The McMillan family correspondence is made up of 65 letters that members of the McMillan family in Iowa and Pennsylvania exchanged during the mid-19th century. Family members commented on their daily lives and on subjects such as health, religion, and farming.
Many members of the McMillan family and associated families lived in eastern Iowa, in towns such as South English and Washington, in the 1850s and 1860s. Others wrote from Bridesburg, Pennsylvania, and other locations in the Midwest. Most writers focused on family news and health, and several writers expressed condolences following the death of one of Mary McMillan's immediate family members in December 1865. Correspondents frequently discussed religious activities and similar subjects, such as the scarcity of regular preachers in rural Iowa, as well as local travel and farming. In one letter, Robert F. Stevenson wrote to his aunt about local debates over the "monopoly question" and the economic effects of unfavorable food prices (March 27, 1866). A few letters include content on food and cooking, and a letter Robert F. Stevenson received from his mother lists the food served at a wedding (February 13, 1859).
Scotsman James McMillan (1790-1890) had three children with his first wife, Margaret McClaren (1790-1822): James (1813-1914), Margaret (1816-1889), and Agnes (1814-1915). He later married Janet Stevenson, with whom he had six surviving children: Mary (1831-1943), Susan (1831-1942), Andrew (1838-1943), William (1840-1945), Elizabeth (1843-1948), and Isabella (1844-1949). The elder James McMillan's sister, Jane (1809-1880), married John Fulton Wilson (1808-1898), with whom she had seven children.
Margaret McMillan (1816-1889) married Robert Chesney (1813-1851) and lived in Keokuk County, Iowa. They had six children: William (1839-1919), James McMillan (1842-1919), Robert (1843-1857), Mary (1847-1857), Agnes (1849-1915), and Susannah (1853-1925).
Agnes McMillan married Joseph Birchell (or Birchall) and had six children: Margaret, Mary Ann, George, Agnes, Ellen, and William.
Mary McMillan lived in Bridesburg, Pennsylvania, in the mid-19th century.
Susan McMillan married David Campbell (1831-1942) and had six children: Andrew (1853-1964), Jennie (1854-1965), James (1855-1966), Maggie (1856-1967), Thomas (1858-1969), and David (1859-1970).
