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The McCreery and Fenton families were prominent Genesee county, Michigan residents some of whose members distinguished themselves in local and state government, as soldiers during the Civil War, and in the United States diplomatic service. Papers include diaries, correspondence and other material relating to the Civil War, local and state politics and aspects of diplomatic service in Central and South America.

The McCreery-Fenton family collection documents the individual careers of family members who served their community and their nation in a variety of roles. Through correspondence, diaries and other materials, the researcher will find information pertaining to the Civil War, to the history of Flint and Fenton in Genesee County, Michigan, and to facets of America's diplomatic relations with some of the countries of Central and South America. Arranged by name of the three principal family members represented in the collection - William M. Fenton, William B. McCreery, and Fenton R. McCreery, the papers also include series of general family materials, business records, and photographs.

Family of Brackley Shaw of Adrian, Michigan, Republican state representative from Lenawee County, Michigan, 1869-1870, later state senator, 1881-1884. The collection consists of personal correspondence of Shaw, his son Horatio W., and his brother Horatio W. Shaw.

The Shaw family collection consists of letters to and from several members of the Shaw family of Lenawee County during the period 1840-1938, with the bulk falling in the years roughly 1860-1890. Family members represented include Horatio Shaw (1822-1910), a Presbyterian missionary and clergyman; his brother, Brackley Shaw (b. 1818), member of the Michigan Legislature (1869-70; 1881-84); and Brackley's son, Horatio W. Shaw (1847-1918), Michigan artist. The letters have been described by chronological time period.

1845-1848: Letters from Horatio Shaw to Brackley Shaw

1850-1859: Largely family correspondence, including some letters home (1855, 1857) from Reverend and Mrs. Horatio Shaw from their missionary station in Allahabad, India.

1860-1865: Correspondence includes a few items pertaining to the Civil War, most of which does not relate to Michigan.

1866-1870: A great deal of political correspondence is included in these years, particularly during 1869, when Brackley Shaw served as a Republican member of the state House of Representatives from Lenawee County. There are letters from Shaw to his wife describing events in Lansing, and correspondence with various persons on such subjects as railroads, prisons and other state institutions, and dentistry regulation. There is also a letter of H. E. Baker (Detroit Advertiser and Tribune) to Brackley Shaw, dated December 25, 1668, with comments on the character of Senator Zachariah Chandler.

1871-1879: Mostly family correspondence, including letters written from White Cloud, Kansas, with descriptions of conditions there in the late 1860's and early 1870's.

1880-1890: Considerable political correspondence during Brackley Shaw's two terms as Republican member of the state senate (1880-1884). Topics covered include: homeopathic medicines, temperance and prohibition, Republican Party politics, prisons and reformatories, protection for corporate minority stockholders, and a great deal of correspondence pertaining to the election of a United States Senator in the spring of 1983. There is a large collection of letters from Shaw to his wife describing his senatorial activities. Also included are letters, 1881, 1383, 1884, from various Philadelphia artists to Horatio Shaw, the painter, and letters, 1881-92, from H. Shaw (signed "Pat") to his wife Susie. Some letters contain references to well-known American painters of the time, including comments on Shaw's style and abilities as an artist

1891-1936: family correspondence.

Prosecuting attorney of Saginaw County, Michigan, attorney general of Michigan, 1929-1931, governor, 1931-1932, general counsel to the Department of Defense during the Army-McCarthy Hearing, 1954-1955, and Secretary of the Army, 1955-1961. Correspondence, speeches, tapes, appointment books, scrapbooks, photograph albums, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning his political career.

The Wilber M. Brucker Collection consists of correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, tape recordings, visual materials, political ephemera, and other materials from a lifelong career in public service. The collection provides significant, though not always extensive, material on his activities as state attorney general, governor, and secretary of the army. In addition, the papers include documentation from Brucker's private career: his law practice, his involvement in the preparation of a plan for the reapportionment of the Michigan Legislature, his devotion to Republican Party causes, his activities with the Knights Templar of Michigan, and as a member of the World War I Rainbow Division. With some exceptions, the early phases of Brucker's life are not as well represented as one might hope. There is really no body of Brucker gubernatorial materials extant. What remains are scattered items, largely concerning the election campaigns of 1930 and 1932.

The collection has been arranged into twelve series: Biographical; Correspondence; Family Papers; Subject Files; Knights Templar; Rainbow Division; Appointment Books; Speeches; Secretary of the Army; Newspaper Clippings; Personal: Albums, Scrapbooks, etc.; and Visual Materials.