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This collection contains correspondence related to the Fellows family of Richland, New York (30 items), as well as letters addressed to Walter Hollister of Mexico, New York, and other recipients (16 items). Charles A. Fellows wrote to his family in Richland after moving to the Midwest in the 1840s; Walter Hollister received letters from friends and family in New York and Iowa.

This collection contains correspondence related to the Fellows family of Richland, New York (30 items), as well as letters addressed to Walter Hollister of Mexico, New York, and other recipients (16 items). Charles A. Fellows wrote to his family in Richland after moving to the Midwest in the 1840s; Walter Hollister received letters from friends and family in New York and Iowa.

Charles A. Fellows wrote a series of letters to his parents, Amos and Lovina Fellows, and his brother, Ira G. Fellows, after moving to the Midwest around 1843. Fellows reported on life in Racine, Wisconsin, and Ottawa and Pontiac, Illinois. Fellows urged his parents to join him on the frontier, described local scenery, and occasionally commented on crop prices. He received letters from family members in New York, who reported on news from Richland, including epidemics, family health, and local deaths; Fellows's sister Louisa also provided updates from Pulaski, New York. During the late 1840s, Ira Fellows received letters from Albert West in Troy, New York, in which West reported on his social life and visits to the local museum. A letter to Amos Fellows dated August 27, 1849, pertains to Charles's death.

The second group of correspondence (14 items) contains letters that Walter Hollister of Mexico, New York, received from family and friends in New York, Illinois, and Iowa between 1856 and 1884. The collection also contains 2 letters Darius C. Broughton received from his wife, Bedee Broughton, in 1863, and a Christmas greeting Broughton received from his mother while serving with the 147th New York Infantry Regiment in 1892.

Peter and Hannah Keyes of Porterville, New York, received 23 letters from their son, siblings, and friends between 1846 and 1867. Jane Keyes Foster, Peter's sister, described her life on farms in Kaneville and Sycamore, Illinois, in the 1840s and 1850s, and Orson S. Keyes, Peter and Hannah's son, discussed his financial affairs and attempts to find employment in Rochester, New York, in the late 1850s.

Peter and Hannah Keyes of Porterville, New York, received 23 letters from their son, siblings, and friends between 1846 and 1867. Jane Keyes Foster, Peter's sister, described her life on farms in Kaneville and Sycamore, Illinois, in the 1840s and 1850s, and Orson S. Keyes, Peter and Hannah's son, discussed his financial affairs and attempts to find employment in Rochester, New York, in the late 1850s.

In letters to her brother and sister-in-law, Jane Keyes Foster discussed many aspects of farming life on the Illinois frontier. She provided information about local illnesses and her family's health, and often expressed her homesickness. In one letter, she reflected on the death of one of her children (April 10, 1852). Foster also provided details about working on the farm. In later letters, she often commented on her religious beliefs, and her last letter, written in 1867, expressed sadness about the abuse that her sister Betsey suffered from her husband, Calvin Combs. Jane composed one letter on stationery bearing an image and business directory of the Sycamore courthouse (July 8, 1859). Peter and Hannah Keyes also received letters from "Franklin," one of the Keyes siblings, about his journey to Kaneville, the price of crops in Illinois, local religion, and his thoughts on moving to Texas.

Orson S. Keyes, Peter and Hannah's son, also wrote frequently. He composed most of his letters from Rochester, New York, in the late 1850s, and discussed his attempts to find employment, the dried apple industry, and local churches. He often requested money from his parents and mentioned his friendship with Foster Dickinson. John S. Blossom, Hannah's brother, wrote to Peter and Hannah Keyes from Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1862, and shared his regret that the war had forced him to return to New York after living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Other correspondents included William Blossom and Hannah Keyes, who reported to Peter about family matters.