically address one or a few points (mini orals), and then the case may be denied. If the Justices have many or various points to review, the case requires Orals, or presentations by lawyers for the case, and even then the case may be denied. For more information on Orals, see the finding aid for Orals.

Processing Note: 1 cubic feet of copies, miscellaneous agendas and notes, drafts, and peripheral materials as well as cases involving minors were withdrawn during processing. While cases involving minors are a matter of public record, the Justices’ notes about these sensitive cases were not. Therefore, they were withdrawn during processing.

Series 24, processed by Mitchel Watts, the Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect (GTFCAN), 1978-2014, undated, 1 cubic foot (in 2 boxes, 1 Oversized folder) includes: reports, notably the Washtenaw County Trial Court Family Division Juvenile Court Reorganization Report 2001, appointments, state-congressional bills, letters, executive summary, model protocols and a CD. The collection documents the Task Force’s findings and reports on child abuse and neglect in the state of Michigan. The series includes case documents on the debatable topic of whether or not spiritual healing qualifies as child abuse (see Weaver GTFCJ, Spiritual Healing, 1993-1997 folder). A speech made by Justice Weaver (see Weaver GTFCAN, Leland Education Foundation Speech, 2011 folder) details changes she wanted to implement in the court system. There is a CD (see Weaver GTFCAN, State Court Administrative Office 8th Annual Child Welfare Services Conference, Pathways to Permanency, CD, 2012 folder) records an annual conference sponsored by the GTFCAN. Lastly, there is her oversized certificate of to the GTFCJ in 2004. The oversized folder includes Weaver GTFCJ, Appointment Certificate, 2004.

Originally established in 1991, the Governor’s Task Force on Children’s Justice (GTFCJ) was renamed The Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect (GTFCAN) in 2010. The charge of the Task Force remained the same, which was to review and evaluate State investigative, administrative and both civil and criminal judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as cases involving suspected child maltreatment related fatalities and cases involving a potential combination of jurisdictions, such as intrastate, interstate, Federal-State, and State-Tribal. Justice Weaver served on both task forces as chair, 1993-2012. Justice Weaver was aware of the suffering of minors in the court system and sought to alleviate their suffering by accelerating the rate by which their cases were heard and resolved through reorganization and reassignments of cases that were waiting for a judge to hear or review them. Her ideas proved unpopular as most Michigan judges did not desire a larger caseload. (This information is from the series, her book, and the website Michigan.gov/Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, accessed in October 2020.)

Processing Note: 1 cubic foot of duplicates, copies, blank papers and miscellaneous information was withdrawn during processing.

Series 25, processed by Emily Moran, Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver Miscellaneous and Photographs, 1987, 2011, undated, includes: awards and various installments of each ceremony in this series, particularly her investiture as Chief Supreme Court Justice in 1995 and involvement with the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame (MWHoF), speeches, including those related to her induction, other women’s inductions into the MWHoF, as well as graduations and other events, and correspondence. Also included are some financial reports, and a folder regarding her judicial misconduct (October-December 2002). Other folders of interest include materials related to the Supreme Court Learning Center, Supreme Court Survival Kit, which are intended for new Justices. Weaver answered a number of questions about her upbringing and how she became interested in a legal career. Lastly, there is a script of her speaking part in an educational video about the courts. The collection is arranged in alphabetical order. There is a thank you note from President George W. Bush and two packets titled Portfolio of Michigan Capito Woodcuts, Reprinted from 1879, and coins, for Capitols 125th Anniversary, 2004. Miscellaneous photographs (Box 284) include formal and informal photographs of Justice Weaver campaigning, interacting with colleagues and friends, group photographs of justices, in the Michigan Woman’s Hall of Fame, Hall of Justice images, and documentation of the arson destruction and recovery of the Court of Appeals office, 1987. There is one photograph of her with President Ronald Reagan, 1995.

Michigan Women Forward, previously known as the Michigan Women’s Foundation, began in 1986 as an organization “devoted to the economic and personal well-being of Michigan women and girls.” Since 1987 they have held annual induction ceremonies into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. Justice Elizabeth Weaver was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 and gave speeches in honor of other nominees in 2006 and 2008. (This information is from the collection and the Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center’s website, https://courts.michigan.gov/education/learning-center/Pages/default.aspx, Accessed 2 November 2020.)

The Supreme Court Learning Center was established as a hands-on gallery to engage visitors and aid them in understanding the roles of the judicial branch of government. The Learning Center offers tours and educational programs geared towards K-12 students across the state. Justice Elizabeth Weaver was the Supervising Justice for the Learning Center in 2006, however it is not clear how long she held this position. (This information is from the collection and Michigan Women Forward’s website, https://miwf.org/, Accessed 2 November 2020.)

Processing Note: During processing 7cubic feet of duplicates, copies, blank papers and miscellaneous information was withdrawn. Three items relating to budget reports had previously been cataloged and were placed with their appropriate collections.

Series 26, processed by Mitchel Watts, is a continuation of Series 15, the Crystal River series, 1983-2003, undated, 1.5 cubic feet (in 4 boxes) includes: dockets for the Michigan Appeals and Supreme Court, reports, letters, and maps. The majority of the series is recorded proceedings of the Michigan Supreme Court case Friends of the Crystal River V. Kuras Properties. Notably, the series has a full report from the Department of the Army that details their findings in Glen Arbor Township (see Weaver Crystal River, Department of the Army Permit Evaluation Homestead, Undated folder). The series has two folders of letters, one each that supports and disapproves of the proposed golf course (See Weaver Crystal River, Golf Course Support Letters, 1987 folder and Weaver Crystal River, Letters Opposed to the golf Course, 1986-1987). The series also contains a map that shows where the Homestead proposed purchase of land would be in Glen Arbor Township (See Weaver Crystal River, Facts and Maps Concerning the Homestead Golf Course, 1983, 1986). The legal-size box contains recorded proceeding of the case in the Appeals Court.

In 1986, the Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor, Michigan, planned to build a golf course some of which would overlap the Crystal River. The Homestead sought to incorporate the Crystal River as a water hazard within the golf course. Some of the local population so (saw?) this new course as a violations to rivers purity and formed a group called Friends of the Crystal River. The Friends filed a suit against Homestead alleging that their new course would violate the state’s wetlands act and Environmental Protection acts by disrupting the river’s ecology and interfering with the public’s right to use it. When the golf course was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Friends filed a suit which eventually reached the Michigan Supreme Court under docket number 107823. The Supreme court decided to abolish all previous rulings in the lower courts and left the decision to the Department of the Army to determine if the golf course could be built without affecting the environment. After a long survey, the Department of the Army deemed that building the golf course would not be best for the land and Crystal River and therefore the Homestead golf course was not built.

Processing Note: During processing 1 cubic foot of duplicates, blank papers, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous information was withdrawn. One cassette tape and 9 mini cassette tapes were also withdrawn for their miscellaneous information.

Series 27, processed by Emily Moran, Events, 1994-2004, .25 cubic feet (in 1 box) includes: invitations and / or tickets to a wide array of events such as, luncheons, conferences, inductions, banquets, ceremonies, fundraisers, birthday parties, graduations, retirement parties, and organization meetings. There is a folder that contains speeches given by Justice Weaver when attending events titled Events Featuring Speeches, 1994-2004. The folder titled Events Relating to Attorneys / Law Topics, 1998-2004 features events hosted by organizations such as the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association. The folder titled Events Relating to Friends and Family, 2001-2004 includes invitations and tickets to weddings, graduations, retirements, plays, and symphonies. Events Relating to Judges / Judicial Topics, 1999-2004 has invitations regarding investitures, as well as events hosted by the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society and the Michigan Judicial Institute. Lastly, the folder titled Events Relating to Miscellaneous Organizations, 1999-2004 contains invitations to events hosted by organizations that do not fit into other folders listed, such as the House Republican Campaign Committee and Michigan Senate Republicans.

Founded in 1928, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM) is a voluntary association serving the state of Michigan. As an organization, their primary function is to keep all prosecuting attorneys throughout the state of Michigan updated of changes in law, legislation, and other matters that pertain to their offices. Their goal is to create a uniform system of conduct, duty, and procedure, for each county in the state. (This information is from the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan’s website, https://www.michiganprosecutor.org/, accessed 25 November 2020.)

The Michigan Trial Lawyers Association is now known as the Michigan Association of Justice (MAJ). The organization’s mission statement is “to promote a fair and effective justice system,” through supporting the work of attorneys who obtain justice for persons who are injured by misconduct or negligence of others. The organization achieves this by hosting seminars, forums, and publications to help MAJ members advocate for their clients successfully. (This information is from the Michigan Association of Justice website, https://www.michiganjustice.org/, accessed on 25 November 2020.)

Processing Note: 4 cubic feet of copies, thank you letters, event schedules, blank papers and miscellaneous information was withdrawn during processing.

Series 28, processed by Emily Moran, Court Cases, 1996-2008, .5 cubic feet (in 1 box) includes: court-related documents, such as syllabi, opinions, hearing transcripts, supplemental reports, and orders. Also included are personal notes taken by Justice Weaver during oral hearings and memorandums sent between the Justices. Three cases are highlighted in the collection: Gilbert v. DaimlerChrysler Co., In re Haley, and In re Nettles-Nickerson. Each court case has a folder Syllabus, Official Documents, and a folder Orals, Personal Notes, in which Justice Weaver made notes and comments regarding each case. A specific folder In re Haley Memorandums between Justices, 2005-2006, features the back and forth hostile deliberation about the majority and minority opinions between both Justice Weaver and the majority, Robert P. Young, Jr., Clifford W. Taylor, Maura D. Corrigan, and Stephen J. Markman. A folder Sample of Weaver Selected Cases, 1996-1998, were intentionally retained by Justice Weaver to demonstrate her dissenting opinions.

Processing Note: 5.5 cubic feet of copies, memorandums, supplemental information, and miscellaneous materials were withdrawn during processing.

Series 29, processed by Marian Matyn, Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver Budgets, Calendars, 1975, 2007 (Scattered), 1 cubic feet (in 2 boxes), consists of the remnants of two series, Budgets and Calendars, combined into one. The series includes budget information for the Judiciary, 1998; Recorder’s Court, 1997; a survey of court employee compensation, 1996; and correspondence and an article about the Justices no longer having a state car in 2007 due to budget cuts. Also included is a sample of Weaver’s various types of calendars, 1975-1976; 1981; 1986; 1995; 2001 and 2005. She had multiple calendars each year with both personal and professional entries duplicated from one calendar to the next. In 1975 Weaver had two desk calendars. The archivist combined pages with information on them, which sometimes is duplicative, into one folder. The calendars span her time as a Probate Court Judge, January 1974-1986, and as a Michigan Supreme Court Justice, 1995-2010, and as Chief Justice, 1999-2001.

Processing Note: During processing 4 cubic feet of duplicates, miscellaneous, phone message books, and blanks was withdrawn. 1 publication was separately cataloged.

Series 30, processed by Emily Moran, Leelanau Center for Education (LCE), 1980-1987, and undated, .25 cubic ft. (in 1 box), contains materials relating to Justice Weaver’s involvement within the Leelanau Center for Education (LCE), such as letters of grievances, letters regarding the Homestead golf course development project, LCE curriculum and policy changes, and Justice Weaver’s 1987 resignation from the Board of Trustees. Folders of interest include Grievances to LCE Board of Trustees, 1987, featuring letters from Leelanau School alum, The Homestead Golf Course Project, 1986-1987, containing materials sent to the Board of Trustees concerning the golf course development project, and LCE Curriculum, 1980-1987, undated, which highlights school curriculum and policies, including Christian Science programs. Lastly, Resignation from the LCE, 1987, has farewell letters sent to Justice Weaver after her departure from the Board of Trustees

Researchers may also be interested in related materials found in Series 12 Probate Court and Leelanau Materials 1974-1990, undated, as well as folder Leelanau School Documents, 1986-1987, in Series 15 and 26 Crystal River Materials.

Camp Leelanau for Boys and Camp Kohahna for Girls were founded by M. “Skipper” Beals and his sister Maude Beals Turner in the early 1920s. Originally providing daily educational programs, the camps paved way for the creation of what is now known as the Leelanau School to offer year-round traditional academics. The two camps joined together in the 1970s to share land and were located in Northport from 1981-1988. In 1988, the non-profit organization Camp Leelanau and Kohahna Foundation, Inc. was formed to take on the responsibilities of running the camps.

Previously known as the Leelanau Center for Education, the Leelanau School is a private boarding and day school for K-12 students. The Homestead, Leelanau School, and Camp Leelanau were supervised by the governing board of the Leelanau School and shared space on the same property before a division of the land between the three groups in the 1980s. The school is designed to be a facility for students looking to learn in a Christian Science community. (This information is taken from the collection, The Leelanau School’s official website, https://leelanau.org/, and Camp Leelanau and Kohahna’s official website, https://leelanau-kohahna.org/, accessed 1 December 2020.)

Processing Note: 1 cubic foot of copies, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, water damaged materials, and miscellaneous papers were withdrawn during processing.

Series 31, processed by Marian Matyn, Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver CJJ (Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice), 1995, 2006, 1.5 cubic feet (in 3 boxes), includes: meeting minutes and related emails, attachments, reports, proposals, and statistics for the committee, executive committee, and subcommittees on which Weaver served, 1995-2006, There is material for every year except 1996 and 2000. There are reports, proposals, and statistics on at risk, abused, and disproportionately incarcerated Michigan Black, Native American and female minors from organizations and government agencies responsible for their care, trying to improve their care, or reporting on it including: Childhelp USA, Leelanau County Family Coordinating Council, Michigan Child and Family Services, Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice, Alternatives for Girls, Michigan Department of Human Services’ Bureau of Juvenile Justice (BJJ), Black Family Development, Inc. (Detroit), and Girls Rock Our World (G.R.O.W.). There is also a letter from Margie Good who served on the CJJ with Weaver recommending the governor reappoint Weaver due to her excellent service to the committee. In 2005 the CJJ was supposed to submit a Juvenile Crime analysis report, 2000-2003, but members found many inaccuracies in it.

The Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice, abbreviated by Weaver as CJJ, provides advice, suggestions and solutions to the Governor on juvenile justice issues. The CJJ works collaboratively with the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies. The Committee has been instrumental in changing practices, policies, and philosophies to improve the juvenile justice system. Created in 1975, it is an important liaison with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), an office of the federal Department of Justice. Every three years the CJJ is required to develop and submit a juvenile justice plan to the OJJDP. The mission of the CJJ is to advise the Governor on matters related to juvenile justice legislation and administration, to mobilize communities to develop and implement prevention services, and to create a strategic plan that sets standards, determines priorities and allocates funds for successful. delinquency prevention and rehabilitative programs. (This information is from the MCJJ website, https://michigancommitteeonjuvenilejustice.com/about-us/about-us.html, accessed December 1, 2020.)

Processing Note: 1.5 cubic feet of duplicates, out-of-state publications, reading materials, and miscellaneous information was withdrawn during processing.

Series 32, processed by Emily Moran, Central Michigan University Law Couse, 1976 and undated, .25 cubic foot (in 1 box), ccontains materials relating to Justicer Weaver's law course which she taught through CMU at NMCC in Traverse City, Michigan. Materials include class syllabus, lecture outlines, lecture notes, quizzes and tests relating to the course. Lastly, there is a booklet relating to laws of Michigan (in folder CMU Law Course, You and the Law Publication), undated.

Central Michigan University (CMU) began officially offering classes in Traverse City in 1979 through Northwestern Michigan Community College (NMCC). The course taught by Justice Elizabeth Weaver in 1976 was a special opportunity provided to students given the unique circumstances of Justice Weaver offering to run the course.

Processing Note: During processing 1 cubic foot, .5 cubic foot from this series and .5 from Media series, which was photocopied news clippings and recordings of Weaver being interviewed by the press over the phone, were withdrawn.

Series 33, processed by Emily Moran, Mitchel Watts, Opinion Agendas, 1997-1999, 2008, .5 cubic foot (in 1 box), is agendas for meetings at which the Michigan Supreme Court decided which opinions to rehear. There are some additional notes as to which justice initially reviewed the case and presented it to the other justices, vote tallies and comments.

Processing Note: .25 cubic foot of duplicates were withdrawn during processing.

Series 34,processed by Emily Moran, MItchel Watts, Objects, 1984-2011, undated, 5cubic foot (in 3 boxes, 6 Oversized folders, 1 Oversized framed portrait) includes: a sample of her election banners, posters, t-shirts, and bumper stickers; certificates, oaths of office, and diplomas, awards and plaques, and an oil painting of when she was a probate judge, undated.

Processing Note: .5 cubic foot of duplicates was withdrawn during processing.

Closed series Processing Note: During processing, Michigan Supreme Court Orals, 1998-2010 (videotapes and DVDs) were separately cataloged as a series. Please refer to that catalog record for further information. Also during processing several series marked Closed when donated to the Clarke were withdrawn from the collection during processing, a total of 3.5 cubic feet.

Ella Reeve "Mother" Bloor (1862–1951) was an American activist dedicated to the labor movement, the Socialist Party, and numerous radical groups.

The Ella Reeve Bloor Papers consist of two linear feet of personal and professional correspondence, notebooks and pamphlets, clippings, publications, and printed ephemera.

The collection, divided into 4 series, documents her activities as suffragist, free speech advocate, and labor organizer.

The Correspondence series consists of manuscript letters betweeen Bloor and her family, and correspondence between Bloor and her colleagues.

The majority of the family letters are to/from her children. Her letters, written during her travels, provide information about individuals and events associated with her work. Most of the family letters include the month and day written, but not the year. As a result, the letters are arranged in non-specific order.

Bloor's correspondence with colleagues and organizations are arranged chronologically. Included are letters from various Socialist societies, state and local government offices, newspapers, and labor unions, such as the New York State Committee Socialist Party, United Cloth and Cap Makers, Tailors' Union. In addition, there are handwritten letters from other activists involved in socialist and labor causes (e.g., letter from Joseph W. Sharts, counsel for Eugene V. Debs in his trial at Cleveland, Ohio; Theodore H. Lunde, officer of the Peace Council in Chicago).

The Publications series includes several small booklets, articles, a journal, and a report on the professional achievements of Harold M. Ware.

This collection consists of letters, prints, and brochures that children's authors and their publishers sent to Chamberlain, a school librarian.

This collection consists of letters, prints, and brochures that children's authors and their publishers sent to Chamberlain, a school librarian. The letters date from late 1972 to fall of 1973. The collection consists primarily of type- and hand-written letters on various stationary. Some authors wrote on or signed brochures or book pages. A few included printed illustrations.

Authors discuss subjects such as their upcoming work, their inspirations, the importance of reading and fun in childhood, and censorship in children's literature.

Notable items include an authentic signature from Charles Schulz, an illustration from Patricia Coombs' Dorrie and the Goblin, and a series of exchanges between Chamberlain, Roald Dahl, and a magazine editor concerning a critical review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory>.

The Elmer Neill sketchbook, dating between 1893 and 1896, contains pencil, ink, and crayon/pastel drawings likely produced as educational exercises. Also in the volume are manuscript maps of North America, South America, and Africa, as well as calligraphic drawings of birds.

The Elmer Neill sketchbook, dating between 1893 and 1896, contains pencil, ink, and crayon/pastel drawings likely produced as educational exercises. Also in the volume are manuscript maps of North America, South America, and Africa, as well as calligraphic drawings of birds. The drawings in this volume include landscapes, geometric shapes, animals, flowers, a woman outside a log house, a ship, and others. The name Elmer Neill appears once.

This collection consists of letters, documents, writings, bound volumes, printed materials, original art, photographs, ephemera, and other materials related to the life and study of Emily Howland of Sherwood, New York, between 1849 and 1974. Howland worked to advance abolition, African American education, and women's rights and suffrage, and her papers reflect these varied reform movements and her long-standing relationships with leaders in the causes. She was especially active in Freedmen's relief and education in Virginia during and following the Civil War. Her work centering in Northumberland County, Virginia, is documented in the collection, as well as her domestic life in Sherwood following her return there in the late 1860s.

This collection consists of letters, documents, writings, bound volumes, printed materials, original art, photographs, ephemera, and other materials related to the life and study of Emily Howland of Sherwood, New York, between 1849 and 1974. Howland worked to advance abolition, African American education, and women's rights and suffrage, and her papers reflect these varied reform movements and her long-standing relationships with leaders in the causes. She was especially active in Freedmen's relief and education in Virginia during and following the Civil War, and her work centering in Northumberland County, Virginia, is documented in the collection, as well as her domestic life in Sherwood following her return there in the late 1860s.

The Correspondence Series contains letters written to and from Emily Howland from 1849 until her death in 1929, touching on topics like antislavery, African American education, women's rights and suffrage, pacifism, among other social reforms and personal matters. Several items were written to other correspondents within Howland's social circles that were possibly shared with her or others researching her life at a later date. These letters reflect the Howland family's broader social reform networks, including several items written in the 1850s and 1860s to or from David Wright, an Auburn, New York, attorney active in the antislavery and temperance causes, as well as Eliza Wright Osborne, a suffragist, in the late 1890s.

Some of the correspondence from the 1840s and 1850s reflects the Howland family's involvement in antislavery efforts. Circular letters from the New York State Vigilance Committee (March 10, 1849) and the "Provisional Committee, for the Promotion of Education among the Colored People, in such of the Slave States as are, or may be accessible" (October 18, 1849) are present in the series. Hiram Wilson wrote a letter from St. Catharines, Canada, to Susan Marriott, a woman involved in gathering clothing for enslaved people fleeing across the border (October 30, 1851). He noted that Emily Howland alerted him to Marriott's "deep interest" in the work preparing the shipment, indicating Howland's interest in the effort. Similarly, W. O. Dawson wrote to Slocum Howland on November 16, 1853, discussing the travels of William Darsey, a man fleeing from slavery to Canada, and support offered by abolitionists. "He said you told him to have me write you as to his safe arrival at our house," Dawson wrote, confirming the Howland family was active in efforts to assist escape attempts. One writer asked Howland to check in on Catharine M. White, a former resident of the Colored Orphan Asylum, to determine if she was in financial straits, revealing how Howland operated within abolition and benevolence networks (October 26, 1858).

Correspondence in the collection documents Emily Howland's long career supporting education. Several letters between 1857 and 1859 relate to her first foray in teaching, as she taught in the school previously operated by Myrtilla Miner in Washington, D.C. Letters include one dated July 3, 1857, written by Miner noting her failing health and coordinating with Howland for the upcoming school year. A letter Howland wrote while on her initial trip to D.C. is also included, in which she described her voyage to Philadelphia, meeting with Samuel J. May who had promised to raise funds for the school, and picking up a young formerly enslaved girl named Virginia Ayer who was going to attend Miner's school (September 25, 1857). In another early letter home (November 7, 1857), Howland described the climate, flora, teaching 30 students, social visits, and viewing the "Greek Slave" in the art gallery. By February 26, 1858, she was also teaching an evening school and upwards of 40 students in the day school. In May 1858, Howland related a visit she took to the homes of some of her students and speaking with an older enslaved woman. A ca. May 1858 document in the Writings Series, "A visit to Aunt Nella," written by Margaret McAnulty, one of Howland's students, further describes this visit. The final letter written during Howland's tenure at the Miner school is dated March 27, 1859, and reports Myrtilla Miner's return, abrupt dismissal of the teachers, and Howland's hope that one of her students, Susie, might return to New York with her, "the idea of a chance for education overcomes her dread." She noted visiting the student's mother.

Emily Howland was active in contraband camps, Freedmen's relief programs, and African American school efforts during and after the Civil War, and her correspondence reflects these interests. A letter of recommendation written by F. W. Seward endorses Howland's desire to "go to the front to aid in taking care of the wounded," noting how she "has labored very diligently and effectively in the Contraband Camps in this vicinity for the past three years" (May 14, 1864). Letters like the one by Walter L. Clift, a lawyer in Savannah, Georgia, on July 23, 1867, speak directly to struggles experienced by Black Southerners during Reconstruction, commenting on efforts to collect "small claims against their employers who take advantage of their inability to keep accounts to defraud them of their wages" and their political sensibilities and registering to vote.

Howland was instrumental in purchasing land and raising funds for the construction of a school in Heathsville, Virginia, in 1867 and her correspondence reflects her ongoing investment in the project, through discussions of financial issues, building upkeep, and land transfers. On July 13, 1867, L. Edwin Dudley wrote from the Union Republican Congressional Executive Committee office in Washington, D.C., offering support for raising funds for the completion of the school and noting his endorsement of woman suffrage. A detailed letter from F. E. Dow documents the construction of the Howland Chapel School in Northumberland County, Virginia (August 25, 1867), noting African American residents' efforts in the construction and securing government funds. The correspondence also documents the transfer of land ownership from Howland to African American residents in Heathsville and Howland's reasoning to do so as "a great check on the wicked wills of the old slaveocracy, who let no whit of a chance to oppress escape them" (January 16, 1870). On April 17, 1876, Howland wrote while in Heathsville overseeing repairs to the school and managing land sales, including one to a man she "put the screws on" to press him to be more industrious and build a house on the land in order to secure the sale. Other letters indicate ongoing relationships with the Black community in the area, including two letters from Thamsen Taliaferro written when she was 22 years old indicating she was a teacher preparing to leave Heathsville to undertake other educational efforts in Manassas, possibly attending the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth with Howland's financial support (January 6 and 17, 1895). At least two letters were also written by Sidney Taliaferro Boyer (1854-1927), who was taught by Howland and was active in the Heathsville region (August 4, 1903), and Howland references her elsewhere in her correspondence. Several letters between Howland and Anna M. Stanton, who taught at Heathsville, are also present.

Howland frequently corresponded with others involved in contraband relief efforts and African American education, including Cornelia Hancock, who moved to South Carolina in 1866 to work alongside newly emancipated enslaved people and founded the Laing School for Negroes in Mount Pleasant. Letters between Howland and Hancock in the collection span from 1865 to at least 1884, beginning just as Hancock was preparing to begin her post-war labors. In one dated December 20, 1865, Hancock bristled at Philadelphian Quakers' failure to recognize Howland and other women's efforts in the South. Hancock's frustrations with the Society of Friends continued through the month as she tried to prepare a trip south, lamenting on December 31st that "Their extreme timidity seems to rest in a fear that their teachers will not have a feather bed to lie on and hotel fare for diet." She wrote requesting Howland's financial assistance to secure her transportation to South Carolina, "and I know too thee is not fastidious about where the work is done so it is getting done." Putnam directly linked Howland's support as essential to bringing her to the Laing School and reflected on their shared sense of dissatisfaction and restlessness at the close of the Civil War. She enclosed a manuscript map of the Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, region and worked with Howland to secure funds to purchase property on Cat Island to transfer to African American residents (January 14, 1869). She continued to write to Emily and Slocum Howland about land purchases and financial matters relating to her efforts in South Carolina, African American residents working in the area, and the strain the labor placed on her health.

Howland also stayed in regular contact with Caroline F. Putnam who founded the Holley School in Lottsburg, Virginia. She noted a festival endorsing "care and vigilance for the protection of the hitherto enslaved" (April 17, 1871) and reflected on their early ventures ([November 12, 1906?]). Howland wrote frankly to Putnam regarding their shared interests in education and other matters, including financial inducements to encourage African American voters to decline liquor licenses in Heathsville, Virginia (March 20, 1898), the Spanish-American War (February 8, 1899), and Putnam's ongoing work in Virginia (January 14, 1901).

Two letters written by Sallie Holley, a close colleague and partner of Putnam, are in the collection, written in October 1867 while she visited Howland in Sherwood, New York, after the passing of Howland's mother. They touch on the waning of abolitionist sentiment, teaching, Charles Sumner's wife, and Howland's comments about her "Virginia life" and the need for land ownership by the formerly enslaved. One letter from Howland includes a later annotation that it may have been addressed to Holley, but the attribution is unverified (March 11, 1866). A letter written on March 7, 1893, concerning Sally Holley's will acknowledges some of the tension that could arise in the work, as her will allowed Putnam's continued use of the school but not its ownership.

Howland maintained a long-lasting friendship with Harriet Tubman, and several letters in the collection relate to Tubman, including correspondence arranging for her to speak at the National Association of Colored Women's convention in Washington, D.C., in 1896 by figures like Victoria Matthews who was helping to organize the convention (July 8, 1896). These items were not addressed to Howland, instead principally directed to Eliza Wright Osborne, so their presence among her papers is suggestive of them being forwarded to Howland, possibly to aid in working to secure Tubman's presence. Other letters reference discussions of reprinting biographies of Tubman and working to record her oral histories, including by figures like Franklin Benjamin Sanford. While these letters tend to focus on the events and projects, descriptions of Tubman emerge, such as having a limited "ability to speak in public" (July 1, 1896), or that "She is difficult to understand, unless one is familiar with the negro talk; but she can tell her experiences very graphically, and she seems to have a very good memory" (July 4, 1896), or that she would "want her books for Washington" (July 5, 1896).

Others reference Tubman visiting with Howland and include anecdotes about her experiences, such as having surgery and tending to an impoverished widow (September 5, 1897), or her tendency not to eat until after noon on Fridays, "the hour when the Lord descended from the cross" (November 24, 1899; June 22, 1900), or wondering whether Tubman would include the Manassas Industrial School in her will (June 14 and 20, 1900). Howland recounted one encounter with an African American man who claimed to be fleeing from lynching threats in North Carolina and was directed to her by Tubman, which turned out to be a scam, underlining the depth of the two women's relationship and how Tubman's reputation was wielded for unintended purposes (October 21, 1905).

Howland wrote twice to Eliza Wright Osborne (January 11 and 28, 1897) referencing her displeasure with a meeting and financial decisions for the nascent Harriet Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Negroes, as well as her scathing displeasure with the fundraising efforts of John J. Smallwood for the Temperance, Industrial and Collegiate Institute. She noted her enlistment of Booker T. Washington and William Lloyd Garrison in her opposition, hinting at the complicated politics and interpersonal conflicts present in such efforts. Garrison wrote to her on November 5, 1896, about his work to publish warnings in newspapers, to expose "him by voice & pen for two years" as a "phenomenal liar, forger & sneak" and to work with Booker T. Washington to spread awareness.

Into the twentieth century, Howland continued to financially support educational institutions, including those focused on Black education such as the Kowaliga Academic and Industrial Institute for Colored Youth in Kowaliga, Alabama; Selma University in Selma, Alabama; the Piney Woods Country Life School for Training Colored Boys and Girls in Christianity, Character, and Service in Braxton, Mississippi; the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth in Manassas, Virginia; and the Tuskegee Institute, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Oswald Garrison Villard wrote to Howland on June 18, 1907, with a detailed report of the Manassas Industrial School, its teachers and administrators, plans for construction, and the need for contributions. Other letters reference the building of Howland Hall (December 17, 1910) and the secession of leadership following Oswald Garrison Villard's resignation (November 1 and November 22, 1912). Laurence C. Jones, principal of Piney Woods Country Life School, wrote a letter of thanks for Howland's interest in the institution and described the hardships African American communities were experiencing in Braxton, Mississippi. Howland also was heavily involved in the Sherwood Select School of Sherwood, New York, and letters in the collection reveal her planning, financial support, and frustrations with the school.

Howland also provided financial support for individuals' educational pursuits, and letters of thanks for her generosity (see August 11, 1903) or correspondence describing specific cases (August 6, 1903) are present in the collection. Howland's letter of January 11, 1897, illustrates how she worked her interpersonal networks towards her causes. She wrote to her colleague Mrs. Osborne, about a former African American student from Auburn, New York, Mary Williams, whom she had secured a teaching position for at the Manassas Industrial School and was now in need of someone to fund her salary. Howland noted Williams visiting her and following up on his request for Osborne's support, which is also in the collection (December 7, 1896).

Howland was heavily involved in efforts to secure women's suffrage in New York State, and letters relating to the New York State Woman Suffrage Association are included as well as those detailing efforts to advance women's suffrage during the New York State Constitutional Convention. Correspondence touches on meetings and conventions, distribution of materials, planning events and campaigns, financial concerns, and political outcomes, among other topics. Letters to Howland from various politicians indicate she was writing to them concerning their positions relating to suffrage. In a letter dated November 8, 1917, to her niece Isabel, Howland wrote about celebrating the successful vote for women's suffrage in New York, including getting their photograph taken at the Headquarters, a copy of which is present in the Photographs Series of this collection.

Howland corresponded with those working to advance women's suffrage in other states and at the national level. Her letters include those relating to Wimodaughsis, the National Council of Women of the United States, the National-American Woman Suffrage Association, among others. A November 9, 1893, telegram from Fred E. Smith from Greely, Colorado, announces it to be "the 1st State in the Union to extend Equal Suffrage to Woman," and a letter from her cousin J. H. Allen of Canon City, Colorado, answered questions Howland posed about the impact of women's suffrage in the state (November 4, 1897). Howland also reacted to the 1911 referendum in California that extended suffrage to women (October 21, 1911).

In the course of her work to advance women's suffrage, Howland amassed correspondence with many involved in the effort. The collection includes five letters from Susan B. Anthony, remarking on the tension between women's suffrage and enfranchising formerly enslaved men (February 29, 1892); the New York State Constitutional Convention (December 27, 1893); distribution of The History of Woman Suffrage, including to African American institutes and libraries (November 4, 1895); travel arrangements (April 2, 1899); and directions for sending mail (May 15, 1899). A postcard sent to Howland in August 1903 was addressed to her, care of Susan B. Anthony, suggesting how the two visited and travelled together on occasion. Other correspondents include figures like Harriet B. Laidlaw, Eliza Wright Osborne, Alice Stone Blackwell, Mariana W. Chapman, Harriet May Mills, Anna Howard Shaw, among others.

Several items reflect international efforts, including a manuscript circular letter originally written by Marie Goegg of the Association Internationale Des Femmes, dated March 1870. A June 8, 1889, letter written from Alice Stone Blackwell of the Woman's Journal to Hannah Howland refers to the upcoming Woman's Rights Congress in Paris and their openness to receiving a report on the proceedings. Anna Howard Shaw wrote to Howland on December 4, 1907, about European meetings and getting "in touch with some of the old suffragists again," and wrote from Triberg, Germany, on July 19, 1908, commenting on her international trip, her speech in London, and plans for future events in England. An undated letter from the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage in London, England, notes their willingness to send Howland notice of their meetings. Other letters indicate Howland was tracking international news, like her letter dated March 28, 1898, where she noted, "progress since the time of Roman splendor & vileness is not so great as some shallow good folks may flatter themselves, with our lynchings & prisons & the condition of Cuba & Armenia the world is not in sight of the millennium & will not be soon." She elsewhere reflected on the "Philippine question" (May 25, 1902) and the suffering caused by the First World War (November 1, 1914).

Howland met and corresponded with Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati, a noted reformer from India who advocated for the rights of women, widows, and orphans, who visited the United States from 1886 to 1888. Howland wrote of meeting Ramabai and Dr. Rachel Bodley of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania on August 23, 1886, calling it a "red letter day in my calendar." Howland described Ramabai and their conversation, noting a discussion about religion and missionaries, women in India, opposition to English rule, and some references to Anandibai Joshee. Howland also wrote about introducing Ramabai to Harriet Tubman, and Ramabai inquired after Tubman and sent her regards in subsequent correspondence (December 20, 1886; October 31, 1889). Letters between Ramabai and Howland continue through 1895 and touch on women's rights publications, speaking engagements, introductions to Howland's networks, fundraising, plans for visits, and the school Ramabai ran in India. Ramabai also wrote of the death of Rachel Bodley and confusion about financial affairs, including an order under Howland's name for twenty-four copies of her book The High Caste Hindu Woman (July 27, 1888). She requested at least twice for Howland to write to her about her work with African American causes. In her letter dated January 10, 1890, Howland obliged, describing her personal history, being raised in an abolitionist house and a "station on the Underground Railroad," feeling the constraints of the "bonds of custom" of Quaker tenets, and her entry into teaching at the Miner school. Several pages are missing from her autobiographical letter.

In addition to state and national affairs, Howland appears to have stayed apprised of local politics as well. A letter from the Superintendent of the Board of Education in Auburn, New York, wrote to her on December 19, 1883, in regards to whether women could vote at school meetings. Howland's political activities are also represented in her correspondence, such as her work with the Sherwood Equal Rights Association and the Cayuga County Political Equality Club.

The lines between Howland's work with Freedmen's relief, Black education, and woman's suffrage sometimes blurred, with her letters on behalf of race-based projects written on suffrage letterhead, or correspondence with those she likely met while working on Freedmen's affairs, such as with James Inglish Ferree, touching on women's rights (June 5, 1882). On April 5, 1903, Howland wrote to Caroline Putnam about a trip she was taking in company with Susan B. Anthony to the Tuskegee Normal School and Kowaliga Academic and Industrial Institute. A letter dated February 28, 1913, from the president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association, Harriet Taylor Upton, asserts that "the Washington people have decided wisely in regard to the colored question," and in a letter dated May 2, 1913, Howland wrote of Anna Howard Shaw and how "she is blamed because there is no more organizing done in the South but since Southern women will exclude colored women she is not in it."

Howland remained in communication with Margaret Jones Burleigh, an abolitionist and reformer who taught Howland for a period in her youth. Burleigh connected Howland with Edward Strange, a British immigrant who had been incarcerated and whose reform Burleigh took a particular interest in. Letters in the collection reflect on their partnership in this issue, Strange's housing and eventual stay with Howland, his health, care, and diet as he lived with tuberculosis, his thoughts on religion and his personal changes, broader interest in his case, concerns for his spiritual state, and his eventual death in March 1872. Howland referred to Strange in childlike terms and admitted to a sense of motherly affection inspired by him (March 15, 1872), and compared her grief to "some bereft mothers to whom I have listened who never knew when to stop talking of the departed" (April 11, 1872). Additional items relating to Edward Strange can be found in the Documents Series (a document penned by Strange authorizing Howland to tend to his personal property), in the Writing Series (Howland's retrospective of her full encounter dated April 3, 1872), and in her Diary.

Later in her life, Emily Howland became more active in pacifist efforts. Alfred H. Love, president of the Universal Peace Union, wrote to Howland on July 8, 1909, to discuss the organization's business and publications and seek her continued support. Five undated postcards from the American Relief Administration reflect her involvement with the program during World War I, seemingly for food packages, and in a letter to Caroline F. Putnam on November 1, 1914, she lamented the consequences of World War I, including her belief in the "crime against animals" by using horses in battle.

Miscellaneous correspondence with family members and friends from the Sherwood, New York, region document Howland's everyday life. Some letters suggest her family's broader interests or awareness of what would intrigue her, such as her nephew Herbert Howland describing his visit to Jamaica, Mexico, and South America, commenting on race and armed conflicts (January 21, 1903). Howland corresponded with friends over decades, and in her later years she reflected on aging and historical memory. For example, she wrote on March 17, 1914, "I find that I must keep out of the Past, as it makes the Present so poor, and summons a yearning feeling to follow."

The Documents Series spans from 1840 to 1928, the earliest being a manuscript copy of the rules for the Nine Partners Boarding School. Other materials reflect Howland's work supporting African American education. Three items relate to Myrtilla Miner's school in Washington, D.C.: a "List of scholars during April 1858," a bill of lading for apples and butter sent to Howland while teaching there, and "Questions in history prepared & written by Mrs. Seward.... When teaching Miss Miner's school in 1858 & 9." A copy of the 1869 "Deed of Bargain & Sale" that transferred ownership of the property in Northumberland County, Virginia, from Emily Howland to Benjamin and Beverly Taliaferro, Robert Walker, and Maurice Moore is also present, with the condition that "a school shall be established and maintained thereon, wherein no person shall be excluded on account of race, color or sex."

One document signed by Edward Strange on December 11, 1871, empowers Howland to dispose of his property upon his death.

• A typescript of resolutions passed by the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Cayuga County Political Equality Club opposing the refusal to allow women to vote for school commissioners in New York, ca. 1892
• "Signers of the Anti Suffrage Petition from Aurora," ca. 1890s
• A typed notice announcing that The Woman's Journal was "no longer the official organ of the National American Woman Suffrage Association," ca. 1912
• A tally of Auburn, New York, votes for and against the 1915 suffrage referendum
• An undated copy of legal articles concerning voting in public school meetings
• An undated, blank form for a constitution for a branch of the Men's League for Woman Suffrage
• An undated typed copy of the "Plan to be Submitted to the State Committee" regarding organizing for an upcoming vote on a suffrage amendment
• An undated delegation certificate for John T. Hughes
• A blank subscription form for the National Society for Women's Suffrage
• A New York State Woman Suffrage Party pledge in support of women's suffrage
• An undated "Twenty-Five Greatest Women Guessing Contest of New York State Suffrage Association" entry form filled out by Emily Howland

Other items pertain to the Political Equality Club, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and the Emily Howland High School in Aurora, New York.

The Writings Series includes miscellaneous written works, such as essays, poems, drafts, speeches, and obituaries. Several of the poems are political in nature, including one reflecting on women's political positions. A poem written by W. Darwin Wooden in June 1856, consists of acrostics for Charles Sumner and Stephen A. Douglass, focusing on their political positions relative to slavery, and another undated poem by A. H. Reynolds of Auburn, New York, is entitled "Tribute to Susan B. Anthony." Others are more sentimental in nature, but at least one undated poem was copied on a fragment of a letter from Harriet May Mills, providing insight into the intermingling of Howland's literary and political worlds.

Other items in the series reflect Howland's longstanding interest in suffrage. Howland wrote a draft for a speech to the Political Equality Club of Cayuga County ca. 1897 about women voting in school meetings. Typed lyrics to the song "Help Us Win the Vote" by Deborah Knox Livingston are noted as being sung to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." A copy of Howland's October 26, 1915, letter to the editor of the Advertiser Journal refuting an anti-suffrage address is also present, as is an undated draft of an article for the Advertiser relating to suffrage. Undated draft notes in Howland's hand for a letter to George Allen Davis, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appeal for his support to strike the word "male" from the New York constitution.

Materials documenting Howland's efforts with educational projects are also well represented in the series. Margaret McAnulty, an African American student at Myrtilla Miner's school, wrote an essay ca. May 1858, "A visit to Aunt Nella," describing a trip Emily Howard took with students to visit their families and an older enslaved woman. This corresponds to a May 23, 1858, letter written by Howland in the Correspondence Series. Two other sheets of draft notes reflect on the history of Myrtilla Miner's school near Washington, D.C., one written on the back of a partially printed circular sent in March 1868 by Jerusha M. Skinner to former patrons of the School for Colored Deaf, Dumb and Blind Children.

Two copies of a circular appealing for financial support of the Holley School appear in Howland's hand, ca. March 23, 1901, with notes about Mr. Chadwick plagiarizing her writing. An undated essay entitled "The Story in Brief" regarding the Holley School in Lottsburg, Virginia, was possibly written by Sarah Thomas Miller.

Another undated piece provides personal opinions about higher education for African Americans and that "we must discriminate and choose the proper education for the individual."

Typescript copies include a piece entitled "A Virginia School" from the February 1899 Friends' Intelligencer regarding the history of the Heathsville school. Typescripts detailing Cornelia Hancock's work during and after the Civil War are also present, along with an envelope annotated by Howland, "A letter from Cornelia Hancock and a M.S. account of her life in the army at various places and times beginning at Gettysburg." It is unclear whether the typescripts are the contents Howland refers to or were added to the envelope at a later date. The series also contains typed and manuscript notes for commencement addresses by Emily Howland and others for the Sherwood Select School in the 1920s.

Several items in the series relate to Howland's pacifist beliefs. Between 1919 and 1924, Howland copied three of her reports for the Women's Christian Temperance Union concerning peace. These sentiments are further echoed in a ca. 1919 draft responding to anti-suffrage sentiments and advocating pacifism which was written by Howland on miscellaneous scrap paper, including letters from the First Congregational Church in Little Rock and the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, a brochure of the closing exercises of Centreville Industrial Institute, and a circular for the National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Another undated draft responds to a piece in Harper's Weekly about foreign policy and war, and is written on the verso of printed New York Woman Suffrage Association notices. Two other drafts relate to pacifism, one a resolution deploring "the present belligerent attitude of nations, & the spirit of conquest wh. everywhere prevails" and the other reflecting on how patriotism does not require "a jealous dislike of other nations & peoples." An undated draft of pacifist resolutions opposing "the present belligerent attitude of nations" is also present.

Howland wrote a 23-page retrospective, recounting her experiences with Edward Strange, a British man who had been formerly incarcerated and who spent six months ill with tuberculosis at her house, dated April 3, 1872. She described how they met, his stay with her, and the progression of his disease. She also noted the tumultuous emotions his stay caused, calling it a "whirlpool of feeling - a confusion as great as the mystery he was to me. Mystery then, mystery now and ever!"

Obituaries for Lisette M. Worden, Sarah Thomas Miller, C. de B. Mills, William Howland, and Elizabeth Jacobs are included.

The Bound Volumes Series consists of four items. The first is a handmade blank book wrapped in stenciled wallpaper, inscribed by Emily Howland, "My 1st day school book when a little girl." It includes copies of religious texts and answers to Biblical questions. One page appears to bear the name "Sidney Taliaferos," but additional research is needed to verify whether this was written by Sidney Taliaferro Boyer.

The second volume is a commonplace book kept by Emily Howland's brother, William Howland, ca. 1850s-1860s, in which he compiled quotations and proverbs and pasted in various newspaper clippings relating to recipes, remedies, legal subjects, poems, and miscellaneous topics like whining. Subjects relate to the law, politics and society, education, morality, and more. Some content is suggestive of abolitionist circles, such as quotations from the North Star and Gerrit Smith.

The third volume is Emily Howland's diary dating from January 1, 1871, to March 11, 1873, opening with Howland travelling away from home, likely in Heathsville, Virginia, and in discussion with Theodore Dow about partnering together with the school (January 11, 1871; January 31, 1871). Several entries include quotations written in dialect and Howland noted her reaction to "their strangely inspiring songs" (February 2, 1871), suggesting she was meeting with African American residents, and she recorded visiting the schoolhouse. By March 9, Howland had returned to Sherwood, and her diary entries reflect on the weather, family and social visits, local news, and her emotional state.

The diary skips from August 14, 1871, to March 27, 1872, beginning again with a brief reflection about her sadness over the death of Edward Strange ("Teddy") beginning to lift. The diary records her housekeeping tasks, attending religious services and Sunday School, reading, visits and correspondence, and remembrances of Strange and adjusting to his absence. Her entries reflect displeasure with the demands of domestic labor and a troubled emotional state. Howland expressed some dissatisfaction with the limited recognition she received for her efforts, "A good many times I've been omitted where it seemed to me I belonged, or I've had to see others reap where I had sown. How keenly H Greeley must felt this. One is not anxious to be conspicuous but one likes recognition of ones good intentions or one's services or places" (December 10, 1872).

Some content in the diary reflects Howland's ongoing interest in racial affairs, women's rights, and benevolence. At least two entries reference Native Americans (May 1, 1872; June 6, 1872), and others note making donations to Freedmen's groups (October 18, 1872; January 23, 1873), attending a festival for the Orphan Asylum (August 2, 1872), and reading material such as the Woman's Journal (January 27, 1873) and Eminent Women (July 22, 1872). Throughout the diary Howland made several mentions of Colonel Charles W. Folsom, Sidney (possibly Sidney Taliaferro Boyer), and Caroline Putnam.

The fourth volume is a minute book for the Quaker Picnic Association of Sherwood for 1894-1904. "Resolutions of Respect and Condolence, on the death of Hannah L. Howland" are laid into the volume. The volume documents meeting attendance, committees, discussions, and votes relating to the planning of the Sherwood picnics, in addition to accounts of the picnics themselves. William and Hannah Howland were especially active in the association, and several other members of the family also appear in the minutes.

The Printed Materials Series contains the following pamphlets, brochures, and programs:

• A Short Account of William Terry, A member of the Masonic Society… (Poughkeepsie, 1820)
• The Annual Catalogue of the Teachers and Pupils of the Poplar Ridge Seminary (Auburn, 1845)
• Three copies of Emily Howland, New York State Report for 1891, Presented at the Nineteenth Congress of the Association for the Advancement of Women, by Emily Ward Howland, Vice President (Syracuse, 1892). All three have "Ward" crossed out of Howland's name, and one bears a stamp, "From the Papers of Miss Emily Howland Presented 1934."
• The Twenty-fifth Annual Convention of the National-American Woman Suffrage Association… January 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 1893. (s.l., [1893])
• Report of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association. 25th Annual Convention (Syracuse, [1893]). Includes names of Emily Howland and Lydia S. M[ains?] on the front cover with the note "Moravia raised $14.30 for Miss Shaw's Meeting June 8." A newspaper clipping about a Political Equality Club meeting and a manuscript list of officers and committees, with Emily Howland as the president, are pasted into the front of the volume.
• Addresses of His Excellency, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, and Booker T. Washington, Principal of Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Alabama, Delivered at Carnegie Hall. (New York.) Home Missionary Meeting, March 3, '94, Under the Auspices of the Presbyterian Church, of America. (s.l., [1894])
• Report of the Annual Meeting of the Ramabai Association Held March 18, 1896 (Boston, 1896)
• The Fortnightly… Programme, 1897-'98 (s.l., [1897])
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton To her life-long friend and co-worker Susan B. Anthony on her eightieth birthday (s.l., 1900.
• Annual Reports, October 1st 1901. Supplement to the Junior Republic Citizen (Freeville, [1902])
• Mary Jane Howland Taber, "Friends Here and Hereaway Continued," in Old Darthmouth Historical Sketches. No. 12. Inscribed "Mr. Herbert Howland With best wishes for a pleasant Christmas & Happy New Year from the author." (s.l., 1905)
• Ida Husted Harper, History of the Movement for Woman Suffrage in the United States (New York, 1907)
• Two copies of The Forty-First Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (s.l., [1909])
• Sanitary Laws and Regulations In and For the Town of Scipio, Cayuga County, N.Y. ([Auburn, New York], 1909)
• The Forty-Third Annual Convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (s.l., [1911])
• Two copies of Lucy Jacobs, A Historical Sketch of Sherwood Select School, 1871-1911 (s.l., [1911]). One with a stamp on the front cover, "From the Papers of Miss Emily Howland Presented April 1934."
• The American Ramabai Association Report of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting, March 28, 1916 (Boston, 1916)
• The Westonian: A Monthly Magazine for Friends 21.1 (January 1916). With Emily Howland's name added in manuscript on the cover along with the note, "A Quaker Schoolmistress p. 9."
• A Brief History of Laing School, Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Covering Sixty Years of Service, 1866-1926. Together with a Picture of its Founder, Cornelia Hancock… (s.l., [1926])
• Joseph Tallcot, The Acorn. Designed to Promote Oral Instruction and Moral Influence in Common Schools Vol.1, No. 3 (Skaneateles, n.d.)
• A. F. Beard, Samples and Examples. By A. F. Beard, Corresponding Secretary of the American Missionary Association (s.l., n.d.), with a focus on the Kowalgia School in Alabama.
• The Charleston Exchange for Woman's Work Cookbook, (Charleston, n.d.)
• Charles F. Dole, G. S. Dickerman, and Roger F. Etz, Little Journeys to Piney Woods School (s.l., n.d.)
• Constitution of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association (s.l., n.d.)

A number of broadsides, circulars, and fliers are also in the series relating to topics such as Freedmen's Relief, Reconstruction, women's suffrage, the Political Equality Club, temperance, African American educational institutions, pacifism, and more. These include two "Votes for Women" broadsides featuring maps of the United States color-coded to identify suffrage status, as well as instructions on how to fill out ballots regarding suffrage questions. Oversize materials include two printed broadsides advertising lectures by Harriet May Mills, President of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association, and one printed broadside advertising a lecture by Mrs. Minnie J. Reynolds, who "lived and voted in Colorado for many years and is fairly conversant with the working of suffrage in the hands of woman. She is not one of the window smashing kind, but is noted for her intelligent and womanly methods."

The series also includes newspapers and periodicals. Full papers include editions of the Ulster County Gazette (a later reproduction of the January 4, 1800 edition), with content relating to the death of George Washington; the New-York Weekly Tribune (November 17, 1849); the National Anti-Slavery Standard (August 12, 1852); two volumes of the Evening Auburnian with articles concerning the death of James Garfield (September 20, 1881 and September 24, 1881); the Woman's Tribune (January 13, 1894); The National Bulletin (April 1892); The Peacemaker (October 1902 and April 1905); and Young People (September 23, 1933). Single sheets from an unnamed paper from 1876 reported on the "Soul Stirring Speech" of Col. R. G. Ingersoll to "the Boys in Blue" in Indianapolis about the Democratic Party, and a single sheet from the Advertiser-Journal of April 18, 1918 reports on the passage of prohibition in Auburn, New York, and women's influence in the vote.

Student periodicals include a copy of the Tuskegee Institute's The Student (February 1897); a copy of the The Industrial Student (November 1926) with an article about Emily Howland and her support of the Southern Industrial Institute in Camp Hill, Alabama; two volumes of The Intermountain Institute News (January 1928 and April 1932); and two volumes of The Pine Torch from 1940 relating to the Piney Woods School in Mississippi.

Various newspaper clippings dating between 1894 and 1965 primarily focus on local, state, and national suffragist activities, the Cayuga County Political Equality Club, profiles of Emily Howland and other women's rights activists, and reports on anti-suffrage news and opinions. Several relate to the Sherwood Select School, including a memorial for Hepisbeth C. Hussey (ca. 1908), the Tuskegee Institute, and other topics. A number of the clippings include notations of the newspaper name and date in Emily Howland's hand.

The collection contains several books including educational material, a sammelband (composite volume of multiple publications) of anti-slavery, farming, and temperance almanacs, the six-volume set of History of Woman Suffrage (inscribed by Susan B. Anthony to Isabel Howland), a Bible, and a copy of Harriet: The Moses of Her People (1901). Please see the list in the Additional Descriptive Data section for more information.

The Postcards Series consists of 76 blank postcards produced by companies and photographers like Fred Harvey, Detroit Publishing Company, Karl E. Moon & Co., among others, featuring imagery relating to Native Americans residing in the Southwestern United States, particularly New Mexico and Arizona. One postcard from the sequence can be found in the correspondence series with a postmark of August 6, 1932, suggesting the postcards were likely produced in the 1920s and 1930s. Images include artistic renderings, color printed photographs of portraits of individuals and families, scenes of everyday life and labor, artistic and cultural productions like woven blankets and pottery, buildings and pueblos, and dances and other gatherings. The bulk of the postcards represent individuals from the Hopi tribe, but other tribes and nations include the Dakota, Navajo, Apache, Pueblo, Hualapai, and Havasupai.

Two additional blank picture postcards are also included, one depicting the Sherwood Select School and the other for "Oklahoma Women Want Votes for Women. Let the People Rule Women are People," showing a woman standing at a desk.

The Photographs Series includes cartes-de-visite, tintypes, cabinet cards, a real photo postcard, a cyanotype, photographs, and reproductions, ranging in date from 1863 to the mid-twentieth century. They feature portraits of Emily Howland, women's rights activists, African American schoolrooms and students, and residences and Quaker meeting houses related to the Howland family, among others subjects. Portraits depict individuals such as Emily Howland, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Henry Ward Beecher, Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati, and Anna E. Dickinson, as well as an unidentified man seated in a wheelchair, possibly Edward Strange, a formerly incarcerated man who died of tuberculosis in Howland's home in 1872. Photos of Emily Howland include three of her in regalia, relating to her receiving her honorary doctorate in 1926 and her centennial birthday, and other photos depict her from young adulthood through older age. There is a reproduction of a photo of Emily with her father Slocum Howland, and an original snapshot of her seated with the "Brown children" in 1921. There is also one photo of an unidentified African American man standing before Howland Hall in Statesboro, Georgia.

Group photos are also present in this series. One group portrait is of the National American Woman Suffrage Association's 1891 delegates, with Susan B. Anthony, Anna Shaw, and Emily Howland present, among others. One photo shows thirteen women, a child, and a man inside a Cayuga County suffrage office, decorated with pro-suffrage posters, American flags, and Cayuga County Political Equality Club flags. Emily Howland captioned it: "Nov. 7, 1917 - 'The Morning After' - the victory of Nov. 6," commemorating the passage of woman suffrage in New York State. It may have previously been part of a scrapbook, as it is affixed to a sheet bearing a clipping from the November 11, 1917, Post-Standard newspaper from Syracuse, New York, for "Suffrage Party Leaders and Advocates."

Photographs in the collection reflect Howland's longstanding interest in African American education. Two photos depict the Holley School at Lottsburg, Virginia. One, a reproduction of an 1893 photograph of the interior of the Holley School, is accompanied by a note likely written by Isabel Howland describing a visit to the establishment with Emily Howland. It shows a Christmas tree, bookshelves, portraits, flags, and several African American students. The other is a class photo from 1907 with several rows of students and their teacher(s), with a pencil inscription on the back reading "Miss Putnam's school." A reproduction of a photo taken in 1897 depicts Howland posing in front of a machine, noted on the back as one she "presented . . . to the iron-workers" at the Tuskegee Institute, while another reproduction of a photo taken in 1908 shows a group of people, possibly African American students and residents, standing outside of the "Howland School & Buildings" in Avalon, Virginia. A reproduction of a photo of Emily Howland, two white women, and an African American man and woman is labeled "Principal of Kowaliga School, 1913." A reproduction of a photograph of Emily Howland shows her seated in a chair while wearing a floral crown and two African American girls seated on the floor on either side of her. A pencil note written by a relative identifies it as a photo taken during a visit to Manassas, describing a program in Howland's honor. One mid-twentieth-century photo of a group of African American men, women, and children gathered in a cemetery was identified by the dealer as "likely Heathsville, Virginia" but requires further research to confirm.

Other photos primarily document places. Some of these appear to have been taken or reproduced in relation to Florence W. Hazzard's research on Emily Howland and include materials depicting the interior and exterior of Howland family residences and the Sherwood Select School. Two card photographs, dated 1912 and 1914 respectively, relate to Quaker Meeting Houses. They bear inscriptions on the verso by Emily Howland describing how she attended meeting in one for forty years and how her parents were married in the other. Another card photograph is of the exterior of "Leonard Searing's former house," again with an inscription by Howland with information about individuals captured in the photo.

The Original Art Series consists of five items. An unattributed artist drew three pencil sketches on March 23, 1891, of the exterior of the Holley School at Lottsburg, Virginia, Sallie Holley's residence, and a "Virginia log cabin" with individuals, possibly of African American descent, outside the front door. An unattributed and undated watercolor painting of the "Old Hicksite Meeting House West of Scipioville" is also included, as well as a manuscript map of the western United States with pen and ink and pencil drawings on the verso of buffalo, John Brown, a murderer at the gallows, two bearded men wearing hats, and a box addressed to F. D. Kohler.

The Ephemera Series contains business cards, notices related to the Association for the Advancement of Women and the Cayuga County Political Equality Club, several invitations for Howland during her stay in London during the 1899 International Congress of Women, and a sheet of paper that was previously used to wrap a biscuit "From the Queen's table spread . . . to refresh the members of the Council who went to see her by invitation" during the Congress. A disbound portrait of Slocum Howland and a clipped portrait of Anna Howard Shaw are also present. The series includes a handheld fan encouraging New York voters to vote in favor of woman suffrage in 1917. It features a poem on one side (The rose is red / The violet's blue / We want to vote / As well as you!) and a statement to "Keep Cool and Raise A Breeze for Suffrage!" on the other. An undated bookplate for S. Clayton Sumner and a small remembrance of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are also present.

The Research Materials Series includes approximately one linear foot of items relating to the historical study of Emily Howland, principally by historians Florence Woolsey Hazzard, Charles V. Groat, and Phebe King from the 1940s to 1970s. The series contains correspondence to Hazzard and Groat relating to their research, drafts of historical writings and biographical sketches on Howland, research bundles on various topics from Howland's life, photocopies and typescripts of original sources, and miscellaneous notecards and citations.

Emma Wilson kept this "Year Book for Texts of Sermons" printed by the Presbyterian Board of Publication while she attended the Oxford Sabbath School in Chester County, Pennsylvania, between 1885 and 1886. It includes instructions on how the volume was to be used and short forms to record the date, who provided the sermon, the Biblical verse and text used, and signature lines for the scholar and teacher.

Emma Wilson kept this "Year book for Texts of Sermons" printed by the Presbyterian Board of Publication while she attended the Oxford Sabbath School in Chester County, Pennsylvania, between 1885 and 1886. It includes instructions on how the volume was to be used and short forms to record the date, who provided the sermon, the Biblical verse and text used, and signature lines for the scholar and teacher. While the bulk of the sermons that Wilson recorded were delivered by Rev. M. W. Jacobus, other entries reflect preaching by Mr. Herr, Orr Lawson, Calvin W. Stewart, Mr. Turner, A. A. Hodge, Mr. Greene, J. C. Caldwell, Prof. Shaw, J. B. Rendall, E. T. Jeffers, W. H. Miller, and M. Bracq.

This collection is primarily made up of letters between members of the Washburn family of Worcester, Connecticut, including Massachusetts governor Emory Washburn, his wife Marianne, and their children Emory, Charles, and Marianne. Emory Washburn also wrote letters to various individuals during his time as a professor at Harvard Law School.

This collection is made up of around 125 letters between and to members of the Washburn family of Worcester, Connecticut, including Massachusetts governor Emory Washburn, his wife Marianne, and their children Emory, Charles, and Marianne. The bulk of the collection is comprised of love letters that Emory and Marianne Washburn wrote to each other during their courtship and marriage (1830-1851). Many of Emory Washburn's letters were addressed to Marianne in Walpole, New Hampshire. They corresponded about their social lives, family news, and travel in New England and New York. Occasionally, they reported their recent activities, such as Emory's letter to his children about his visit to the Mayflower landing site in Plymouth, Massachusetts (December 3, 1844). Later items often pertain to the health and activities of their children, and the collection has a series of letters between Emory Washburn and his daughter Marianne. Other correspondence includes letters between the Washburn children, often enclosed in their parents' letters to one another. Emory Washburn also wrote a series of later letters to various acquaintances during his tenure at Harvard (1859-1875).

In 1996, the National Science Foundation awarded a grant to the University of Michigan College of Engineering to establish an Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Machining Systems. Records include annual reports, background, proposals, lists of staff and corporate partners, and publications.

The records of the Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Machining Systems provide documentation of the program from its proposal stages through its operation as a major National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center.

The records are arranged into four series: Annual Reports, Topical Files, Publications, and Digital Materials. The Annual Reports are arranged chronologically and document by year the activities and progress of the Center between 1996 and 2007. The Publications series is comprised of published information by and about the Center, while the Topical Files contains documents arranged by topic, with special emphasis on program participants and the original budget and proposal submitted to NSF. The Digital Materials series contains content on the following topics: ERC/RMS patents, CIRP 2nd International Conference on Reconfigurable Manufacturing, and the Reconfigurable Factory Testbed operated by the Center.