This collection was reprocessed in August and September of 2025. The previous order was largely maintained.

This collection primarily contains photographs documenting five generations of the Booth and Grunendike families, their properties in Springfield and the surrounding areas, their social activities, and their travels. There are approximately four thousand photographs, including cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards and cyanotypes, as well as scrapbooks, newspaper clippings and memorabilia. Both Mary Booth-Grunendike and Edward H. Grunendike came from large families, and relatives photographed include members of the Richardson, Reynolds, Crates, McCosker, Appleyard, Howarth, and Dickerson families. A family tree is available upon request.

Additional photographic topics include farming activities; natural disasters and fires; parades and festivals; buildings and monuments in Springfield, Decatur, Beardstown, Quincy and Chicago; President McKinley's 1898 visit to Springfield; the inaugurations of Illinois governors; Camp Tanner and soldiers of the Spanish-American War; the 1908 Springfield Race Riot; and masonic organizations.

The collection is divided into three series: Loose Photographs, Photograph Albums, and Scrapbooks and Papers. The photographs in Series I are largely duplicates of those in Series II, and photographs in Series II are generally better identified due to the presence of captions in the albums.

Each photograph has been assigned a unique ID number, and locations and subjects have been identified when possible. Some photographs have additional information regarding their subject in the item’s Scope and Content field, particularly photographs featuring four or more people. Aside from Mary Booth-Grunendike, women’s maiden names are indicated by brackets (for example, Mary Booth-Grunendike’s mother Harriot [Richardson] Booth).

Series I: Loose Photographs, circa 1877-1930, contains photographs organized by topic. They depict the Booth and Grunendike families, friends and acquaintances, nature, and events, local businesses, homes, and monuments in Springfield and Chicago. In addition to standard photographs, formats include cartes-de-vistes, cabinet cards and cyanotypes. Arranged alphabetically.

Series II: Photograph Albums, circa 1890-1943, consists of twenty albums of photographs, likely taken and compiled by Mary Booth-Grunendike. Many photographs are duplicated across the albums. The photographs depict members of the Booth and Grunendike families, their properties in Springfield and the surrounding areas, local businesses and events, and their travels around the Midwest and elsewhere.

The albums are arranged in roughly chronological order. Albums 1-15 more heavily feature Mary Booth-Grunendike’s parents, aunts and uncles, siblings, and E. Booth Grunendike and his cousins as children. Albums 16-20 more heavily feature E. Booth Grunendike, his wife Rose May [Horn] Grunendike, and their daughter Rose Mary Grunendike, as well as trips taken by Mary Booth-Grunendike and Edward H. Grunendike in later years. The Scope and Content note for each album provides additional information about their subject matter.

Series III: Scrapbooks and Papers, circa 1872-1947, contains three scrapbooks likely compiled by Mary Booth-Grunendike and a small amount of papers relating to the family’s businesses and social activities. The scrapbooks primarily contain newspaper clippings relating to the Booth and Grunendike families and events of popular interest.