This collection contains 3 letters written by members of the Coon and Howard families of Lakeview, Michigan; Waukee, Iowa; and Orchard Park, New York, in the late 1800s. Hiram Cornwell of Lakeview, Michigan, wrote the first letter to his sister-in-law, Jane Coon of Belleville, New York, noting the difficulties of earning a living in Michigan (November 11, 1877). Phebe Howard contributed to the letter, suggesting that Jane move to Michigan, where land was cheap and weaving work was available.
Ida H. Elliott wrote the second letter to her mother from Waukee, Iowa, on September 22, 1889. Elliott discussed her work tending the house and farm, her children's school, her sale of chickens, and the quantities of crops they had stored, including potatoes, sweet corn, and apples.
Lena B. of Orchard Park, New York, sent the final letter to her sister, Miss E. Blanche Coon of Sandy Creek, New York (postmarked March 24, 1890); she commented on the family and described a trip to Buffalo, New York, including the cost of velvet and a photographer's rates.
Nathaniel Coon was born in New York in December 1836 and later became a farmer in Sandy Creek Township, New York. He and his wife, Amanda Howard (b. September 1843), had five children: Herbert, Lena B., Ella B., George (b. 1880), and David (b. 1884). Amanda Howard Coon (also known as "Jane") was the daughter of Daniel and Phebe Howard and had eight siblings: Asenath, Ella, William, Ruth, Winfield, Mary, Emma, and Ida (b. 1859). Ruth Howard married Hiram Cornwell; they later moved to Lakeview, Michigan, with their two children, William and Ella May. Ida Howard and her husband, John R. Elliott, lived in Waukee, Iowa, by 1900. They had four children: Elva C. (b. 1882), Earl W. (b. 1883), Howard R. (b. 1890), and Ruth B. (b. 1893).
