This collection is made up of 14 letters by (or on behalf of) Charles Spalding Thomas to his friend Jerome M. Snook, while Thomas lived in Prairieville and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Denver, Colorado. In 1868 and 1869, Thomas sent requests to Snook, who worked as a clerk at the Beebe & Scott clothing store in Kalamazoo, asking him to clean his coat and secure him a pair of ladies' skates. Thomas wrote his letters of 1870 and early 1871 from Ann Arbor, where he studied law at the University of Michigan. Following his graduation in 1871, he corresponded from his home state of Georgia. Thomas sent his final letters from Denver, Colorado, where he settled to practice law. The correspondence pertains to acquaintances, the weather, women, lecturers, advice about Snook's upcoming attendance at the University of Michigan, and the 1872 presidential election.
Jerome Marvin Snook was born in East Granger, New York, in 1845, to parents Josephus and Catherine Snook. He moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the 1860s and worked as a clerk at the Beebe & Scott clothing store. He earned his M.D. from the University of Michigan in 1873 and went to work as a physician and surgeon in Kalamazoo. He married Julia F. Hitchcock on April 30, 1877, and the couple had two children, Frederick Clarence (1881-1882) and Alfred Hitchcock Snook (1884-1966). Jerome Snook died in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on July 8, 1902.
Charles Spalding Thomas was born on December 6, 1849, to parents W. B. and Caroline B. Thomas of Darien, Georgia. He attended private schools before serving briefly in the Confederate Army. In 1871, he earned his LL.B. from the University of Michigan. Soon thereafter, he moved to Denver, Colorado, where he worked as an attorney and became involved in Democratic politics. He unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Congress multiple times before securing public office as the 11th Governor of Colorado. He served from 1899 to 1901. He practiced law before and after his service as U.S. Senator (1913-1921). Thomas died in Denver, Colorado, on June 24, 1934.
