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The Michigan Central Railroad Company was originally incorporated to provide rail service between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. The records consist of letter books of the company president and general manager, administrative records, financial papers, maps, and photographs. Included is correspondence from Alpheus Felch, James F. Joy, and William Woodbridge.

The Michigan Central Railroad Company record group is an amalgam of various records received from different donors. The materials have been divided into the following series: James F. Joy Administrative Records and Agreements; Letters Received; Miscellaneous; President/General Manager/Chairman files; and List of Stockholders.

Records of the organization as well as collections of records received from individuals and organization relating to the development and history of special education in Michigan.

The records of the Society for the Preservation of Michigan Special Education History include both records of the organization (minutes, agenda, newsletters, mailing, correspondence, reports, etc.) as well as materials collected from individuals active in the field of special education. Some of the materials were clearly identified as belonging to either Richard Baldwin, Arselia Sehler Ensign, and Robert Luce and were kept together as separate series. Other materials, less clearly defined, were arranged by the organization or agency that created them. The kinds of documents in the collection include reports, minutes of meetings, newsletters, educational manuals, directives from the Michigan Department of Education and other agencies, copies and analyses of legislation under consideration by the state legislature, policy statements, and memoranda and correspondence.

The series in the record group include: Society for the Preservation of Michigan Special Education History organization records; Richard Baldwin papers; Arselia Sheler Ensign papers; Robert Luce papers; Michigan Federation Chapters of the Council for Exceptional Children; Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education; Michigan School for the Blind; Statewide Communication and Dissemination System; Citizens Alliance to Uphold Special Education; Physically Impaired Association of Michigan; Statewide Technical Assistance Network in Special Education; Local planning and instructional manuals; and Published material.

University of Michigan graduate, Class of 1929, member of the Delta Chi fraternity, the Aces Club and the Trojan Club. Scrapbook contains photographs and ephemera documenting Fisher's immediate family, friends, travels, and time as a student. Images include depictions of fraternity and social club activities, graduation exercises, major sporting events, and the University of Michigan's Frosh-Soph Spring and Fall Games.

The Sol Fisher scrapbook contains mostly identified photographs documenting Fisher's immediate family, friends, his travels, and University of Michigan campus life. This includes the 1926 and 1927 Frosh-Soph Spring and Fall Games, and the 1925 Western Conference championship football game between the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Other photographs document Delta Chi fraternity, Aces Club and Trojan Club activities, and the 1927 and 1929 Senior Swing Out exercises. Of note, are three Delta Chi photographs in which chapter members are posing with a small boy of color (identity unknown). A caption above one of the photographs states "Delta Chi-Help."

Also found within the scrapbook are photographs depicting several buildings on U-M campus, including the Law School, Martha Cook building, College of Engineering, and the Student Union building. Other photographs show prominent structures in Detroit, Mich., including the former General Motors Headquarters building and the construction of the Detroit-Windsor Bridge (the Ambassador Bridge).

Remaining materials within the scrapbook include commencement programs and ephemera, publications, and correspondence. Of note is what appears to be a 1928 prank letter addressed to Fisher in which a woman by the name of Sunshine is asking for his hand in marriage.

Sophia Holley Ellis is a Black University of Michigan graduate (BA 1949, MS 1950, MA 1964) and Detroit, Michigan teacher. She primarily taught for Detroit Public Schools (DPS), notably as a German teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School. The collection includes biographical and graduation materials, clippings, an oral history, a photograph album, papers, publications, and scrapbooks.

The Sophia Holley Ellis papers primarily documents Ellis's academic life at the University of Michigan as well as her professional life. Included in this collection are biographical and graduation materials, clippings, an oral history, a photograph album, papers, publications, and several scrapbooks.

The collections' scrapbooks will be of particular interest to researchers. Her University of Michigan scrapbook contains diplomas; photographs of students, including Ellis and her classmates, as well as events on campus; notes describing events in Ellis's personal life; correspondence and other items related to Ellis's academic career; announcements and programs of plays, performances, and other campus events; issues of student and alum publications; greeting cards; and ephemera. Also included are details of her first date; sorority pledging material, including the historically Black sorority Delta Sigma Theta (DST); and photos from a trip to Washington, DC with classmates where Ellis was excluded from some venues because of racial segregation. Her International trip scrapbook documents her travels abroad, while the National Council for International Visitors Award scrapbook highlights her receipt of the Phyllis Layton Perry Educator of the Year award in 2006.

Researchers should also consult her oral history, which was captured on December 3, 2017. During this interview, Ellis—who spoke with Kyle Whitaker and Nancy Bryk—addressed a range of topics, including her family history, early life, and experiences at the University of Michigan.