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Collection

Arthur J. Lacy Papers, 1891-1975

10 linear feet — 2 oversize folders — 1 oversize volume

Detroit, Michigan, attorney and judge, Democratic candidate for governor in 1934. Correspondence, legal case files, family materials, speeches, essays, diary notes, financial materials, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, and transcript of oral interview.

The Arthur J. Lacy collection consists of correspondence and other papers documenting his political activities within the Democratic party and career as a Detroit attorney. The collection has been divided into the following series: Biographical information; Personal letters; Professional correspondence and related papers; Lacy Family papers; Speeches; Early personal materials; Writings, essays, etc.; Financial files; Miscellaneous; Newspapers clippings; Photographs; and Legal files.

The Lacy Collection documents particularly well Lacy's major legal cases (Wilson vs. White, the Ford Stock Tax Case, Mary A. Rackham Estate) and his transition from conservative Democrat to conservative Republican. His letters home from Valparaiso, Indiana and Ann Arbor and his letters to his future wife Beth Garwick give a detailed picture of college life in the 1890's. Major subjects covered in the public papers are the Detroit Domestic Relations Court, problems of taxation and banking in the depression, Lacy's friendship with James Couzens, and the campaigns of 1932 and 1934. A series of notes Lacy wrote to himself from 1915-1928 and 1946-1956 reveal his political ideals, personal morality, and his relationship to his family.

Within the Professional Correspondence and related papers series, the researcher will find correspondence with many notable political and business figures. These include John W. Anderson, William R. Angell, Art Baker, Arthur A. Ballantine, C.C. Bradner, John V. Brennan, Thomas E. Brennan, Prentiss M. Brown, Wilber M. Brucker, George E. Bushnell, Daniel T. Campau, Harvey J. Campbell, John J. Carson, E.R. Chapin, John S. Coleman, William A. Comstock, Calvin Coolidge, Grace G. Coolidge, Frank Couzens, James J. Couzens, John D. Dingell, Patrick J. Doyle, William J. Durant, Henry T. Ewald, Mordecai J.B. Ezechiel, James A. Farley, Homer Ferguson, Woodbridge N. Ferris, Clara J.B. Ford, Edsel B. Ford, Joseph Foss, Fred W. Green, Alexander J. Groesbeck, Edgar A. Guest, James M. Hare, Herbert C. Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, Kaufman T. Keller, Stanley S. Kresge, David Lawrence, Arthur F. Lederle, John C. Lehr, Fulton Lewis, Percy Loud, William G. McAdoo, William McKinley, George A. Marston, Eliza M. Mosher, Frank Murphy, George Murphy, William J. Norton, George D. O'Brien, Elmer B. O'Hara, Hazen S. Pingree, Mary A. H. Rackham, Horace H. Rackham, Clarence A. Reid, George W. Romney, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alexander G. Ruthven, W.M. Skillman, Albert E. Sleeper, Edward D. Stair, Arthur E. Summerfield, William H. Taft, Joseph P. Tumulty, Arthur H. Vandenberg, A. VanderZee, Murray D. Van Wagoner, Henry F. Vaughan, Carl Vinson, Matilda R.D. Wilson, Clarence E. Wilcox, and R.A.C. Wollenberg.

The Lacy Family papers are rich in detail about life in Michigan in the nineteenth and early twentieth century; the surviving letters document family crises and Lacy's role in them as the oldest and most successful child and later, as family leader. Lacy was the family genealogist and he collected and preserved the family correspondence of his uncles and aunt, some of which date back to the 1850's.

Collection

Ed Beach photographs, 1931-1948

2.5 linear feet (in 5 boxes)

Ed Beach was an amateur photographer whose photographs document his hometown of Howell, Michigan and historical sites in other Michigan communities. His collection consists of photographic negatives (with some prints) and albums with prints of historic plaques and markers, statues of famous statesmen and their gravesites, early school buildings, historic houses, gristmills, sawmills, and county courthouses.

The Ed Beach collection consists of photographic negatives (with some prints) and albums with prints of historic plaques and markers, statues of famous statesmen and their gravesites, early school buildings, historic houses, gristmills, sawmills, and county courthouses. Other subjects include tourist sites in Michigan (such as Greenfield Village or Mackinac Island) and state parks, especially those in the Upper Peninsula. His hometown of Howell, Michigan is also heavily documented.

The Beach collection is arranged into three series. In the Kodak series the negatives measure 2 3/4 by 4 1/2 inches in size and cover the years 1931 to 1948. The Leica series consists of 35-millimeter strips and were taken between the years 1936 and 1938. The third series consists of seven albums of carefully identified photographs.

An item-level listing of the contents of the Kodak and Leica series is available at the library. To aid researchers a geographic and subject index has been created and is attached to this finding aid. These indices provide the best introduction to the collection.

Beach created the photograph albums around broad topics, and each has a title. The albums include: "Michigan Historic Places," "Around Lake Erie in Ontario. Trip to Chicago Century of Progress," "Michigan Courthouses," "Michigan Ships, Monuments, Historic Places, Buildings, Creek Scenes," "Indian and Trail Markers," "Around Michigan: Historic Places, Buildings, Mills, Dams, Bridges, Masonic Buildings," and "Michigan Governors' Homes, Michigan Trees, Old Buildings of Michigan." The photos in the albums include Beach's negative number.

Collection

James H. Lincoln Papers, 1916-2001

8 linear feet

Detroit and Harbor Beach, Michigan, resident and Detroit city councilman and later Wayne County juvenile court judge. The collection documents his public career and his interest in family and local history.

The James H. Lincoln Papers document his role in public service and his active history in local, military and family history. The papers have been organized into four series: Biographical/Personal; Detroit Politics and City Council Activities; Probate Court, Juvenile Court Judge; Genealogy/Historical Research.

Collection

Karl J. Belser Papers, 1924-1972

4.4 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Urban planning specialist. Reports, sketches, and other material relating to the development of the Willow Run Bomber Plant area in Wayne County, Michigan, during World War II; studies of the proposed Detroit Civic Center, 1952; also papers concerning his later work as planning director in Santa Clara County, California; letter from Frank Lloyd Wright; and sketchbooks with drawings and watercolors of buildings and scenes in Europe, the United States, and Taiwan; also photographs of Belser.
Collection

League of Women Voters of Detroit records, 1930-1988

4 linear feet

Board meeting minutes, correspondence, newsletters, position statements on various statements, and pamphlets and other publications; also visual materials; subjects covered by files include environmental quality, education, and women's rights issues.

The records of the Detroit League of Women Voters cover the years 1930 to 1988, although its primary coverage is 1960 through 1980. The record group measures four linear feet in size and is arranged alphabetically by subject. Included are minutes from board meetings, correspondence, newsletters, League positions on various bills, pamphlets and other publications. Minutes from annual meetings are included in the board meetings file. One file contains correspondence from the Wayne County League of Women Voters dating back to 1930.

The largest files in the record group concerns environmental quality, education (busing, desegregation, and teacher certification), housing, human resources and women's issues (abortion, ERA and mortgage credit). The extensive environmental files cover air pollution, land use, phosphates and clean water.

Collection

League of Women Voters of Michigan Records, 1926-1999

38 linear feet

Minutes, annual reports, presidents' letters, legislative programs, issue files concerning its involvement with such issues as child welfare, civil service, the Constitutional Convention of 1961-1962, election law reform, environmental quality, fair employment practices, human resources, reapportionment, taxation, and voters services; also include records of local branches.

The Michigan League of Women Voters was formed in the early 1920s. The records of the Michigan League of Women Voters cover the period from the 1940s to the 1990s. The issues series document such concerns as environmental quality (air pollution, pesticides, solid waste, and water) as well as human resources (teacher accountability, busing, the Equal Rights Amendment, housing, and social services). There are also large portions of material on taxation, reapportionment, international relations, election law reform, and on the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961-1962.

Each local chapter of the LWV was required to send its annual reports to the state league. These reports summarized special programs, membership, and financial information. These, as well as correspondence, by-laws, and in some cases, minutes, bulletins, special reports, and voters guides reflect the concerns and issues which confronted the league on the local level.

In many cases local leagues were disbanded because of lack of interest or because the members joined with other local leagues. These discontinued leagues have been designated by the word defunct after their name. Individuals interested in the Farmington leagues should also consult the material under the heading of West Bloomfield - Farmington. Huntington Woods and Lathrup Village joined the league of Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge. For those interested in the League of Women Voters in the Upper Peninsula consult the local league series under each community as well as the heading of Copper Country.

Collection

Michigan State Grange Records, 1873-2005

55.5 linear feet — 5 oversize volumes — 1 oversize folder — 1 microfilm

Minutes of executive committee, 1874-2002 (with some gaps); minutes and proceedings of state convention, 1873-1880; financial records; and roster, 1873-1978, of lodges chartered by Michigan Grange, showing date of charter, location and other data; also records of various defunct local granges.

The records of the Michigan State Grange include minutes and proceedings of the state convention, minutes of the executive committee, financial statements; and rosters and applications for membership of individual chapters of the State Grange. Whenever a local chapter ceased operations, its records would be transferred to the State Grange office. The records of some of these defunct chapters make up the bulk of the State Grange record group. Records of local Granges may include minutes of lodge meetings, financial records and membership lists. The local records are listed in the contents list in the order in which they were received they were received from the state office. Two indexes, one by chapter name and the other by chapter number, should be used to locate the records of a particular chapter. The chapter numbers were assigned consecutively as the chapters were organized. Counties represented in these defunct chapters include Alcona, Antrim, Arenac, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Crawford, Emmet, Genesee, Gogebic Hillsdale, Iosco, Jackson, Lenawee, Macomb, Marquette, Menominee, Midland, Monroe, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego, Sanilac, Saginaw, Schoolcraft, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Washtenaw, and Wayne.

Another portion of the record group includes materials of W. J. Brake, who was a lecturer for the National Grange and who held office for the State Grange.

Other records of the Michigan State Grange were donated to the University Archives and Historical Collections of Michigan State University. The MSU Archives holds the Grange records from the following counties: Allegan, Barry, Benzie, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Grand Traverse, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, Kent, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Otsego, Ottawa, Shiawassee, St. Joseph, Van Buren, and Wexford.

Collection

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Michigan State Office, Records, 1895-1994 (majority within 1919-1994)

34 linear feet

Regional organization for accrediting colleges universities and secondary schools, includes administrative records and accreditation reports for high schools in Kent, Houghton, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties in Michigan.

The largest part of the record group consists of accreditation reports containing information on schools in the Kent, Houghton, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties in Michigan. Also included in the record group are a number of bound volumes containing information from the proceedings of the North Central Association's annual meeting, as well as a variety of papers and articles relating to the educational issues of the day.