Oakland University Archives and Special Collections
OU.SC.SNOOK
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Oakland University Archives and Special Collections
- Title
- Snook Family papers
- ID
- OU.SC.SNOOK
- Date [inclusive]
- 1903-1946
- Extent
- 1.0 Linear feet
- Language
- English
- Text [Box]
- 1
Biographical Note
John J. Snook (1842-1923) was a farmer, poet, and Civil War veteran who lived in Rochester, Michigan.
John James Snook was born in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, April I6, 1842, the first child of James H. and Sarah (Axtell) Snook. James Snook (1817-1880) was born in England but came to the United States at the age of 6 months. His parents moved to Mt Clemens, Michigan in 1836, bringing their 9 children. In 1839, James married Sarah Axtell (1818-1902). After running a sawmill and working on the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal, James Snook bought 400 acres of land near Clinton Township. He also served as postmaster at Mt. Clemens for the last 12 years of his life. His son John J. enlisted in the 22nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry on August 15, I862. John’s brother, Rufus, also fought in the Civil War and died at Chattanooga, Tennessee. After his discharge on July I, I865 John Snook returned to Michigan and bought farms in Mt. Clemens, Washington Township, and finally Avon Township where he acquired 200 acres of land, known as the "Overlook Farm" (overlooking the Clinton River, at the southwest corner of Rochester Road and Avon Road). In 1866, he married Ella Davis, with whom he had six children, including Nellie (born 1867) Jason Eugene (born 1870) and Arthur Lemuel (born 1887).
Snook was a savvy farmer and businessman, who adopted modern farming methods and seized new business opportunities such as raspberry trucking to Detroit markets and beet growing for the sugar industry. He was a regular contributor to agricultural magazines and an active member of farmers’ clubs. He was also a prolific poet and in 1907 he published a book of poems, New Poems and Glad Outings. His poems frequently dealt with his familiar world – the countryside in and around Rochester, his family and friends, or farming. Other poems were inspired by his Civil War experience, and Snook often presented them at veterans’ reunions. The Snooks also travelled extensively across the United States, and some poems reflect on this experience.
Ella Snook died in I904 and John Snook married Sarah A. Ewell, a widow. He passed away in 1923 in Rochester. Nellie never married and passed away in 1958.
Scope and Contents note
The Snook Family papers are organized in four series: John J. Snooks’ Personal Files, John J. Snook’s Manuscripts, Nellie Snook’s Correspondence, and a brief series on the genealogy of the Snook family.
John J. Snook’s Personal Files contains a few letters and handwritten notes, as well as miscellaneous documents related to his social and business activities and those of sons Eugene and Arthur. The John J. Snook’s Manuscripts series includes John J. Snook’s poetry and prose writings. The New Poems and Glad Outings subseries contains holograph drafts and proofs of the poems in his 1907 book, organized alphabetically by title, in the order listed in the book’s table of contents. A second subseries contains other writings, including other poems (also listed alphabetically by title), texts related to war and veteran issues (including a typed copy of John Snook's Civil War diary), a 20-page account of the Snooks’s trip to California, and an account of John Snooks’ experience as an overseer in the Enniskillen oil fields in 1861-1862. Two photographs of Overlook Farm form another subseries. The third series, the Nellie M. Snook Personal Files, includes Nellie’s correspondence with various family members from 1904 to 1946, as well as a few notes and documents. A final series gathers documents seemingly procured by Arthur Snook - a copy of a 1906 History of the Snook Family by Marie A. Werrey and photocopies of Civil War Service Records for Rufus A. Snook and Julian H. Axtell, made on the occasion of the Civil War Centennial.
Preferred Citation
Item, folder title, box no., Snook Family papers, Oakland University Special Collections
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Oakland University Archives and Special Collections
Kresge Library100 Library Drive
Rochester, MI, 48309
Access and Use note
The Snook Family papers are open for research.
Copyright
Copyright has not been transferred to Oakland University. Researchers are responsible for seeking copyright permissions before publishing items from the collection.
Acquisition
The Snook Family papers are part of the Rod and Susan Wilson Collection of Rochester History and were acquired by Oakland University along with their donation.
Processing
Processed by Dominique Daniel, May 2021.
Collection Inventory
John J. Snook Personal Files |
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Correspondence and misc. notes 1911-1913, 1922, undated |
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Correspondence and misc. notes - Detroit Sugar Company 1903 |
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"Rochester: A Sketch of One of the Best Towns on the Map" (W.A. Fox, 1907) Physical DescriptionJ.J. Snook copy has newspaper clippings "Sturdy Avon Pioneers" glued to inside covers. |
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J. Eugene Snook, Arthur L. Snook 1910, 1930 |
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Ella Snook n.d. |
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John J. Snook Manuscripts |
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New Poems and Glad Outings |
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Front Matter 1903 |
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A Balanced Life; A Boy on Guard; A Cat-a-Story |
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A Dilemma; A Frog-Like Dive; A Manly Man |
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A Million Sparkles; A New Song; Angel Thought |
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A Runaway Outing; A Smile and a Promise; A Timid Poem |
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A Wedding Wish; Balanced Rocks; Beauties of Horticulture |
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Beauty and Utility; Berries; Berry Pickers |
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Between Two Years; Birthday Surprise; Bitter Sweet |
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Bobbing Up Serenely; Bread and Butter; Charm of the Hills |
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Cherry Tree and Hatchet; Childhood; Chronic Critics |
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Church Unity; Colored Stars; Come and Gone |
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Contrast; Cuckoo Clock; Dear Home |
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Ding Dong Musings; Energy and Sun Beams; Excuses |
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Farewell, Dear Friend; Farm Home; Farming No 2 |
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Flags and Mountains; Flowers and Children; Friendship |
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Great Gifts; Hand in Hand; Happy Home Song |
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Gold Fish; Golden Trios; Good Old-Fashioned Winters |
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Good Morning, Good Will; Goose Quills; Good Night |
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Heart Sunshine; Helpful Days; How the Mind Grows |
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How To Tell a Woman's Age; Impossible; In Blossom Time |
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Ink Charms; June Sunrise; Kiss or Car |
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Lights Then and Now; Lincoln; Little Children and Spring Birds |
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Living Pictures; Lookout Mountains; Love, Charity, Good Will |
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Mackinac Island; Make a Contrast; Memory's Echo Mountain |
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Merry Christmans; Michigan Agricultural College; Mountains |
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Music in Dishes; Must Correspond; My Book's Future |
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My Gay Baby Dress; My Grandfather's Pioneer Chain; Neatness and Dispatch |
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New Year Calls in New York; New Year Wish; No "Home" Without Love |
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Nutting Party; Old Glory; Once in a while |
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Our Basement Windows; Our Two-Story House Plant; Our Own Sweet Thoughts |
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Our Little Colonel; Overlook Boulevard; Overlook |
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Pancake Time; Photographs; Pioneer Memory Pictures |
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Politeness; Quiet Rest; Queen and Crescent |
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Rain Drops; Reading Aloud; Rural Freedom |
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Short Year; Silver Day; Snow Storm |
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Stars and Stripes; Success; Sunday School Teachers |
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Sure of Spring; Tau Rho Sigma; Thanksgiving |
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That Pioneer Fence; The Academy; The Aut(not)mobile |
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The Centennial Trip in Rhyme; The Country School Teacher; The Dear Old Folks |
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The Eastern Star; The Farmers' Club; The Farmers' Institute |
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The Grand Army of the Republic; The Hudson; The Jolly Pioneers |
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Two Little Friends; The Little Word We Say; The Looking Glass |
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The Meanest Thing; The Missing Link; The Months of the Year |
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The Old Water Mill; The Old Violin; The One Hundredth |
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The Other Fellow; The Peach is Queen; The Pocket-Book |
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The Poem Tree; The Rocking Swing Chair; The Rural Trolley |
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The Sunday School; The Sword and Pen; The Thread of Life |
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The Vision of the Valley; The Woodland; Three Companions |
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Thrifty Homes; Trip and Outing; Truth |
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Twentieth Century Woman; Twilight Bells; Valley Village Outing |
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Variety; Washington's Birthday; Water's Benediction |
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Weather Effect; Welcome; What the Trees Said |
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When Ell and I Were Young Folks; Which; Whistles |
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Who Made This Book; Winter; Women and War; World's Fair at Chicago; You and I, We |
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Other Writings |
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A-K poems |
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L-Sn poems |
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Sp-Z poems |
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Broadsides and Flyers |
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War Writings 1899-1917 |
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California Trip proofs 1903 |
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Other Texts |
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Writing Pad Covers |
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Miscellaneous Booklets |
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Photographs 1905 |
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Nellie M. Snook Personal Files |
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Correspondence, 1904-1907 |
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Correspondence, 1908-1910 |
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Correspondence, 1920-1940 |
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Correspondence, 1943, 1946, n.d. |
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Miscellaneous Papers |
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Snook Family Genealogy Excerpts from History of the Snook Family by Marie A. Werrey (1906) - Copied by Arthur James Snook (1970); Copies of Civil War Centennial Civil War Service Records for Rufus A. Snook and Julian H. Axtell |
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