Special Collections: Primary Resources in Politics, Policy and Government Research Guide

The collection consists of four ledgers related to tax assessments of property in Rehoboth, Delaware, and one ledger listing registered voters in the same area. The ledgers span the years 1883 through circa 1911 and were once the property of Charles S. Horn, a local businessman and Rehoboth's tax collector in 1904.

This collection was compiled by Abigail Covelli in the 1970s when Delaware was in the process of establishing a desegregation plan for its public school system. The collection contains information dating from 1960-1982 on desegregation in Delaware as well as in other states, with a focus on New Castle County and Wilmington city schools. Included are desegregation proposals, demographic information, advisory literature, workshop information, and studies and reports on the progress and results of desegregation.

The Honorable Margaret Rose Henry was elected in 1994 as the Delaware State Senator for the 2nd Senatorial District (Wilmington East). The Margaret Rose Henry speeches comprise eighteen short political addresses delivered between 1994 and 1995 by the Delaware Senator to various constituent groups, primarily in Wilmington.

The Williams family papers concern the business and personal affairs of prominent Delaware politician and landowner James Williams (1825-1899), and his son Nathaniel J. Williams (1857-1943), who was also a prominent politician and landowner. In addition, the collection contains documents relating to the business of Parvis & Williams, a Middletown-based fertilizer manufacturing company headed by James Williams once he joined John Parvis in 1885. The collection comprises correspondence, college exercise books and notebooks, account books, ledgers, canceled checks, tax forms, stock and real-estate transactions, legal business, bills, and ephemera.

This collection consists of one volume containing abstracts of minutes of town council meetings held in Newark, Delaware, between 1866 and 1900 (bulk dates 1888-1900). This digest was prepared in 1959-1960 by William Ditto Lewis, who served as University Librarian at Delaware from 1930-1958.

Gwynne P. Smith (1924-2010) was a Republican politician and community activist who served as a state representative in the Delaware General Assembly from 1974 to 1990, representing Delaware's 10th (1975-1982) and 7th (1983-1990) districts (Green Acres). The Gwynne P. Smith papers document the civic activities and legislative career of a woman committed to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life in Delaware. Consisting of 17.5 linear feet and oversized materials, her papers include logs, notes, correspondence, campaign records, voter registration lists, news clippings, state documents, draft legislation, legislative issue files, newsletters, brochures, realia, photographs, audio-visual materials and oversized maps.

Democratic Senator Thurman Adams, Jr., (1928-2009) was the longest-serving senator in the history of the Delaware General Assembly. Adams was also the president of T.G. Adams & Sons, Inc., an agricultural feed and grain business in Bridgeville, Delaware. The Thurman Adams, Jr., papers chronicle the personal and professional life of the longest-serving senator (a Democrat from the 19th District) in the history of the Delaware General Assembly.

Myrna L. Bair (b. 1940), was elected as a Republican to the Senate of the Delaware General Assembly in 1980 and served 10 terms until 2000. She represented the 5th district, Foulk Woods (north Wilmington), and held Senate leadership positions for 16 of her 20 years in office. The Myrna L. Bair papers comprise legislative, topical, and constituent materials from her career in the Senate of the Delaware General Assembly, as well as records from her professional involvement with national legislators and government organizations.

Russell W. Peterson served as governor of Delaware from 1969 to 1973. The Russell W. Peterson papers include correspondence, speeches, personal notes, press clippings, schedules, calendars, personal planners, informational materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials.