Helen (Hoffman) Collar, Beaver Island (Mich.) historian, research, and author, first visited the Island in June of 1915. In the late 1940s she began researching the history of the Irish fishing families who lived on the Island after the Strangite Mormons era. Her notes from informal conversations were documented by research done at the National Archives, Charlevoix County courthouse, and through various reference sources. Collar's articles were published in Michigan and Beaver Island history journals. She also created drawings from faded family photographs and donated them, with genealogies she had researched, to the local museum. In honor of her life and research, the Beaver Island Museum's new addition was named the Helen Hoffman Collar Archival Center in 1990. Helen died on Jan. 9, 1996. She was survived by her son, daughter, son-in-law, and four grandchildren. (This information is from the collection.)
From the description of Papers, 1907,2006. (Clarke Historical Library). WorldCat record id: 58460826
