New Collections

• Miep Gies letters, March 1993

  0.1 linear feet

  Miep Gies was one of the helpers (a term used by Anne Frank) who hid Anne Frank and her family during the Holocaust. This collection includes a letter and card from Gies to teacher Janet Bower and her class at Ida Middle School in Ida, Michigan. In her letter, Gies recollects Anne Frank and shares her thoughts about her own role as a helper.

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• Blaustein family papers, 1920-2018 (majority within 1937-1945)

  2 linear feet,  309 KB (online)

  A Jewish family from New York. Karl Blaustein and his son Albert (who received his BA from the University of Michigan) were lawyers. Karl and his wife Rose also had a daughter, Marjorie, who was a writer and a journalist. Correspondence between Karl and Rose, and their children Albert and Marjorie Blaustein. Many of the letters are written to Albert during his time as a student at the University of Michigan and during his career as a journalist and service member.

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• W. Scott Westerman papers, 1954-2015 (majority of records within 1967-1971)

  5 linear feet

  W. Scott Westerman was a lifelong educator and administrator who graduated with his PhD from the University of Michigan’s School of Education. From 1967 to 1971 he served as superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) and was dedicated to increasing equity for Black and female students. The bulk of materials in this collection are from AAPS and include school board materials, reports, curriculums, etc., and material related to gender and racial inequalities in education. Also, a book of his World War II letters entitled Letters Home (2015) and a White Panther report (1969).

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• Ross Chambers papers, 1970-2017

  2.8 linear feet

  University of Michigan professor of French and Comparative Literature. Chambers taught some of the first courses with LGBTQ+ topics at U-M. Includes course materials, correspondence, and topical files.

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• Ilene H. Forsyth papers, 1915-2013

  7 linear feet (in 8 boxes)

  University of Michigan graduate (BA 1950), Columbia University graduate (MA 1955, Ph.D. 1960). Professor and art historian of medieval art and architecture. Materials include personal correspondence, photographs, travel and teaching-related notes and notebooks, topical files, and a scrapbook.

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• William R. Farrand papers, 1949-2010

  8 linear feet (in 10 boxes), 3 tubes

  University of Michigan alum (Ph.D. in Geology, 1960), University of Michigan professor of Geology (1965-2000), and curator at the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology (1975-2000). Farrand’s papers primarily document his career in geological archaeology through correspondence, field notes, research files, publications, and visual materials.

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• Knud Lonberg-Holm papers, 1908-1977 and undated

  6 linear feet (in 13 boxes), 4 oversize boxes

  Danish-American Modernist architect, designer, author, educator, and photographer. Lo?nberg-Holm also taught at the University of Michigan (1924-1925, 1948-1951) and often closely collaborated with University of Michigan professor C. Theodore Larsen. Includes correspondence; various kinds of drawings, publications, and photographic material; and topical files.

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• Michigan telephone directories, 1890-2014 (with minor gaps)

  206 linear feet (170 boxes and 213 volumes)

  Statewide Michigan Bell and Yellow/White Pages telephone directories, 1890-2014.

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• Karen Majewski papers, 2009-2013

  2 linear feet

  Karen Majewski was elected the first woman mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, and served from 2005-2021. Her papers contain meeting minutes and administrative documents from several community organizations she worked with during her time as mayor.

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• Church Women United in Grand Rapids records, 1925-2009 (with gaps)

  3.4 linear feet

  The Church of Women United in Grand Rapids is a local chapter of the national women’s ecumenical Christian organization. Scrapbooks and materials collected from the state and Battle Creek chapters detail the events and customs of the group.

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• Milton Jackson letters, 1863-1867

  0.3 linear feet

  Letters from University of Michigan student Milton Jackson (1845-1909) to Alban Gilpin Thomas (1843-1928), written between 1863 to 1867. The letters describe Jackson’s daily life as a University of Michigan student during the Civil War, as well as contemporary politics.

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• Jimmie Howard Reynolds diary, 1970-1971

  1 GB (online)

  Jimmie Howard Reynolds (1925-2013) was a band director from Louisiana who taught and directed music programs at the high school and collegiate levels. During the 1970/1971 academic year, Reynolds took a sabbatical leave from his position as Director of Bands at Louisiana Polytechnic University to serve as a graduate assistant under Dr. William D. Revelli during his final year as Director of Bands at the University of Michigan. Reynolds kept a journal of rehearsals and performances from that time and wrote extensively about the pedagogical practices Revelli employed as Director. This diary is a digital transcription of the entire diary as written, prepared by Reynolds’ son, Dr. Patrick Allen Reynolds, in 2021.

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• Lawrence Brilliant papers, 1882-2022 (with gaps), undated (majority within 1972-1979)

  8 linear feet (in 9 boxes), 1 oversize folder, 1 film reel, 470.64 MB (online), 1 archived website

  University of Michigan alumnus (M.P.H., 1977) and associate professor of epidemiology (1977-1988) who, as a medical officer for the World Health Organization (WHO), helped eradicate smallpox, primarily from India. Includes WHO Global Smallpox Eradication Programme correspondence, reports, photographic material, publications, and posters; and collected publications.

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• National Council of Negro Women, University of Michigan Ann Arbor Collegiate Section records, 2013-2017

  25 MB (online)

  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor chapter of the National Council for Negro Women (NCNW). Includes a digital copy of the organization’s 2017 constitution as well as digital outreach materials captured from their Twitter account.

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• Ecology Center of Ann Arbor and Teach-In on the Environment oral histories, 2017-2020

  83.1 GB (online)

  The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor and Teach-In on the Environment oral histories is a collection of recordings conducted by the University of Michigan students and faculty. The interviews primarily focus on Environmental Action (ENACT) and the Teach- In on the Environment in 1970, and the history of the first Earth Day that same year. In addition, past and present staff and collaborators of the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor discuss environmental activism in Michigan, with topics ranging from toxics disposal, recycling, waste disposal, and affordable energy. The oral history interviews were featured in-part and in-whole in digital exhibits hosted by the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Faculty member Matthew Lassiter was the advisor for these projects and was responsible for collecting all the related oral histories into a single collection for archival preservation.

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• James L. Curtis papers, 1927-2017

  5 linear feet, 1 oversize photograph, 2.03 GB (online)

  African American Psychiatrist, University of Michigan Medical School graduate (1946). Dr. Curtis was an advocate for affirmative action in medical schools and worked to improve the medical field for both Black patients and Black physicians. Record types include correspondence, research, reports, student counseling files, patient records, speeches, manuscripts, oral history, and photographs.

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• Amos A. Moore papers, 1862-1865 (with gaps)

  0.2 linear feet

  Served in Company K of the 21st Michigan Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War. Diaries, military papers, and biographical information.

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• Beyster Land Company records, 1881-2010 (majority within 1881-1954)

  3 linear feet (in four boxes)

  This collection primarily includes the Beyster Land Company records and the John Beyster & Sons Company records. Both companies were primarily active in the late 1800s to the mid-1900s. The Beyster Land Company was responsible for developing manufacturing and industry properties in the Detroit, Michigan area. The John Beyster & Sons Company was a business for lumber, lath, shingles, and box manufacturing. Record types include correspondence, tax documents, architectural plans, and business ledgers. The collection also includes a small number of materials related to the Beyster family, such as a family tree, photographs, and estate papers.

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• Charles G. Palmer papers, 1897, 1929-1930

  0.3 linear feet

  A civil engineer for the Austin Company in Cleveland, Ohio, who worked in the Soviet Union in 1929. Photographs and a journal documenting Palmer’s work on an auto plant construction site near Nizhnii Novgorod. Also, an Alaska travel journal dated 1897.

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• Ramon S. Regan papers, 1953-2014 (with gaps)

  3 linear feet

  Ramon S. Regan was a Detroit, Mich. lawyer. He was an active member of the Barton-McFarlane Neighborhood Association, which is a historically Black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. The majority of the materials are related to the Barton-McFarlane Neighborhood Association, of which Regan was a member of the Executive Board. The collection also includes a photograph of the Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.). Company 661 (Luzerne, Mich.); the connection between Ramon S. Regan and the Civilian Conservation Corps is unknown.

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