The collection can be broken into two halves. One half contains various local and state government compendiums and manuals. The other half consists of records related to one part of the life of Paul D. Phillips.

Concerning government records, the majority come from the city of Flint from the 1920s to the mid-1940s. Of significance are three copies of the 1939 compiled ordinances of Flint. The ordinances provide for enforcement and regulation of building and traffic codes, zoning changes, safety, welfare, public morals, health, recreation, business, and public works. Two interesting developments are that African Americans were no longer legally considered nuisances when renting property from white owners in certain parts of Flint, as city ordinances had described them in the 1920s, and that city health inspectors were empowered to inspect factories.

Accompanying the compiled ordinances is a 1926 schedule of license fees. Some service fees were crossed out with dark green ink. In their place, and in the same colored ink, someone wrote different charges for services. Ordinance No. 195, approved in 1917, regulated the use of motor vehicles of various types within the city limits. It represents an example of the automobile’s growing influence within Flint. The 1946 Flint Municipal Traffic Code, in contrast, is more descriptive and longer. In it are loose-leaf sheets of paper, which list taxicab companies in Flint from 1949 to 1950 and how many cabs each owned. These companies, including independent contractors associated with them, operated 150 cabs in the city.

The collection contains the 1920 report to the City Plan Commission. This contains extensive statistical information of the population of Flint at the time, excepting ethnic statistics. The report was related to a vote held in 1917 concerning a new charter amendment. The report was meant to compile statistical data for use in future planning.

Another document of interest is a booklet which contains a proposed revised city charter. It was published in 1919 after members of the Charter Provision Commission took suggestions from voters and examined charters from other cities.

Other government documents include a copy of the 1930 city charter, a copy of the 1938 official planning and zoning ordinances, and copies of the 1946 and 1948 state of Michigan elections manuals.

The other half of the collection is related to the life of Phillips. It does not contain records that reflect his personal tastes, but gives an idea that he was something of an outdoorsman. Phillips served as secretary of the Genesee Sportsmen’s Club in the early 1920s. The records contain the rules and by-laws of the Congress of Michigan Game Associations, newspaper clippings relating to activities of the club and associated individuals, and correspondence of club activities. The correspondence is largely limited to advocacy Phillips and other members of the club engaged in in 1921 and 1922. Objections rose among club members, Phillips included, toward state game warden John Baird out of concern that the warden and Governor Alexander J. Groesbeck were using funds meant to support conservation, propagation, and law enforcement of game for establishing and maintaining political connections. Phillips received letters from, and drafted letters to, individuals within the club and from across the state to mobilize a response. He and others often referred to political interference as “Bairdism” or “Groesbeckism.” Other records of the club include the fifth and sixth annual banquet programs and programs for other events.

The remaining records in the collection comprise documents from the Republican Party, a publication call “The Wheeze,” programs of First Baptist Church, including a program from its fiftieth anniversary, and by-laws of the Flint Shriner’s Club from 1925.

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 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.

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, 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 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.

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.

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.