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The Blanchard family papers document the lives and careers of several members of the Blanchard, Cobb, and Proctor families from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth century. Includes visual materials, publications, personal writings, and extensive correspondence files.

The Blanchard Family Papers document the professional achievements and personal lives of several generations of a scientifically minded and artistically gifted family. The papers focus heavily upon the eminent plant pathologist and nematologist Nathan A. Cobb, his wife Alice Vara Cobb, their daughter, biologist Frieda Cobb Blanchard, and her husband, herpetologist Frank Nelson Blanchard (the latter two of whom were professors at the University of Michigan). In addition to the photographs, drawings, correspondence, journals, and writings of these four individuals, the collection is rich in family correspondence, diaries, and personal papers from other members of the Cobb and Blanchard families (and their forebears and branches, including the Bigelow, Proctor, Ross, White, and Randall families). The Blanchard Family Papers will be of value to researchers interested in a variety of topics: scientific endeavors and methodologies (and in particular those related to agronomy, nematology, botany, and herpetology); the visual arts and the development of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; colonial and provincial life in Australia and Hawaii (respectively); and the daily affairs of American (and Michigan) families throughout the twentieth century. The Blanchard Family Papers consist of seven series: Nathan A. Cobb, Alice Vara Cobb, Frieda Cobb Blanchard, Frank Nelson Blanchard, Blanchard and Cobb Family Letters, Other Family Members, and Isaac G. Blanchard.

Frank C. Gates was a professor of botany at the University of the Philippines, 1912-1915. He later taught botany and biology at the University of Michigan Biological Station and Kansas State College. His collection includes personal and biographical material, including a biography written by his son, David M. Gates; personal and professional correspondence; journals; academic and research material, such as birding and botany notebooks as well as descriptions and drafts of writings pertaining to Philippine vegetation and travels in the Philippines; and photographic material, including lantern slides, photographs, and photograph albums.

The Frank C. Gates papers are dated from 1871-2010 and include biographical and personal material, such as a biographical monograph authored by his son, David M. Gates; personal and professional correspondence; journals; publications; research notebooks; postcards, photographs, photographic negatives, photograph albums, and lantern slides. In addition to documenting Gates's time spent teaching botany at the University of the Philippines and exploring the vegetation of the Philippines Islands (1912-1915), this collection also documents his personal and professional life, service in World War I, and research interests and efforts.

Missionaries to China, 1920-1931; George T. Blydenburgh was the superintendent of a new hospital in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. Correspondence to family members describing daily life, family matters, and news of the hospital's progress; photographs, newspaper clippings, and glass lantern slides documenting the Blydenburgh family's experiences (bulk 1920-1931). Statements and descriptions of incidents related to military campaigns in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Nanchang. Writings and outlines about life in China (1921-1934). Annual reports from the Nanchang General Hospital (1924-1932). Publications from the Nanking [Nanjing] Language School (1921-1922). Scrolls of woodblock prints, calligraphy, and painting (circa 1920-1930).

Marion P. Blydenburgh lived in China from 1920-1931 with her husband, George T. Blydenburgh, who was the superintendent of the Nanchang General Hospital (also known as the Susan Toy Ensign Memorial Hospital) in Jiangxi Province through the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This collection contains correspondence written to family members in the United States describing daily life, family matters, and news of the hospital's progress as well as photographs, newspaper clippings, and glass lantern slides documenting the Blydenburgh family's experiences.

First-hand accounts from George Blydenburgh, Marion Blydenburgh, and others of incidents related to military campaigns in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Nanchang are among materials in this collection. Also included are annual reports from the Nanchang General Hospital, publications from the Nanking [Nanjing] Language School, as well as scrolls of woodblock prints, calligraphy, and painting. The collection is arranged in five series with Visual Materials and Correspondence encompassing the majority of the collection followed by Writings, Nanchang Hospital Reports, and Published Materials.