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This collection is made up of six letters by Solomon M. Jennings and one letter by William H. Mitchell to [Joab?] Stafford of Essex, New York, between 1858 and 1877. Jennings wrote, with phonetic spelling, four letters from Iowa, where he worked as a farmer, 1858-1860; one letter from Denver City, Colorado, where he worked as a blacksmith, 1862; and a letter from Deer Lodge, Montana Territory, where he successfully invested in a quartz mining endeavor, 1877. He discussed prices of agricultural goods and livestock, property, his personal debate over whether or not to move to California, travels and costs of traveling, financial struggles (loans and debts) and successes (investment), and the weather. Mitchell wrote to Stafford from Kansas City, Missouri, about local matters including the need for blacksmiths, in 1865. Both writers tried to convince Stafford to move west.