Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection contains 14 letters and partial letters from James B. Green of Des Moines, Iowa, to Cora Earley, a female friend in Prattsburgh, New York, between July 1892 and April 1893. His casual, flirtatious, and occasionally crude letters include remarks on social news about mutual friends in Prattsburgh, relationships between men and women, and his life in Des Moines.

This collection contains 14 letters and partial letters by James B. Green of Des Moines, Iowa, to Cora Earley, a female friend in Prattsburgh, New York, between July 1892 and April 1893. His casual, flirtatious, and occasionally crude letters include remarks on social news about mutual friends in Prattsburgh, relationships between men and women, and his life in Des Moines.

Green wrote these 2- to 4-page letters on stationery from the S. Green & Sons Iron Foundry and Stove Works, where he worked with his father and brother, Samuel and Frank Green. Though he occasionally mentioned the local furnace industry and the price of goods in Des Moines, most of his letters focus on mutual acquaintances and social news from Prattsburgh. Green reminisced about playing ball with his friends. He often commented on aspects of relationships between men and women, such as a broken engagement and his own dating life. Some letters discuss the possibility of Green's return to Prattsburgh, as well as his feelings about the town and its people.

Green often addressed his correspondent as "you little sinner." The following excerpt from Green's letter of November 13, 1892, is typical of his colloquial writing style and content. It also contains a reference to Grover Cleveland's second election.

"Well you little sinner How are you coming? 'Regular and 4 in a hill' I suppose. 'Hurrah for Cleavland' He is the man I would have voted for. Well Cora how is every thing down to Uncle Joe Briggs? You bet I remember the night you and the rest of the gang was down. What kind of a girl is that Mabel Rose? I have heard a good deal about her? Would like to get out with her some night and find out for myself. No Cora I will never forget that night down to Martha's. more sport than a wash tub full of monkies. Would like to have to go through it again to night. You can bet Cora I would keep you awake."

This collection consists of letters written by Mary S. Clayton to her future husband, James F. Jordan, while she worked as a schoolteacher in Almont, Michigan. She discussed her teaching experiences, life in Almont, and her family in Plymouth, Michigan, whom she occasionally visited.

This collection consists of over 230 items, almost all of which are letters. Mary S. Clayton wrote most of the letters to her future husband, James F. Jordan, while she worked as a schoolteacher in Almont, Michigan. Mary began her correspondence in July 1877, shortly after graduating from the Michigan State Normal School, and regularly wrote flirtatious letters to James, also a teacher. She focused on her teaching career and life in Almont, Michigan, and described incidents from the classroom as well as from her social life. She mentioned the Methodist Church, where she occasionally taught classes, local news, and her thoughts on relationships, particularly on flirtation. She wrote most of the letters prior to her marriage to James in 1881. The rest include letters that James wrote to Mary from Buchanan, Michigan, in 1882, as well as letters from family and friends, who wrote from several Michigan towns and from Chicago. Some later letters relate to the custody of Mary's sister Libbie following the death of her father in the spring of 1882.