Elizabeth Dewing Todd Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection is composed of items relating to the Dewing, Chapin and Todd families from the years 1828 to 1970.
The papers of Paul H. Todd Sr. (1887 – 1969) and Elizabeth Dewing Todd (1898 – 1976) are related to their involvement in Kalamazoo, Michigan, civic, business, and political activities. Paul H. Todd Sr. served as Mayor and as City Commissioner in Kalamazoo c. 1920s – 1940s.
The ships logs and journals of William S. Dewing are from his time as an officer on voyages between Bombay and Calcutta, India, and England between 1829 and 1835.
The papers of Lebeus Cornelius Chapin (1823 – 1885) include materials about his Civil War services as Assistant Surgeon at Burlington, Vermont, and Beaufort, South Carolina. There are also inventory of soldiers’ effects from Beaufort, SC, 1st Division General Hospital from 1864 to 1865.
William Kay Wallace’s (b. 1880) estate documents include journals and diaries dating from 1904 – 1916, letters from 1903 – 1930, poetry, unpublished articles and manuscripts, and photographs taken during World War I. Wallace was an historian, author, poet, war correspondent, United States diplomat, and captain in the United States Army in France during World War I. He was married to Winifred Dewing.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1828-1970
Extent
25 boxes
Language of Materials
English
Physical Description
The collection amounts to 14 cubic feet and is composed of 28 boxes. The collection includes such items as photocopies of ship logs, diaries, manuscripts, photographs, political campaign documents, financial documents, account books and newspaper clippings. The items range in size from oversize newspapers to very small 1.5”x2” calling cards. Many of the books are leather-bound and quite heavy.
Major series in the collection include the estate documents of William Kay Wallace, the papers of Lebeus C. Chapin, court documents relating to Consumers Power Company, and the papers of Paul H. Todd Sr. and Paul Todd Jr.
Items range in condition from good to poor. The newer documents tend to be in fair to good condition, as well, most of the diaries are in good condition though they are fragile. Many documents in very poor condition have been photocopied to preserve the information contained within them. Care should be taken with many of the documents dated in the 19th century due to their age and condition.
Provenance
The collection was donated by Elizabeth Dewing Todd over several years from 1966 to 1976
Notes
This collection was reprocessed, combined, and inventoried in 2011.
- Title
- Elizabeth Dewing Todd Collection Finding Aid
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Devin Erlandson
- Date
- 1828-1970
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490
arch-collect@wmich.edu