Collections List
Lee Family Papers
The Lee Family papers consist mainly of personal correspondence roughly spanning the years 1840 to 1957. The majority of the letters are from the 1870’s through the 1910’s and are mainly correspondence between family members. A few of the letters are personal or business correspondence between the Lees and people outside the family, including letters having to do with both men’s duties at St. Lawrence. Also contained in the collection are numerous photographs, sermons prepared by both J.S. and J.C. Lee, and other ephemera.
Lewis County Collection
This collection consists of a 1833-1868 land ledger, a fair souvenir program (1935), and a 1949-1950 flyer on the highway department.
Lewis Murray Civil War Diary
The booklet is a 25-page document summarizing Lewis Murray’s time in the 6th NYS Calvary; it is not a day-to-day account. It also appears to be in several hands, suggesting multiple writers.
Log of Ships on Saint Lawrence River
Log book of ships passing Massena, N.Y. on the Saint Lawrence Seaway kept by the Cook family from 1958-1966. Includes name of each ship, length, dates and direction.
Lucia Millham Collection
Lucia Millham (Mrs. Newton Millham) from Glen Cove, New York was the former Lucia Pink of Kew Gardens. In 1932 she graduated from St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. This unprocessed collection consists of correspondence dating from 1798 until 1892, with most letters are from the Hazelton (Haselton) family. Other items included are a stockholder meeting notice of the Potsdam and Watertown Railroad Company (1853), pamphlet on Hon. William Kelly (Democratic Candidate for Governor of State of New York), deed between Louisa Olin and S. W. Heaton, the "Constitution of Little York Universalist Society in the Town of Fowler", and an academic year booklet from Townshend Academy in Townshend, Vermont. St. Lawrence University received this collection in 1993.
Mabel Sprague Laidlaw Collection
Diaries of Mabel S. Laidlaw and her daughter Helena Laidlaw Livermore of Canton, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. Collection consists of diaries kept by a wife and a daughter of a Doctor in Canton, N.Y., and provides a daily log of domestic life in the first part of the century. Other items include automobile records, autograph books, scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, correspondence and microfilm of diaries.
Mabel Wait Diaries
The collection consists of four diaries (1901, 1906, 1908 and 1917) and four photocopies of diaries (1899, 1900, 1902 and 1903). The diaries include accounts of Mabel's daily activities and a report on the weather of the day. The 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 diaries also contain detailed lists of daily expenses of the household, with monthly and yearly totals. The diaries are an excellent source of information about life in Canton and St. Lawrence County, NY.
Madrid Town Account Books
Two account books for the town of Madrid, N.Y. Town Supervisor's account book 1829-1868 and "Book of public land of the town of Madrid", 1840-1859. Both contain names of individuals, dates, and amounts paid.
Maitland C. De Sormo Papers
The collection consists of 117 letters from various historians (Paul Jamieson and Atwood Manley), the bulk of the correspondence is from individuals at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. where he received an honorary degree and a North Country Citation.
Malcolm McCormick Research Files
This collection contains newspaper clippings, photo albums and information collected by Malcolm McCormick highlighting the early days of Canton, NY. Included in this collection is a history of the theater in Canton. Malcolm also collected information on the beginnings of St. Lawrence University.
Man Family Papers
The Man Papers, consisting of around 500 items, cover a period from the 1800's to the 1870's and include the personal, business and legal papers of the Man family of Malone, N.Y. The family was among the first settlers of Malone, and later Constable and Westville when those towns split from Malone.
Marianne Moore Collection
The collection consists of photographs, correspondence with Dr. Frank Piskor, President of St. Lawrence University from 1969 to 1981, and newspaper clippings (mostly New York Times Book Review). Also included are poems and articles by and about Moore, journals where her poems were published, i.e. "Texas Quarterly", "The Story" and "Poetry" are also a part of this collection.
Marion Anderson Hyman Collection of Franklin D. Roosevelt
The collection consists of scrapbooks, campaign buttons, coins and similar ephemera. Also included are clippings and photographs, two typewritten letters written and signed by Roosevelt as president, a photograph album, newspaper clippings, magazines with articles about FDR, a copy of his will, his inaugural addresses, a phonograph album, FDR ancestry and a 1936 Democratic Book.
Mark Swanson Adirondack Diaries Collection
Mr. Swanson describes his writings as “Thoreauvian in nature”, documenting the author’s “day to day life in and relationship with the region”.
Martin Family Papers
The collection consists primarily of business letters, ledgers and account books of the various businesses and the personal diaries of Orrin Martin. Included also are legal papers, photographs of the pulp mill construction, and newspaper clippings of Hollis and Marion's accident.
Martin Luther King Chicago News Clippings
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and an iconic figure in the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. The items in this collection consist mainly of clippings from Chicago newspapers shortly after King's assassination.
Mary Smallman Genealogical Collection
This collection consists mostly of family genealogy records of Mary H. Smallman. It contains genealogy charts, photos and writings by Doris Jones Hadlock (mother of Mary H. Smallman) recounting her childhood in Bigelow and Gouverneur, New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Doris also recounts her life with husband Perry in Rio de Janeiro Brazil from 1941-1957 while he was working at RCA Brazil.
Max and Gladys Gray Merrill Collection
The collection consists of approximately 100 letters and ephemeral documents. The majority are letters from Max to Gladys beginning in 1917 when Max enters the service, through 1922. Most of the letters are in original envelopes and are signed “Max”.
Mayhew Family Papers
The collection consists mainly of family memorabilia and ephemera spanning the 1910s through the 2000s, including photos, cards, letters and miscellaneous family papers. These items give a glimpse into the daily activities of a middle class family in rural northern New York. Many business records from Mayhew Wholesale Candy and Tobacco Company are also part of the collection.
Merrill L. Howard Diaries
This collection is made up of the diaries of Merrill L. Howard of Pierrepont, N.Y. It contains two diaries written by Mr. Howard, one in 1868 and one in 1875.
Michael D. Cousino Sr. Vietnam War Dioramas Collection
The collection consists of six dioramas using various materials, depicting scenes of torture, small scale battles, platoon patrols, soldiers at rest and the downing of a U.S. helicopter.
Michael W. Ranger Endowment for Special Collections
The Michael W. Ranger Endowment for Special Collections at St. Lawrence University is a permanent endowed fund for the Special Collections in the Owen D. Young Library. The endowment will fund the purchases of materials to acknowledge and reflect Mike’s love of history, St. Lawrence University, and the North Country (the northernmost counties of New York State.) Under the supervision of the Special Collections and Archives Librarian, the collection will bring both unique primary source materials into the collection, as well as appropriate titles for the Rare Book Collection.
Murray Family Papers
This unprocessed collection consists of primarily the correspondence between William Murray to his wife Beatrice (Fulton of New York City) during World War II.
Nathaniel Burwash Collection
The collection consists of photographs of African pottery making, post cards of African Art, broadsides and articles on the American Artist Leonard Baskin.
Natural Farmer's Cooperative/Rural Life Association Records
The Natural Farmers Association (later, Co-operative) of the St. Lawrence Valley formed in late 1977 as the result of a number of organizational meetings among small farmers, gardeners and homesteaders in St. Lawrence County.
Nazi Literature Collection
This collection consists of 10 pamphlets published by the Nazis during the 1930s and several newspaper clippings from the same period. It was donated to the library by Dr. Mary Saleski, a member of the Modern Languages Department.
New York & Ontario Power Company Records
The collection consists of plans, maps, charts, reports, studies, deeds, abstracts, and correspondence all related to the New York and Ontario Power Company to attempt to build a dam from Waddington to Ogden Island in the St. Lawrence River.
New York Company Papers
This collection, consisting of 8 documents written in French, concerns land transactions in Castorland, N.Y.
Noble Family Papers
The collection consists of letters written to Harvey and Edna by their children while in college and as young adults beginning to make their way in the world. Included are Edward's letters from San Francisco at the time of the 1906 earthquake. Also included is family memorabilia: photographs, memorabilia of Yale and Purdue, financial papers, and travel guides.
North Country Boats and Boating Collection
This ongoing collection seeks to document the activities of boat builders and boaters; both recreational and commercial. Specific emphasis is given to non-power craft, including canoes, kayaks, guide boats, skiffs, and sail boats, although power craft are not excluded.
North Country Glass Plate Negative Collection
The collection consists of glass plate negatives by unknown photographer(s) depicting people, places, and activities in the North Country (NY) between 1895-1925.
North Country Map Collection
Maps relating to the North Country, NY. The collection consists of, but is not limited to, maps of St. Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson and Lewis Counties ; St. Lawrence River, St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, Ogdensburg, Macombs Purchase, Adirondack Mountains, and New York State railroads.
North Country Murder File
This collection contains newspaper clippings, photocopies of news articles and other accounts of various murders committed in the North Country. Folders are organized alphabetically by the victim's last name.
North Country Photographic Portraits Collection
The collection consists of approximately 400 photographic images of men and women living primarily in the St. Lawrence County area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
North Country Railroad Coll.
The North Country Railroad collection is an on-going collection of materials relating to railroads in the North Country of New York.
North of Sixty: Canadian Inuit Prints and Drawings
Inuit prints and drawings primarily from the Kinngait Studios in Cape Dorset and the Uqqurmiut Arts Center in Pangnirtung, both on Canada’s Arctic Baffin Island, Nunavut.
Nudist Periodicals Collection
An extensive collection of magazines that explore all aspects of nudism including philosophy, lifestyles, camps, and societal issues.
Oliver Seymour Phelps Papers
This collection contains personal family papers from the Oliver Seymour Phelps family.
Olshefski, Norbert Massena/Seaway Photographs
This collection consists of some 1,100 photographic negatives in 120 mm format taken in and around the Massena, New York area when Mr. Olshefski was employed by the Syracuse Post Standard in the late 1950's.
Our Manuscript collection is comprised of 221 distinct collections, comprising nearly 1800 linear feet of material. Each of these collections is described in brief on records in the SLU Libraries’ online catalog. Additionally, our manuscript collections have detailed finding aids, which are available on this page and through our catalogs If you find you have questions about the collections after you have read the catalog entries or finding aids, please contact us.
Paul Doty, Interim Librarian for Special Collections & University Archives Voice: (315) 229-5483 e-mail: pdoty@stlawu.edu