Josiah Littlefield papers
Scope and Contents
The Josiah Littlefield papers contain a portion of Littlefield's unpublished autobiography, in which he describes his early life on a farm in Monroe County, Michigan (1850-1865), as well as biographical materials. The collection also contains four ledgers from Littlefield's mill, recording workers' hours and business transactions, property tax receipts, and a map showing Littlefield-owned land in Clare County, Michigan.
One ledger may be from a lumber camp (Gilmore Camp 1893-1895) showing workers accounts.
Dates
- Creation: 1879 - 1958
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Biography
Josiah Littlefield was born in Flat Rock, Michigan, in 1845. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in 1871 and went to work as a surveyor and civil engineer in Falwell, Michigan. He joined in the logging boom in central Michigan a few years later, building his first mill in 1875. Littlefield became one of few lumbermen advocating reforestation when he realized that depletion of the forests would eventually end the lumber business. Littlefield was also involved in politics and government in Farwell, serving on the Village Board, as County Surveyor, and Registrar of Deeds.
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (, 1 folder and 4 volumes)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
Gift of Hazel Littlefield Smith, 1962-07-30. Transferred by Michigan State University Museum.
Legal Status
Copyright: Michigan State University. Property Rights: Michigan State University.
Subject
- University of Michigan (Organization)
- Title
- Josiah Littlefield Papers
- Status
- 4 Published And Cataloged
- Date
- July 1964
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu