David Basset Snow Collection: This collection features letters written by David Basset Snow to his brother, Joseph C. Snow, from 1854 to 1868. Letters describe Snow’s life as a student at Miami University, his first job as a teacher, his experiences as a soldier during the Civil War, and his study of law after being mustered out of the service.
Gilbert-Richards Collection: This collection features the correspondence of the families of Giles Richards, pioneer textile manufacturer, and Colonel Alfred West Gilbert, a citizen and public official of the city of Cincinnati. It includes a series of Civil War letters written by Colonel Gilbert to his wife during his period of service in the Union army as an officer of the 39th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. These letters led to a correspondence with Adolph Gilbert, a son of Colonel Gilbert.
John Hough James Collection: This collection features the diaries of John H. James beginning in 1821 and concluding in 1881 and correspondence sent and received by members of the John H. James family from 1814-1863. The John H. James Correspondence Collections include correspondence sent and received by John H. James, his business associates, friends, acquaintances, and clients. The John H. James Collection: Business and Family Papers features correspondence, account books, photographs, and financial and legal documents belonging to John H. James and various James family members.
Manuscript Diaries Collection: This collection includes diaries written from 1835-1892, focusing on life at Miami University and the Civil War. Authors include: Joe Bogue, Nanncy Mae Coppock, David Spence, Edward Morrow, Nelson Wiley Evans, Thomas B. Marshall, Joseph Cannan Smith, Jerome B. Falconer, and Joel Buttles.
Miscellanea Collection: This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, photographs and printed material by or about notable individuals in literature, the arts, and history. Several documents provide insight into the history of Miami University and many Ohio communities.
Richey Collection of the Southern Confederacy: This collection includes over 500 pieces of correspondence relating to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, and Confederate generals, including G.T. Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, Samuel Cooper, Joseph E. Johnson, Robert E. Lee, James A. Seddon, E. Kirby Smith, Richard Taylor, and William H. Thomas, among other noted figures of the Civil War and the mid- to late-19th century. Correspondence of Varina Davis, Mary Randolph Custis Lee, and Mary Custis Lee, together with some photographs and other pieces of ephemera, can also be found in the collection.
Samuel Fulton Covington Collection: Samuel Fulton Covington (1819-1889) was a business, civic, and political leader in late 19th century Cincinnati whose personal collection of books and pamphlets on the Old Northwest Territory and the Ohio River Valley now constitutes a significant collection and subject strength in the Walter Havighurst Special Collections.
Waldo F. Brown Collection: This collection includes diaries kept by Waldo F. Brown or his family from 1853 through 1917, together with address books and account books. Ordnance papers of the 4th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry from 1863 through 1866 are also included in the collection.
William Holmes McGuffey and the McGuffey Readers: 120 manuscript letters, contracts + four volumes of an unpublished manuscript believed to be by William Holmes McGuffey on moral philosophy (one volume believed to be completely in McGuffey’s hand). These papers cover the time period 1814-1955, the bulk between 1826-1874, in three archival boxes + more than 300 editions of the McGuffey readers and spellers.
