University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Showing 41–55 of 55 collections
  • Osbun Family Letters (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Osbun Family Letters consists primarily of photocopied Civil War letters written to Private Freeman Osbun, Company D, 102nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, by various family members from 1862-1866. There are no letters from Freeman Osbun in the collection, only letters addressed to him or between other parties. Private Freeman Osbun served in Company D of the 102nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Company D was mustered on September 6, 1862 at Covington, Kentucky, and was mustered out on June 30, 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee. Most of the letters Osbun received were from his immediate family in Mansfield, Ohio, especially his sister Emma and his brother Mel. His parents, Ezra and Emily Osbun, wrote their 19-year old son frequently as well. The digitized content contains photocopied letters addressed to Private Freeman Osbun of Company D, 102nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. The collection contains only letters addressed to Osbun from various family members, or between other parties. The letters, written mostly by women, describe their perceptions of the war, Copperhead sentiments against the war, and life on the home front. Many of the letters also mention the railroad being built nearby and problems with Irish railroad workers. Also included is a letter describing the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Osbun Family Letters (MS 167). The collection was completely digitized in 2017. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Paul F. Victor Sr. Papers (Digitized and Born Digital Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized and born digital content of the Paul F. Victor Sr. Papers consists of materials that document the construction and history of the Victor family home in River Forest, Illinois, designed by renowned architect Harry F. Robinson. The materials document the home's construction and attempts to renovate and preserve the house. Paul F. Victor Sr., secretary and treasurer of the Victor Manufacturing and Gasket Company in Chicago, Illinois, had a new home built for his family at 930 Ashland Avenue in River Forest, Illinois. The home was designed by Harry F. Robinson in 1918 and 1919. The Victor family lived in the home from 1920 to 1929, and it was then sold to the Mars family. The Victor family maintained an interest in the house and worked to maintain preserve its history. However, despite the family's efforts to ensure the preservation of the home as a historic structure in River Forest, Avra Properties purchased the property in 2014 and demolished the house the following year. The digitized content contains architectural drawings and blueprints created during the design of the home at 930 Ashland in River Forest, Illinois. The born digital materials include photographs of 930 Ashland, taken during renovation and preservation efforts in the 21st century, and PDF documents relating to the family's efforts to preserve the house. Also included are a PDF copy of an article concerning the construction of the house, published in The Economist in 1918; a building permit for construction in 1919; and photographs of the Victor family while they lived in the home. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Paul F. Victor Sr. Papers (MS 899). The born digital content comprises a portion of the Paul F. Victor Sr. Papers. Items were migrated from USB drives in 2018. Selected items from the physical Paul F. Victor Sr. Papers were also digitized in 2018 and 2019. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand Legal Document (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand Legal Document is comprised of a legal document transferring ownership of the belongings of Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand to his sister, Marie-Therese Dugué Piot de Langloiserie. Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand (1675-1736) was a French military officer who served as commander of outposts at Mobile, Natchez, Louisiana, and the Illinois Country. In 1719 he led an expedition to the Illinois Country and established an outpost that became the center of military and civilian activity in the area, positioned eighteen miles north of Kaskaskia. Later, Dugué de Boisbriand was appointed the fourth governor, serving from 1724 to 1726. The digitized content consists of a legal document written in French, specifying the transfer of the entirety of Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand's belongings in Louisiana and Canada to his sister, Marie-Therese Dugué Piot de Langloiserie. The document was written at Kaskaskia in the absence of a notary on March 10, 1721, and ratified in Montreal before a notary on March 30, 1722. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand Legal Document (MS 943). The collection was completely digitized in 2023. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Pope County Survey Plat Book (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Pope County Survey Plat Book consists of one volume of land survey records from Pope County, Illinois, and includes three hundred and seventy pages of entries covering almost every township from the 1830s to the 1880s. Pope County was founded in 1816, from Gallatin and Johnson Counties and is the southeasternmost county in Illinois. The county was named after Nathaniel Pope, who served as the secretary of Illinois territory from 1809-1816, served as U.S. district judge for Illinois from 1819-1850, and whose efforts led to the statehood of Illinois 1818. The digitized content contains one volume of three hundred and seventy pages with hand-drawn entries recording surveys of Pope County, Illinois, from the 1830s until the 1890s. Pages document surveying landmarks, such as oak, sycamore, or gum trees, and land ownership, including the names of owners and when they acquired particular sections. The collection may have been an official county record or belonged to a land survey company. The author of the volume may have been James Hanna (1821-1909), who served as county surveyor of Pope County, Illinois, during the nineteenth century. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Pope County Survey Plat Book (MS 197). collection was completely digitized in 2022. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Robert Christy Hallowell Diary (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Robert Christy Hallowell Diary consists of the 1864 journal of principal musician Robert C. Hallowell, who served in the 39th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The diary contains descriptions of skirmishes and daily military life between February to September 1864. It also details Hallowell's travels after he was discharged. Robert C. Hallowell was from Leroy, Illinois. He served in the Illinois infantry as a principal musician from September 1861 to September 1864. He also owned several properties in Leroy, which he rented out. The digitized content contains Hallowell’s diary, which discusses military travels, skirmishes, and activities. It also describes the travels of Hallowell and his friend, R.C. Randolph, who after being discharged visited Washington, D.C, Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before returning to Leroy. While traveling, the two visited tourist destinations, churches, and a Republican parade. Some pages of the diary have also been used to record financial gains and spending. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Robert Christy Hallowell Diary and Business Records (MS 683). The collection was partially digitized in 2020. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Sara Tanner journal and photographs (Digitized content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Sara Jane Tanner Journal and Photographs consists of a 27-page diary kept by Tanner as she traveled through Illinois and Iowa in 1874, as well as photographs of Tanner and her husband, Oscar M. Tanner. Sara Jane (née Spaulding) Tanner (1832-1924) was born in Granville, New York. She married Oscar M. Tanner in 1851 in Kane County, Illinois, and the couple had six children. The family lived on a 185-acre farm in DeKalb County, Illinois. The digitized content contains a 27-page diary kept by Sara Jane Tanner during a wagon and train trip from Hinckley, DeKalb County, Illinois, to Nashua, Chickasaw County, Iowa, and back. Tanner traveled with her husband, Oscar M. Tanner and the Brooks family, between August 17 to September 11, 1874. She describes the countryside, the Mississippi River, and other points of interest along the journey. Two photographs of the Turners are also included in the collection. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Sara Jane Tanner Journal and photographs, 1874 (MS 308). The collection was completely digitized in 2021-2022. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Sheffer Family Papers (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Sheffer Family Papers consists of materials documenting the lives of George K. Sheffer and his extended family across the Midwest and West. The materials date primarily from 1836-1911, with items dated as late as 1993, and include family correspondence, Civil War military service documents, financial and family records, and miscellaneous photographs and newspaper clippings. George K. Sheffer was born in Williamsport, Indiana in 1840. He served in company K of the 33rd regiment of Indiana Infantry during the Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Peach Tree Creek. In 1866, he and his family moved to Champaign where Sheffer was a member of the G.A.R. and served multiple terms as the Champaign Township Clerk. The digitized content primarily consists of letters exchanged by family members across the Midwest and Western U.S., as well as military, financial, and family records. The military service materials relate to George K. Sheffer's service in the Civil War and include discharge papers and pension documents. The family records include George and Martha's marriage certificate from 1864, with a list of their children on the reverse side. There are also mixed materials with items relating to various organizations and clubs to which different family members belonged, photographs, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous ephemera. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Sheffer Family Papers (MS 304). The collection was completely digitized (with the exception of one especially fragile item) in 2016. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Stephen A. Forbes Papers (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Stephen Alfred Forbes Papers consists of Civil War diaries and correspondence of Captain Stephen Alfred Forbes, a soldier in the 7th Illinois Cavalry, as well as a photograph of him in uniform. Stephen Alfred Forbes (1844-1930) enlisted at age 17 to serve in the 7th Illinois Cavalry during the Civil War, attaining the rank of Captain. During the war, he faced a number of challenges, including imprisonment and disease, but he survived to become a premiere natural historian for the state of Illinois. The digitized content contains the entirety of Stephen Forbes's original Civil War diaries from 1861, 1862, and 1864-1865 as well as over a dozen letters from the same era. The digitized materials also include a photograph of Stephen A. Forbes in uniform, circa 1862. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Stephen Alfred Forbes Papers (MS 815). The collection was partially digitized in 2017, 2018, and 2019. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Stephen Dennis Letter (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Stephen Dennis Letter consists of one letter written by Stephen Dennis to his grandfather, William A. Dennis. Stephen Dennis was a farmer in Greenville, Bond County, Illinois. William A. Dennis lived in Virginia. The digitized content contains a letter Stephen Dennis wrote to his grandfather in 1850. The letter describes family matters and challenges of the past three crop seasons, including weather and the transition from farming corn to farming wheat. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Stephen Dennis Letter (MS 920). The collection completely digitized in 2020. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Thomas Babb Diaries and Notes (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Thomas Babb Diaries and Notes consists of 8 travel journals created by Thomas Babb from 1905-1912. Thomas Babb was born in 1841 in Staffordshire, England, but moved to the United States in 1860. Settling first in Ohio, where he was married, Babb moved to Mahomet, Champaign County, Illinois, in 1861. Babb spent the next two decades acquiring and farming several hundred acres of land throughout the county, before starting a hog and grain business in 1880. These businesses flourished, and in 1897 Babb began splitting his time between Illinois and Texas, where he owned a cattle business. After his wife's death, Babb traveled throughout the world until his own death in 1915. These diaries document Babb's daily life during his travels. Book A describes a return trip to Great Britain in 1905, while Books B-D record a lengthy trip around the world from 1908-1909. Books E-F trace Babb's travels in Italy, Egypt, and the Middle East in 1909 and a 1910 journey through Texas. Book G begins with a visit to England in 1911, and ends with a trip to Texas, where he remarried in early 1912. Finally, Book H is a record of a trip to the West Coast and back during fall 1912. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Thomas Babb Diaries and Notes (MS 444). The collection was completely digitized in 2019. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Thomas Halligan Affidavit (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Thomas Halligan Affidavit consists of a New York soldier's affidavit allowing a proxy voter to cast his vote in the 1864 presidential election. Thomas Halligan, born in 1823, was a private in Company I of the 104th New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He was from Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County, New York. Prior to the Civil War, New York soldiers away from home at the time of an election could not vote, but in 1864 the State of New York passed an act permitting men serving in the military to vote in elections via proxy. The digitized content contains three forms filled in by hand, giving John Tracy of Lansingburgh, New York, power of attorney to cast a vote on behalf of Thomas Halligan in the November 8, 1864 general election. The forms, completed while Halligan was stationed in Petersburg, Virginia, were signed by a witness and commanding officer. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Thomas Halligan Affidavit (MS 1052). The collection was completely digitized in 2020. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Thomas J. and Elizabeth Chambers Morgan Papers (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Thomas J. and Elizabeth Chambers Morgan collection consists of letters, notes, speeches and addresses, and newspaper clippings regarding Thomas and Elizabeth Morgan involvement with Mother Jones, the labor movement, and the Socialist Party. Thomas J. Morgan (1847-1912), a lawyer, socialist, and labor leader, was born in Birmingham, England, and came to Chicago where he became president of the Machinists' Union in 1874. He was active in numerous labor organizations as an official, speaker, and writer as well as a frequent labor and socialist nominee for political office. From 1909 to 1911, he issued a weekly publication, The Provoker. His wife, Elizabeth Chambers Morgan, was also deeply involved in the labor movement. Among other activities, she investigated sweatshop conditions among women workers in Chicago in 1891. She compiled the correspondence and clippings in this collection. The digitized content contains letters, notes, speeches and addresses, and newspaper clippings relating to Thomas and Elizabeth Morgan's involvement with Mother Jones, the labor movement and the Socialist Party, and Morgan's The Provoker. Included are letters to Thomas J. Morgan expressing support of The Provoker and some criticizing him for the publication, and letters to and from Elizabeth Morgan about the Woman's Federal Labor Union. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Thomas J. and Elizabeth Chambers Morgan Collection (MS 139). The collection was partially digitized in 2019. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Westfield, Illinois, Photographs (Digitized content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Westfield, Illinois, Photographs contains photographs in or near Westfield, Illinois, circa 1900-1930s. Woods, cornfields, farm animals, town events, and scenes along the North Fork of the Embarras (or "Embraw") River are pictured. About 350 photographs are mounted in two large volumes, many with notations as to their location. About 40 additional photographs are loose, a few identified. The majority of the pictures are of fields, farms, or woods, mainly in summertime, showing a variety of basswood, elm, sycamore, and white oak. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Westfield, Illinois, Photographs (MS 841). The collection was fully digitized in 2021. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Wilhelm Julius Grahn Diary and Note (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Wilhelm Julius Grahn Diary and Note consists of a photocopied diary written by Grahn from 1870-1873, a partial translation of the diary, and a biographical sketch about Grahn written in 1965. Wilhelm Julius Grahn (1840-1930) immigrated to the United States in 1869 from German-speaking central Europe. He arrived in New York, and soon moved to Wisconsin where he enlisted in five years of military service in 1871. He was sent to Newport, Rhode Island, to Camp Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Mississippi, and to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 1879, he married Caroline Freimuth Trimpe and the couple moved onto 80 acres of prairie land in Clay County, Illinois. The digitized content contains a photocopied diary, a partial translation of the diary, and a biographical sketch. The diary was written by Wilhelm Julius Grahn from 1870-1873. In his writing, there is an emphasis on his faith in God through reading scripture, especially the New Testament, and singing hymns. He also describes camp life, problems with Native Americans leaving their reservations, and the garden he and other soldiers maintained at Camp Douglas. The biographical sketch was written in 1965. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Wilhelm Julius Grahn Diary and Note (MS 658). The collection was completely digitized in 2019. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.
  • Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), 10th Congressional District of Illinois, Records (Digitized Content)
    Illinois History and Lincoln Collections  ·   Digital Special Collections
    Description
    The digitized content of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), 10th Congressional District of Illinois, Records consists of a record book, dated 1883-1901, for the annual conventions of the group as well as records from executive committee meetings for the organization in select years. The Illinois W.C.T.U was founded in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1874 with the aim of promoting total abstinence from alcohol. In the decades that followed, county and local unions were established across the state. Annual Conventions for the 10th congressional district brought together representatives from both local and county unions in the area. These included the W.C.T.U. of Peoria County, Knox County, Stark County, Fulton County, and Marshall County, as well as numerous local unions. The digitized content documents the substance of the conventions, including devotions, discussions and proposals, paper presentations, reports of county and local unions, and resolutions passed. Specific efforts to engage the youth, such as "Bands of Hope" and "Y's" [Young W.C.T.U.] are also noted. The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections unit at the University of Illinois Library manages the physical items of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), 10th Congressional District of Illinois, Records (MS 405). The collection was completely digitized in 2020. For more information, contact an archivist at ihlc@library.illinois.edu.