Librarians and Archivists
Elizabeth Sparks Adams, 1935. "Biographical
(including Donald and David Adams)." Box 5,
Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers.
Elizabeth S. Adams
Frequently signing her professional correspondence "Mrs. Donald E. Adams," Elizabeth Sparks Adams maintained a lifelong involvement with Michigan history even as responsibilities as a wife and mother mounted. She served on the Michigan Historical Commission from 1941 until 1995, the first woman to do so. Positions within the Commission were six year appointments, made by Michigan's governor and were unpaid positions; the Commission's secretary and support employees received salaries, but members of the MHC did not. Though a Democrat, Adams maintained her appointment on the Commission, even during periods of Republican leadership, a testament to her apolitical motivations in the preservation of Michigan state history. However, it helped that she was well connected to colleagues in her profession, in addition to political figures.
Elizabeth Sparks Adams, 1935.
"Biographical (including
Donald and David Adams)." Box 5,
Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers.
Adams was highly active in making sure that historical interests were best represented by the Michigan Historical Commission, urging for "aggressive" appointments, meaning that Commission members should be active in the preservation of state history. Not even death should prevent a fully-chaired commission, Adams believed. Upon receiving news of a death on the Commission, Adams would write to the Governor, requesting that a timely appointment be made to fill the vacancy.
Elizabeth Sparks Adams actively participated in recruiting materials for the Michigan Historical Collections, now part of the Bentley Historical Library. In a letter to the Hon. George B. Hartwick, Adams writes, "It was my job, under Professor Vander Velde's direction to collect and care for source material relating to the history of the State."1 In many respects, Adams was one of the first acquisitions specialists in Michigan archives. "We met with surprising success as the field was wide open. Neither the Burton Historical Collection nor the Michigan Historical Commission were actively pursuing extensive materials, each suffering from a shortage of funds, space, and staff."2
Adams even wrote to donors to encourage them to donate the entire body of papers, without censuring or destroying any part of them. For example, in the case of the Charles A. Weissert papers, Adams wrote to his widow "because there is a tendency for all of us to feel that most of a man's papers are too personal for inclusion in a collection such as that at the University. There is also a tendency to feel that much of the material is inconsequential. I have been through innumerable collections, and have found that it is often the apparently inconsequential item which has the greatest significance. I hope you will err on the side of including too much rather than too little of the material which you give to the University."3
In February of 1942, having got wind that the Michigan state government had planned to loosen records retention restrictions so that 'obsolete' state records could be discarded and recycled in war salvage efforts, Adams wrote to Governor Van Wagoner, saying "It would seem to me, if an effort is to be made at the present time to dispose of such records as may be of no value either from the legal or the historical point of view, that the decision as to what should be destroyed should rest, at least in part, with the Michigan Historical Commission. The determination of historical value is a matter which requires preparatory training, and few governmental agencies have in their employ trained historians or archivists."4 The broad impact that the inappropriate destruction of records would have for archivists and records repositories was keenly felt by Adams, as she continues on with "The matter is of vital significance not only to the members of the Michigan Historical Commission, but also to the staff of the Michigan Historical Collections at the University of Michigan, to the history departments of the various universities and colleges in Michigan and the mid-west, and to historians generally."5
Adams with members of the Michigan Historic Commission at
the Gandy Dancer restaurant in Ann Arbor, the site of the
Michigan Central R.R. Depot, dedicating historic marker.
"Biographical (including awards and interviews)." Box 5,
Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers. Click to enlarge.
When Elizabeth's husband, Donald, reported to the Navy for WWII service, she was appointed Justice of the Peace to fill the post vacated by the resignation he had to give. After the War, when Donald returned home, the Adams moved to Pontiac and Betty became her husband's to become his law secretary. However, Adams resolved to maintain an active interest in history, which was one of the reasons that earlier had led her to pursue an appointment with the Michigan Historical Commission. In 1947 and again in 1971, Adams served as President of the Michigan Historical Commission.
Adams dedicating a Michigan Historic Marker at Stoney
Creek, MI. "Biographical (including awards and interviews)."
Box 5, Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers. Click to enlarge.
Adams' work played a large role in getting descriptive historical markers placed at historical homes and sites throughout the state of Michigan.
She admitted that "local history has been my life."6
1. Letter to George B. Hartwick, 23 April 1947, Folder "MHC--Reappointments." Box 2, Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers.
2. Letter from Betty to Bob, n.d. Folder "Correspondence, undated." Box 3, Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers.
3. Letter to Mrs. Weissert from Mrs. DEA, 18 May 1948. Folder "MHC--Reappointments," Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers.
4. Letter from Mrs. DEA to Governor Murray Van Wagoner, 21 February 1942. "MHC--1942-1944," Box 2, Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers.
5. Letter from Mrs. DEA to Governor Murray Van Wagoner, 21 February 1942.
6. Letter to MI State Representative Loren Anderson from Mrs. Donald E. Adams, 10 May 1971. Box 2, 'MHC--Reappointments,' Elizabeth Sparks Adams papers.