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This collection is made up of 8 letters that Constance and Samuel C. Lewis wrote to his mother, Elizabeth Lewis of Springfield, Pennsylvania, about life in Iowa in the late 1850s. They commented on farm work, their sons, and their health.

This collection is made up of 8 letters that Constance and Samuel C. Lewis wrote to his mother Elizabeth Lewis, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, about their life in Iowa in the late 1850s. Constance wrote regularly to her mother-in-law from September 9, 1858-November 27, 1859, while living in Trenton, Iowa. Samuel contributed to 3 of his wife's letters. The Lewis family owned a farm that produced rye, wheat, and Hungarian grass, and the letters often concern farm labor, hired hands, livestock, agricultural production, and the cost of goods. Constance thanked her mother-in-law and acquaintances for gifts and discussed housekeeping issues, such as wallpapering, and her work on the farm. She often reported news of her sons, Johnny and William, and of her neighbors.

John Cornelius Lane of Frederick County, Maryland, used this volume as an account book and journal from 1835-1852. Lane recorded his accounts with individuals for farm produce and sundries, and composed daily diary entries about his life and work as a farmer in Frederick County.

John Cornelius Lane of Frederick County, Maryland, used this volume as an account book and journal from 1835-1852. He recorded his accounts with individuals for farm produce and sundries, and composed daily diary entries about his life and work as a farmer in Frederick County.

Pages 1-86 and 356-401 contain accounts for the sale of dry goods and agricultural products. The earlier accounts (May 1835-December 1837) are organized by customer, and record Lane's sales of sundries and enumerated items, such as a barouche. The later accounts (August 1841-March 1844) are organized by product, such as cattle, corn, wheat, and flour. Many pages in the second group of accounts are blank. Receipts addressed to Lane are laid into the volume.

The remainder of the volume (pp. 96-354) is comprised of John C. Lane's daily diary, which he kept from September 28, 1841-December 31, 1852. Lane reported on farm work, travel to Boonsboro and Frederick, and family matters. Lane grew corn, wheat, potatoes, rye, and oats; he also sold logs to a sawmill and slaughtered hogs. Lane occasionally mentioned family visits, the health of his wife and children, and the births and deaths of his children. Other entries pertain to Lane's purchases of slaves and to the births and deaths of slave children. The Lane family lived in Mount Pleasant, Maryland, from September 1841-November 1846, and in Harmony, Maryland, from November 1846-December 1852.

The John Wilkey, Jr., collection is comprised of military documents, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs related to John W. Wilkey, Jr., who served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

The John Wilkey, Jr., collection is made up of military documents, correspondence, ephemera, and photographs related to John W. Wilkey, Jr., who served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

Mary Wilkey and John Wilkey, Sr., wrote a letter to their son, John Wilkey, Jr., on February 5 and 6, 1946. His mother enclosed copies of letters by Representative Charles Wolverton and Senator Albert Wahl, who responded to her request that they support legislation to discharge fathers currently serving in the military. Wilkey's father expressed his pressing need for his son's help with their wheat farm, and urged him to seek a discharge. The collection also holds Wilkey's official request for a discharge (April 26, 1946) and a special order issued in response by the 40th Bomb Wing headquarters (May 10, 1946), as well as a refund check for 2 cents (January 1945); an undated, printed application for a sugar ration book (not filled out); and an undated, printed advertisement for a commemorative military book. Five snapshot photographs depict John's wife Ruby and their young daughter (April 1946).

The collection contains 3 additional documents: a typed "station notice" containing the order of events for an "Invasion Day rally" (May 19, 1944), a memorandum about "Regulations Concerning Compressed Air" from the torpedo shop at the United States Naval Mine Depot in Yorktown, Virginia (August 26, 1944), and a facsimile of an advertisement for an upcoming publication about the depot (February 1945).