This collection is made up of 13 letters that brothers George F. and Willie E. Stone wrote to their family in Fowlerville, Michigan, while living and working in Florida from January-March 1882. The Stow brothers addressed their letters to their father, William P. Stow, and to George's wife Nancy, and provided news of their health and their lives in Florida. Both Willie and George composed individual letters, and Willie occasionally contributed to George's correspondence. The brothers initially wrote from Sanford, Florida, where they discussed the impact of recent railroad construction. They later went to Rockledge, where they worked on boats traveling along the Indian River. The letters include their descriptions of the region, including the largely unsettled area along the state's eastern coast and their first encounter with the ocean. By March 1882, they were employed by a wealthy woman near Rockledge.
William P. Stow (b. 1830) and his wife, B. B. Hillman, lived in Livingston County, Michigan, in the late 19th century. They had two sons, George F. (1856-1884) and Willie E. (1858-1934), and one adopted daughter, Lizzie B. In the early months of 1882, George and Willie Stow lived in central and eastern Florida.
