The Biographical Information series provides a good overview of the three generations of the Tuomy family covered by these papers. The obituaries and the biographical sketches of Cornilius L. and Kathryn G. Tuomy provide helpful orientation to the family relationships and names. The Final Will and Testament, generated by Cornelius W. (Bill) Tuomy and executed in 1966, gives explanations for how the family home, estate and property have been distributed.
3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder
The Tuomy Family papers document the daily life of three generations of a pioneer Ann Arbor area family. The three linear feet of papers span the years 1840-1966 with the bulk of the material falling within the decades bound by 1905-1945. The papers have been divided into four series, a small set of documents with biographical information, a larger set of personal and business correspondence, and family material arranged as a set of topical files. There is also a box of unidentified family portraits
A strength of the Tuomy Family papers is the documentation of daily life for a prominent Ann Arbor family from 1900 until the 1960's. Kathryn G. Tuomy's materials provide good exposure to the life of an Ann Arbor woman who has a university education and a family business to maintain. The papers are weaker in their coverage of the Tuomy and Tuomy real estate business. There is only marginal documentation regarding Cornelius W. (Bill) Tuomy's time in political office as drain commissioner. The photographs are not strongly backed up by the written documentation regarding the Tuomy and Tuomy real estate office and properties.
The Correspondence series is a rich source of family information and includes some business interactions. A majority of the material in the Correspondence series is written as person letters between the three Tuomy siblings or addressed to their mother, Julia. A large amount of writing occurred at the time that Cornelius W. (Bill) Tuomy was in the Army in 1918. Kathryn G. Tuomy also exchanged a large amount of correspondence in 1929-1931, when she was very active in the local and national Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. Family friends, including Frank McIntyre (especially 1940-1941), a newspaper man and entertainer, and in-laws on the Kearney side are also contributors to the conversations carried on in the Correspondence series. Interspersed with the personal correspondence are some letters (especially 1932-1933) on rental properties and real estate concerns of the Tuomy and Tuomy real estate office.