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This collection is made up of 10 letters that Clara L. Gayer wrote to her father and sister in Akron, Ohio, while living in the Panama Canal Zone from 1911-1912. She commented on her attempts to secure a teaching position, her social life, and her daily activities.

This collection is made up of 10 letters that Clara L. Gayer wrote to her father and sister in Akron, Ohio, from December 4, 1911-Februrary 15, 1912. Her letters concern many aspects of her life in Gatun, Panama Canal Zone, particularly her social activities with other women and with "Jake" (possibly her brother Jacob). Gayer also responded to news of acquaintances, described her interactions with young children, discussed her unsuccessful attempts to obtain employment as a teacher, listed the books and magazines she read, and made occasional references to contemporary politics. For more information, see the Detailed Box and Folder Listing.

This collection contains incoming correspondence and other items related to Elsie F. Weil of Chicago, Illinois, and New York City, including many passionate letters from Weil's close friend Gertrude Emerson, who wrote about her foreign travels, life in New York City, and her deep bond with Elsie. Other friends and, to a lesser extent, family members, wrote to Elsie about their daily and social lives in New York City, Chicago, and Boston. Additional materials include two of Elsie's diaries, articles written by Elsie F. Weil and Gertrude Emerson, and ephemera.

This collection (1.5 linear feet) contains incoming correspondence and other items related to Elsie F. Weil of Chicago, Illinois, and New York City, including many letters from Weil's close friend and fellow writer Gertrude Emerson. Other friends and family members wrote to Elsie about their daily and social lives in New York City, Chicago, and Boston. Additional materials include two of Elsie's diaries, articles written by Elsie F. Weil and Gertrude Emerson, and ephemera.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of Elsie F. Weil's incoming correspondence. The first group of items consists of letters that Elsie's father Jacob, brother Leo, and mother Pauline sent to her from 1897-1907. Jacob and Leo Weil offered advice, and Pauline Weil provided family news from Chicago while Elsie lived in Lafayette, Indiana, around 1904. In 1913, Elsie received letters about her career as a writer, often mentioning specific articles. Additional professional correspondence appears throughout the collection.

Gertrude Emerson began writing to Elsie Weil in January 1914, and remained Weil's primary correspondent through the early 1920s. Her early letters pertain to her life in Winnetka, Illinois, where she taught at the Girton School. Emerson encouraged Weil to pursue a career in writing, discussed her own work, and shared news of her family. In the spring of 1914, she described a trip to New York City. During their periods of separation, Emerson expressed her desire to reunite with Weil and proposed plans for their shared future. Her letters include passionate declarations of her love for Weil and her devotion to their friendship, and she often referred to her desire to hold Weil, offering a birthday kiss in her letter postmarked April 26, 1915. She also spoke of her wish to travel around the world, though her mother prohibited transatlantic travel in 1915 on account of the growing threat from German submarines ([May 7, 1915]).

Weil and Emerson traveled together to Korea, Japan, and China in 1915 and 1916, and the collection includes a series of typed letters that Weil addressed to an unspecified group in early 1916. She described their travels between locations, shared observations about local cultures, and reported on their daily activities. A newspaper article about their trip, printed in Japanese, is filed in with the correspondence (December 15, 1915, 3 copies). Weil later received letters and postcards from acquaintances in Asia, particularly in late 1916. Gino Merchiorri, a soldier, wrote two letters to Weil about his experiences in the United States Army during World War I.

Gertrude Emerson moved to New York City in late 1916 after being hired by Asia magazine, and often wrote to Weil, who remained in Chicago, about her life there. She commented on her social life and her friends, who included the writer Ernestine Evans and the naturalist William Beebe. In 1919, she traveled to British Guiana (present-day Guyana), stopping shortly, mid-voyage in the Virgin Islands and Barbados. Before her arrival in South America, she described her sea travel and the Caribbean cities and islands she visited. While in Guyana, Emerson described the scenery and everyday life, particularly with regard to Indian "coolie" workers and their culture. After her return to New York City that fall, she discussed her social life, Elsie's articles for Asia, and their shared New York apartment.

Emerson wrote another series of travel letters while visiting Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and India in 1920 and Mexico in 1924. While in India, she met with Mohandas Gandhi and commented on Indian politics. Though she consistently voiced her love for Weil throughout her correspondence, other topics came to dominate her correspondence. By the mid-1920s, Emerson had fallen in love with a man named Kim, whom she considered marrying. Some of her later letters, including several undated items, are written on long sheets of thin, illustrated paper. Other illustrated items include a brief typed essay with a watercolor depiction of a Flemish portrait (enclosed with her letter of February 9, 1914) and a sketch of the view outside of her window in Winnetka (undated).

Elsie Weil received smaller groups of letters from other friends from the mid-1910s to mid-1920s, including Rose Wilder Lane, who described her life in Mansfield, Missouri, in the late summer and early fall of 1919. She shared her fondness for the scenery of the Ozarks, discussed her career as a writer, and told anecdotes about her experiences. She later wrote about travels in Europe and her life in Paris, France, where she briefly described international relations between the Allied powers just after World War I. She also commented on female involvement in political issues. Blix Leonard of Boston, Massachusetts, and Elmer Stanley Hader of New York City frequently illustrated their letters; some of their sketches and drawings are humorous and cartoonish. Weil also corresponded with Kenneth Durant and Ernestine Evans. Some of Weil's New York correspondents expressed their support for the Bolshevik Revolution in 1919.

The collection includes 3 diaries. The first, which has the title "My Trip Abroad" and "Elsie F. Weil" stamped in gold on its front cover, was intended for use during a trip abroad; Weil used it only to record the name of her ship, the SS Manchuria, and the date of her departure, September 19, 1922. The other two diaries contain brief entries respecting Weil's daily activities for 1920 and 1925, with some significant gaps between entries. These diaries often refer to Weil's social acquaintances, including Gertrude Emerson, "Rose," and others.

The collection's 6 photographic prints include 3 views of Gertrude Emerson on horseback and 1 of Emerson posing outdoors. The other pictures show an unidentified man posing outdoors in a suit and a Buddha statue in a Tokyo temple.

Additional items include magazine and newspaper articles by Gertrude Emerson, Elsie F. Weil, and Ernestine Evans, largely concerning travel to Asia; instructions related to creating flower arrangements; and unused bookplates belonging to Elsie F. Weil, bearing an Asian-style illustration of boats on water. Other visual materials include picture postcards from East Asian countries and a series of postcards from Wisconsin. The final items are a Christmas card and an advertisement once inserted in a newspaper.

This collection is primarily made up of the incoming and outgoing correspondence of Emily F. and Evangeline Brady. From 1943-1945, Emily F. Brady received letters from members of the United States military and from acquaintances in Cuba and South America, and from 1949-1950 she wrote letters to her siblings about her life in Chile and Brazil.

This collection is comprised of 121 items, mostly the incoming and outgoing correspondence of Emily F. and Evangeline Brady. From 1943-1945, they received letters from soldiers in the United States military and from acquaintances in Cuba and South America, and from 1949-1950, Emily wrote letters to her siblings about her life in Chile and Brazil. The only item that is not a letter is a photograph of four teenagers at a swimming pool.

The first group of letters consists primarily of incoming letters to Emily and Evangeline Brady. The first few items pertain to Emily Brady's unsuccessful efforts to secure teaching positions in Cuba, Chile, and at the Universidad Femenina de México. The Brady sisters later received letters from servicemen in the United States servicemen during World War II, including their brother George of the USS Birmingham; John Landry of the Army Air Forces' 110th Bombing Squadron; J. G. Francis Wilber ("Walt") of the Birmingham and Camp Elliot, California; and Michael Kimla of the 336th Army Medical Dispensary. Emily also received letters from Berta Montero in Havana, Cuba; Lopez Arias of Buenos Aires, Argentina; and C. E. Gonzalez ("Enrique") of Popayán, Colombia. The soldiers commented on many aspects of their service, such as Kimla's time in Puerto Rico, Landry's visits to London and other English cities, and Wilber's duties at a personnel center at Camp Elliot. Wilber also shared news of a visit to Mexico. One of Montero's letters encloses a Spanish-language printed program for a harp recital.

Emily Brady wrote to Evangeline, George, and others between December 23, 1949, and September 19, 1950, while she lived in Chile and Brazil. She described everyday life in Santiago, Chile, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and mentioned her travels to other towns, such as Huiscapi, Chile, and Porto Alegre, Brazil. In the summer of 1950, she often commented on recent World Cup matches. Her letter of May 17, 1950, has a very rough sketch of the layout of Rio de Janeiro.

This collection consists of 24 slips of paper with poems written by female students at Washington, Maine, in August 1853, to their teacher Ethelda Coggan. Many are affectionate or urge remembrance, and several of the verses are repeated by multiple students. All but one of the poems includes a ribbon affixed to the paper or evidence that a ribbon had formerly been affixed. Several include locks of hair or hairwork pieces tied into the ribbons. Two additional pieces of unsigned writing are also present. One appears to have been written at the end of the fall term, reflecting on the changes that occurred during the school season, including the death of a student's father, and on the relationships and fond memories created in the schoolhouse. The other piece is a manuscript draft of an essay on perseverance.

This collection consists of 24 slips of paper with poems written by female students at Washington, Maine, in August 1853, to their teacher Ethelda Coggan. Many are affectionate or urge remembrance, and several of the verses are repeated by multiple students. All but one of the poems includes a ribbon affixed to the paper or evidence that a ribbon had formerly been affixed. Several include locks of hair or hairwork pieces tied into the ribbons. In multiple instances, more than one student from a family appears to have written a poem, and the individuals from the same family used the same type of ribbons on their paper.

Two additional pieces of unsigned writing are also present. One appears to have been written at the end of the fall term, reflecting on the changes that occurred during the school season, including the death of a student's father, and on the relationships and fond memories created in the schoolhouse. The other piece is a manuscript draft of an essay on perseverance.

This collection consists of 24 slips of paper with poems written by female students at Washington, Maine, in August 1853, to their teacher Ethelda Coggan. Many are affectionate or urge remembrance, and several of the verses are repeated by multiple students. All but one of the poems includes a ribbon affixed to the paper or evidence that a ribbon had formerly been affixed. Several include locks of hair or hairwork pieces tied into the ribbons. Two additional pieces of unsigned writing are also present. One appears to have been written at the end of the fall term, reflecting on the changes that occurred during the school season, including the death of a student's father, and on the relationships and fond memories created in the schoolhouse. The other piece is a manuscript draft of an essay on perseverance.

This collection consists of 24 slips of paper with poems written by female students at Washington, Maine, in August 1853, to their teacher Ethelda Coggan. Many are affectionate or urge remembrance, and several of the verses are repeated by multiple students. All but one of the poems includes a ribbon affixed to the paper or evidence that a ribbon had formerly been affixed. Several include locks of hair or hairwork pieces tied into the ribbons. In multiple instances, more than one student from a family appears to have written a poem, and the individuals from the same family used the same type of ribbons on their paper.

Two additional pieces of unsigned writing are also present. One appears to have been written at the end of the fall term, reflecting on the changes that occurred during the school season, including the death of a student's father, and on the relationships and fond memories created in the schoolhouse. The other piece is a manuscript draft of an essay on perseverance.

The Langstroth Family papers document the activities and relationships of several generations of the Langstroth family, originally of Philadelphia, including the founding of several schools for women and African Americans, the experiences of a patient the Friends Asylum, and service in the Civil War.

The correspondence series comprises 600 items covering 1831-1955, and sheds light on the personal lives, careers, and activities of several generations of the Langstroth family. The bulk of the earliest letters, dating from the 1830s, are from Catharine Langstroth to her father and siblings. These letters concern the death of her sister Sarah, financial issues, and the health of several family members, including Margaretta, and refer to temperance (July 20, 1835 “It affords me much pleasure to know that you gathered in your hay on temperance principles”) and religious study. One letter of particular interest is dated January 3, 1839, and was written by Margaretta during a stay at the Friends Asylum in Philadelphia. It describes a harrowing series of treatments for unspecified mental problems: “My head has been cut open to the bone for 3 inches; and large [peas?] inserted; a lead placed over the slit and on the top of this a bread & milk poultice has been applied for two months… My hair has been shaved at least 6 times; and three times since the head was opened.” Margaretta also described the Asylum’s lectures, food, and other patients (“only deranged at intervals”).

Letters from the 1840s and 1850s were written by a variety of family members and document the founding of Mount Holly Institute for Young Ladies; the courtship of Thomas Langstroth, III, and Mary Hauss; and a range of religious attitudes, from Margaretta’s intense piety to Thomas’ doubt (December 12, 1853: “most all the young men in our church just before they got married have made a profession of religion, and how have they turned out! Look at them one half are as bad as they were before: but I have no right to judge.”). In early 1855, Margaretta wrote a series of letters from near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, describing her efforts at religious and educational outreach to slaves, for whom she felt sympathy (February 7, 1855: “Slaves! poor slaves! how my heart bleeds for them, they toil from night to morn, from morn to night--live and die here without knowledge enough to save the soul.”).

Little documentation of the family exists from the Civil War period, despite Edward and Thomas’ service on opposite sides, but Edward’s letter to Margaretta of July 14, 1865, indicates a rift between himself and his sisters, perhaps arising from his joining the Confederacy. Letters of the 1860s and 1870s are mainly incoming to Margaretta and concern teaching, finances, and advice. A number of letters to Thomas from the 1880s contain information about his brother Edward’s health. Approximately 25 folders of letters date from the 20th-century and were written between Hugh Tener Langstroth, his sister, Sara Paxson, and other relatives. These concern travel, social visits, health, and business matters.

The financial and legal documents series consists of 124 items relating to the Langstroth family, covering 1778-1913. It includes wills, records relating to milling, land indentures, an account book of 1814-1817 kept by Thomas Langstroth, Jr., paperwork related to loans, and other materials. Some materials relate to the bank failure which forced Langstroth to sell his mill in 1836. Only 15 items date from 1851-1913.

The diaries and journals series represents six volumes and a few fragments, covering the 1830s to the 1860s, all written by Margaretta Langstroth. The volumes dating from the 1830s contain biographies of historical figures and may have been used in school. Subsequent diaries recorded daily entries of varying length, covering parts of 1864-1868. The 1864 volume includes Margaretta’s memorials of deceased family members and is thus a good source of genealogical information. More commonly, her entries describe daily activities, religious meditations, and frequently seem to reflect a fragile mental state, as in this exceprt of April 15, 1865: “Abraham Lincoln shot in the Washington Theatre Secretary Sewar [sic] had this throat cut I hope Edwar [sic] has no hand in this what makes me fear that he had” or an entry of June 19, 1866, describing the death of a robin: “I felt very badly cannot describe my suffering poor bird…read hymns as it was dying wondering if it would live elsewhere[.] In bed all day so distressed so wretched…” In a number of passages, Margaretta noted the Sunday School classes that she taught, and commented on the number of students and the subjects of her lessons.

The Morgan family papers contain the correspondence of three generations of the Morgan family of Ohio, Iowa, and Colorado. Primarily spanning the 1850s and 1880s-1890s, the papers document the Morgans' support for abolition and social reform, as well as their teaching, farming, and business endeavors.

The Morgan family papers consist of 292 letters and 7 documents relating to 3 generations of the Morgan family, primarily in Ohio, Iowa, and Colorado. The collection spans 1834-1913, with most of the items clustered in the 1850s and the 1880s-1890s, with little representation of other decades.

The Morgan siblings wrote nearly all of the approximately 117 letters dating from the 1850s. Their correspondence provides family news, details on their teaching careers, and updates on their health. As the Morgans were very politically and intellectually engaged, they also discussed their opposition to slavery, opinions on various reform issues, and attendance of lectures by such figures as Sojourner Truth (August 25, 1851) and Henry Ward Beecher (January 30, 1856). Eliza Morgan's letters address such topics as bloomers (September 15, 1851: "I can walk faster than ever now and much farther without being tired") and spiritualism (April 18, 1852: "New mediums are being developed constantly all through the country, near and far & some of our nearest neighbors…Milton Maxwell is a shaking medium--that is the spirits can & do shake him [and others too] without his being able to control himself in the least."). Another subject in which the siblings shared an interest was education. Sue Morgan, in particular, wrote of a desire to make it more commonly available: "how much better it is to educate the mass of the people than to confine knowledge to the few[.] if all had an equal chance and were equally educated what a vast amount of suffering and crime might be prevented and Oh what a good leveler would it be to society…" (February 4, 1851).

In the 1880s and 1890s, the most prolific letter writers were Joshua Morgan's sons, Charlie and Wendell. Their letters concern farm life in Colorado and Nebraska, including a boom period for Holyoke, Colorado (March 17, 1888). Sometime during this period, Charlie and Wendell went into business together in Colorado, and this is reflected in their letterhead. The later letters in the collection contain more business-related material and represent more correspondents outside the Morgan family. Many letters (primarily from John Burns and Peter Young) focus on the ongoing care of Celinda Spiker, a relative of Susan Spiker.

This collection consists primarily of letters received by Polly Carpenter Jones between 1814 and 1865, as well as two letters addressed to her husband, Austin Jones of Harford, Pennsylvania. Friends and family frequently corresponded about daily life in Pennsylvania, and many of her female acquaintances mentioned their teaching careers.

This collection consists primarily of letters received by Polly Carpenter Jones between 1814 and 1865, as well as two letters addressed to her husband, Austin Jones of Harford, Pennsylvania. The first items in the collection chiefly concern Polly's schooling in Harford, Pennsylvania, and include advice on the importance of an education, among other topics. Thomas Sweet specifically addressed the art of writing to a woman, admitting his own inexperience (December 4, 1816). Another early letter, written by William Torrey on December 29, 1818, concerns the administration of Sabbath schools and addresses Polly as the leader of such a school in Mt. Ararat, Pennsylvania. After 1857, much of Polly's incoming correspondence originated from her daughter Sarah, who wrote about her experiences teaching school in Canandaigua, New York, and who, in the collection's final letter, mentioned the recent fall of Richmond, Virginia, at the end of the Civil War (April 5, 1865). Another late correspondent, Hannah T. Ride, wrote a nostalgic letter about old friends in Harford and provided advice on medicinal plants (May 13, 1858). Undated material includes several similar letters from family and friends, including one from Polly's sister Betsey, who also taught school.

In addition to Polly's incoming correspondence, the collection holds one letter addressed to Ann Jones and two addressed to Austin Jones, Polly's husband; one of these, written by Polly weeks before their wedding, asked him to confirm his feelings for her (September 3, 1824), and another provided news of family members and acquaintances of Lydia W. Jones (March 10, 1855).

The Sophia Sawyer papers are a collection of letters from an outspoken teacher and missionary. The letters include information on Sawyer's religious thoughts, her opinions on many subjects, and descriptions of her work teaching at a Cherokee missionary school.

The seven letters in this collection, all but one written to Linda Raymond Ward Kingsbury, represent a highly opinionated woman who expressed herself fully and frankly in corresponding with friends. Sawyer was notorious for her eccentric, emotional temperament, which appears to have been established at an early age. The young woman excelled at her studies, but any ambitions she may have entertained were discouraged by poverty -- and she knew it.

Sawyer consoled herself in religion, concluding that God meant for her to remain in a humble station, and that she had been afflicted with an unstable personality in order to learn humility. In 1814 she wrote to Raymond from New Ipswich Academy: "Sometimes I regret my contracted fortune whose scantiness forbids me to pursue my favorite studies, but a moments reflection teaches... that it is for mine, and for the universal good, that I act in a humble sphere. ... I am in the hands of a being, who perfectly knows my disposition and just what remedies to apply. I have had much the season past to teach me my my sic intire dependence on God for all, for every thing, even of the most trivial importance. All my powers of mind, seem sometimes taken from me, that I may realize on whom I depend for reason, and all its attendant blessings."

Sawyer aspired to moral and religious perfection and was brutally harsh on herself for failing to achieve it, even as God, she believed, harshly judged "sunken, fallen, degraded" mankind. She had absorbed strongly negative attitudes toward the female sex which, along with guilt about her own sexuality, caused her to perceive women as weak, vain creatures led easily astray: "Why do we wish to please from motives of vanity? Why wish to be caressed admired and known? I hate female vanity yet possess a large share. Female vanity tarnishes every beauty of our sex. ... Sometimes when I gaze on a lovely young female I almost think her divine but her fallen nature soon contradicts this. ... It is hard to concieve so much loveliness can be a covert to such a sink of polution as we each possess."

In addition to her religious ideals, Sawyer was motivated by a desire to repay those who had provided for her education. She wrote Miss Raymond in 1821 that "I am ashamed to thank your Pa for the care which he takes of me & my property, it seems to me such a poor return. I hope he will see to it that he does not lose by me, as he has by other poor people."

Sawyer's temperament often put her in conflict with fellow missionaries, but the Cherokees seem to have accepted and appreciated her, and there is no doubt that she was a fiercely dedicated teacher. For her part, Sawyer became genuinely attached to her pupils, albeit in the patronizing manner of one who was bringing enlightenment to the heathen. At the Brainerd school many of the girls were under Sawyer's full care as boarding students, and she found that this role "...awakened a tenderness of feeling to which I have hitherto been a stranger." She found the Cherokees more well-behaved and eager to learn than New England children: "Here I can introduce the simplicity of the gospel without being ridiculed. ...They suppose everyone who teaches or is a missionary knows everything -- seemed surprised that that I could not sing & repeat all the hymns. I sighed one day and said I wish I & you were perfect. 'What is perfect?' I answered never to do wrong. 'Are you not perfect then?' they inquired with much surprise." Another letter from Brainerd, written in February, 1825 solicits the prayers and donations of her northern supporters, and encloses letters from several of the students, who were encouraged to correspond with their patrons.

The Cherokee missions ran into serious trouble with Georgia authorities as state jurisdiction was extended into native lands. The missionaries preferred to operate under Indian law, which permitted them to keep out liquor and other unsavory influences, and several of them were imprisoned for refusing to take a loyalty oath. In addition, the Georgia Guard harassed the mission schools for teaching blacks, for Cherokee-owned slaves were permitted to attend the classes. In 1832 Sawyer wrote of such concerns from New Echota, expressing the belief that the "wicked" and oppressive measures of the state would lead to a civil war, and regretting that "the children of this neighborhood, especially boys, are exposed to bad white men who learn them to swear and drink whiskey and then say 'All the good the missionaries do is to learn the Indians so they can curse.' Such things we are to expect in a world like this." In the last letter, written in August-October 1833 to cousin Mary Burnham, Sawyer describes efforts of fellow-missionaries to translate the Bible into Cherokee and tells of the difficulties suffered by the daughter of a polygamous marriage. Folder eight contains excerpts of published material on Sawyer and the Cherokee missions which provide valuable context for the letters.

The Starbird family papers contain the incoming and outgoing correspondence of three of the Starbird siblings: Solomon and George, who served in the Civil War in the 127th New York Infantry and 1st New York Mounted Rifles respectively, and Marianne, who operated a struggling art school in New York City.

The Starbird family papers contain approximately 345 items, spanning ca. 1845 to 1864. The Correspondence series contains approximately 331 letters, arranged chronologically, with undated items at the end; the letters cover 1848 to 1864. Thirty letters in the collection predate the Civil War; these primarily concern the schooling and careers of the Starbird siblings, Marianne Starbird's health, social visits, religious observations, and various family matters. The bulk of the collection centers on the years 1862 to 1864, when Solomon and George served with the 127th New York Infantry and the 1st New York Mounted Rifles, respectively. George wrote to Marianne quite frequently during his service, at which time he was mainly stationed in Virginia and North Carolina. He participated in a number of skirmishes in southern Virginia, as well as the Siege of Suffolk, but otherwise did not see much heavy fighting. His outgoing letters, as well as those he received from fellow soldiers, are notable for their frankness about camp life and the war experience, as well as for their content regarding African Americans. Solomon Starbird wrote less frequently to his siblings, but produced very lengthy letters, which cover numerous topics, including the war camp activities, and duties.

The war-era letters open with a discussion of George's enlistment in the 1st New York Mounted Rifles, including his own rationale for enlisting (July 30, 1862). George's early letters primarily document his daily activities at Camp Dodge in Suffolk, Virginia, and a few skirmishes nearby. He frequently gave accounts of his participation in scouting parties and pickets, as well as his pastimes during quiet periods. Among the skirmishes in which he participated are one near Blackwater, Virginia (October 5, 1862); an attack by "bushwhackers" (December 28, 1862); and a skirmish at Providence Church (December 29, 1862) near Windsor, Virginia. He also gave a lengthy description of being fired on during a picket, when, at the same time, a sergeant was mortally wounded (January 15, 1863). In a letter of September 2, 1862, he described the capture of 112 Confederate prisoners on their way to Richmond, and noted that they were given coffee and generally treated well by their Union captors. He also mentioned the explosion of ordnance stored at Yorktown, Virginia, (December 17, 1863) and the search for a Confederate spy near Williamsburg (January 16, 1864).

George's letters are especially significant for the attention that they give to African Americans. He found himself in frequent proximity to slaves near Suffolk, Virginia, where he recorded their stories and noted the assistance that they provided to his company. On October 10, 1862, he recounted a conversation with the slave whom he paid to wash his clothes and cook sweet potatoes for him. The "old negro" told Starbird about his master, Nathaniel Redden, a member of the Congress of the Confederate States. Redden had left Suffolk, but tried to persuade his slaves to stay on his plantation by telling them that northerners would work them three times as hard as southerners and deny them food. According to the unnamed slave, Redden also told him, "Lincoln is going to take you to Cuba and sell you off to pay off his soldiers." In another letter, dated October 25, 1862, Starbird told his sister about a slave Tom, who "lays awake nights heaps worrying for fear the rebels have carried off his wife he left down in Carolina." Starbird also noted the work performed by contraband, such as building stables (January 15, 1863), and the assistance given to Union troops by African Americans, which included giving them corn and making them coffee (October 14, 1862).

George provided descriptions of camp life, including the soldiers' enjoyment of the barracks at Camp Suffolk, their roughhousing, and their heavy drinking. In a letter of January 1, 1863, he noted that the officers got "beastly drunk" and could barely stay on their horses; indeed, several had fallen and could not perform their duties later in the day. He also described a soldier who was nearly 60 years old and had dyed his hair and beard to appear young enough to enlist (February 9, 1863). Other topics covered in his letters include the lack of pay to the soldiers (January 18, 1863), his duties (which included compiling the monthly returns, November 5, 1863), and the hiring of substitutes (August 18, 1863). He also called his fellow soldiers a "Hard Crowd" and described their vicious brawls with one another (August 9, 1862).

George received correspondence from friends in other regiments. One man in particular, Jesse Kimball, who called himself "Barnes," wrote very frankly about the sex available to soldiers from white and black women. He mentioned rampant venereal disease (March 3, 1863), whores in Virginia (November 17, 1863), and sex with girls in his hometown (March 11, 1864).

Solomon Starbird wrote less frequently, but his letters tended to be long, rambling, and filled with details of camp life. On January 23, 1863, he wrote to Marianne concerning the lack of pay to soldiers and the slovenliness of the privates. In his letter of August 21, 1863, he described a military gathering on Folly Island and Union positions in South Carolina. In other letters he gave accounts of being fired on during picket duty (September 30, 1863) and Christmas celebrations in camp (December 22, 1863). A talented sketcher, he included in a letter of October 8, 1863, a penciled map of Cole's Island, South Carolina, labeled with the "old fort;" the 127th Regiment's camp; and the surrounding marshes.

Marianne's letters to her brothers are notable for their accounts of the administration of a struggling art school in New York City during the period. On March 8, 1863, she described her studio and enclosed a flier for the school. In another letter, she shared the necessity of supporting herself by painting portraits, though her greater talent lay in other areas (March 29, 1863). Her later letters reveal increasing health problems, and the difficulty of attracting pupils (February 22, 1864), as well as her attendance at a Sanitary Commission Fair in Brooklyn (February 7, 1864).

The Essays and Poetry series contains 14 essays and poems covering 92 pages. Marianne wrote many of these items, and submitted them in the 1840s to a Norridgewock, Maine, journal called the Social Repository. Of particular interest is an essay, likely written by Marianne, entitled "My School Days," which describes the small schoolhouse that she had attended as a girl. Also included are poems on the topics of love, autumn, the death of a mother, and friendship, and a piece by "C.B.E." entitled "The Mission of Woman." The latter defends the education and ambitions of women and notes that their rightful place in life is as "the equal, not the toy of men," but urges them to dismiss "the sneers, the prejudice, the conventionalities of the world."