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This collection is made up of correspondence and other materials related to James H. Miller and his wife, Mary E. Waggener, who lived in Missouri and Kansas in the mid- to late 19th century. The Millers received letters from Elizabeth Miller, James's mother, who discussed her life in LaRue County, Kentucky, before, during, and after the Civil War. James H. Miller wrote to his wife and children about his experiences with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War.

This collection is made up of correspondence and other materials related to James H. Miller and his wife, Mary E. Waggener, who lived in Missouri and Kansas in the mid- to late 19th century.

The Correspondence series (104 items) consists of incoming letters to James H. and Mary E. Miller from family members in various states, as well as letters from James H. to Mary E. Miller. Approximately 40 letters date from the Civil War years.

Elizabeth Miller, the Millers' most frequent correspondent, wrote to her son and daughter-in-law from Hodgenville, Kentucky, and other LaRue County locales throughout the mid- to late 19th century. Most of Miller's letters refer to her health and to news of family members and friends. She sometimes discussed the hardships she faced during and immediately after the Civil War. She mentioned the draft of September 1864, the Union Army's efforts to enlist African Americans, and tensions between Union and Confederate supporters during and after the war; in her letter of March 31, 1867, she commented on the perception that Reconstruction legislation favored African Americans over whites and noted that whites would object to African Americans testifying against them in court or serving on juries.

James H. Miller wrote letters home to his wife and children while serving with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment in Missouri and Arkansas between 1863 and 1865. Though he missed his family, he felt a sense of duty toward the Union and hoped that his relatives and friends in Kentucky also supported the federal cause; many of his letters are written on stationery with patriotic poems and illustrations. Miller discussed movements between camps and sometimes mentioned encounters with Confederate troops. His letters frequently contain reports on fellow soldiers, including members of the Waggener family, and his responses to news from home (such as his wife's dental problems). Mary E. Miller also received a letter from her brother William during his recuperation from an unknown injury or illness at Washington Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee (July 14, 1864).

The Millers' other correspondents included James's brother Fielding, who lived in Farmerville, Louisiana, in the mid- late 1840s, and one of the executors of Fielding's estate. John G. W. Duffey and his son James, an uncle and cousin, wrote from Hernando, Mississippi, commenting on farming and the progress of their crops. Their letters also contain remarks on the 1852 presidential election and, in one instance, Southern attitudes toward African Americans and the poor (July 8, 1854). Additional postwar items include letters that the Millers received from their children and other relatives in Nebraska, Kentucky, and other locations as late as 1911. The final item is a letter from Bertha Waggener to a cousin regarding the death of her mother (March 29, 1933). The series also contains a religious essay, "The Chariot," that James H. Miller wrote in the mid-1840s.

The Documents and Financial Records series (22 items) includes an employment record of James H. Miller, listing missed days of work in the early 1840s. Many of the remaining items are tax receipts from the Millers' time in Lewis County, Missouri, and Phillips County, Kansas. Other items include a promissory note addressed to Elizabeth Miller (August 28, 1848), copied legal documents, an undated property inventory (partially completed), and a document certifying James H. Miller's election as constable of Highland, Missouri (August 12, 1854).

The Notebook, which belonged to James H. Miller, contains accounts and notes related to Miller's Civil War service, partly related to clothing and supplies. A document about Miller's temporary appointment as head of his class is laid into the volume (May 3, 1844).

The Poetry series (6 items) includes 4 poems that James H. Miller sent to his wife while serving with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War. His poems concern aspects of soldier's lives, such as their remembrance of loved ones and their duty to the cause. One sheet contains an undated poem about death by David Miller. The final item is an unsigned 1847 poem concerning conflicts between British soldiers in Canada and Yankee troops.

The Recipes series (3 items) contains instructions for making a cure for dropsy, lemon jelly, and soap and blue ink. The final two recipes, written on a single sheet, are attributed to George Wilson (July 26, 1870).

The Genealogy series (7 items) is made up of notes related to the Miller and Bell families, including lists of birthdates, death dates, and marriages. Gilead Ann Miller, the daughter of James H. and Mary E. Miller, married into the Bell family.

The Printed Items series (2 items) consists of a fragment from a reward notice concerning the abduction of a young boy named Charlie Brewster Ross (undated) and a copy of the Christian Banner (2.6, September 1863).

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, and other items related to New Jersey politician Jonathan Dayton; his son-in-law, Oliver Hatfield Spencer; and Spencer's son-in-law, William Nelson Wood. The materials concern politics, finances, property, genealogy, and other subjects.

This collection is made up of 3 linear feet of correspondence, documents, and other items related to New Jersey politician Jonathan Dayton; his son-in-law, Oliver Hatfield Spencer; and Spencer's son-in-law, William Nelson Wood. The materials date between 1764 and 1892, and they concern politics, finances, property, genealogy, and other subjects. The collection is arranged into groups of Jonathan Dayton papers, Oliver Hatfield Spencer papers, William Nelson Wood papers, and Spencer and Wood family papers.

The Jonathan Dayton Papers are divided into 3 subseries. The Jonathan Dayton Correspondence subseries is made up of Dayton's incoming (over 310 items) and outgoing (approximately 55 items) letters between 1780 and 1824. Dayton corresponded with family members, professional acquaintances, and political figures. Many of the early letters pertain to Dayton's congressional service, national and local politics, and personal matters. A group of 14 letters from 1807 concern the Burr Conspiracy and its effects on Dayton, who was imprisoned in connection with the incident. Some of Dayton's correspondents discussed Native American relations and the Northwest Territory. Others provided family news from Cincinnati and commented on legal and financial issues.

The Jonathan Dayton Financial Documents (15 items, 1774-1830) consist of receipts, accounts, and account books, pertaining to real property, taxes, and other financial matters. The 2 account books (1792-1793 and 1823) concern shipping costs, livestock, debts, and real property. A copy of Gaine's New-York Pocket Almanack for 1775 contains an unidentified writer's manuscript notes and financial records kept between 1775 and 1779.

The Jonathan Dayton Legal Documents (76 items, 1764-1821) include deeds for property in New Jersey, contracts, records pertaining to court cases, and other items.

The Oliver Hatfield Spencer series , divided into subseries of Correspondence (5 items) and Documents (13 items). Letters to Spencer, dated 1820-1821, concern his claims against the estate of "Mr. Evans." Other items, dated between 1802 and 1856, include certificates, deeds, Spencer's will, receipts, and a military commission. These documents relate to Spencer's medical career, his work for the New Orleans Board of Health and the Medical Board of the State of Louisiana, and his memberships in the Medical Society of Philadelphia and the Chemical Society of Philadelphia. Three later items pertain to his estate.

The William Nelson Wood series includes Correspondence (19 items) and Estate Documents (41 items). James Cook informed Wood of his brother's death in a letter dated February 21, 1831. The bulk of the remaining correspondence, written from 1853-1854, concern the estate of Clement Wood, a resident of England. Two letters by Luigi Palma di Cesnola (June 27, 1864, and July 7, 1864) report the death of Wood's son Oliver during the Civil War and discuss the Battle of Trevilian Station. A subseries of Estate Documents consists primarily of claims made against Wood's estate following his death in 1865.

The Spencer and Wood Family Papers (153 items) consist of letters, documents receipts, genealogical notes, autographs, an invitation, and an essay related to the descendants of Jonathan Dayton, Oliver Hatfield Spencer, and William Nelson Wood. Correspondence, Documents, and Receipts include incoming and outgoing letters related to members of the Dayton, Spencer, and Wood families, often concerning family news and legal affairs. The series includes Genealogical Materials for the Dayton, Williamson, Halstead, Spencer, and Ogden families. Eighty-seven Autographs cut from letters include signatures and handwriting of prominent individuals in the late 18th and early 19th century. The final items in the collection include an essay description of Jesus Christ (with an 1847 song "The Hieland Laddies' Farewell" written on the back) and a vellum invitation for Edward Meeker Wood to attend The General Society of the Cincinnati and the Sons of the Revolution commemorative event for the death of George Washington, held on December 14, 1899.