Records of the collection primarily reflect the business activities of members of the Atwood family, and of them mostly J.B. Atwood and Island Mill Lumber. These predominantly come in the form of correspondence written to Atwood and the mill and reflect transactions, negotiations, and other matters. Little correspondence comes from Atwood. Correspondence that is personal shows relations between family members and that they were often lending money between one another. The correspondence and other records stretch from 1867 to 1911, but the bulk of it is from between 1869 to 1876, which may have been a very active time for J.B. Atwood and Island Mill Lumber.

An unrelated document is a small booklet printed by General Motors in 1911 about its operations.

Unrelated to the other contents is a yellow legal pad with previous processing notes written on its pages. These notes offer details on specific letters. It has been retained because of its potential value to researchers and staff alike.

Butler Funeral Home was the first black-owned funeral home in the city of Flint. It first opened its doors in 1932 as Robinson & Chandler Funeral Home by owners Charles H. Robinson and Robert C. Chandler at the address 3115 St. John St. With the death of both Robinson and Chandler in 1956, the funeral home came under the ownership of Robinson’s widow, Ailene R. Butler.

Robinson & Chandler Funeral Home was renamed Butler Funeral Home in 1957. Likely due to the looming land acquisitions by the State of Michigan for the construction of I-475, Butler Funeral Home moved out of the St. John St. building and relocated 2 miles northwest to address 4915 N. Saginaw St. in 1964. In 1970, Butler Funeral Home relocated 1.5 miles West to 906 W. Park Blvd, replacing the Lenczycki Funeral Home that previously occupied the property. Butler Funeral Home remained at this location until its closure in 1986. In 1987 the property was purchased, renovated and reopened as Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home which remains at this location as of the date of this finding aid.

Fourteen box collection with two different sets of boxes, a numbered set and lettered set. The collection’s first eleven boxes are numbered and individual files in these boxes are listed alphabetically by surname of the deceased. The boxes are listed in the order as follows: 1-57, 58-119, 120-178, 179-193, 225-280, 281-304, 305-348, 349-383, 394-440, 441-482, 483-507.

The collection’s additional three boxes are listed by letters: A-H, J-M, N-Z. Individual files are listed in these boxes alphabetically by surname of the deceased along with their date of death. Files in this collection include various documents necessary for funeral services and burial: Obituaries published by Butler Funeral Home, funeral home receipts/billing for services offered, obituaries written by family of the deceased for the funeral home to produce funeral programs, funeral notice order forms for publication in the Flint Journal obituary section, death certificates, funeral memorial service cards/programs produced by Butler Funeral Home. Consistent features in each file are funeral home internal purchase orders and invoices, newspaper clippings of obituaries, copies of life insurance policies, correspondence in cases of non-payment between the funeral home director/owner Ailene R. Butler and clients. Some files also contain I.D. or insurance cards of the deceased and photographs provided for reproduction on funeral programs.

The collection, like others donated from the Genesee County Historical Society, covers a wide range of topics. It appears that staff and volunteers of GCHS combined many unrelated records into a single accession. Of the more significant are business ledgers used by George W. Hill throughout the 1840s to 1870s, several diaries and maps, including a map of the Crapo farm, election pamphlets from the 1860s to 1930s, correspondence of the Wesson family, personal records of Harry C. Hill, and court records from dozens of cases and suits. Records exist from the Ladies’ Library Associations from Flint and Atlas Township, though more from the latter. Publications include several issued by Durant Motors.

The collection consists of four ledgers that document financial activities and sales of Willy and Cumings, who operated wholesale store in the 1860s and 1870s. Both men appear to have kept meticulous track of purchases by them and their customers. Double entry booking was used to track the amount of money available to the store on a daily basis. Most sales are listed as “Cash for Merchandise.” Some sales occurred on credit and entries to record payments done in installments. Occasionally some sales involve the names of products or individuals. The store also prepared prescriptions on the orders of doctors.

The collection consists of occupancy maps of businesses along Saginaw Street in 1931 and 1937. Both maps were digitized due to perceived research interest. Digitized copies are stored in Sloan Museum Digital Collections.

The collection is composed to numerous account booklets from Union Trust & Savings Bank. Other unlabeled booklets document accounts as well. The account booklets document financial transactions between the 1880s and 1890s. There are other booklets detailing checks issued to various entities and persons. These booklets document activities from the late 1890s to the early 1900s. Other records include newspaper clippings, invoices, receipts, and financial statements.

The records, while extensively documenting financial transactions, do not reveal much in the way of who H.J. Bachtel was and little about his business. That business involved customers renting sheds for ten cents for their horses in the 1880s to early 1900. Feed could be bought for an additional charge of five cents. This information is found only on one document detailing the charges.

The collection contains many business cards and postcards and a catalog for Flint Wagon Works. The postcards were physically separated and placed into the postcard cabinet. Many records are from outside of Genesee County.

The collection is comprised of a single ledger and a folder containing a business card and invitation to the 1905 Golden Jubilee celebration in Flint. The ledger records purchases for various products made between 1868 and 1904. The card was used to represent Emmet Simpson’s Barber Shop. A photo is on the front. No caption is present to identify the person in it. The card is unusual in that it is shaped like an arrowhead.

Numerous documents relating to the Crapo Family compose the collection, but particularly of Henry H. Crapo and Mary Ann Crapo. Documents include family correspondence, valentines sent by John Orrell to Mary Ann, a handwritten manuscript from 1843 by Mary Ann on why learning is preferable to financial wealth, a 1904 typed manuscript celebrating the life of Henry Crapo, and Civil War-era military passes issued to John Orrell in 1862. Other documents of interest include correspondence from the Cemetery Board of New Bedford, Massachusetts and teaching certificates issued to Mary Ann Crapo from New Bedford in 1852, 1853, and 1856.