Collections

John and Leni Sinclair were leaders of the counterculture movement in Michigan, organizers of radical social, political, and cultural endeavors primarily in the areas of music, poetry, graphic design, and community welfare projects. Papers and photographs (1957-1979) relating to all phases of their careers, including participation in the Artists' Workshop in Detroit, the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation, the White Panther Party and its offshoot, the Rainbow Peoples Party; also materials concerning the legalization of marijuana, radical politics, and prison reform. Also material, 1979-2000, relating to John Sinclair's work as a writer, performer, radio show host and music promoter.

The John Sinclair papers came to the library in 1979. Jointly donated by John and Leni Sinclair, this initial accession, covering the period 1957-1979, included textual material, sound recordings, and photographs relating to all phases of their careers, including participation in the Artists' Workshop in Detroit, the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation, the White Panther Party and its offshoot, the Rainbow Peoples Party; also materials concerning the legalization of marijuana, radical politics, prison reform, and rock and jazz music.

The Sinclair papers provide a rich and unique source for the study of America's radical movement in the nineteen sixties and seventies. Beginning with a remarkable series of correspondence that includes letters from Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, and Jerry Rubin, and continuing on through extensive subject files, the collection details the cultural, political and business activities of a man whose energy and charisma made him a local and national leader of the counterculture. In addition, the collection documents the support and creativity of his wife and partner, who as writer, photographer and publicist helped to showcase the lifestyle which he symbolized.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, John Sinclair added to his papers with materials relating to his career as a writer and performer. In the winter of 2000, he donated a second large accession relating mainly to the period since leaving Detroit for New Orleans.

The Sinclair collection has been divided into four subgroups: Textual Files, Printed Material, Sound Recordings, and Visual Material.

Papers include personal and business correspondence and accounts of a Grand Rapids concessionaire.

From the time of the Romans until the Great Depression, circuses were a major form of entertainment in the world. Much has been written about the more important circuses and their various owners and acts, such as Ringling Brothers of P.T. Barnum, but little has been written about smaller circuses and their cousins, traveling shows. In Michigan, the only major surviving collection in a historical research institution documenting a Michigan-based circus or carnival, or its owners, is this collection, the Pollie Family Papers. The collection documents the life and work of Henry J. Pollie, circus and showman, and his son, John C. Pollie, who began life working in his Dad’s circuses and eventually evolved from traveling showman to concessionaire. The collection documents them and their business associates and family members, and life for circus and carnival show people in Michigan during the 20th century. This is a fabulous collection for documenting the lives of show people during the early teens through the 1930s in Michigan. The collection is divided into the following series: Pollie Family Photographs and Obituaries (copies), 2 folders; Pollie, Henry J. Business Correspondence, 4 folders; Pollie, Janice, Correspondence (typed by John for her), 1 folder; Pollie, John C.-Account Books, 17 v. (in 10 folders); Accounts, 7 folders; Biographical [high school autographs], 1 folder; Business Correspondence, 3.5 cubic feet (in 7 boxes); Miscellaneous, 1 folder; Personal Correspondence, 8 cubic feet (in 16 boxes); and Subject Files, 5.5 cubic feet (in 11 boxes).

The Pollie Family Photographs (1 folder) and Obituaries (copies) (1 folder) includes what may be Henry and Elvira’s wedding photograph. It is unidentified, but the image of the man is very much like one of Henry in the ads for the Zeidman and Pollie circus. He is wearing a celluloid collar which would likely date it to the early 1900s. The obituaries from Grand Rapids newspapers (copies) are of 1937 (Henry J.); 1943 (Henry); 1957 (K. Bea); 1969 (John C.); and 1937 (Mrs. Maatje Pollie).

Henry J. Pollie’s Business Correspondence consists of 1 folder each from 1925 and 1927, and 1932-1933 (2 folders). The later folders include letters from many show people in the Cetlan and Wilson Shows, Inc. who had recently lost their jobs. In these folders are letters from two Hermaphrodites, “freaks”, palm readers, and members of various acts all desperately seeking employment. The Hermaphrodites are particularly interesting because the one is hired and then notifies a friend Hermaphrodite who also writes asking for employment, again demonstrating how show people, particularly those in the same type of work, stuck together. Some of these letters are to/from Ray M. Brydon, who was the Advance Man for Henry and John. Advance men went to a town before a circus or traveling show arrived and smoothed the way for the show by making sure the contracts were okay and, if necessary, bribing public officials. There is no documentation Henry and John ran a “dirty show” and resorted to bribery, but most show people apparently did. The letters in the series are those specifically addressed to Henry. It is apparent by other correspondence in both the Business and Personal Correspondence series that John typed and composed all of the letters for Henry when the two worked together. This is apparent when one compares letters typed and composed after Henry’s death by John. They are exactly the same as the typed ones Henry signed. This indicates either John typed and composed all the letters in the collection, or he adopted Henry’s style for his own. Since it appears John was the accounts man, it is more likely that he did all the typing and composition of correspondence for both his Dad and himself.

John C. Pollie’s Account Books (17 v.), include Business Accounts, 1926-1929, 1931-1932, 1941, 1950 1955, General Accounts, 1944, 1946, and Personal Accounts, 1942, 1958. The 1926-1927 Account Book is titled “Winter Quarters, Season 1926-1927, Savannah, Georgia” This v. dates to the Henry J. Pollie and Zeidman association. The Pollies, Zeidman, and E.C. Hall are all listed as receiving and holding cash. Cash received and paid is noted daily from Nov. 11, 1926 through April 24, 1927, including to whom, for what, and total amount. Food, equipment, travel, telegrams, fair fees, and other items are listed. This volume proves that the circus wintered down south, as did many circuses in the 1920s. The 1927-1929 volumes (7) are divided by type of activities, ball game, bingo, concessions, truck, trailer, etc. The 1931-1932 v. (2) document Concessions only, showing a huge shift in record keeping and business activity by John since the 1926-1927 volume.

The next series is John C. Pollie, Accounts. These are loose paper accounts of Carnival Games, April-October 1950. They are different in style and have an excessive amount of detail compared to the business accounts he kept for the I.R.S.(7 folders). They are organized by each day in each town of John’s circuit for 1950. He notes the weather, time they opened, free games, the number of games played, the number and types of prizes won, the total amount of money the prizes were worth, and amount of money his employees earned. Examples of prizes won include whistling teakettles, liquor dispenser, cardtable, coldpack canner, blanket, and a large glass lamp.

There is one John C. Pollie Biographical folder for John C. Pollie. It includes seven loose autograph pages entitled “Johnny Pollie’s Book.” It includes autographs and notes from senior high school students who graduated between 1920 and 1925. It probably dates from 1920.

John C. Pollie’s Business Correspondence is the third largest of the series in the collection, 3.5 cubic feet (in 7 boxes). It includes correspondence from the 1920s-1960s. Materials are filed alphabetically by the name of the company or institution (or person) with whom John conducted business. Whichever name John used for filing purposes has been used here. Those people or businesses with whom he corresponded once or a few times are filed alphabetically in the general folders “A”, “B”, etc. The majority of his business correspondence was with people and companies concerning his concession business and chance games. From these companies he ordered supplies for him, his workers, and concessions trailer, or prizes, such as the many he ordered from Wisconsin “Deluxe” Company (Ned Tortni), or with fairs and shows officials and organizations, such as the V.F.W. or Sigma Phi Gamma (Bluffton, Ind.), and the men who booked him with various fairs, such as John Mulder. Some of the correspondence is with people who regularly worked for John in some capacity, often as bingo operators. A small part of the correspondence is related to his car and trailer, and getting them repaired, licensed, or insured, and dealing with accidents, A small amount of the correspondence relates to family physicians, Grand Rapids organizations with whom John was associated, and other companies, like paint and hardware stores where John bought supplies, and advertising from the magazines Bill Board and Big Eli News. Two of the largest subseries in this series are Wisconsin “Deluxe” Company, 1936-1961 (1.5 cubic ft.), and the Fairs/Shows and V.F.W. folders, 1938-1960 [bulk after 1940] (.75 cubic foot). A number of the Business Correspondence folders include catalogs, samples, drawings, orders or receipts for items John needed to operate, such as awnings or painted signs. The folders note the company’s name, name of John’s main contact, what the company sold if it related to the carnival business, and names of his contact’s spouse and children. John maintained close correspondence with virtually all of his business associates, particularly Net Tortni, his booking agents, such as John Mulder, and his contacts for fairs. John regularly received birth announcements from his contacts and maintained a regular holiday card exchange with them and their families. With the Kardell family (Eaton County Fair, Mich.), with whom he and Bea maintained correspondence from 1939 through 1956, it is clear that they were much more than business associates: they were friends. It was to Mrs. Kardell (Karen) that Bea Pollie confided that her Father (Frank Culver) had left and returned to her Mother (letter from Karen to Bea, in Kardell folder, Dec. 16, 1952 (from Banglaore, India). This is not noted in any other correspondence. Mulder and Tortni also were devastated when Bea died, as noted in the biographical section, and sent gifts and food to John and his children for their first, terrible Christmas without her. Yet, they could still threaten John when he fell too far behind with his bills. Also of note is a 1949 thank you from then Representative Jerry Ford, thanking John for signing his nominating petition.

The Miscellaneous includes Bingo Numbers Set Up Diagram and Rules for Drivers, both undated (1 folder).

The largest series is the Personal Correspondence, 1910-1964, which totals 8 cubic feet (in 16 boxes). The Personal Correspondence is filed in alphabetical order by surname, then first name of correspondent. The names of spouses and children follow that of the correspondent. Relatives are noted and multiple surnames for those who married, or remarried multiple times, are also noted, as well as the dates of the correspondence, and their occupation or business if it relates to the circus or carnival business. Those with whom John had only a page or two of correspondence are filed alphabetically by surname in the general folders ‘A’, ‘B’, etc.

This series includes correspondence with John’s immediate family, parents, wife and children, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as many of his friends. Some of these friends were obviously retired from the circus or carnie world, some even had worked for John and Henry in the past, but their correspondence is mainly of a familiar type now, interested in John’s work, but not dependent on him for employment. Also in this series are the letters of the LaVardo, Evans, and Ritter families, with whom John was very close, Elfie Ramsay, and his girlfriends before he married Bea, Phyllis Rae Comrie, and Marie Ritter, as well as two male friends of John’s who served time in the Jackson State Penitentiary, Harry C. Hart, and Al S. Wiser. John wrote to people of all ages. Some of the letters are clearly between him and young children, both cousins and children of friends.

Of special interest is the correspondence between John and his parents. He was obviously close to both of his parents and wrote them often, usually weekly. With his Dad he discusses business often. With his Mother, John noted his schedule, the activities and health of their family and friends, and inquired always about her health, which was never good, and her finances. His mother’s handwriting is quite difficult to read. Her letters always started with “My Dear Son” until he married and they were address to “My Dear Children”. It is easier to understand her writing when you read John’s response to her letters.

When apart, John and Bea wrote almost daily, sometimes several times a day. Bea often sent handwritten postcards detailing where they went, what they did, how the children and her parents were feeling, and what errands she had run, and prizes or equipment she had ordered, shipped, or picked up for John. It is very obvious how important she was to him both in caring for the children and in keeping his business going when he was on the road. The children, Bea, and her parents (Mother) always remembered John on his birthday and for Father’s Day. There are many sweet, adorable handmade cards from the children to their Daddy which are just precious. It is very obvious that John, Bea and the children loved each other very much.

The strength of the collection is the correspondence. John C. Pollie typed voluminous letters almost daily to many show friends and business associates. He appears to have typed these letters both as a necessity to keep in touch with business associates and friends and as a form of stress relief and communication. In one letter he noted that it was 3 a.m. and he was finishing at least his second letter while a third needed to be typed before he could even consider going to sleep. In his correspondence, he writes personally to the recipient of their life and his, mentioning people, events, acts, and places they know in common, the status of his current show, including its location, bills, problems, and acts, his and the show’s finances, debt, the breakdown of vehicles, holidays, and his emotions, family, and dreams. They are full of interesting reading topics, particularly regarding show life and show people. Often he talks about where the show has been, where it is going next, the weather, local people, and any problems they have experienced.

John saved virtually all the business and personal correspondence he received and copies of all the correspondence he typed, as well as receipts, bills, account books, promotional materials and supply catalogs related to his business interests. Some of the correspondence has beautiful letterhead and photographs or illustrations of various shows and show acts. There are also samples of paint colors, tent materials, designs for tents and vehicles, as well as related catalogs of business supplies, particularly prizes for people who won carnival games.

Physically, about half of the collection, mostly his copies of correspondence, in the collection is quite acidic and fragile. Materials that were falling apart or greatly damaged have been photocopied. John usually typed his correspondence on acidic paper, so while it is nicely legible, it is brittle and very brown. The physical state of the correspondence he received varies, but overall, aside from part of it being acidic, most of it is in good physical condition, on various types of paper, with the penmanship, vocabularies, and spelling abilities varying among the writers. Some of the letters and accounts written in pencil instead of ink have smeared.

Processing Notes: The following materials were removed from the collection during processing: miscellaneous Greeting Cards (5 cubic feet); Duplicates and Miscellaneous Materials such as empty envelopes, instructions to complete tax forms, miscellaneous receipts, undated financial notes, and very generic correspondence (3 cubic feet); and Out-of-state periodicals (1 cubic feet). Non-duplicate Michigan publications were added to the Clarke’s collections and individually cataloged (approximately 1 cubic foot). The eighteen letters, 1931-1932, of Accession #78038 were interfiled into existing correspondence folders.

The collection reflects Cumming’s many interests and activities as Director of the Clarke, historian, author, researcher, bibliophile, printer, and collector.

The collection reflects Cumming’s many interests and activities as Director of the Clarke, historian, author, researcher, bibliophile, printer, and collector. The collection documents Mount Pleasant, Isabella County, Auburn, and Oakland County (Mich.) history, as well as his special interests, including Abel Bingham, the Gold Rush, and (Strangite) Mormons. There are drafts of his books and articles, speeches, and biographical materials. Photographic materials are also included. Most of the material in the collection is undated

Materials were processed mostly by Acc# as per the donor’s wishes. Boxes 1-6, Oversized folder, Acc#5261, 52991, 71-41. Boxes 7-8, Acc# 53561. Boxes 9-10, Acc#67488 and 67600. Box 11, unaccessioned materials from January 2007. Boxes 12-16, Acc#72398. Box 17, Acc#77785 1 box of slides.

Box 17 has four small slide boxes of Michigan slides, 1958-1978, and undated, documenting John’s travels. They are organized alphabetically by location, except for a trip that is dated August 15-16, 1969 which included Leland, Sleep Bear Dunes, Cross Village, and Mackinac Island.

Researchers may be interested in materials generated in his capacity as Director of the Clarke are found in the Clarke Historical Library Organizational Records. Additional Cumming slides are separately housed and inventoried.

Processing Note: Duplicates were removed from the collection. A list of items merged into other, existing collections, where they were more apt to be used by researchers, is in the donor’s file. Published items were separately cataloged and housed in the Clarke.

John Dingell, Jr. was Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan and longest-serving member in congressional history, 1955-2015. Dingell was the son of John Dingell, Sr. (Democratic congressman from Michigan's 15th district, 1933-1955), and husband of Debbie Dingell, who succeeded him as Representative of Michigan's 12th district in 2015. The collection documents John Dingell, Jr.'s election campaigns and his 59-year tenure in Congress. Records include legislative files, correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, press clippings, photographs, and audiovisual materials.

The collection documents John D. Dingell, Jr.'s political career including his 59 years in the United States House of Representatives (1955-2015). The papers include campaign materials documenting Dingell's 29 elections, Democratic National Committee and Michigan Democratic Party materials, and redistricting in Michigan.

The bulk of the papers document Dingell's tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives including legislative files on topics such as civil rights, healthcare, insurance, Social Security, Medicare, environmental issues, endangered species, the auto industry, agriculture, taxes, and trade; administrative office files including correspondence, schedules, voting records, and legislative planning; and photographs, press clippings, scrapbooks, and speeches.

The collection includes born-digital records, as well as 254 pieces of audiovisual material, described in the Container Listing at the item level. Dingell's member website, campaign website, as well as his personal Twitter account are cataloged separately.

The John E. Boos collection consists of over 1,200 personal manuscript recollections or brief notes by persons who met or saw Abraham Lincoln and by persons who experienced the Civil War. John Boos, of Albany, New York, solicited and compiled most of these reminiscences in the early 20th century. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index, which identifies each contributor to the collection: John E. Boos Collection Writer Index.

The John E. Boos collection consists of over 1,200 personal manuscript recollections or brief notes by persons who met or saw Abraham Lincoln and by persons who experienced the Civil War. John Boos solicited and compiled most of these reminiscences in the early 20th century. The collection is arranged in four series: Bound Volumes (compiled by and bound for John Boos), Unbound Volumes (binders apparently compiled by John Boos, but never bound), Loose Items, and one Book.

Boos collected autographs and reminiscences on uniquely sized 6.5'' by 9'' paper, and he instructed those he was soliciting to leave a wide 1.5'' left margin for binding. All but one volume in Series I are bound collections of this Boos-standard paper and most contributors in Series II and III contributed a note or autograph on the same size paper.

John Boos's interviewees related an almost uniform admiration or reverence to the President and his memory. Within the first binder of Series II, for example, William Strover (who was not a Civil War veteran, and who never met Lincoln) remarked: "I consider him the greatest man that has come upon the earth since Jesus Christ, and surely the greatest American that lived." Such high praise is featured throughout the entire collection. One example expressing disdain for Abraham Lincoln is a November 24, 1930, letter by Confederate and Presbyterian minister Milton B. Lambdin, who was skeptical about Boos' intent in contacting him. He suspected that Boos made the connection on account of a multi-issue article Lambdin produced for the Confederate Veteran (1929) titled "A Boy of the Old Dominion..."

Series I: Bound Volumes, 1931-1970

Eight of the nine volumes contained in this series are letters and reminiscences compiled by Boos. The volumes revolve around individual persons or themes, including the Lincoln-Douglas debates; Lincoln's assassination; Lincoln's guards; General George H. Thomas, a leading figure in the Western theater of the Civil War who retired to Troy, New York; Johnson Brigham, a fellow Lincoln enthusiast who met the President on several occasions; and the story of Confederate General George Pickett as told by his wife, La Salle Corbell Pickett; and a selection of "Mr. Lincoln's Soldiers."

Boos interspersed the manuscript and typed accounts with ephemeral items and his own narratives of relevant events. He frequently provided an overall account of the volume's theme (usually with lengthy quotations from his correspondents) before presenting the reminiscences and a brief biography of each contributor. In his introductions to these personal accounts, Boos sometimes included a narrative of how he had met and interviewed the individual or linked the person's memories of Lincoln to similar ones. Most of the volumes include a title page, dedication, illustrations, and an index.

The accounts in these bound volumes differ in length, tone, and detail, but they provide insight into how a variety of individuals remembered the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln more than a half-century after the fact. Many of his contributors were Union Army veterans, but he also tracked down individuals who witnessed the Lincoln-Douglas debates as children, Mrs. M. O. Smith who saw Lincoln at Gettysburg,a Confederate soldier, several of Lincoln's personal guards, an actress who had performed in Our American Cousin the night Lincoln was shot (Jeannie Gourley), a man who was in the same Ford's Theater box as Lincoln and who was stabbed by John Wilkes Booth (Henry Rathbone), and the man who recorded the testimony of witnesses to the assassination (James Tanner). The accounts address subjects ranging from the President's dress and style of speaking to the contributors' reflections on his legacy and greatness.

One bound volume, inscribed to John E. Boos by its creator Bernhardt Wall, contains etchings of locations in New York State visited by Lincoln. Three letters from Wall to Boos are enclosed in this 1938 volume.

Series II: Unbound Volumes (extracted from binders), 1905-1941

Series II includes the contents of 13 binders, arranged roughly into thematic categories, apparently by Boos himself (likely with the intention of binding them as he did with the letters in Series I). The order of pages within the binders has been maintained in its present housing.

Boos placed each incoming letter, reminiscence, or autograph into a top-loading page protector with related materials. In some volumes, for example, Boos matched each manuscript with his own typed or handwritten notes, which variously included the veteran's name, where they saw Lincoln, regimental information, where Boos met the veteran, and Boos's impressions of the individual. Boos wrote many of these notes on the back of scrap paper, such as advertising mail received by Boos or sample primary election ballots (some of the scrap paper contains illustrated letterheads).

Binders 1-3: Lincoln's Soldiers (3 binders, 1905-1927). Lincoln's Soldiers largely consists of letters sent to Boos, many with their envelopes still attached. Most contributors utilized Boos-provided paper, though some utilized their own stationery. Despite its title, "Lincoln's Soldiers" is comprised of letters by civilians and soldiers alike. Many contributors had met President Lincoln, and Boos collected as much information as possible about those encounters. Others were unable to meet Lincoln, but shared vivid memories of their times in Andersonville Prison, or interactions with other famous leaders, such as General Sherman (W. H. Jennings) and General Grant (J. E. Parmelee). Some documented their efforts to preserve Lincoln's memory or their involvement in Veteran's organizations.

Binders 4-7: I Saw Lincoln (4 binders, 1911-1928). The bulk of the contributors to I Saw Lincoln met or saw Lincoln during his presidency; a smaller portion interacted with him prior to the presidency; and others saw him while lying in state or en route to Illinois in 1865. The I Saw Lincoln group includes Boos's incoming correspondence and autographs he personally collected while traveling. Glowing praise of Lincoln continues throughout these binders, including an anecdote by Daniel Webster (of Salem, Oregon), in which he described how he was "near being mobbed" in Arkansas in 1871 for calling Lincoln "the brightest star in the galaxy of American statesmen and patriots."

Binder 8: Antietam (1 binder, 1912-1937). The soldiers represented in Antietam were present at the battle; some provided descriptions of the confrontation, though the writers do not all focus on the event. Antietam is notable for having the longest continuous example (in the unbound portion of the collection) of prose by Boos, in which he described the battle and his meetings with the veterans.

Binders 9-11: Lincoln's Soldiers and Where They Saw Him (3 binders, 1911-1933). contains accounts from soldiers who saw Lincoln and soldiers who did not. This group includes a significant number of contributions by soldiers who guarded the President's remains.

Binder 12: Autographs of Abe Lincoln's Soldiers (1 binder, 1910-1917). This binder contains signatures of soldiers, with very brief notes on each veteran. Boos apparently revisited the binder at a later dated and added death dates.

[Unnumbered Binder]: [Additional Lincoln's Soldiers] (1 binder, 1911-1937). This binder includes accounts similar to those found in binders 9-11.

Series III: Loose Items, 1904-1949

This series is comprised of nearly 200 loose letters, disbound book pages, and notes. Many of these items were either part of one of the Clements Library's pre-2015 accessions, or were included with the Dow collection in unarranged binders. The bulk of the series is letters to Boos containing memories of Lincoln. The accounts provided by these eye witnesses include memories of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's assassination, hospital visits by the President, his 1860 Cooper Union speech, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and general memories of the Civil War period. The contributors include veterans, Ford's Theater attendees on the night Lincoln was shot, the daughter of Mary Todd Lincoln's personal nurse (Ealine Fay), and a woman who sang in the choir for the ceremony at which Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address (M. O. Smith). This series contains letters by Jennie Gourlay Struthers and James Tanner, who are also represented in the Then a Nation Stood Still volume in Series I.

The series includes writings and other materials that shed light on John E. Boos's collecting practices and editing processes and a 1924 letter from Congregational minister William E. Barton to Walt Whitman expert Emory Holloway, with comments on the growing cult of memory surrounding Lincoln.

A folder of manuscripts and photocopies pertain to Grace Bedell, who is credited with convincing Lincoln to grow his whiskers. These items include photocopies of letters Bedell exchanged with Boos, original letters between Boos and Bedell's heirs, and letters between Boos and Congressman George Dondero, who at one point owned Bedell's original letter to Lincoln.

The Loose Items series also contains correspondence of Donald P. Dow, photocopies of Boos materials offered for sale, and photocopies of letters not present in the Clements Library's collection.

Series IV: Book. A publication containing 103 John Boos letters has been added to the collection: Rare Personal Accounts of Abraham Lincoln, ed. By William R. Feeheley and Bill Snack (Cadillac, Mich.: Rail Splitter Pub., 2005).

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index, which identifies each contributor to the collection: John E. Boos Collection Writer Index.

Republican member of the Michigan state legislature (House and Senate, 1971-1990); governor of Michigan (1991-2003); active member of the Republican Governors' Association and the National Governors' Association. The Engler collection consists primarily of materials created and maintained by Governor Engler and his staff during the period when he was governor, 1991-2003. Other records include papers from his several terms in the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate. The collection includes papers files, photographs, sound recordings, videotapes, memorabilia, and some electronic files. The gubernatorial files are arranged mainly by unit or functional responsibility within the governor's office. These series are Executive Office, Communications Division, Legal Division, State Government Affairs, Legislative Affairs Division, Operations Division, External Affairs, Scheduling, Washington DC Office, and Office of the First Lady. Topics extensively documented include state welfare and school funding reform, reorganization of state boards and commissions, notably the restructuring of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Republican party politics.

The John Engler papers are the most important source available for the study of Michigan's state government from 1991 to 2002. The collection is particularly strong on the topics of welfare and school funding reform, state government reorganization and the rising impact of the National Governors' Association in state and national politics. Engler's efforts to attract commerce to Michigan are also well-documented. The materials are arranged into two main subgroups: Pre-gubernatorial Papers and Gubernatorial Papers. The bulk of the material relates to Engler's gubernatorial career, therefore, the analysis that follows focuses primarily on this subgroup.

The materials in the "Gubernatorial Papers" subgroup are arranged according to the offices and subdivisions of the governor's office that created them. This means that the governor's speeches and press releases, for example, may be found within a grouping or "series" called "Communications Division," within the "Gubernatorial" subgroup, while legislative histories for various public acts may be found within the "Legislative Affairs" series.

While some kinds of documents were produced uniquely by one division, other kinds were produced in several divisions of the governor's office. The governor's correspondence, for example, was drafted and approved by several different staff members. Letters to important business and political leaders may be found within the "Executive Office" series, the "State Government Affairs" series, and the "Washington DC Office" series in particular. There no comprehensive chronological correspondence file.

In using the collection, the researcher should think functionally and ask who would have created the information sought. For example, the policy advisors in the State Government Affairs Division created individual topical files which gathered together correspondence and research materials to support briefing memoranda which they presented to the governor, while the speechwriters in the Communications Division often gathered different types of materials to help them shape the presentation of the same policies to the public.

This orderly book, kept by John Frizell a quartermaster sergeant in the British army, accounts for the general and regimental orders for the 77th Royal British Regiment stationed near Halifax from June 22 to October 1, 1761.

This orderly book accounts for the daily general and regimental orders for the 77th Royal British Regiment stationed near Halifax from June 22 to October 1, 1761.

Entries begin with the daily password (parole) and countersign followed by officers chosen for duty and the text of the official orders (60 pages). Passwords were typically either names of British royalty or names of towns in England (Bristol, Bath, Yarmouth, Worchester etc.). Many orders were directed not just to the soldiers but to the citizens of the area. A reoccurring order forbade the settlers from providing liquor to soldiers or to let soldiers drink in their tents or huts (p. 7). This policy, however, was often not followed. Other orders concerned that day's "working party." The party was commonly required to retrieve wood from the lumber yard, get provisions from the store, distribute goods to the other men, stand guard, and travel. The orders also included logistical details such as the rations of beer per man per week; each member got 2 quarts per day for 6 pence each week (page 48).

The volume's last 160 pages contain Frizell's personal accounts of his settlements at Dedham and Port Royal (Port Annapolis) between 1762 and 1766. Many entries are copies of orders and contracts for making shoes, along with inventories of food and wood. Pages 78-79 contain drafts of advertisements for a night school targeted at "those who cannot attend during the day." The ad states that "A school will be opened by John Frizell att his dwelling at Norton New precinct at any time where will be taught reading wrighting and siffering and something of geometry of Required and the Mensuration of triangles &c. &c. &c." This page also contains a bar of music for singing a psalm that "Note[s] mi is an F."

The book appears to have been used for the secondary purposes of working out math problems and practicing penmanship. Many pages, including the bottom of some orderly pages and in between copies of letters, have scripture quotations written in an elegant hand. These also fill much of the back half of the book.

Other interesting items include a letter to his mother, offering a rare bit of personal information (p. 136); a recipe for black ink (p. 139), and a short essay on using fixed stars in navigation with an explanation of the movements of the seven planets (p. 140). Portions of many pages are torn out; these were likely blank scraps used for practice writing and math exercises.

The John Hendrickson Yale class album contains numerous engraved and lithographed portraits of members of the Yale College Class of 1852, professors, and administrators.

The John Hendrickson Yale class album contains numerous engraved and lithographed portraits of members of the Yale College Class of 1852, professors, and administrators.

The album (25.5 x 19.75 cm) has green leather covers with “John B. Hendrickson’” stamped on the front in gold. Contents begin with four engraved views of New Haven, Connecticut, before progressing to engraved portraits of Yale College professors and administrators. Subsequent images are primarily lithographic portraits of members of the class of 1852, many of which are inscribed with sentimental notes, birthdays, and hometowns. Numerous signatures belong to men who went on to fight in the Civil War. Other signatures of note include those of Daniel Colt Gilman, William Preston Johnston, and Homer Baxter Sprague. The portraits of the students were produced by F. Michelin and George E. Leefe of New York City.

This collection is made up of around 70 incoming letters to John H. Hunt of Sag Harbor, New York. Hunt's correspondents primarily wrote about their daily lives in Brooklyn, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, though they also commented on politics, marriage, religion, and business.

This collection is made up of around 70 incoming letters to editor John H. Hunt of Sag Harbor, New York. Hunt's correspondents primarily wrote about their daily lives in Brooklyn, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, though they also commented on politics, marriage, religion, and business.

Hunt's most frequent correspondents were G. H. Gleason, W. Henry Seely, and D. Lansing Lambert; he also received 3 letters from his brothers and a late series of letters from Benjamin F. Huntting. Gleason, Seely, and Lambert requested news from Sag Harbor and often referred to mutual acquaintances. The bulk of the correspondence concerns their daily lives and, to a lesser extent, their economic fortunes, particularly during the mid-1850s. W. H. Seely, who worked in Chicago, complained about the unfavorable economic climate in the West, and briefly considered joining a friend who had moved to Bolivia to pursue a business opportunity (November 28, 1857). Seely also commented on his religious views, and others mentioned their involvement with Sabbath schools or prayer meetings. During the summer of 1856, letter writers mentioned the upcoming election, and most reported their intention to vote for John C. Frémont. Hunt's correspondents occasionally provided their opinions about marriage and shared news of recent unions. In multiple letters, D. Lansing Lambert mentioned his "wife," whom he revealed to be a young man and a close acquaintance (May 28, 1856). He enclosed an explicit broadside in his letter of October 19, 1857, titled To Lovers of Horizontal Refreshments, which provides a list of services offered by a brothel.

Republican state senator from Battle Creek, Michigan, 1987-2002; legislative files documenting issues of higher education appropriations, state health concerns, and expenditure of monies received from lawsuit against the tobacco companies.

The papers represent a fragment of this state senator's career as much material had been discarded prior to the library's contact with the Schwarz office. Although some of the materials (mainly clippings) date to the period when he first came to Lansing in the mid-1980s, the great bulk of the collection dates from Schwarz's last term in office, 1999-2002. As might be expected, the files pertain to Schwarz's activities in the state senate, especially on issues of appropriations to the state's colleges and universities. There is also substantial information relating to current state health issues. Not present in these papers are materials relating to his activities outside the senate, campaigns for office, or his candidacy for governor in 2002. There are also no photographs or other visual materials in the collection.

The papers have been brought together in the following series: Higher Education; Health Issues; Other Issues; and Miscellaneous.