Title: James B. Angell Papers Creator: Angell, James Burrill, 1829-1916 Dates: 1845-1916 Extent: 16.5 linear feet (in 17 boxes), 1 oversize folder, 6 volumes Abstract:
Papers of James Burrill Angell, the third President of the University of Michigan (1871-1909) and U.S. Minister to China (1871-1909) and Turkey (1897-1898). Includes correspondence, lectures and lecture notes, addresses and articles, subject files and personal materials, and photographs.
Call number: 851644 Aa 2 Ac Language: The materials are in English. Repository: Bentley Historical Library
1150 Beal Ave. Ann Arbor, MI
48109-2113 Phone:
734-764-3482 Fax:
734-936-1333 e-mail:
bentley.ref@umich.edu Home Page: http://www.bentley.umich.edu/
Finding aid prepared by: Bentley Historical Library staff, updated by Devon Proudfoot in February 2017.
Access and Use
Acquisition Information:
The bulk of the collection was transferred from the William Clements Library, (donor no. 716) in 1939. Additional materials came from Robert C. Angell, (donor no. 485) and Lois Angell McLaughlin, (donor no. 237)
Access Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
To protect fragile audiovisual recordings (such as audio cassettes, film reels, and VHS
tapes), the Bentley Historical Library has a policy of converting them to digital
formats by a professional vendor whenever a researcher requests access. For more
information, please see: http://bentley.umich.edu/research/duplication/.
Copyright:
Donor(s) have transferred any applicable copyright to the Regents of the University of Michigan but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright was not transferred. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.
Preferred Citation:
[item], folder, box, James B. Angell Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
[item], [URL], James B. Angell Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
Arrangement
The James B. Angell collection has been organized into five series of papers:
Correspondence -- Boxes 1-7 and 16-17 (index to correspondence)
Lectures and Lecture Notes -- Box 7
Addresses and Articles -- Boxes 7-10
Subject Files and Personal Papers -- Boxes 10-13
Photographs -- Boxes 14-15
Biography
James B. Angell was a college president and diplomat. Born in Scituate, Rhode Island on January 7, 1829, Angell was a graduate of Brown University, class of 1849. After a period of travel and study, he joined the faculty of Brown soon after receiving his A.M. in 1853 as professor of modern languages. Angell married Sarah Caswell in 1855, daughter of Brown faculty and future president, Alexis Caswell. He resigned in 1860 to assume the editorship of the Providence Journal, a newspaper he had been writing for since 1858. As editor, Angell was especially interested in topics relating to international law and politics.
In 1866, Angell resigned to accept the presidency of the University of Vermont. In 1869, he was offered the presidency of the University of Michigan. After initially refusing the offer, Angell, after more than a year of negotiation with the regents, accepted the offer to come to Ann Arbor on February 7, 1871. He would remain as president until his retirement in 1909.
Because of his expertise in international affairs, Angell was called upon for occasional diplomatic service. He was minister to China from 1880 to 1881 and a member of a commission of three to negotiate a new immigration treaty which limited but did not absolutely prohibit the entry and residence of Chinese laborers into the United States. Angell remained in China until October 1881 and resumed his academic duties in February 1882.
In 1887, President Grover Cleveland selected Angell to serve on the Anglo-American International Commission on Canadian Fisheries. Later in Cleveland's second administration, Angell was named chairman of the Canadian-American Commission on Deep Waterways from Lakes to Sea. Angell's last diplomatic venture was as U.S. Minister to Turkey, serving from 1897 to 1898.
Angell died April 1, 1916.
Collection Scope and Content Note
The Angell papers documents Angell's academic and diplomatic career. There is extensive material on all phases of University of Michigan business, particularly Angell's contacts with the state legislature, the board of regents, faculty relations, and the various schools, colleges, departments and divisions. Much of the correspondence and the Angell diaries relate to his diplomatic missions, higher education in the United States, and family matters.
Subject Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the finding aid database and catalog of The Bentley Historical Library/University of Michigan. Researchers desiring additional information about related topics should search the catalog using these headings.
Ann Arbor (Mich.)
China -- History -- 1861-1912.
Turkey.
Waterman Gymnasium (University of Michigan)
Funeral rites and ceremonies.
Interiors -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Offices -- Michigan -- Ann Arbor.
Women -- Organizations.
Albums.
Diaries.
Photographs.
Prints.
Women's resources -- limited extent.
Digital file formats.
American Academy in Rome.
American Historical Association.
Angell, James Burrill, 1829-1916.
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
University of Michigan. Alumni Association.
University of Michigan -- Sports.
University of Michigan. College of Engineering.
University of Michigan. Homoeopathic Medical School.
University of Michigan. University Museum.
University of Michigan. President.
University of Michigan. Semicentennial Celebration.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Social life and customs -- 1871-1880.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Social life and customs -- 1881-1890.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Social life and customs -- 1891-1900.
University of Michigan -- Students -- Social life and customs -- 1901-1910.
University of Michigan. University Hospital.
Angell, James Burrill, 1829-1916.
Angell, Sarah Caswell, 1831-1903.
Angell family.
Browning Club (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Hutchins, Harry B. (Harry Burns), 1847-1930.
President's House (University of Michigan)
United States Fish Commission -- 1888.
University of Michigan. President.
Abel, John Jacob, 1857-1938.
Adams, Charles Kendall, 1835-1902.
Adams, Henry Carter, 1851-1921.
Agassiz, Alexander, 1835-1910.
Angell, Alexis C. (Alexis Caswell), 1857-1932.
Angell, Avery Aldrich, 1807-1894.
Angell, Sarah Caswell, 1831-1903.
Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886.
Bagley, John Judson, 1832-1881.
Baldwin, Henry P. (Henry Porter), 1814-1892.
Barbour, Levi L. (Levi Lewis), 1840-1925.
Bates, Henry Moore, 1869-1949.
Beal, Junius E. (Junius Emery), 1860-1942.
Beal, William James, 1833-1924.
Beard, Charles Austin, 1874-1948.
Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830-1893.
Blair, Austin, 1818-1894.
Bliss, Aaron Thomas, 1837-1906.
Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount, 1838-1922.
Burrows, Julius C. (Julius Caesar), 1837-1915.
Campbell, James V. (James Valentine), 1823-1890.
Christiancy, Isaac Peckham, 1812-1890.
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908.
Cooley, Mortimer E. (Mortimer Elwyn), 1855-1944.
Cooley, Thomas McIntyre, 1824-1898.
Davis, R. C. (Raymond Cazallis), 1836-
Demmon, Isaac Newton, 1842-1920.
Dewey, John, 1859-1952.
Dickinson, Donald McDonald, 1846-1917.
D'Ooge, Martin Luther, 1839-1915.
Duffield, D. Bethune (Divie Bethune), 1821-1891.
Duffield, George, 1794-1868.
Eliot, Charles William, 1834-1926.
Fairlie, John A. (John Archibald), 1872-1947.
Ferris, Woodbridge N., 1853-1928.
Field, David Dudley, 1805-1894.
Fletcher, Frank Ward, 1853-1922.
Frieze, Henry S. (Henry Simmons), 1817-1889.
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.
Gilchrist, James Grant, 1842-1906.
Grosvenor, Ebenezer Oliver, 1820-1910.
Hale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909.
Harrington, Mark Walrod, 1848-1926.
Haven, E. O. (Erastus Otis), 1820-1881.
Hay, John, 1838-1905.
Hayes, Rutherford Birchard, 1822-1893.
Hill, Arthur, 1847-1909.
Hobbs, William Herbert, 1864-1952.
Hutchins, Harry B. (Harry Burns), 1847-1930.
Jerome, David Howell, 1829-1896.
Jordan, Myra Beach, 1863-1946.
Joy, James F. (James Frederick), 1810-1896.
Kelsey, Francis W. (Francis Willey), 1858-
Kiefer, Hermann, 1825-1911.
Kirchner, Otto, 1846-1920.
Knappen, Loyal Edwin, 1854-1930.
Low, Seth, 1850-1916.
Luce, Cyrus Gray, 1824-1905.
McMillan, James, 1838-1902.
Morrill, Justin Smith, 1810-1898.
Mosher, Eliza Maria, 1846-1928.
Olney, Richard, 1835-1917.
Palmer, Alice Freeman, 1855-1902.
Palmer, Thomas Witherell, 1830-1913.
Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946.
Pingree, Hazen S., 1840-1901.
Sawyer, Andrew Jackson, 1834-
Schurz, Carl, 1829-1906.
Smith, William Alden, 1859-1932.
Spaulding, c Mr. (Oliver Lyman), 1833-1922.
Stearns, Frederick, 1831-1907.
Steere, Joseph Beal, 1842-1940.
Tappan, Henry Philip, 1805-1881.
Tyler, Moses Coit, 1835-1900.
University of Vermont.
Van Zile, Philip T. (Philip Taylor), 1843-1917.
Warner, Frederick Maltby, 1865-1923.
Wead, Charles Kasson, 1848-1925.
Wenley, R. M. (Robert Mark), 1861-1929.
White, Andrew Dickson, 1832-1918.
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924.
Winchell, Alexander, 1824-1891.
Contents List
Request materials for use in the Bentley Library
Container / Location
Title
Lectures and lecture notes 1866-1879 [series]
(0.3 linear feet)
The series Lectures and Lecture Notes consists of text and notes for a series of lectures on international affairs, international law and European history which Angell prepared between 1866 and 1879.
Correspondence 1851-1916 [series]
(8.7 linear feet)
The Correspondence series is the largest portion of the collection and dates from 1851 to 1916. The series pertains to all phases of Angell's career, university, diplomatic, and personal. Angell corresponded with a wide range of educators, diplomats, and politicians. Two folders of note, titled "Miscellaneous" and "Regarding death of Sarah Angell" contain letters to James from local organizations and university departments offering their condolences for the passing of his wife. These folders also contain a number of obituaries from Michigan and Rhode Island newspapers describing some of Sarah's Angell's major accomplishments.
The series also contains a card index to most of Angell's correspondence (Boxes 16-17). Appended to this finding aid is a selective name inventory to these correspondents listing dates of letters. The library also has an extensive (six volume), though incomplete, calendar to the Angell Correspondence series. This calendar consists of fairly detailed summarizations of the individual letters in the collection. The researcher should also note that the correspondence is primarily incoming only with very few copies of Angell's responses.
The Asia Library of the University of Michigan has obtained microfilm copies of Angell's correspondence written while serving in China. The originals of the microfilm are located in the National Archives in Washington D.C.
Correspondence calendars
Volume 1
University Section 1869-1888
Volume 2
University Section 1889-1891
Volume 3
University Section 1892-1895
Volume 4
University Section 1896-1899
Volume 5
Various commissions and diplomatic missions 1866-1898
Addresses and Articles 1849-1914 [series]
(2.6 linear feet)
Angell was a frequent speaker at civic and ceremonial events, high school and college commencements, to scholarly and professional organizations, religious groups, and the students and faculty of the university. The Addresses and articles series contains texts and outlines of speeches and a number of published articles, many of which originated as speeches. The addresses and article cover a wide range of topics including, education, religion, international affairs - especially in regard to China, and civic and patriotic themes. The series is arranged chronologically.
Box 8
Miscellanea
(includes writings of Angell as a boy; also undated essay on "Race Questions")
Manuscript article about History of the University of Michigan by Prof. Burke A. Hinsdale, edited by Prof. Isaac N. Demmon, and published by the University of Michigan in, appeared in the Michigan Alumnus, October 1906
Subject Files and Personal Papers 1845-1908 [series]
(3.4 linear feet, 1 oversize folder)
The Subject Files and Personal Papers series includes a variety of material reflecting Angell's interest and activities as well as aspects of his personal life. It includes notes and materials collected for historical research and lectures, files concerning his diplomatic missions and service on the fisheries commission, and material relating to the University of Michigan. The personal materials include several biographical sketches, a manuscript and typescript of The Reminiscences of James B. Angell and Angell's will and the inventory of his estate.
Box 10
Lectures concerning the history of the idea of the state November 1888
(5 folders)
Photographs [series]
(1 linear foot, 1 oversize boxes)
The Photographs series includes numerous formal photographic portraits of Angell as well shots of him working at his office and around campus. The series also contains a number of photographs of Angell's family members, such as his daughter, Lois Angell McLaughlin, father-in-law, Alexis Caswell, and wife, Sarah Caswell Angell.
Box 14
Angell, Sarah Caswell (and members of Browning Club)
The Asia Library of the University of Michigan has obtained microfilm copies of Angell's correspondence written while serving in China. The originals of the microfilm are located in the National Archives in Washington D.C.
Apr. 6, 1882, March 20, 1884, July 15, 1885, March 25, 1886 (2 letters), Mar. 7, 1887, May 26, 1887, July 29, 1890, Dec. 3, 1890, Apr. 9, 1908, Apr. 18, 1908, June 15, 1908
Adams, Herbert Baxter
July 6, 1885
Arthur, Chester Alan, 1830-1886.
Apr. 12, 1882
Bagley, John Judson, 1832-1881.
Sept. 29, 1873, May 1, 1875, 1856, Jan. 1, 1877, Jan. 30, 1877, 1878, Feb. 20, 1879, Mar. 8, 1879, Mar. 26, 1880
Baldwin, Henry Porter, 1814-1892.
Dec. 7, 1872, June 30, 1875, Dec. 5, 1879, 1880
Barbour, Levi Lewis, 1840-1925.
Mar. 25, 1880, Mar. 1, 1895, Mar. 4, 1895, Mar. 2, 1897, July 24, 1899, July 28, 1899, Aug. 1, 1899, July 19, 1902, Jan. 23, 1903, 1904, 1905, June 25, 1906 (2 letters), July 14, 1906, Feb. 15, 1907, Mar. 11, 1907
Bates, Henry Moore, 1869-1949.
Nov. 7, 1899 (2 letters), July 10, 1903, Mar. 30, 1906, Dec, 12, 1907
Beard, Charles Austin, 1874-1948.
July 28, 1909
Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830-1893.
June 20, 1881; JBA to Blaine, May 21, June 18, July 2, 1881
