Manuscript Collections

 This collection consists of two Civil War letters, dating 1863 and 1864 from Erwin Welsh, 67th Ohio Infantry, Company I. One of the letters is to his wife, Jennie.

 This collection consists of the discharge order of Benjamin Balderson, dated 1864.

This collection consists of papers of the Clark Preston family. The collection includes correspondence, dating 1862-1866, which includes essays concerning the Civil War, holidays, and loss of friends.

 This collection contains a letter from E.J. Fish to A.R. Wood, July 24, 1861, discussing the war, religion and the men of Sturgis, Mich.; a letter form Ebenezer French to William Allma, May 3, 1862, discussing A.R. Wood's death and financial matters relating thereto; a letter from M.C. Meigs, Quartermaster General, to William L. Stoughton, House of Representatives, Dec. 20, 1870, relating information regarding burial place of A.R. Wood; a newspaper obituary of Mrs. Julia Wood, wife of A.R. Wood.

 This collection contains items of or relating to George Dallas Sidman, winner of the Medal of Honor. The collection contains nine illustrated pages containing biographical and service records of Private Sidman, Company C, 16th Michigan Infantry. There are also two photographs of Sidman, one as a soldier, and one as a later date. Their is a receipt for item #48 given by Sidman to the Michigan Military Museum, 1874 and newspaper clippings about Sidman. The last part of the collection is a letter from Thomas Davey, Sept. 19, 1915, to George D. Sidman relating to badges and dues (G.A.R.?), and a listing of comrades.

 This collection consists of letters written by Emery Crane, dating Jan. 20, 1862-Sept. 17, 1862; letters written by Alphonso Crane, dating May 14, 1861-July 3, 1863; letter to parents of Alphonso Crane on his death, dated July 11, 1863.

This collection contains the Army discharge papers of Reuben Stevens, dated Apr. 24, 1814; an affidavit for commissioned officer, for Amos D. Avery, dated May 23, 1863; the Army discharge papers of Amos D. Avery from Company I, 6th Michigan Heavy Artillery, dated Feb. 8, 1865; and explanatory information concerning Reuben Stevens.

This collection consists of the discharge certificate for Jacob Strickle, 14th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry, 1865

Certification of military service for Private Alfred White from August 1864-October 1865 in the 102nd U.S. Colored Infantry, First Regiment, Company B. He enlisted at Kalamazoo, Mich. on August 24, 1864. 

 This collection consists of letters dating from Sept. 16, 1861-Sept. 24, 1862, written by Stephen B. DeLano, C.H. Goodrich (his cousin), and Capt. Theodore Reese, all of Company F, 3rd Regiment, Michigan Cavalry Volunteers. The letters were written to family members in Cooper, Mich. commenting on general topics such as farming, weather, the war, and life in military camps. Also in the collection is a diary dating Dec. 17, 1861(?)-June 3, 1862, which the donor assumes was kept by DeLano; DeLano's certificate of health; and a military pass.

 This collection consists of a letter from Eugene Joseph Stocking, Camp Buford, Oct. 4, 1863, to his parents. The letter includes a list of battles in which Stocking participated.

This collection contains papers of the Baker family of Lansing, Michigan. Materials include correspondence, memoirs, scrapbooks, photographs, and published and unpublished biographies and family histories. Family members most prominently represented in the collection are Luther Byron Baker (1830-1896), his son Luther Henry Baker (1872-1944), his grandson Maurice Jacobs Baker (1903-1971) and his great grandson Luther Henry Bud Baker (1931-2008). Luther Byron Baker, familiarly known as Byron, served in the First District of Columbia Cavalry during the Civil War. In April 1865, he participated in the manhunt for Abraham Lincolns assassin, John Wilkes Booth. He was present at Garretts barn when Booth was shot and Booths accomplice, David Herold, surrendered. Afterward, he was present at the interment of Booths body. The collection contains letters and other materials documenting Byrons Civil War service, his pre-Civil War time at Oberlin College (1851-1853), his post-Civil War years in Lansing, Michigan and his 1889-1894 traveling lectures on the John Wilkes Booth manhunt. Later materials document the lives of Byrons descendants and other family members. Letters and scrapbooks document Luther Henry Bakers time as a student at Michigan Agricultural College, his career as a school principal, his courtship of his future wife and his time as East Lansing City Councilman (1912-1916) and Mayor (1925-1928). Maurice Jacobs Baker explains his political views and reflects on current events in two essays from the 1930s, while other materials pertain to his job as a trade publications editor. Materials of Luther Henry Bud Baker document his time as a grade school student, his time as a Michigan State College student, his United States Army service and his career publishing trade magazines (He inherited this business from his father.). Letters from spouses, siblings and cousins round out the collection, and family histories and biographies provide information on Baker ancestors and connected families.

This collection consists of a record of the battle at Gilgal Church in which the 19th Michigan Infantry participated. Includes official reports, extracts from diaries, and list of casualties.

 This collection contains personal papers and correspondence of Abner Wood. Also included are certificates from the Livingston County Board of Canvassers testifying to Wood's election to public office. There are also copies of his pension files from the National Archives, supplemented by an affidavit that was written when he was seeking disability payment. There is also a General Instructions document to deputies when Wood was a surveyor.

 This collection consists of the Civil War diary of Cyrus Bacon, assistant surgeon, Seventh Michigan Volunteers. Bacon was from Edwardsburg, Cass County, Mich. The diary begins August 15, 1861, the day Bacon received his commission and concludes October 5, 1863, at which time Bacon was home on leave.

The John King papers consists of papers relating to the Civil War record of John King (1864-1865) of Company D, Sixth Michigan Infantry (heavy artillery). Included are King's discharge papers (1864 and 1865) and documentation of his promotion to corporal (August 20, 1864). The collection also includes two letters written by Phebe Trego, the mother of John King. The letters, dated October 16, 1864 and July 28, 1865, were addressed from Bristol (Eckhart County) Indiana.

 This collection consists of a letter from Frederick A. Cutler, 6th Michigan Infantry, dated Aug. 6, 1862, describing the details of the battle at Baton Rouge.

This collection consists of a typescript diary of James W. Hoffman, 3rd Michigan Cavalry, Company F, recording events from Apr. 21, 1861 to June 15, 1863; Hoffman's discharge papers (Jan. 18, 1864 and Feb 12,1866).

 This collection consists of the Civil War diary of Major Cornelius Byington, 2nd Michigan Infantry, Co. C. He entered service in Co. C at age 39 at it's organization, as a captain, May 10, 1861, at Battle Creek, Mich. He was commissioned a Major on Apr. 25, 1861, mustered May 25, 1861, and died Dec. 11, 1863, from wounds received in action on Nov. 24, 1863, at Knoxville, Tenn. The diary also includes a written statement about his death and newspaper articles.

This collection consists of a notebook, dating 1864, kept by Rev. James R. Gordon (1835-1876). Gordon was from Oak Grove, Livingston County, Mich. In Sept. of 1864, he joined the U.S. Chrisitian Commission and left for the east coast to look after Michigan soldiers at the Armory Hospital in Washington, D.C. The contents of this notebook are printed instructions to Commission members, a diary of daily activities, Latin exercises, and address list of ministers, and a record of Michigan soldiers encountered. The collection is arranged chronologically.

This collection consists of documents of, or relating to James D. Elderkin. The collection includes his enlistment papers as principal musician of the 4th Regiment of Infantry Band dated 1849; his re-enlistment certificate as leader of the 5th Michigan Infantry Regimental Band dated 1862; his discharge certificate as Fife Major, First (3 months) from the Michigan Infantry Volunteers, dated 1861; a receipt from the Library of Congress for Biographical sketches and anecdotes of a soldier of three wars, written by himself / by James D. Elderkin, dated May 1, 1899; a notice of issue and fees of the Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Pensions for 1863; a letter to Elderkin from Thomas R. McConnell, Dec. 27, 1853, commending him for his service; and the muster out roll of the 5th Regiment Infantry band, dated Aug. 9, 1862.

 This collection consists of the Civil War diary of Charles A. Gunn, 3rd Michigan Cavalry, Co. B, for 1863. The entries are intermittent and include some references to Vicksburg and statistics on captures, injured, etc. The collection also includes a copy of The New York herald of sat., April 15, 1865, detailing stories of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the stabbing of Seward.

Part of the Bess Britton One-Room School House Collection (One-Room School House Memory Project) located at the Webster Memorial Library (Van Buren District Library System), Decatur, Michigan. Interviewer and Transcriber: Kenneth H. Baker. Includes transcript and audio compact disk. Interview conducted in a conference room located at the Allegan County Fairgrounds (c. 2011).

 This collection consists of muster-out and voucher forms dating 1864-1866. There are four types of records in the collection: detachment muster-out forms (showing name, rank, age, when, where, and by whom enrolled and mustered, when and by whom last paid, allowances given for travel, subsistence, clothing, equipment, and remarks); individual muster-outs (shows the same information as the first, plus data on pay rate and bounty received); regimental muster-outs (gives same information as the second, but does so for all members of a given company); and vouchers documenting pay to officers for salary, clothing, subsistence, and hired private servants. The servants were black, and the forms give their name, height, eye color, and hair color. The collection is arranged numerically by regiment, with infantry and cavalry units listed first. A name index has been prepared for easy access to the records.

This collection contains an album of officers in Company C, 12th Michigan Infantry, as well as a poster of Company C and Company D of the 12th Michigan Infantry.

This collection includes a set of blueprints documenting the design of the Ransom E. Olds mansion in Lansing, Michigan. They include elevations and floor plans. The drawings were conserved in 2005 at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

 Narrative documents Fisher's experiences as a prisoner of war in Germany from December 1944 to April 1945. Fisher, a member of the Medical Detachment, 589th Field Artillery Battalion of the 106th Infantry Division, was injured and captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. He was caught in the town of Schoenberg, Belgium and served time in these prisoner of war camps located in Germany: Stalag IV-B (Muhlberg), Stalag VIII-A (Gorlitz), and Stalag XI-B (Fallingbostel). This 7-page document includes basic description of his capture, life in the POW camps, and liberation by the British on April 16, 1945. After a brief time in a British hospital (Oxford), he returned to the States convalesced and attended rehab in Miami (June-July, 1945). Fisher finished out his service in the surgical ward of Camp McCoy Station Hospital in Wisconsin. He was discharged from service on November 16, 1945.

 This collection consists of the discharge of William W. Collins from Company F, 22nd Regiment of Michigan Infantry Volunteers, May 12, 1865. It also includes his service record dated June 17, 1919.