Genesee County Historical Society

Zone d'identification

Cote

1965.29

Nom et localisation du dépôt

Niveau de description

Collection

Titre

Genesee County Historical Society

Date(s)

  • 1836 - 1955 (Création/Production)

Importance matérielle

6.26 linear feet for physical contents. Two hundred six megabytes for digitized content.

Zone du contenu et de la structure

Portée et contenu

The collection is composed of records and manuscripts from a variety of backgrounds. If there is one theme, it is that all are related to the history of Genesee County. Documents reflect the founding of Genesee County in the 1830s to early developments in infrastructure in the 1840s and 1850s, contributions of county residents in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and the First World War, ledgers and other documents detailing business activity, and organizational records from GCHS.

Those documents that detail the early history of Genesee County include oaths sworn and signed by initial officers of the county: sheriff, public notary, justice of the peace, and county surveyor. Other documents show the impetus and funding passed for a bridge over the Flint River.

Contributions county residents in various wars are reflected in clippings about Corydon Foote, a veteran of the Civil War and letters written by Herman Crites, a decorated veteran of the First World War. The letters of Crites reveal another side of a soldier who received the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery. His letters made light of daily life in the Army from before American entry into the war to preparing family members that he might die while serving in France.

Business records reflect activities undertaken by farms and stores in Flint and in the wider county. A member of the Crapo family, or an employee of the Crapo farm, kept a diary of daily activities on the farm for several months in 1895. Related to the business records are those from various civic and social organizations, such as ladies’ library associations in Flint and in Atlas Township.

The organizational records from GCHS reflect many activities taken by it and its members. Visitors logs from the old museum, informally known as the Flint Museum, list names and addresses of visitors. Curators’ reports document activities of GCHS, including collecting policies and exhibitions. Many letters are addressed to Charles M. Barber, who served as curator for GCHS for many years. Included also are many manuscripts written by Barber.

Portions of the collection were digitized for preservation concerns and for research purposes. These portions include oaths from early county officials, a contract for a bridge in 1848, a record of stockings sewn by county women during the Civil War, and a speech by Levi Walker to the Genesee County Agricultural Society.

Mode de classement

Past practices described the contents of this collection individually. Each item received an object ID number and was treated as a distinct artifact. Records have been reunited, but their original order may have been lost.

Zone des conditions d'accès et d'utilisation

Conditions d'accès

No restrictions. Contact the Collections Department to arrange use for research.

Accès physique

Paper composes the predominant media in the collection. Documents are housed inside acid-free folders in legal-length Hollinger boxes. Larger documents were placed in a flat file folder which resides in one of the flat file cabinets.

The general condition of the collection is good. Documents nearly 200 year in age are in remarkably good condition. They should be handled with care but do not show signs of flaking along their edges. Some tears are present. Younger documents are no less brittle nor in any danger of falling to pieces. Ink in handwriting is visible with only slight fading in some instances. Yellowing of paper is present but is slight, excepting newspaper clippings. Some contents were digitized for preservation purposes and uniqueness of information.

Accès technique

Conditions de reproduction

No restrictions. Reproductions are done and charged in accordance with Sloan Museum Archives Fee Service Policy.

Langue des documents

  • anglais

Écriture des documents

Notes de langue et graphie

Instruments de recherche

A downloadable PDF finding aid is available.

Éléments d'acquisition et d'évaluation

Historique de la conservation

The Genesee County Historical Society (GCHS) transferred the collection to Sloan Panorama of Transportation in 1965.

Source immédiate d'acquisition

Évaluation, élimination et calendrier de conservation

Accroissements

Sources complémentaires

Existence et lieu de conservation des originaux

Existence et lieu de conservation des copies

Sources complémentaires

None.

Descriptions associées

Élément de notes

Notes spécialisées

Identifiant(s) alternatif(s)

Object Identification Number

1965.29.1398

Zone du contrôle de la description

Règles ou conventions

Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd edition

Sources utilisées

Note de l'archiviste

Jonathan Kirkwood, Archivist
November 22, 2022 (PastPerfect)

Note de l'archiviste

Jonathan Kirkwood, Archivist
April 3, 2024 (Access to Memory)

Mots-clés

Mots-clés - Sujets

Mots-clés - Lieux

Mots-clés - Noms

Mots-clés - Genre

Zone des entrées