The collection represents documents relating to both times George Wilber enlisted in the United States Army, first in 1898 and later in 1899 after having been mustered out of service. Wilber initially enlisted in 1898, possibly as a minor. A letter details that either a parent or legal guardian would have been required to endorse his decision to enlist, should he have been a minor at the time. Wilber enlisted into the 35th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The regiment was transferred to Georgia, but never saw combat. The Spanish-American War ended a mere three weeks after it had completed its training.

Wilber was mustered out shorty after but chose to reenlist the following year, which saw him placed in the 42nd Infantry Regiment. That unit was transferred to the Philippines via San Francisco and Honolulu. A newspaper clipping details a letter written to his mother where he described the flowers on Oahu and the queen’s palace. Wilber was later promoted to the rank of First Sergeant.

Included also in the collection are several military manuals from throughout the 1890s. It is probable that Wilber consulted them over the course of his service.

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.

Chevrolet Motor Company published the booklet as part of a national sales convention held in Detroit in 1929. Chevrolet meant for the booklet to serve as a tour of sorts of its Flint factory.

The collection contains correspondence, receipts, and a diary from various members of the Perry family. The correspondence details members keeping one another up to date with events in their lives. The date range stretches from the late 1820s to the early-1880s. Deeds come from when the Perry family resided in Rhode Island and reflect inheritances. The receipts show what family members bought and for how much. Many record purchases made at businesses in Genesee County. The diary was kept by Clarissa Potter Perry. It describes farm life, if sparingly, but from a woman’s perspective as well as her time at training school to become a teacher and recipes and ingredients. Perry occasionally kept track of ingredients bought and the prices involved.

Souvenir edition of Headlight. Issue focuses on Lapeer, Michigan.

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.

The manuscript is a handwritten account of early Flint history from 1819 with the arrival of Jacob Smith to cultural, infrastructure, and political developments in the mid-1850s. It was either dictated or written by Mrs. C.M. Clarke, one of the early settlers in Flint. Events were often described in brief sentences, sometimes no more than one to three in length. Events experienced by Clarke were described in much greater length.

She detailed how Smith acquired property for his trade post and relations with local Native Americans. Coverage then shifted to 1833 when Clarke began describing other early homes, such as a log tavern kept by John Todd and Lyman Stowe, who resided in Smith’s old cabin. She recorded the construction of the first bridge over the Flint River, which occurred in 1834. Travelers had previously been ferried by canoes operated by Native Americans.

Other firsts were described, such as the first meeting of Flint Township officers in 1836, when Beach and Wesson established the first store in Flint, the creation of the first mill dam in 1836, and the construction of the first saw mill by Rufus Stevens on Thread Creek. Clarke gave extensive coverage to the development of schooling. Early schooling began in the 1830s with a private school for boys. Parents paid the teacher, Daniel Sullivan, 10 cents weekly. Boys had to follow an old Native American path to Second Street to reach the school. A girls’ school later opened in 1841 with Sarah Bush teaching at the Presbyterian Meeting House. Public schooling later improved, which included free graded schooling, and private education declined.

Events from the 1850s include the incorporation of Flint, the establishment of the Michigan School of the Deaf, various newspapers, and the founding of the Ladies Library Association, which Clarke described as energetic.

Clarke wrote in great detail about her family’s journey to Michigan in 1839. Her father, mother, and six children including herself left Syracuse, New York, traveling by wagon, the Erie Canal, the steamer Constitution across Lake Erie, and wagon again from Detroit to Flint. She described the road between Grand Blanc and Flint as the worst part of the journey.

The records represent aspects from the personal and professional lives of Michael A. Gorman, managing editor of the Flint Journal from 1928 to 1958. Documents include personal and professional correspondence, though more of the former than the latter. The correspondence is sometimes arranged chronologically and other times not. Other records include a multitude of holiday cards received by or sent by Gorman. Two diaries are present, though one has only a handful of dates for 1938. The other is entirely undated. Numerous theatre programs are included.

This collection contains four political campaign posters and an invitation to the “Presidential Express” that was held at the Amtrak station in Flint, Michigan in May of 1976. The posters were created by members of the local Republican Party Committee. The collection also contains two photos depicting members of the Jaycees as well as patches from the organization. Finally, the collection contains two patches from the Commonwealth of Flint.

The collection contains numerous books, diaries, and documents relating to the life of John H. Carey and his descendants. Those concerning him predominantly come in the form of thirty-six diaries written between 1871 and 1909 excepting 1900, 1905, and 1906. Enclosed documents removed from the diaries had been placed into non-archival plastic bags and identified to specific diaries. These were removed from the bags and placed into folders. Other records include several yearbooks from 1899, 1900, 1908, and 1942, and programs for events at the old Flint High School.

Carey wrote in cursive brief entries in ink and pencil often no more than a dozen words long of his days as a farmer and other events in his life. Some entries include more than a dozen words but none take more than one page. Entries occurred on a daily basis. No entry reveals details of his life before beginning the diaries. Some writing in diaries from the 1870s is faded. Misspellings are common throughout many entries. Illegibility is another common problem, though most entries may require an examination of a few minutes to understand how Carey wrote.

Carey’s entries reflect his life as a farmer of land in Clayton Township, just north of the city of Swartz Creek. His responsibilities were many. Planting and harvesting of crops were two mentioned often, but usually during seasons when both activities occurred. Carey chopped and sawed wood, sowed oats, shelled corn, oiled harnesses, drew out manure, slaughtered hogs, and occasionally hunted as time allowed. These were done in all kinds of weather and throughout the year, including holidays. Carey usually refrained from working on Sundays. He often traveled to Flint to make purchases and to sell crops and slaughtered animals. He wrote frequently of receiving help from neighboring farmers and traveling to their farms to help them. The work involved was usually labor-intensive, such as sowing or harvesting crops or aiding in construction of buildings. Stories in the Flint Journal from the 1890s mention what could have been an unofficial compact of farmers in Clayton Township to assist one another. Or the practice could have been a custom among farmers. The lack of details in many entries makes it difficult to know.

Carey was spare in providing personal details of his life beyond farming. He traveled to Flint for the occasional fair or for meetings of what he called the “covenant.” He was a regular fixture at church and participated in Sunday school. He was elected the assistant supervisor of Sunday school in 1881. He voted Republican, though never provided reasons why. He was married with children, but rarely mentioned either his wife or his children beyond that one had performed a chore, baked or cooked a meal, was sick, or had attended school for at least part of the day.

The yearbooks represent student activities from the old Flint High School. Those from 1899, 1900, 1903, and 1908 show numerous similarities in content: portraits of faculty and editorial student staff, poems and short stories, reminiscences of events, calendars of events, and coverage of school sports. Of the final, baseball and football receive the most coverage. The yearbook from 1942 is more expansive. Every student of every grade has a photograph. Student clubs are listed and photographed with students identified. African American students maintained their own club, “Booker T. Washington.” Their advisor, Robert Richardson, was white. Other clubs were white with the occasional African American present. Sports teams were integrated. The yearbook also mentions the formation of the War Council, founded by students to do projects in support of the war effort.

Other records include an account book kept by Lucy Chase in 1887, a booklet detailing ownership of a property in Flint from 1819 to 1916, and a program of events for the graduating class of 1903 from Flint High School.