Collections

Cornelia G. Kennedy, "First Lady of the Michigan Judiciary," was the first woman appointed to the federal bench in Michigan and the first woman to become a chief judge for a United States District Court. Judge Kennedy was nominated to U.S. District Court in 1970 and to U.S. Circuit Court (Federal Appeals Court) in 1979. Although never actually nominated to the Supreme Court, she was mentioned in connection with vacancies there during the administrations of three different U.S. Presidents. In addition to her court-related duties, the collection reflects Kennedy's service to the Judicial Conference of the U.S. and the Federal Judicial Center as well as the American Bar Association and other professional organizations. The collection also contains materials from Wayne County Circuit Court. This finding aid includes a Summary Contents List and expanded Scope and Content Note to provide a brief summary of the Federal Court System's structure and history as well as notes on some of the organizations comprising the context of a legal career that spanned more than half a century.

The Cornelia G. Kennedy papers span Kennedy's career as a judge, beginning with her election to Wayne County Circuit Court (the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Michigan, which includes the City of Detroit) in 1966. The bulk of the collection documents her service as an active federal judge, from the time of her appointment to Federal District Court in 1970 through her confirmation and service in Federal Appeals Court, until she assumed senior federal judge status in 1999.

The collection is valuable not only in that it documents the professional and some of the private life of a federal judge who achieved many 'firsts' as a woman but also for the collection's contribution to an understanding of the federal court system and the evolution of judicial ethical standards and practices, especially with respect to financial disclosure, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest.

To some extent, the history of information and communications technology during the period is also represented in the collection through its examples of different correspondence media in different eras and through materials pertaining to the advent of computer-aided legal research in court libraries and the use of new technologies in federal courtrooms.

Inevitably, Judge Kennedy's long family history in the practice of law coincided with significant milestones in American history and in the development of judicial administration organizations and policy. Kennedy's father had graduated from law school and begun his legal career with World War I on the horizon. Kennedy graduated from law school as the national economy was transforming itself after World War II, and as the federal court system was beginning a new era in judicial practice and in judicial review of administration.

Description of Series Content

This collection is divided into ten series: Personal and Biographical; Correspondence; Speeches and Writings; Wayne County Circuit Court; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit; Judicial Conference of the United States; Federal Judicial Center; American Bar Association; and Other Professional Organizations and Meetings.

Of necessity, some series include materials of multiple formats, located together primarily with regard to conceptual content rather than format and some types of materials are found in multiple series. For example, correspondence can be found not only in the Correspondence series but also within court-related series to the extent that it relates to matters addressed there.

Throughout the collection, Judge Kennedy's own phrasing is used whenever possible to describe file folder contents. Some examples of her original file folders of administrative papers and office files also contain handwritten notes and have been retained in the collection to provide additional information to the researcher. These original folder labels and notations also help to illustrate the use of different terminology in different time frames.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, high school teacher and author best known for her writing on Greek and ancient mythology. Papers include correspondence concerning her studies of classical subjects, poems, publications and excerpts from reviews.

The Cornelia Steketee Hulst papers include correspondence concerning her studies of classical subjects, poems, publications and excerpts from reviews.

Detroit, Michigan, architect; 1934 graduate of the University of Michigan. Biographical material and descriptions of his architectural work, including photographs; also photographs taken during World War II and report of U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey on Wake Island, Marshall Islands, and Rabaul, New Britain.

A large part of this collection is made up of black and white slides taken during World War II in the South Pacific and color slides taken in 1945 and 1946 during the Strategic Bombing Survey of Wake Island, the Marshall Islands, and Rabaul, New Britain. The collection does not include any information as to whether Gabler was the actual photographer. The slides are identified by a topical code system, which is deciphered as much as possible in this finding aid. Some of the slides are mounted in cardboard mounts and are stored in folders, the rest in glass and metal mounts and stored in a metal box. The finding aid indicates the locations for each topical code.

The book The Allied Campaigns Against Wake Island, the Marshall Islands and Rabaul, New Britain: A Photographic Record, included with the collection, parallels the topics of the slides taken during the Strategic Bombing Survey, but does not duplicate any of the pictures in the slide files.

Dr. Corydon L. Ford was a professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Michigan Department of Medicine and Surgery (now the Medical School), He taught from 1854 to 1894. The collection contains reports on his faculty activities, scattered correspondence, lecture notes, syllabi, plates, and other papers relating largely to his work in the Medical School; also visual materials.

The Corydon L. Ford papers offer strong documentation of medical education and practice in the last half of the 19th century. The collection is arranged in three series: Teaching Records, Topical Files, and Miscellaneous.

Michigan organization formed to oppose public aid to non-public schools and students, variously known as CAP, and the Council Against Parochiaid. Minutes of meetings, correspondence, and other materials relating to their support of Proposal C in the Michigan election of 1970, and their opposition to Proposal H (the Voucher Plan) in the election of 1978.

These papers from the files of Kathryn Boucher, Executive Director of CAP, contain organizational and campaign materials in addition to newspaper clippings covering the two major state ballot proposals of the 1970's concerning public aid to non-public schools and students in the state of Michigan. The collection includes lists, bulletins, news releases, financial statements, mailings, workshop materials, papers from local coalitions, poll results and legal materials in addition to papers from the organization, United We Can, and a file containing "pro-parochiaid" materials. Also in the collection are notices and minutes of meetings for the years 1970-1972 and 1977-1978, and correspondence, 1970-1973, and 1977-1978. The 1970 correspondence record a variety of personal positions of Michigan Education Association members on the issue of parochiaid.

The records of the Council for International Living, at the University of Michigan, contain administrative files, bylaws, financial records, meeting minutes, house policies, and newsletters.

The records of the Council for International Living at the University of Michigan encompass the years 1949-1966. They are divided into four series: Topical, Houses, Photographs, and Printed Works.

The Topical series (six folders) is arranged alphabetically and includes background materials, bylaws, clippings, financial records, and minutes of board of trustee meetings. The folders, for the most part, contain only scattered records. The minutes are the most valuable for charting activities of the Council. For researching student life in the residence houses, the Houses series (8 folders) includes background information, financial records, house policies, and minutes from house meetings. It is arranged alphabetically by house name, and like the topical series, its files are quite incomplete. The Photographs series (one folder) consists of one 8X10 black and white print (undated and unidentified) of a group of international students. Finally, the Printed Works series (4 folders) includes various annual reports, constitutions, manuals, and newsletters.

Unit established within the office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs of the University of Michigan as counseling information clearinghouse which later accepted responsibility for counseling in areas of student mental health problems, problem pregnancy, marital relations, human sexuality, and racial and minority affairs. Records include minutes from various committees within Counseling Services; topical files; reports put out by Counseling Services; and printed materials.

The records of Counseling Services provide a unique look at the response of the university to the non-academic needs of the student body. The records span the years 1956-1992; the bulk of the materials covers 1968-1976. The records are divided into four series: Minutes; Topical Files; Reports; and Printed Works.

Gay rights activist of Ferndale, Mich. Files relating to his involvement with AIDS prevention and gay rights; include minutes of the board and other materials of the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, 1988-2001; files accumulated from his work with the Michigan Organization for Human Rights; and miscellanea relating to his campaigns for Ferndale City Council in 1995, 1999, 2003, for mayor in 2007, and for Oakland County Commissioner in 2010.

The Craig Covey collection is arranged into two series: Topical Files and Audio-Visual Materials. The topical files are especially important for their documentation of his work in various education and prevention study programs. These include the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project (MAPP for short) and the Michigan AIDS High Risk Education program. Also of important are files documenting his participation in the political and civic life of Ferndale, both within the gay community and as a member of the city council and as Mayor. There is documentation of his campaign for office and his participation in a gay and lesbian neighborhood association, Friends and Neighbors of Ferndale (FANS for short). The Audio-Visual series is comprised mainly of DVDs relating to gay pride ceremonies and activities.

Chief Engineer for General Motors. Instrumental in the development of the hydrogen fuel cell and General Motor’s electric vehicles. Collection documents Marks’s involvement in engineering organizations and his work at General Motors.

The papers of Craig Marks document his involvement with various engineering companies and organizations, such as General Motors, and his contributions to the development of the hydrogen fuel cell. This collection contains the following series: National Academy of Engineering (NAE); General Motors; Publications and Reports; Organizations, Companies and Conferences; and Personal.

Pontiac, Michigan family. Biographical information; letters exchanged between Harry Crawford and his family and friends relating to his experiences in the Spanish-American War and World War I; memorabilia; and photographs.

The Crawford family collection documents the experiences of Harry M. Crawford as a soldier during the Spanish-American War and World War I. It also contains information about the home front in Pontiac, Michigan during those two wars. There are few accounts of battles in these letters; rather the strength of the collection lies in the abundant descriptions of daily life both in the army and in Pontiac during this time period.

The correspondence, which is the heart of this collection, is chronologically arranged and divided into Spanish-American War correspondence (1898) and World War I correspondence (1917-1919). The Spanish-American War correspondence is further divided into correspondence from Harry Crawford to his family in Pontiac and correspondence from family and friends to Harry Crawford. Harry Crawford's letters to his family began in May 1898 when he mustered in at Camp Eaton, west of Pontiac. Crawford continued to write home, on a near-daily basis, from army camps in and around Tampa, Florida. The letters end in September when he returned to Michigan. Most of Harry Crawford's letters pertain to the daily routines of army life during encampment and rumors about the progress of the war. While Harry Crawford was generally supportive of United States war aims, he was critical of the capture of the Philippines (see his letter of August 10). The correspondence from family and friends to Harry Crawford contains information on a wide range of daily activities in Pontiac at the turn of the century. Reactions to the war were supportive on the home front (see especially the letters of G.G. McDonald from July 4 and of George Crawford from July 31). Advice on the art of soldiering from Harry's uncle, Walter Crawford (a Civil War veteran), may be found in a letter dated July 3.

The World War I correspondence is almost exclusively from Harry Crawford. Few letters from home survived but some information about Pontiac during the war, such as the impact of the influenza and the lack of coal during the winter, may be gleaned from Harry's responses to letters from his family. Harry Crawford's letters began in August 1917 from Fort Sheridan in Illinois. They continued through 1918, from France, and concluded in April 1919 when he returned to the United States. Harry Crawford wrote, on average, two to three letters per week. While Crawford spent some time on the front lines, descriptions of actual battles are few. Many of the letters describe the camaraderie with fellow soldiers and several tell of his anticipation of combat. A number of other letters pertain to the material conditions of his daily life (food, lodgings, and clothing). He also described the destruction wrought on the French countryside. Since his letters were censored, Crawford omitted references to specific places in his letters. Some of this specific information is included in a letter to his brother, George Crawford, following the Armistice (see his letter of November 24, 1918).