Collections

Professor of bankruptcy law at the University of Michigan Law School and helped to formulate modern bankruptcy law. Member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, and the Commission on Bankruptcy Laws. Participated in the formulation of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978; correspondence, reports, minutes, articles, and collected research, 1960-1979, documenting his membership in bankruptcy law and his work on committees drafting bankruptcy law proposals.

The Frank R. Kennedy papers are composed primarily of the work resulting from his membership in the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules of the Judicial Conference of the United States (ACBR), the National Bankruptcy Conference (NBC), and the Commission on Bankruptcy Laws (CBL). In addition the collection contains over sixty years of professional correspondence documenting the scholarly and professional work of Professor Kennedy in the field of bankruptcy law. The entire collection spans 1936 to 1999 with the bulk of the collection falling between 1960 and 1979. The collection is divided into ten major series: Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, Bankruptcy Reform Act, Biographical Information, Commission on the Bankruptcy Laws of the United States, General Correspondence, National Bankruptcy Conference, Other Organizational Affiliations, Teaching, Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, and Writings and Research.

Michigan Republican state senator, 1909-1912. Correspondence and other materials relating to Republican Party politics.

The Newton papers consists of correspondence and other materials relating to Republican Party politics, including elections of 1906, 1910, 1912 and 1918. There is also material relating to the early development of the Jackson Automobile Company. Correspondents include: Patrick H. Kelley, William A. Smith, Charles E. Townsend, Fred M. Warner and William W. Wedemeyer. The collection also includes a small folder of photographs.

Alpena, Michigan, lumberman and Republican member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan; business and personal correspondence, University of Michigan Board of Regents correspondence, financial materials, and photographs.

The Frank Ward Fletcher collection includes letters from his father George N. Fletcher concerning business and personal affairs. There are also letters received from faculty and university administrators from the period when he was a member of the Board of Regents. Miscellaneous items include a letterpress book, 1885-1899, of business letters and files of bills and receipts. Of interest are materials relating to state Republican politics, especially the elections of 1896 and 1898. The one file of photographs includes portraits of family members as well as snapshots of Fletcher and others on a boating excursion.

Soldier from Holland, Mich., member of Co. D, 339th U.S. Infantry who served in the Allied intervention in Russia, 1918-1920, the "Polar Bear Expedition." Collection includes description of army life and battles of the Polar Bear campaign; also includes a reminiscence of a tour of Russia, 1959, with a teachers group.

The diary, July 1918-July 1919, is a photostat of a typescript, and describes Douma's daily life and the weather as well as fighting at Seltso, Sept. 1918; Toulgas, Nov. 1918; Vistafka, Feb.-March 1919; and Kurgomen, April-May 1919. The collection also includes a reminiscence of a tour of Russia, 1959, with a teachers' group.

Records, 1922-1965, of the Fraternity Office of the University of Michigan. Documents activities of the Interfraternity Council and the Interfraternity Alumni Assembly. Also contains folders for individual fraternities and sororities and includes histories, member lists, and information about disciplinary action taken against fraternities.

The records of the University of Michigan Fraternity Office cover the period 1922-1964. The provenance of the records is unclear. The records appear to have been created in the offices of the Dean of Men, Dean of Women, and the Interfraternity Council, in addition to the Fraternity Office. The records are divided into two series, Topical Files and Greek Organizations.

There are also materials relating to Theta Nu Epsilon, an underground fraternity that generated concern among college administrators across the nation and a 1960 hazing incident involving Theta Xi fraternity. Also of interest are the files on Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta, two sororities formed for African American women.

The documentation of this office is in general scant; the bulk of the documentation covers the years 1958-1964.

Secretary of the engineering class of 1929 of the University of Michigan. Files relating to class reunions, including group photographs; also various subject files.

The DeWitt papers are in effect the records of the class of 1929 and are primarily concerned with class reunions. The first reunion was the 10th, held in 1939, followed by the 20th in 1949. Thereafter reunions were held every five years through the 50th reunion. The 1929 Engineers were a well organized group. They printed and distributed class directories in conjunction with their reunions and kept in close contact throughout the years. The collection includes letters, announcements and reports on activities for each of the reunions. Of note is a questionnaire filled out during the 20th reunion which asked about the present activities of the graduates, their occupations and families. Also included is a brief section on changes made to the school of engineering prior to the proposed Michigan engineering centennial in 1954. Other information consists of photographs taken at the various reunions and log books of dues and guest registers.

Fred Dustin was a Saginaw, Michigan, building contractor, deputy state oil inspector, 1903-1905, and archaeological surveyor and writer on Michigan archaeology and history. The papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, sketches, diaries, and record books concerning his interest in the archaeology of Michigan, including the archaeological survey of Isle Royale, 1929-1930, and the survey and mapping of the Ogemaw County Earthworks in 1931; also material relating to the history of Saginaw and to Dustin's interest in the archaeology of the Michigan Indian; and photographs. Correspondents include Wilber M. Brucker, Fred L. Crawford, Woodbridge N. Ferris, William B. Mershon, William A. Smith, Albert W. Tausend, Charles E. Townsend, Arthur J. Tuttle, Arthur H. Vandenberg, and Murray D. Van Wagoner.

The Fred Dustin Papers contain correspondence, diaries, record books, writings, field notes, photographs, and other materials that document Dustin's life and interests in Michigan archaeology and history. The papers consist of seven series: Autobiographical and Biographical, Correspondence, Archaeology, Papers and Miscellaneous, Diaries, Record Books and Ledgers, and Photographs and Scrapbook.

Amateur photographer; sixty-two reels of film shot by Benz on various trips.

When the University of Michigan Media Resources Collection was accessioned by the Bentley Historical Library, a number of films were discovered in the vault that were not related to that collection. Within that material were travel films shot by Fred E. Benz. These films document Benz's travels around the world between 1929 and 1950. The films had been edited together and were probably used by Benz for presentation to local groups and as home entertainment.

The Fred E. Benz Collection contains sixty-two, 400 foot reels of silent 16mm film. It is made up of eight series, one for each trip taken. The series are: Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Guatemala, Havana, Mexico, Russia, South America, and a World Cruise. The contents of each reel are described in the finding aid. Benz has included handwritten descriptions of the images found on the Russian and World Cruise series attached to the inside lids of each can of film. Benz was careful to document most of the locations with a handwritten note displayed before the camera. When cities or natural markers are noted in the finding aid, the identifying information was taken from that supplied by the film maker on the screen or from his notes in the can lids. The spelling of geographic locations in the finding aid reflect the information on the film and not current spellings.

Short notes found with the Mexican footage indicate it was the result of two different trips. The reels retain their original numbering because the numbered reels (1,2,3,4) appear to comprise one trip and numbered/lettered reels (1a, 3a, 4a) comprise the second trip.

The value of the collection is that it captures moments in time, documenting lifestyles, architecture and modes of travel which no longer exist or have evolved over time. Footage exists of London on the eve of war and Shanghai one year before being destroyed by the Japanese invasion.

Perhaps the greater value lies in the depiction of the indigenous lifestyles captured on film. Benz, as an amateur photographer, was interested in the common events that he experienced as he traveled. The collection features extensive recordings of people working or playing, and children of different cultures going about their daily activities. The films show barren huts in remote areas of Russia in the 1930s, families living under stone bridges outside of Buenos Aires, life-saving competitions in Sydney and the plethora of street markets found in most cultures and countries that he traveled through.

Because these are travel films, the scope of the footage included often extends beyond the geographic area used to identify the series. For example, the Australia footage includes material filmed on various Pacific islands, the Asian continent and Japan. The Russian trip contains footage of England and Northern Europe, and the South American films contain shots of the departure from New York. Each series should be examined for additional geographic content.

Special attention should be given to the Mexican series containing film recordings of Mt. Rushmore with construction only partially complete. Included as well are extensive shots of bullfighting in addition to other Mexican scenes. Also of note is the extensive depiction of women throughout all of the series. On the canister containing reel 5 in the Russia series is a receipt from United States Navy Department stating that this reel was being forwarded to Chicago for study of the shots of Kirkenes, Norway.

The color in the Africa, Guatemala, Havana, Mexico and South America series is excellent. The wide, clean, lush cityscapes of Havana and Capetown are richly captured in color and give an indication why they were popular travel destinations at this time.

In addition to the eight travel series, the collection also included one reel of World War II footage assembled by Castle Films from public domain footage. This type of film was sold through camera stores and mail order houses and Benz probably purchased a reel for his own use. The identifying writing on the film can is in Benz's handwriting and clearly belonged with his collection.

Photograph collection of a soldier with the 168th Co., United States Army Transportation Corps, serving near Murmansk, Russia in the Allied intervention in Russia, 1918-1919, the "Polar Bear Expedition."

This collection contains digital records; the original papers and/or photographs are owned by the donor. The digital items in this collection were digitized from originals by the individual donors before being received by the Bentley Historical Library. Preservation copies of these files with their original file names and CD-ROM file structures intact have been submitted to Deep Blue. Access copies of these digital files can be viewed by clicking on the links next to the individual folders in the Content List below.

In this finding aid, the files have been arranged into one series, Photographs. Within each series, files are listed numerically according to the file arrangement they were given by the donor. The porginal files in this collection are in TIF format. Access copies were made in jpeg format.

Files include digitized photographs of ports, camps in England and France the Russian countryside, Murmansk soldiers on patrol and in camp, battle casualties, battle damage and construction on Russian railroads, airplanes, and other subjects, ca. 1918-1919. Many of these photographs are described in a printed list distributed by John E. Wilson, which can be found online in the "Finding Aid for the North Russia pictures, taken by John E. Wilson."

Automobile executive, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of General Motors, 1958-1967; Biographical Material, Addresses, Writings, Savings-Stock Purchase Program, and Photographs.

The papers of Frederic G. Donner consist of .75 linear feet of materials dating from 1921 to 1983. The collection is arranged by type of material, and then chronologically. The series of the collection include Biographical Material, Addresses, Writings, Savings-Stock Purchase Program, and Photographs.