Correspondence
Correspondence is arranged chronologically from 1829 to 1934. It is by far the largest series, measuring ten linear inches. The series consists mostly of the professional and personal correspondence of Seth Shetterly. In addition to family members, correspondents include R.J. Aldrich, Zachariah Chandler, George Brownell Clark, Don McDonald Dickinson, Silas Hamilton Douglas, David Bethune Duffield, James B. Eldridge, D.N. Lowell, Zina Pitcher, John Stephens, and James Stephens. There is also some correspondence of other persons. In the folders covering the years 1829-1848, most of the correspondence is Samuel Smith's of Oakland County, Michigan. Included are several letters written 1834-1835 by his son while serving in the Army at Fort Gibson [present day Oklahoma]. He describes the high mortality rate and low morale at the fort. The last folder of correspondence, 1898-1934, consists almost entirely of the correspondence of Seth's widow Clara, mostly letters from her children.