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- Description:
- This 8-page letter was handwritten in black ink on slightly yellowed paper by Edwin W. Abbott who was the owner of a real estate and insurance company. The paper shows the company letterhead across the top of the page and also has a watermark that shows an image of a swan along with the word, "Linen." A small brass clip (not shown in the images) was used on the upper left corner of the letter to hold the pages together. The text of the letter has been transcribed as follows: "Detroit, Mich. Dec. 31, 1900, 10 P.M., Local Time. To the Mayor and Citizens of Detroit of 2001, I have just returned home from a trip into the county and find the Mayor's request for a short letter on "Detroit's Suburbs." Our present City limits are on the east side present (I suppose I should say old) water-works or Cadillac Boulevard thence north to Gratiot Ave thence west to St. Antoine and MCRR [Michigan Central Railroad] known as the Milwaukee junction - thence west to Mall and thence west to Cameron thence north to Woodland thence west to Hamilton Boulevard thence south to within one block of the Boulevard thence southwest to Grand River and Scotten Ave. thence south to McGraw thence west to Livernois thence south to the river, making our present river frontage about 7 1/2 miles and our north limit 5 miles. The first place I shall refer to is "Grosse Pointe" proper which is 5 miles east of the city limits and is reached by an electric car line and Jefferson at which point the Lake Shore line for Mt. Clemens and many points connects. Grosse Pointe is the home of many of Detroit's most notable families and is noted for its handsome homes and beautiful Greek club houses etc. The second place is "Palmer Log Cabin Park." This park is 5 miles north of the present city limits and is in a very crude state. There is a frame building that cost about $3000.00, a small artificial lake and the "Log Cabin" of Senator Palmer where the Senator used to give his famous dinners. It may be advisable to refer to "Royal Oak," a hamlet of about 500 people, and 13 miles from our present City Hall. Birmingham 5 miles beyond, a place of about 1500, is Detroit's most popular suburb and is here that many of our businesses own farms. Detroit's most important suburb is Delray which adjoins city limits on the southwest and has recently expanded. Here are the ammonia works of the "Solvay Process" and voluminous salt wells. Just below is Ecorse and only 12 miles from the City Hall is Wyandotte a bustling town of 3000 and next Trenton only 4 miles beyond. But why need I dwell, these places are already known by you in history. They have long since ceased to exist and are now a part of "Greater Detroit." I cannot close without [?] our neighbors across the river, Windsor, Walkerville, and sleepy old Sandwich. They too are lost - absorbed by "Sault Detroit" [Windsor]. And from the flag pole on the City Hall waves the Glorious Stars and Stripes and they are now "flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone." Wishing you all a Happy New Year, I remain as ever Yours very sincerely, E. W. Abbott"
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Description:
- One booklet with a black leather cover that is stamped in gold-colored text which shows "Municipal Manual of the City of Detroit, 1900-1901." The booklet is 112 pages in length and is printed in black text on faintly yellowed paper. It includes general facts about the city, names of city officials, names of various committees and commissions and their members, annual salaries, terms of office, rules of order for the Common Council, ward boundary descriptions, street railway routes, values of city real estate, and a summary of assessed valuations for city taxes. There is also a table of contents in the back of the manual as well as a fold-out street map of the city. On a blank page at the back of the manual, a handwritten note shows " Clarence Arthur Cotton, Secretary to Mayor, Detroit, Mich., December 31, 1900. Compliments to Mayor's Secretary of 2001."
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Description:
- This tan paper envelope contained a 2-page letter that was written by Orrin R. Baldwin who was the president of the American Harrow Company as well as the president of the Merchants and Manufacturers Exchange. His name is written in black ink along the top edge of the front side of the envelope. The flap on the back side is sealed with black wax that is impressed with the letter, "B."
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Description:
- This 12-page letter was handwritten in black ink on slightly yellowed paper by Mrs. Jacob F. Teichner (maiden name: Fannie Freedman) who was the Recording and Corresponding Secretary of the Detroit Ladies Society for the Support of Hebrew Widows and Orphans. The paper is made of linen, but the watermark is not readable. The pages are bound at the top with a narrow red ribbon (not shown in the digital images) and the first page is entitled "Hebrew Homes and Charities in Detroit." The text of the letter has been transcribed as follows: "Hebrew House and Charities in Detroit" The closing of this nineteenth century finds the Hebrew charities of Detroit established in such form that any and all cases of need and suffering find those who can minister counsel and alleviate the distress that seeks relief. We need only to recognize that charity is duty, and our highest ideal should be the fulfillment of that duty which brings its own reward. It was in 1863 that a few benevolent ladies banded themselves together and incorporated the first Jewish charitable organization in Detroit. The charter members of this Society were Mesdames Fanny Heineman, Rosalie Frankel, Betty Butzel, Fanny Lambert and Caroline Freedman (my beloved mother). Its name "The Detroit Ladies Society for the support of Hebrew Widows and Orphans" its object is obvious from its name. This Society has lived and thrived, has succored the poor widow when in her darkest hour she was almost in despair and today it numbers a membership of one hundred and eighty ladies from whose dues of four dollars each per year together with interest of its invested endowment fund of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) the relief work is carried on. This gradually acquired endowment represents chiefly the result of annual entertainments formerly given by the Society. The present officers are :- Mrs. Fanny Heineman - President Mrs. J. Selling - Vice-President Mrs. F. Marrymount - Finan. Sec'y. Mrs. F. Teichner - Rec. and Cor. Sec'y. Mrs. A. Engass - Treasurer The annual meetings are held the first Thursday of October; quarterly meetings, January, April, July and October. Trustees of whom there are twelve meet monthly. A few years after the ladies Society had started in its good word the "Hebrew Bethel Relief Society" was formed by gentlemen who for many years carried on systematic and efficient rendering of assistance to the destitute and needy. The funds required being contributed by the Jewish citizens of the city. Later a second Relief Society was established and each in its way cared for the poor and suffering. Prominent among the early charitable organizations was the "Ladies Serving Society" its aim and object the supplying of garments and house hold goods. From the first gathering of a few earnest workers meeting weekly to sew for the poor this Society has grown to have one of the largest memberships of any and this past year eighty five applicants were supplied most of whom were mothers of large families, the number of garments distributed were 1394 - dry goods 1716 - shoes 338 pair - bed linen 336 pieces - comforters 59. The meetings are held each Thursday afternoon from November until May and an average of fifty ladies industriously fashion the garments for distribution. The present officers are, Mrs. Sarah Berger - Pres. Mrs. L. Wineman 1st Vice-Pres. Mrs. J. Wurzburger 2nd Vice-Pres. Mrs. A. Sloman Sec'y. and Treas. In 1889 Mrs. Sarah Krolik founded the Self Help Circle ably assisted by Mrs. Sarah Berger. The object of the Society was educational more than charitable and always teaching the children the value of independence. Beginning with only five pupils the enrollment this year numbered one hundred and eighty three. In the serving classes the girls are taught plain serving, parching and darning by a regular system, the kitchen garden instructs them in housework cleanliness and the beautifying of every day life, while in the kindergarten the younger ones enjoy their songs and games and come with their elder sisters on Saturday afternoon to attend the library class - three hundred volunteers with the necessary book cases being the generous gifts of Mrs. Henry Krolik. The boys have various evening classes and receive the benefits of manual training in several branches. The officers are - viz:- Mrs. Alfred Rothschild - President Mrs. M. Rosenfield - Vice. Pres. Miss J.V. Kopple - Sec'y. Mrs. L.M. Franklin - Treasurer The rooms are at 379 Brush St, the girls classes meeting on Tuesday - the boys classes meet every evening. Through the mentoring efforts of Rabbi Franklin this past year saw the meeting of various charities under the name of the "United Jewish Charities" combining all with the exception of the "Ladies Hebrew Widows and Orphans" which felt that its work should be done as heretofore by women for women, maintaining that poverty caused by the death of the bread winner is different from that caused by shiftlessness and to prove that the lot of the widow and the children is not nearly so hard when special and permanent provision exists for them, when mothers can come for counsel as well as for cash, so that they can rear their children to better destinies. The united charities is supported entirely by contributions and the results of its first year's work has been most gratifying, showing plainly how much was accomplished. Total receipts from two hundred and forty five subscribers - $4283.85 - disbursements by the Ladies Serving Society $567.80 - by the Self Help Circle $116.62 - General Expenses $462.14 - Assisted seventy four families $2498.72 - transportation to eighty five persons $312.44 - donations to fifty eight persons $148.90 - Expense for recent arrived Roumanians $97.43 - Total expenditures $4204.05. The executive board meets 1st Tuesday in every month, the Relief Board meets every Thursday evening at 379 Brush St. The officers are - G.W. Simons - President Samuel Heavenrich - 1st Vice. Pres. Mrs. Sarah Berger - 2nd Vice. Pres. A. Benjamin - Sec'y. E.H. Van Baalen - Treas. Joseph Wertheimer - Supt. The "Gemilas Chasodim" Society deserves mention, an admirable system of charity that preserves character and obviates the stigma of receiving alms. One who still possesses pride and yet is in need of immediate assistance is permitted to return a loan without interest in small installments and thus cancel his obligations has been aided at no sacrifice of his personal character, provided such a system is carried on in strict confidence. With the great increase in foreign immigration, a larger field for the systematically organized Hebrew charity is being opened, nor is it distinctively sectarian charity, for so long as poor people of any race or creed to assist themselves, while it keeps them and their children from street begging or from the poor master's door, it cannot be said to be doing special but rather communal charity. Hebrew charitable homes or institutions have as yet found no place in this city, yet most of the Jews of Detroit contribute to the support of the Cleveland Orphan Asylum and Old Folk Home. The betterment of the quarters now occupied by the poor is a problem to be solved, we trust in the near future and the erection of suitable tenements will do much to improve the condition of the destitute. The enormous possibilities spreading out in this new century brings with it the promise that the naked shall be clothed and the hungry shall be fed in the truest way, the best methods yet undreamed of. Then welcome to this New Year and Century. Bring out the old, ring in the new. The year is going, let him go. Bring out the false, ring in the true. Mrs. Jacob F. Teichner (nee Fannie Freedman) Monday, December Thirty-first 1900"
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Description:
- This "Working Card" was printed in black text on light red paper and was issued to Mr. M. J. McLeod of Division No. 26, Located at Detroit. It shows the circular emblem of the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America in the upper left corner and indicated that the cardholder's dues of 50 cents were paid for the month of December, 1900.
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Description:
- This 1-page letter was typewritten in blue text on a light tan linen paper by Clarence A. Cotton who was the Mayor's secretary. It is dated "12 O'Clock Midnight Dec. 31st 1900" and is signed in black ink by Clarence A. Cotton. The paper also has a watermark which might be "Bauerhum" The letter is entitled, "Denominational Churches in Detroit," and gives some brief statistics about the numbers of churches of various denominations that existed in the city as of 1900. The letter has numerous handwritten corrections and the author noted at the bottom, "P.S. - In justice to myself I must disclaim credit for the bad spelling in the above. It was rapidly dictated by me to an inexperienced stenographer. C.A.C."
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
297. Belle Isle Station
- Description:
- This cyan halftone picture was cut from a page and shows a front corner view of the Belle Isle Police Station building. A handwritten date at the bottom of the cutout shows "Jany. 1st 1901."
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
298. This 2-page letter was typewritten in blue ink on slightly yellowed paper by Dr. Oscar LeSeur, M.D.
- Description:
- This 2-page letter was typewritten in blue ink on slightly yellowed paper by Dr. Oscar LeSeur, M.D., of Detroit. The paper shows the address of the doctor's office in the upper left corner. The body of the letter gives some history of the development of homeopathic medical practice in the city as well as the names of several early practitioners.
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Description:
- One page torn from a brochure concerning the Young Women's Christian Association. The brochure is printed in black text on white paper. One side of the page is entitled, "Our Purpose," and gives the mission statement for the organization. The other side of the page is entitled, "Treasurer's Report," and shows a summary financial statement from February 1, 1899 to February 1, 1900.
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society
- Description:
- The booklet has a decorative cover design that shows a woman who is wearing a flowing gown and is holding a torch. Two black and white pictures of a park scene and a boulevard scene are shown on each side of her. The booklet is unbound and consists of about 50 un-numbered pages of black and white pictures that feature views of Belle Isle as well as various city parks and boulevards. One of the pictures is a fold-out panoramic view of Central Avenue on Belle Isle. A list of commissioners' names is shown at the front of the booklet.
- Date Issued:
- 1900-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society