The collection is largely composed to records created by the Genesee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution over the course of conducting its activities. A minority of the collection is composed of newspaper clippings and other items collected by members that came into possession of the chapter. Some of these contents are related to the chapter and the DAR; others are not.

Records reflecting its activities come in many forms, but predominantly in chapter rosters, a treasurer’s journal, and minutes recorded by various secretaries between 1897 and 1929. These reflect that the chapter focused more on contributing money to charitable and educational causes due to other women’s groups in Flint taking on duties similar to other chapters of the DAR in other American cities.

Contents collected the by that are related to the DAR include multiple scrapbooks with cards, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Indexes were created for some of these scrapbooks and printed out from computers. No electronic copies are known to exist. These reflect events and stories about the DAR, both local and national. Some coverage is given to the Flint Ladies’ Library Association.

Contents unrelated to the DAR have unknown provenance, but do not reflect any connection to the chapter or the DAR. Many precede the chapter’s establishment by several decades. A number of ledgers document purchases from the 1840s to 1850s. How they were included in the collection is unknown.

The collection contains clippings of Addison, Cook, Frazer, and Walker families from 1879 to 1950 and a marriage certificate between Delos Cook and Jane Walker.

The collection varies in its scope and content. The most prominent item in it is a book entitled “Building on Faith in Flint.” Arthur Pound wrote it with funding from Union Industrial Trust and Savings Bank. It was published in 1930. The book tracks the history of two banks founded in Flint: Union Trust & Savings Bank (founded 1893) and Industrial Savings Bank (founded 1909). Both banks merged in 1929 to form Union Trust & Industrial Savings Bank. This bank failed one year later. Pound began as far back as 1615 with the early history of Michigan after the arrival of the first Europeans. Native Americans never received any coverage. He wrote of the need for both banks to provide better than “wildcat” banking in Flint and to assist labor and industry. Illustrations of the banks and their branches accompany histories of both banks.

Other items in this collection include a pamphlet issued by the Industrial Workers of the World in response to the Flint Police Force arresting two labor activists, programs from First Baptist Church, including one for the church’s fiftieth anniversary (1903), and photostatic copies of an unidentified Civil War-era diary and the Pierson family. The I.W.W. pamphlet represents the cause of Joseph H. Downer and Daniel Atcheff, who were arrested for criminal syndicalism by Flint police during a labor rally. The I.W.W. argued that both men preached non-violence as the path forward for labor. Articles from the Flint Journal reported that both men had advocated for violence. The Flint Journal also spelled Atcheff’s last name as Acheff. The fiftieth anniversary program for First Baptist Church provides the names of prominent members and a timeline of the church’s first year, 1853. The diary was written in 1865 by an unidentified Union soldier who served in Tennessee and later Washington, D.C. From the entries, he may have been present for the Hampton Roads Conference and while never seeing Abraham Lincoln did catch sight of the three Confederate commissioners who attended.

Insurance records compose most of the collections. Other records include correspondence, bills, receipts, and brochures related to Oak Grove Sanitarium.

The collection consists of records reflecting the lives of Elmer Halsey, Edgar Haymond, and the W.A. Paterson Co. The records can be broadly split into three areas, each concerning the lives of Halsey, Haymond, and the business operations of the Paterson Co.

Records reflecting the lives and Halsey and Haymond concern both their personal lives and professional accomplishments. Both men were partners and dealers in carriages and carriage parts. They served as agents for the W.A. Paterson Co. (Flint, MI), H.A. Moyer Carriage Co. (Syracuse, NY), and Columbus Buggy Co. (Columbus, OH). Their operations were based in a shop located at the corner of Third and Harrison Streets in 1909. Correspondence and bills of lading largely compose the business records.

For Halsey, the records reflecting his life predominantly concern correspondence and receipts for work done on his house in 1910. These including hiring of contractors for construction and water and plumbing and lumber companies supplying building materials. Additional records include a 1911 membership for the Loyal Guard and tax rolls for property owned by a Retus or Ritus Halsey from Grand Blanc Township in 1911. Records concerning Haymond are less in volume, but show that he was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

The W.A. Paterson Co. was established in 1869 by William A. Paterson. It may be better known for the motor buggies from the early 20th century, but was steeped in carriage construction, producing 30,000 yearly by 1900. The records in this collection reflect carriages produced by the company and cover the period between 1910 and 1912. Many receipts and official documents compose these records. Correspondence from a Mrs. Allen shows how she paid $5 per month for a carriage. Other documents mention requests for buggies and “driverless wagons.”

A handful of other records without apparent connection to Halsey, Haymond, and the W.A. Paterson Co. show political ads for Republican candidates for political office and a ration book from the Office of Price Administration.

Photographs accessioned with the documents were removed at some point and filed into subject folders in the photographic cabinets. They retain their object identification numbers.

The collection consists to two paper currency bills. The older of the two is from the pre-World War I German Empire and is dated for 1908. The other bill comes from the Soviet Union and is dated for 1921. Cyrillic script represents information on this bill.

Theatre programs and pamphlets compose a significant portion of the collection. A majority are from theatres found in Europe and the northeastern United States. A handful are from theatres in and around Detroit. Other records include recipes found on cards and in books. None of these appear related to Flint and Genesee County.

The records detailing history in Flint and Genesee County predominantly cover St. Paul’s Church and the Golden Jubilee of Flint (held in 1879). Other records detail the early history of Flint and correspondence from the 1840s and 1850s.

The records largely reflect the constitution, by-laws, and regulations of Genesee County Freemasons. Others are the 1873 Flint ordinances and an issue of “The Michigan Teacher.”

Little was researched about them due to mold damage. Contents will be retained due to uniqueness of materials for digitization in the future.

Two scrapbooks compose the collection. Both reflect the activities of the Flint Junior Woman’s Club from the early to mid-1970s. These activities included meetings, philanthropic ventures, sales, raffles, and gardening among others.

Records contained in both scrapbooks reflect these activities. They were recorded or commemorated in photographs, minutes, newsletters, memorials, programs, and flyers.

The collection was divided into multiple series due to its large size. Series I is composed of advertising materials, pamphlets, menus, bulletins, and voter ballots by Wolverine Citizens Printing between 1918 and 1923. What is arranged in Series I is what remains of what was accessioned in 1965. Extensive weeding removed empty envelops and letterhead that lacked prices and services offered. Government publications were retained, in particular those related to the Flint Board of Health when William DeKleine served as director. The Flint Board of Health contracted Wolverine Citizens to print many health notices related to the 1918 smallpox epidemic, the Spanish influenza, and proper handling of milk canisters. Other government bodies include the Flint Board of Education and the Flint Police Force. Materials retained from private organizations include business cards, coupons, and restaurant menus, bulletins issued by businesses, copies of bond tickets when the city of Flint raised money to pay for road improvements, and advertisements for social events. Numerous organizations contracted with Wolverine Citizens, including the Knights of Columbus, Flint Board of Education, Consumers Power Company, and Hardy Bakery.