The Manuscript File Collection on Early University History is a rich source on 19th-century and early 20th-century developments at the University of Iowa. It consists of the University's earliest known records documenting its business transactions, academic activity, and external communications. For the most part the material was prepared or received by William J. Haddock (1832-1906), secretary to the Board of Trustees, later Regents, from 1864 to 1901. It is also considered the foundation collection of the University Archives, as it resulted from the first institutional attempts to document University of Iowa history.Many types of records comprise the collection: correspondence, receipts from Iowa City businesses and those located in Des Moines, Chicago, New York and elsewhere, official memos, expense records, contractor