A Stroll through Mt. Hope Cemetery

Walking through Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing, multiple tombstones and markers will jump out to the person who is acquainted with the Lansing area history, such as Olds, Sparrow, Ranney, and Potter. To those familiar with Michigan State University history, multiple names will also jump out to the passerby. This blog will highlight four people connected to MSU whose final resting place is Mt. Hope Cemetery. Even if you’re not in the Lansing area, take a stroll through your local cemetery to appreciate the history and beauty this Halloween season!

Theophilus Capen Abbot, undated (People 3)

Theophilus Capen Abbot

Third President of the State Agricultural College (now MSU) from 1862 to 1885

Born: April 29, 1826

Died: November 7, 1892

In 1858, Theophilus Abbot accepted the professorship of English literature at the State Agricultural College. He also served as the treasurer of the college in 1860, and as secretary pro tempore of the State Board of Agriculture (now the Board of Trustees) in 1861 and 1862. The Board elected Abbot president of the college in December 1862. In 1866, he became professor of mental philosophy and logic. Four years later he earned his LL.D. from the University of Michigan. Abbot assumed an active role in the administration of the college during his twenty-two years as president while continuing to teach. He resigned the presidency in 1885, but remained at the college as a professor until his retirement in 1889. Abbot died in his home on Monday morning, November 7, 1892.

On Michigan State College’s Alumni Day (June 16, 1928), approximately seventy-five friends and former pupils of Abbot’s gathered at his grave site to unveil a memorial tablet in his honor.

Former friends and students of Dr. Abbot gather to unveil the memorial tablet at his grave, June 16, 1928. (People 11)

Abbot’s grave marker with memorial tablet, June 16, 1928. (People 12)

The Beal/Gunson Monument

A unique, but simple monument to two men who had major influence on the gardens and grounds at MSU, William Beal and Thomas Gunson are buried next to each other in a joint plot. The rose quartz stone that is the grave marker for both men was transported from the Connecticut River basin by Beal’s daughter, Jessie Beal Baker and the Gunsons in the spring of 1940.

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  William Beal’s side of the grave marker, August 21, 2020 (Photo by Jennie Russell)

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  Thomas Gunson’s side of the grave marker, August 21, 2020 (Photo by Jennie Russell)

William James Beal

Professor of Botany and Horticulture at Michigan Agricultural College (now MSU) from 1871 to 1910

Born: March 11, 1833

Died: May 13, 1924

In 1871, William Beal began his long association with Michigan Agricultural College (M.A.C.) as a professor of botany and horticulture. A pioneer in teaching “The New Botany” as outlined in his 1880 address, Beal placed great emphasis on independent learning through observation. Several of his students went on to become prominent scientists including C. S. Crandall, professor of pomology at Illinois; C. C. Georgeson who developed wheat and strawberries capable of withstanding Alaska’s climate; and Liberty Hyde Bailey who became a world authority on palm species. Perhaps Beal’s greatest achievement was his experiments in cross-fertilization of corn which led directly to the development of hybrid corn.

Beal in his famous garden, undated. (People 259)

His most enduring act was the establishment in 1873 of the oldest continuously operated garden in the nation, The Beal Botanical Garden. This garden is recognized as one of the best in the country and serves as both an outdoor teaching lab and a focal point for naturalists. In 1910, Beal retired after forty years of service to write a history of M.A.C. He spent his remaining years in Amherst, Massachusetts until his death in 1924.

Gunson in a greenhouse, holding a plant, undated. (People 1235)

Thomas Gunson

Professor of Horticulture and Superintendent of Grounds at Michigan Agricultural College (now MSU) from 1891 to 1930

Born: July 4, 1858

Died: December 17, 1940

Born in Moffat, Scotland, Thomas Gunson worked as a gardener and nursey worker in England and Scotland. He came to the U.S. in 1882 and settled in Saginaw, Michigan working on a farm. Also from Scotland, Annie Rose and Gunson were married in Saginaw. Annie was friends with Sarah Abbot, wife of Theophilus Abbot, and she encouraged Gunson to visit the campus in 1891. On the coach ride to campus, he met Hannah Beal, wife of William Beal, and she organized an interview for him with President Oscar Clute and the Horticultural Professor, Levi Taft. They were pleased with his horticultural experience and he was hired as the foreman of the grounds in 1891. That fall, he moved into the campus greenhouse residence where he lived until his death.

For over 30 years, he was superintendent of the campus grounds and taught horticultural classes for over 20 years. Before his retirement in 1930, Gunson was the botanist in charge of the Beal Botanical Garden and greenhouse. From 1909 to 1914, Gunson served as the third mayor of the City of East Lansing and during his tenure, multiple drainage projects were completed.

Martha Isabel Allen Thayer

Isabel Thayer’s obituary from the Saginaw Daily News, September 29, 1931 (courtesy: Public Libraries of Saginaw)

Alumna. One of the first ten females to attend the State Agricultural College (now MSU) in 1870

Born: October 18, 1850

Died: September 28, 1931

Martha Isabel Allen was born October 18, 1850 in Mendon, New York to Abram and Vesta Jones Allen. The Allens moved first to Oakland County, where Abram served as a representative to the Michigan state legislature as a republican. In 1867, the family moved to Lansing, where Abram was a manufacturer of sash, door, and blinds, a lumberman and a partner in the real estate firm Allen and Hall. 

Like many of the first ten women who enrolled at the State Agricultural College, the financial prosperity of her family allowed her the opportunity to pursue a higher education. From 1870 to 1871, Isabel studied agriculture. 

At age 22, she married Adelbert R. Thayer in Lansing on November 14, 1872 and had two children. Isabel was one of the original members of the Lansing Woman’s Club, which was founded in 1874.

In 1888, the Thayers moved to Saginaw, where Adelbert continued to work as a druggist. In Saginaw, Isabel was an active member of the community. She was the founder and three time president of the Saginaw Women’s Club, and a member of the Saginaw branch of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Winter Club, and the First Congregational Church.  At the church, she served as president of both the memorial society and the women’s society. Additionally, she was a trustee of the Home for the Aged. On September 28, 1931, Isabel died at the age of 80. 

Isabel Allen Thayer’s tombstone at Mount Hope Cemetery in Lansing, Michigan (from FindaGrave.com, photo by Jan J.)

Read the original blog about Martha Isabel Allen Thayer and the history of the first ten women at M.A.C. for additional information.

Sources

Alumni honor memories of noted pioneers at Mt. Hope Cemetery. (June 1928). The M.A.C. Record, 33(10), 7. https://projects.kora.matrix.msu.edu/files/162-565-567/19280601sm.pdf

[Death of Theophilus Abbot]. (1892, November 9). The Eagle, 3(81), 2. Serial 249, Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

Gunson, Thomas. Faculty/Staff Biographical File, Box 1523, Folder 81, Media Communications Records, UA 8.1.1. Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

In Memoriam: Isabel Allen Thayer, with 1874. (1931, October). M.S.C. Record, 7(2), 11.

https://onthebanks.msu.edu/Object/162-565-621/the-mac-record-vol37-no02-october-1931/

Lansing Woman’s Club (2020). Welcome to the Lansing Woman’s Club. https://lansingwomansclub.org/

Life devoted to college is concluded. (1924, May 19). The M.A.C. Record, 29(30), 5-6. https://projects.kora.matrix.msu.edu/files/162-565-415/19240519sm.pdf

Mrs. Isabelle Allen Thayer. (1931, September 30). Lansing State Journal, 3.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61404646/obituary-for-isabelle-allen-thayer/

Mrs. Thayer dies; club work leader. (1931, September 28). Saginaw Daily News, 1.

Stewart, G. O. (January 1941). Thomas Gunson, 1858-1940. The M.A.C. Record, 46(2), 17.

Towar, James D. (1933). History of the City of East Lansing, 111-112. [East Lansing, Mich.]: [East Lansing Public Library]. Towar Family Collection UA 10.3.418, Box 6297, Folder 34.

Written by Jennie Russell and MSU Archives staff. The Martha Isabel Allen Thayer section written by Megan Badgley-Malone.

Collections Spotlight: Ted F. Jackson Papers

Newspaper clipping “Veterinary school at MSU honors late Dr. Ted F. Jackson,” undated

In 1973, a Velsicol Chemical plant in St. Louis, Michigan mistakenly shipped a toxic flame retardant known as polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) to a livestock feed plant. Veterinarian Ted F. Jackson (DVM, class of 1944) discovered the PBB contamination in his patients, a herd of dairy cattle belonging to Frederic L. Halbert (MS, Chemical Engineering, class of 1968). Jackson was instrumental in determining that the cause of the herd’s illness was the feed.  The PBB contamination also spread to humans as the milk and meat from the affected cattle was consumed. One year passed before the animals were culled. Veterinarians euthanized approximately 30,000 cattle, 1.5 million chickens, and thousands of pigs and sheep.  They were buried in pits near Kalkaska, Michigan, along tons of food products made with contaminated milk.  That same year, Jackson and Halbert published “A Toxic Syndrome Associated with the Feeding of Polybrominated Biphenyl-Contaminated Protein Concentrate to Dairy Cattle” in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.  In 1976, a long-term study was initiated to determine effects of the PBB exposure on humans.  The study continues today, administered by the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Cover of article reprint, “A Toxic Syndrome Associated with the Feeding of Polybrominated Biphenyl-Contaminated Protein Concentrate to Dairy Cattle” in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1974

Unfortunately, Jackson died prematurely in May 1975 after a heart attack.  As such, his contributions to the discovery of the PBB contamination are frequently overlooked.  In 1983, his son, Jeffrey F. Jackson, made a documentary film called “Cattlegate” about these events.

Recently, a small collection of papers belonging to Ted F. Jackson were donated to the Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections. The collection primarily consists of research by Ted F. Jackson, D.V.M., and Frederic L. Halbert into dairy cattle that were fed PBB contaminated food, and the publication of their article in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association in 1974. There is also a draft of a letter written by Jackson’s family to Time magazine in response to a May 10, 1976 article which failed to include Jackson’s contribution to the discovery of PBB poisoning.  The Time article stated that Halbert began to study the cause of his cattle’s illness “[w]hen veterinarians were unable to diagnose the problem.”  It is unclear if the letter was published.

Draft of letter to Time magazine from Jackson family members in response to a May 10, 1976 article

The collection also contains Jackson’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine diploma (1944), a Registered Veterinarian certificate from the State of Michigan (1954), and slides and photographs of his veterinary practice.  A biography of Ted F. Jackson, and an item level inventory of the collection, which was provided by the donor, is included as well.  The collection is open to the public, and the finding aid can be viewed online: http://archives.msu.edu/findaid/ua10-3-382.pdf.

Letter from Michigan State Representative Dan Angel to Ted F. Jackson, February 14, 1975

Letter from Michigan Senator Harry A. DeMaso to Ted F. Jackson, February 17, 1975

Letter from Louis E. Newman (MSU Veterinary Medicine Extension) to Ted F. Jackson, September 6, 1974

 

 

Written by Megan Badgley Malone                                                                                  collections & outreach archivist

 

Hallowe’en Revels – UA 10.3.35 Irma Thompson Papers

Irma Thompson, circa 1900. (People 2687)

A collection less than one cubic feet that highlights life on the campus of M.A.C. at the turn of the 20^th century is the Irma Thompson Papers. Irma was born in 1880 in Van Buren County, Michigan. While still in high school, the Thompson family moved to Lansing so Irma would have the opportunity to attend college. She entered Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) at the age of sixteen, one of forty-two women to major in the new Home Economics program. Although an off-campus student, she was very active in campus extracurricular activities. She was class secretary, vice-president of the Art Club, and a member of the Themian Literary Society. She graduated in 1900. In 1905, she married Mark L. Ireland, ‘01, whose name appears occasionally on her dance programs.

In her collection are a program and scripts related to a play she was involved in during her senior year. The play, Hallowe’en Revels, was performed in the Armory on November 10, 1899 with an audience of 300 students and faculty members. It was the first production by the “College Dramatic Club.” The play was a mixture of burlesque and vaudeville styles. Today, most people think of a burlesque show as a strip tease, which is partly true, but burlesque also means “an absurd or comically exaggerated imitation of something, especially in a literary or dramatic work; a parody.” (Oxford Dictionaries) That definition properly describes Hallowe’en Revels and in the M.A.C. Record reminder a week before the play was to be performed, an editor wrote, “It will cost you but 10₵ to ‘see yourself as others see you.’”

Program cover of Hallowe’en Revels

First page of the program

Second page of the program

Third page of the program

Back cover of the program

The backdrop for this play was the M.A.C. campus, making fun of real people on campus, mostly faculty members and a group of men. Included was a prologue and six acts: the trial scene, the rhetorical class, the advanced German class, the cooking class, the midnight spread, and the Calethumpians.

For the trial scene, students acted out the roles of the professors, who were also portrayed as animal characters, such as Miss Kellar representing a dragon and M.A.C. President Snyder as a sheep. In the trial scene, the animals/professors are judged for their bad behaviors/breaking the rules, such as smoking, not attending church, attending too many dances, climbing up a tree, and wandering outside the college grounds by an escort not approved by the Dean. While these “bad behaviors” do not seem to be an issue today, early students had several rules imposed upon them, such as a set amount of dances they could attend, mandatory attend at chapel, and strict curfew times.

 

“The Calethumpians” from the 1900 Wolverine yearbook, page 170.

The last act of the play was “The Calethumpians.” This act is interesting because we can’t verify if this was a true society or not; it might have just been a group men calling themselves that. The Calethumpian Society is listed in the 1900 Wolverine yearbook and it doesn’t list actual names for the six male members, just their nicknames. From the yearbook, “The Calethumpians are a society of high spiritual and physical intentions, having for their object the betterment of the moral and athletic conditions at M.A.C.” and their motto was “never work between meals.” (page 170) For the play, all women played the roles of the males and in the program it stated, “The Calethumpians is a society with high moral purpose whole by-laws prohibit profanity, and work between meals, and whose yell requires athletic training.” In the act, the midnight revels of the Calethumpians in Wells Hall are revealed. Obviously, the women were poking fun at the men.

Along with the play, a poem written in the style of Dante by Harriette Robson and read by N. A. McCune, entitled, “The Abbotiad,” described the storming of Abbot Hall by the nightshirt paraders. The Nightshirt Parade happened at the end of the school year, with the men dressing up in their nightshirts parading around campus. Usually they would stop by faculty member’s homes asking them to serenade the group and/or hijinks would ensue between the classes. According to the M.A.C. Record, “the program ended with ‘A Scene in Hades,’ in which all the characters of the play appeared in costumes weird and grotesque.”

M.A.C. Juniors pose after the Nightshirt Parade in the Chemistry Lecture room, June 1899. (A004617)

Between the acts, the audience was entertained with lantern slides of original drawings, depicting life on campus, by Irma Thompson and S. J. Kennedy, ’01. A few illustrations by Thompson and several by Kennedy appeared in the 1900 Wolverine yearbook. It seems that the play was a success, but really long.

Illustration by Irma Thompson, depicting the race between the Seniors and Juniors to publish the 1900 yearbook. Unfortunately for the Seniors, the Juniors were the winners. This illustration appeared in the 1900 Wolverine, page 105.

Sadly, the University Archives does not have any photographs from this play. Luckily, in Irma’s papers, we do have the play program and scripts from three of the acts. Even though this collection is only one box, it highlights the time of the first women who enrolled in the Home Economics Program. Irma’s scrapbook contains a few photographs, several illustrations she created of her time on campus, and clippings. She kept in touch with her class mates, keeping a record of their lives. She also wrote her own memoirs about her college experience near the end of her life.

Hallowe’en Revels is a unique play that was written by the students of M.A.C., reflecting their life at that time. Even though it wasn’t performed at Halloween, the play does an amazing job of highlighting the spirit of Halloween by allowing the person to become somebody/something else for a brief moment of time.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Sources

“At the College,” from the M.A.C. Record, Vol. 5 No. 9, November 7, 1899.

The Calethumpians: A Play, circa 1899, Box 761, Folder 29, Irma Thompson Papers, UA 10.3.35, Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

The Faculty Meeting: A Play, circa 1899, Box 761, Folder 30, Irma Thompson Papers, UA 10.3.35, Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

The Faculty Trial: A Play, circa 1899, Box 761, Folder 31, Irma Thompson Papers, UA 10.3.35, Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

“Hallowe’en Revels,” from the M.A.C. Record, Vol. 5 No. 10, November 14, 1899.

Hallowe’en Revels: A Play, November 10, 1899, Box 761, Folder 32, Irma Thompson Papers, UA 10.3.35, Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

Midnight Spread Scene: A Play, circa 1899, Box 761, Folder 33, Irma Thompson Papers, UA 10.3.35, Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

Wolverine Yearbook, 1900. Pg. 170. Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

Written by Jennie Russell, Assistant Records Archivist

M.A.C. World War I Casualties

Memorial Grove plaque located at the Beal Street entrance to campus, next to Sarah Williams Hall.

World War I took a toll on the small college known as Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University).  Many alumni lost their lives during the conflict.  Below is a list of our gold stars.

April 9, 1917: John Woodbridge (short course student, 1915) was believed to be the first person with a M.A.C. connection to die during the war.  He served with the 72d Highlanders, Canadian Infantry.  Woodbridge was killed at Vimy Ridge, France.

February 6, 1918: William R. Johnson (class of 1912) became the first alumnus to die during WWI, when the SS Tuscania sank off the coast of Scotland.  He served in Company F, 6th Battalion 20th Engineers.

from the 1918 Wolverine yearbook

March 8, 1918: Earl Halbert, class of 1920, died at 22 years old of “broncho pneumonia.” He was a private in Company A, 126th Infantry, U.S. Army.

March 16, 1918: Donald A. Miller, class of 1916, died from diphtheria at the Naval Rifle Range in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He was a Yeoman, 3rd class, U.S. Navy.  Miller was 24 years old.

March 29, 1918: Burrell F. Smith, class of 1919, was a private in Company G, 338th infantry, U.S. Army.  He died of broncho pneumonia at 22 years old.

Burrell F. Smith, class of 1919

April 21, 1918: Norman F. Hood, class of 1915, died at a field hospital from injuries received in action at Monthairon Le Petit. A member of Company G, 23rd Infantry, U.S. Army, he was “buried at [the] American Cemetery of Monthairon (Meuse) Grave 13.” Hood was 26 years old.

June 13, 1918: Gordon Webster Cooper, class of 1918, died of injuries sustained in an airplane crash at Barron Field, Texas. U.S. Army PFC Cooper had finished his 8-week training course with honors. The 23-year-old was the first M.A.C. aviator to die during WWI.

June 15, 1918: LaVerne Thompson Perrottet, class of 1919, died at 22 years old when a shell made a direct hit on his front line trench. He was fighting in the Chateau Thierry sector of France and was buried in the Bois de Belleau.

LaVerne T. Perrottet, class of 1919 (portrait: Wolverine yearbook, grave photo: Find a Grave)

June 19, 1918: PFC Louis Kurm Hice, class of 1918, 23 years old, was wounded on June 16 and died on June 19, 1918. He served in Headquarters Co., 119th Field Artillery, U.S. Army.

July 1, 1918: Leonard Crone, class of 1913, age 27, was killed in an airplane crash in England. He was a lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps.  He enlisted in the Canadian Flying Forces at Toronto, Canada.

The M.A.C. Record; vol.23, no.35; August 30, 1918

July 8, 1918: Thomas William Churchill, class of 1915, died from heart failure following an operation. The 27-year-old Alpha Psi member was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Veterinary Reserve Corps. He was buried at West Point.

July 9, 1918: Lester P. Harris, class of 1917, died from wounds received during a German air raid near the village of Catenoy, France. A street in Johnson City, Tennessee is named in his honor.  For more information visit the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association (https://etvma.org/veterans/lester-p-harris-7073/)

Lester P. Harris (Image source: East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association)

August 1, 1918: U.S. Army 1st Lt. Donald C. McMillan, class of 1915, served with Company G, 126th Infantry.  He served overseas from February 17, 1918, until his death at age 27 from wounds received in action.  He was buried in cemetery 404 in Bezu-Saint-Germain, France.

August 5, 1918: Edwin Harold Ewing, class of 1917, died from wounds received in action during the Second Battle of Marne.  He served in Company G., 32nd Infantry of the Michigan National Guard from June 19, 1916 to September 23, 1917, and in Company I, 126th Infantry until his death.

August 10, 1918: U.S. Army Corporal William B. Lutz, class of 1920, Battery A, 119th Field Artillery, was killed in action at age 20. Lutz fought near Chery, Marne, France.

August 10, 1918: Cosmer Magnus Leveaux, class of 1917, died on August 10, 1918 at 21 years old. He was a corporal in Battery A. of the 119th Field Artillery. Leveaux was killed in action at Chateau Theirry.

August 12, 1918: U.S. Army PFC Samuel Rottenberg, class of 1919, age 22, was killed in action. He served overseas in Company A, 1st Infantry, from May 22 until his death.

Samuel Rottenberg (image source: Wolverine yearbook

August 19, 1918: Frank Huston Esselstyn, class of 1918, died from wounds received in action on August 11. He was a member of the National Guard 119th Field Artillery company and  fought in France.

August 22, 1918: 20 year old U.S. Army PFC George Smith Monroe, class of 1918 was killed in action.  He served overseas with Battery F, 119th Field Artillery from February 26 until his death.

August 31, 1918: U.S. Army Platoon Sergeant James Shrigley Palmer, class of 1918, was killed in action in Juvigny, France while leading his platoon to the attack. He was posthumously awarded the French Croix de Guerre and Silver Star Citation.

Text of James S Palmer’s citation (source: The City of Detroit Michigan 1701-1922)

September 1, 1918: William H. Rust, class of 1918, died on September 1, 1918.  He was a 1st Lieutenant in Company K, 125th Infantry until his death.  He was wounded in action on August 29 while in battle Near Juvigny (Aisne).  Rust was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star.  The citation states “The only remaining officer of the company, he led it to the attack with bravery and remarkable energy.  Was killed near the objective which had been assigned to him.” Rust was 25 years old.

September 25, 1918: Olin C. Luther, class of 1919, was killed in action at age 24. He served in the Headquarters Co., 122 Field Artillery, U.S. Army. He participated in the St. Mihiel, defensive sector engagement.

September 27, 1918: Otto William Wissmann, class of 1920, was a Seaman 2nd Class with the U.S. Navy Reserve Force. He died at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, at 21 years old.

September 27, 1918: Ernest Elwin Peterson, class of 1915, died of lobar pneumonia at age 28. He was a corporal with the Medical Detachment Signal Corps.

October 2, 1918: Hubert B. Wylie, class of 1917, died from Influenza lobar pneumonia at 23 years old. He was a private with the U.S. Army Motor Transport Corps, Company D, 307th Repair Unit.

October 7, 1918: Alanson Bartlett King, class of 1919, age 23, died from lobar pneumonia. He was a Master Engineer, Junior Grade with the Headquarters Company 107th Engineers, U.S. Army, and served overseas from January 30, 1918 until his death.

October 8, 1918: U.S. Army 1st Lt. Frank M. Stewart, class of 1918, died at 26 years old. He served with Company C, 111th Infantry. He participated in the Argonne Forest engagement and died of wounds at Bois de Chatel field hospital.

October 10, 1918: Herbert J. Sheldon, class of 1914, was killed in action at the age of 28. He was 1st lieutenant in Company G, 125th infantry and was acting as intelligence officer of his battalion. Sheldon served overseas from July 22, 1918 until his death.

October 10, 1918: Eugene E. Ewing, class of 1915, was killed in action at age 25.  He belonged to Company A, 18th Infantry at the time of his death. Ewing fought in the Battle of Verdun and the Metz advance.

October 11, 1918: Samuel Robinson McNair, class of 1920, died from bronchial pneumonia on the hospital ship, the USS Mercy. He served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Alabama as a Seaman 2nd class. He was 21 years old

October 17, 1918: PFC Harold R. Siggins, class of 1917, died of pneumonia. He served with the U.S. Army 591st Ambulance Service. His illness was worsened because he had been gassed rescuing a damaged vehicle from a heavily shelled area. His lieutenant wrote; “He is missed by everyone of us. He was our brother.”

October 19, 1918: U.S. Army Private Erling F. Edwardson, class of 1913, died from pneumonia at 27 years old.  He was part of Battery C, 119th Regiment, training detachment.

October 19, 1918: U.S. Army Corporal Rudolph T. Lekstrum, class of 1917, died from wounds received in action. He served with Company A, 107th Field Signal Battalion and was involved in offensives in Chateau Thierry and Soissions sectors. He was 25 years old.

October 31, 1918: U.S. Army Major Ira D. MacLachlan, class of 1910, died of wounds received in action at the age of 31. He served with the 125th Infantry and was buried at the Military Cemetery Mars Sur Allier in Nievre, France.

October 31, 1918: Stevenson P. Lewis, class of 1916, age 25, was in killed in action in Romagne, France.  He served with Battery E, 124th Field Artillery, and the American Ambulance Field Service in France.  He was “Awarded [the] Silver Star….this officer was posthumously promoted to First Lieutenant of Field Artillery by the President”

November 5, 1918: U.S. Army Colonel Robert Sylvester Welsh, class of 1894, was killed in action. He was with the 314th Field Artillery and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for exceptionally meritorious services. He was buried at grave 88 in Argonne American Cemetery, France.

November 13, 1918: Laurence J. Bauer, class of 1918, enlisted in the Reserve Corps at Chicago, Illinois on July 27, 1917, and was called into active service on June 1, 1918.  He died of wounds received in an airplane accident at a French hospital at Bar Le Duc.” He was buried at Central Cemetery 542, France.

November 14, 1918: Garth J. Williams, class of 1919, was a U. S. Army private for Company C., 321st Machine Gun Battalion and served overseas from July 30, 1918 until his death.  He was severely wounded on September 15, 1918 and died from a perforated duodenal ulcer on November 14.

December 2, 1918: Farquhar L. Smith, class of 1920, was a U.S. Army private in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 160th Depot Brigade. He died of broncho pneumonia at 22 years old.

December 27, 1918: U.S. Army 1st Lt. William Thomas McNeil, class of 1913, died at 28 yrs old, from wounds received in action near Bois Belleau. He served overseas with Company I, 101st Infantry from January 23, 1918 until his death. He was buried at cemetery 290 Friodes (Meuse) Grave 293.

This list was compiled by Catharine Neely, who completed a joint internship with the MSU Archives & Historical Collections and the MSU Museum during the 2017-2018 academic year.  Please note that this list may not be complete. If you have information about additional M.A.C. alumni who died during World War I, please contact the University Archives (https://lib.msu.edu/branches/ua/ContactUs/)

Below is a slide show of certificates from the State of Michigan Adjutant General’s Office with information about some of the M.A.C. alumni who died during World War I.  The certificates are part of the Frank S. Kedzie papers (http://archives.msu.edu/findaid/ua2-1-8.html).

 

 

 

 

Written by Megan Badgley Malone, collections & outreach archivist

Don Coleman, 1928-2017

Don Coleman, MSC football player, poses on the field, circa 1950s

Former Michigan State Lineman Don Coleman has died at the age of 88.

A three-year letter-winner (1949-1951), Coleman was MSU’s first unanimous choice for All-American, in 1951.  In that year, Don Coleman helped propel the Spartan football team to their first ever national championship.  He was also the first Spartan athlete to have his jersey retired (#78), and Clarence “Biggie” Munn called him “the finest lineman ever to play for Michigan State”.  Soon after being drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1952 NFL Draft, Coleman ended his football career to serve in the Korean War, adopting an orphanage overseas and acquiring clothing for the orphanage through work with the city of Flint, Michigan.

Coleman left the Army in 1954 to work in education in Flint, ultimately joining MSU’s faculty in 1968.  There, he served as an assistant professor in intercollegiate athletics, and even worked as an assistant coach under “Biggie” Munn that same season.  He was named Assistant Director of Student Affairs the following year, and was named Director of the Minority Comprehensive Support Program of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1974.  In 1978, Coleman was named an Assistant Dean of the MSU Graduate School, and soon after served as the first Executive Director of the Black Child and Family Institute in Lansing, among many other prestigious roles in the Lansing area.

Don Coleman was also the first player named to Notre Dame’s All-Opponent Team three years in a row.  A complete film of the historic November 20, 1951 game against Notre Dame, in which the 5^th ranked Spartans shut out the 11^th ranked Fighting Irish by a score of 35-0, is available at the MSU Archives & Historical Collections (UA 17.75, reel 653).

Written by Matthew Wilcox, Audiovisual Archivist

Scrapbook History: Walter G. Knickerbocker

 

It has been awhile since we have written a Scrapbook History feature.  I recently visited the stacks and grabbed a scrapbook at random: #54.  This one was created by Walter G. Knickerbocker, an engineering student in the class of 1916.  It seemed apropos since earlier this month marked the 100^th anniversary of the Engineering Building fire, and the near death of engineering as a major at Michigan State.

Walter G. Knickerbocker, of Clio, Michigan, studied Engineering at Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) from 1912 to 1916.  He was active in a number of clubs, including the Engineering Society, Phylean Literary Society (now Beta Kappa Fraternity), and the engineering honorary society Tau Beta Pi.  Following graduation, Knickerbocker moved to Detroit and became a meter superintendent for Detroit Edison.

The scrapbook itself was a mass produced item in college green with the white intertwined MAC logo and Knickerbocker’s name embossed in gold on the front.  The inside is a reflection of college life in the 1910s.  The first few pages are devoted to autographs.  Friends and acquaintances wrote their names, hometowns, birth dates, and “happy thoughts,” which consisted of favorite phrases and reminiscences.

The top autograph is from an international student from China (translation unknown). The bottom one states “An Engineers life is H–l.”

Several autographs from classmates

“Never let your studies interfere with your college work.”

“When you see a college fellow who appears like a fool, remember, he had a start long before attending college.”

The rest of the scrapbook contains programs and tickets from campus activities, receipts, report cards, news clippings, photographs of family and friends, and postcards from various Michigan cities such as Flint, Pontiac, Mt. Pleasant, Alma, St. Charles, and Port Huron, as well as El Paso, Texas, and Mexico.

Cover of Knickerbocker’s scrapbook

Photos of friends and local places

Phylean Literary Society program

Literary Society Program (inside)

Tau Beta Pi Initiation Banquet program

Tau Beta Pi Initiation Banquet program (inside)

Postcard from Ruth (likely Walter’s sister)

Back of the postcard from Ruth

Juarez, Mexico postcard

Back of Juarez, Mexico postcard

Group photo of the men who lived in Williams Hall, Knickerbocker’s residence from 1912 to 1915

One of the more interesting items is a note regarding a Tau Beta Pi meeting.  It has a list of items that he must bring to the meeting that requires some mathematical aptitude to decipher.  The note contains the warning “Do not fail in a single item.”

Tau Beta Pi meeting invitation

Also included are newspaper clippings and a photo of the Engineering Building fire that occurred on March 5, 1916.  Sadly missing from the scrapbook is his reaction to the Engineering Building fire.  As an engineering senior it must have been an important event in his academic career.  Since he left no record, it is impossible to know if Knickerbocker lost any equipment or schoolwork in the fire.  The fire was a traumatic event for the college.  It destroyed the entire building and the neighboring Engineering Shops.  Thankfully, no one was injured, but it left the Engineering department without classrooms, offices, shops, and equipment.  Tau Beta Pi also lost their meeting space and everything in it.  The engineering program would have been scrapped completely if not for a generous donation from local automobile industrialist Ransom E. Olds, and the dedication of the college’s administration, staff, students, and alumni.  The engineering honorary also contributed by raising money for the reconstruction of the building and engineering program.

Engineering Building fire, 1916

Walter G. Knickerbocker’s scrapbook is open to researchers during the Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections’ normal hours of operation (http://archives.msu.edu/about/contact.php?about_contact).  The finding aid for the collection is available online: http://archives.msu.edu/findaid/ua10-3-19.html.

Written by Megan Badgley Malone, collections & outreach archivist

 

Morehouse & Townsend Love Letters

A new collection available at the MSU Archives is the love letters of Frances Morehouse and Milton Townsend. The letters between Milton and Frances began in December 1921 and continue through June 1923.

Milton Townsend was born in 1897, attended Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University), and graduated in 1920 with a degree in agriculture science. He then took a teaching job in Hastings, Michigan where he met his future wife, Frances Morehouse. Frances was born in 1903 and after graduating from high school, she attended Michigan Agricultural College in 1922. While at college, she lived in the Women’s Building (Morrill Hall). During her freshman year of college, her relationship with Milton became serious. By January 1923, they were engaged, and were married March 25, 1923. Frances did not return to school after completing her first year.

 

Frances Morehouse and Milton Townsend

The best part of this collection is seeing the progression of Frances and Milton’s relationship. In the beginning, they addressed their letters from “your friend”. As time passed, they called each other by their pet names, later “sweetheart”, and then “husband” and “wife”. Most of Frances’ letters are signed with S.W.A.K. (sealed with a kiss) and many “xxx” for kisses.

While professing their love for each other, they also talked about their day to day activities. Frances talked about her Home Economic classes, working on campus, and events she attended. She also mentioned someone preaching about prohibition during church and how several students on campus came down with scarlet fever and the flu. Milton talked about his teaching job, projects he was involved in, and people he interacted with.

Included with some of the letters are extra items, such as newspaper clippings of poems, drawings, photos and negatives, valentines, swatches of fabric for dresses, an old stick of gum, letters from other people they wanted to share, extra stamps, and a piece of birch bark that Milton wrote on declaring his love for Frances.

Together, Frances and Milton had four children. After Milton quit his teaching job in 1926, the couple purchased a floral business in St. Louis, Michigan that they operated together until 1963. Frances died in 1984 and Milton in 1993.

Written by Jennie Russell

Assistant Records Archivist