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The Brevoort family papers contain personal and professional correspondence of brothers William H. and Edwin L. Brevoort, of Walesboro and Vincennes, Indiana. The collection includes correspondence written to the boys during their studies at North Western Christian University, personal letters from family and friends, and professional correspondence related to William's land holdings in and around Vincennes.

The Brevoort family papers contain personal and professional correspondence of brothers William H. and Edwin L. Brevoort, of Walesboro and Vincennes, Indiana. The first letters in the collection are primarily addressed to William H. Brevoort during his time at North Western Christian University (now Butler University), particularly during the first years of the Civil War. Though Henry Brevoort, a relative, occasionally addressed state politics, much of the correspondence relates to family news and to education, including a series from his brother Edwin about his own studies at the university. Both brothers frequently received updates from their mother, who wrote about the family farm, and from each other, discussing their lives and post-educational prospects. William ultimately wished to become a farmer, but briefly considered enlisting: he told his brother, "Whether I farm or not my enlistment will destroy all my prospects of a happy life, hence my hesitation. But if Father does not intend to give me an opportunity to farm, I cannot follow anything else (because unfit) and I shall volunteer and die" (October 6, 1861). Both continued to receive correspondence from their parents, cousins, and from each other throughout their adult lives, and many later letters relate to William's business affairs and landholdings in and around Vincennes, Indiana, in the 1870s and 1880s; he frequently wrote of selling cattle and of other agricultural pursuits. Other late items are addressed to William's second wife, Amelia Shattuck, about the couple's farm; several of these are written by E. W. Pegg in Clintonville, Ohio. The collection contains one undated photographic postcard with a portrait of an unidentified older woman.

This collection consists of 31 letters that Woodbury and Ellen M. Hardy received from friends and family members between 1856 and 1868. From 1856 to 1860, Woodbury Hardy received 13 letters from acquaintances, cousins, and his brother in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; South Danvers, Massachusetts; Palatine, Illinois; and Meridian, Michigan. He and his wife collectively received 6 letters written during the Civil War and 4 written between 1866 and 1868. The collection also holds 8 undated letters. Writers commented on family and social news, agriculture, aspects of life in the Midwest, the Civil War, and the impact of the military draft.

This collection consists of 31 letters that Woodbury and Ellen M. Hardy received from friends and family members between 1856 and 1868. From 1856 to1860, Woodbury Hardy received 13 letters from acquaintances, cousins, and his brother in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; South Danvers, Massachusetts; Palatine, Illinois; and Meridian, Michigan. He and his wife collectively received 6 letters written during the Civil War and 4 written between 1866 and 1868. The collection also holds 8 undated letters. Writers commented on family and social news, agriculture, aspects of life in the Midwest, the Civil War, and the impact of the military draft.

Woodbury Hardy's friends and cousins in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, shared social news with Hardy when he lived in South Danvers, Massachusetts, in the mid-1850s, and in the Midwest during the early 1860s. They commented on weddings, education, agriculture, and family health. Woodbury's brother, Samuel Hardy, and an acquaintance, Levina Williams, wrote of their lives in Illinois, often mentioning agriculture, local news, and separation from family members on the East Coast. Woodbury's cousin, also named Woodbury Hardy, wrote a similar letter from Meridian, Michigan, discussing local history, crops, and schools (March 9, 1860). Woodbury and Ellen Hardy continued to receive similar personal letters from male and female correspondents throughout and after the Civil War.

Of the 6 letters written during the Civil War, 5 comment directly on the effects of the war in South Danvers, Massachusetts. Ellen Hardy's "Uncle Moses" wrote an 8-page letter on July 6 and 9, 1862, sharing his thoughts on the war's causes and progress and on a woman named Sarah Jane, who feared the loss of a loved one in a recent battle. Other letters mention the effects of the draft and names of local volunteers. J. Clough, of Nashua, New Hampshire, wrote a final war-era business letter to Woodbury Hardy regarding a shipment of freight from New Hampshire to Chicago (May 26, 1862).

Family letters of interest include Sanford Hardy's account of his railroad journey from Nashua, New Hampshire, to Chicago, Illinois, in early 1857 (May 28, 1857). He compared first and second class accommodations, and shared his strong negative reaction to other passengers in second class. In one letter, Carlos Hardy, Woodbury's cousin, discussed a recent scandal involving Samuel Hardy and his wife Abby, who reportedly married under duress (December 17, 1858). Two letters by Lydia Ann include mention of a family member and a friend who had been prisoners of war at England's Dartmoor Prison during the War of 1812 (July 23, 1860, and January 10, 1868). Among the undated letters is a letter John Price wrote to his great-grandson, Arthur Hardy, and a letter from Arthur's sick 5 year-old cousin "Frannie" (written by an adult). One later undated letter addressed to Ellen anticipates Woodbury Hardy's imminent return, along with other Civil War veterans.