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Arthur R. Kooker was a professor of history at the University of Southern California. His specialty was the anti-slavery movement. In the course of his work on his dissertation, Kooker acquired, from different sources, material pertaining to the anti-slavery movement in Michigan. Collection includes correspondence, notebooks, writings, and genealogical material of Nathan M. Thomas, Schoolcraft, Michigan, physician, anti-slavery spokesman and activist, agent for Signal of Liberty (abolitionist newspaper) and conductor on the underground railroad; include letter describing Kansas in 1856, letters discussing pre- and post-Civil War politics, especially as relates to anti-slavery, and letters from Gerrit Smith, 1858-1859.

The Arthur R. Kooker collection consists of collected materials on the anti-slavery movement in Michigan. It came to the library in two principal accessions, 1979 and 1984. The collection is small but rich in source material. Included are correspondence, notebooks, writings, and genealogical material of Nathan M. Thomas, who was a Schoolcraft, Michigan physician and anti-slavery activist. Thomas was agent for the abolitionist newspaper The Signal of Liberty, and a conductor on the underground railroad. The collection includes letters discussing pre- and post-Civil War politics, especially relating to the issue of slavery. Of special note is a letter describing the situation in Kansas in 1856 and letters from Gerrit Smith, 1858-185. One of Kooker's interest was the underground railroad. Among the materials that he collected is a notebook probably compiled by a conductor in which he lists the stops of safe haven in the journey from the South through Michigan and into Canada. This volume also lists the names of fugitive slaves who made their way to Canada.

Flint, Michigan industrialist; governor of Michigan, 1865-1868. Correspondence concerning land speculations, lumbering, and political activities; correspondence of his son primarily relating to estate and land holdings; speeches, notes and other papers detailing his gubernatorial administration; deeds and other papers concerning land purchases in Ohio, Iowa, and Michigan; newspaper clippings, biographical material and obituaries; journals, diaries, notebooks, letter book, political scrapbook, 1866-1869, executive journal of state of Michigan, 1865-1867, farm records and accounts; and photographs.

The Crapo papers have been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Personal and Biographical; Political; Business records; and Miscellaneous (mainly financial). The collection relates primarily to the career of Henry H. Crapo with the files dating after 1869 pertaining to the business activities and political activities of his son W. W. Crapo.

In 1992, the bulk of the Crapo papers was microfilmed. This finding aid begins with a listing of the contents of the microfilm followed by a container listing of those portions of the collection which were not microfilmed. For reasons of preservation, the researcher should use the microfilm copy. Access to the original materials will be limited to the unmicrofilmed portions of the Crapo papers.