The records contained in this collection span over two centuries. Their media compose correspondence (with envelopes in some instances), military manuals, a marriage certificate between Louisa Smith and Chauncey S. Payne, a document detailing the estate of Jacob Smith, banking records, a reunion roster for the 16th Michigan Infantry, and newspaper clippings. The majority of the records focus on the early military career and Civil War service of Thomas B.W. Stockton. The records are limited to correspondence and orders received for various assignments after he graduated from West Point in 1827. He initially saw service in the Western Department of the US Army, which oversaw territory between the Mississippi River to California. He later transferred to Washington, D.C. to serve as an assistant quartermaster.

Later service saw him transferred to Detroit to participate in what correspondence describes as construction of the Sagana Road. Stockton resigned in 1837 to assume a civilian post with the Army as an engineer. He left in 1840 and returned in 1844. He sought a commission in the army to raise regiments for the coming Mexican-American War. From there a gap exists until orders were received for him to remove the 16th Michigan to Washington, D.C. in late 1861. Correspondence details his time as a prisoner of war before being paroled and a request to assistance Andrew Johnson in raising three regiments to participate in operations in Tennessee.

Personal aspects of his life remain absent from the records. Other records focus on Jacob Smith, which include correspondence between him and family members. Related to these are correspondence from his children. Later records represent children and other descendants of Stockton and their efforts to carry on his legacy. These are documented in correspondence and newspaper clippings.

The collection consists of several letters and one poem received by Susie C. Fisher from various men serving in U.S. Army in World War I. Letters do not provide details as to whether she was related to them or if they were friends or suitors. All were handwritten in either ink or pencil except one that was typed. Letter writers were Valeno Prince, who served in the headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force, Carl Paterson, who served in evacuation hospital no. 21, and Ralph Manwell, who served at an artillery school. All three served in France during the war. Every letter but one was mailed from France. The one exception originated from Camp Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan. Letter writers mentioned training, operations of their units, and what France and its people were like, but wrote sparingly about combat.

The poem is a chilling account of how the Spanish influenza affected a person’s body. It is unknown when and where the poem was written.

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.

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.

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.

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 breadth of records in this collection is expansive, covering many aspects of the life of Frank D. Baker and family members. Represented are correspondence, newsletters, newspaper clippings and pages, class yearbooks, meeting minutes, expense ledgers, and poems. Some of these were collected and produced by Baker, others by family members. Records reveal Baker had a varied career and life. The expense ledgers detail purchases made by customers of good in his store, notably pharmaceuticals. The ledgers represent purchases made in the early 1880s. All writing in them is in cursive. Baker served a single-year term as Mayor of Flint in 1889 and was subsequently elected twice as Sheriff of Genesee County. An opponent, William A. Garner, in 1893 accused Baker in a letter of illegally occupying the office, despite Baker have won a majority in the election. Baker is reported to have resigned the office to avoid a confrontation. He returned to his business but later joined the board of the Flint Building Corporation in the 1920s, which oversaw capital development in Flint. He also served as a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention in New York City. He also served as postmaster of Flint between 1914 and 1922. He died in 1927.

Records relating to other family members largely represent those of a daughter, Mattie. Her school records compose most of what is present. These include yearbooks and composition books. She also undertook a long holiday in Europe in the early 1930s as evidenced from brochures and tickets.

The remaining records include minutes of the Genesee County Board of Supervisors from 1892 to 1893, handwritten poems by an unnamed author, and World War II-era ration cards. Another descending served as postmaster for the city in Flint in the late 1940s.

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 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.