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This volume contains an anonymous journal of a voyage from Kennebunk, Maine, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio, between December 9, 1852, and January 24, 1853, as well as poetry, short stories, and essays composed by a second unknown writer between May 1857 and February 1887. One poem and one story concern the Civil War, and the author composed biographical essays about prominent individuals, families, and other topics.

This volume contains an anonymous journal of a voyage from Kennebunk, Maine, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio, between December 9, 1852, and January 24, 1853 (21 pages), as well as poetry, short stories, and essays composed by a second unknown writer between May 1857 and February 1887 (117 pages). One poem and one story concern the Civil War, and the author frequently composed biographical essays about prominent individuals, families, and other topics.

The first 21 pages, titled "Journal of a voyage from Kennebunk to New Orleans," are made up of daily diary entries composed during a voyage from Maine to Louisiana and from Louisiana to Ohio. The author embarked from Kennebunk, Maine, onboard the Golden Eagle (commanded by Captain Nathaniel Thompson) on December 9, 1852, and made daily observations about life at sea. As the Golden Eagle approached Florida in late December, he described the scenery in the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, and coastal Louisiana. On one occasion, the ship encountered a boat transporting slaves to New Orleans. The author arrived in New Orleans on December 28, where he wrote about some of his experiences in the city, such as a visit to the cattle market. On January 12, he boarded the steamer Yorktown for a journey up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Cincinnati. He noted the cities passed along the way, such as Vicksburg and Memphis, and described southern plantations, making note of their use of slave labor. On January 15, he reported that the Yorktown had taken a newly purchased African American family onboard, who entertained the passengers with dancing and music. By the final entry, dated January 24, 1853, the author had just passed Evansville, Indiana.

The volume also contains a commonplace book, in which the writer composed 117 pages of poetry, short stories, and essay. Several poems are translations of German poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Ludwig Uhland, and others appear to be original compositions. Among the latter is "Our Native Land," a patriotic verse written in March 1863, and additional poetry dated June 1869. The author wrote one short story in March 1862. An essay, "the Presentiment," consists of recollections of a war-era soldiers' relief society worker and a story respecting a woman's premonition of her own death. Biographical sketches and essays comprise most of the remaining material and are often annotated with small edits. Persons of interest include Horace Walpole, William Cowper, Nassau family members, Michael Faraday, Sir Philip Sidney, Norman Macleod, Dr. John Brown, and Henry of Navarre. Other essays concern the "Besor brook" in Judaea, the rivers of Babylon, and the telegraph.

A financial account between Charles Thompson and Nathaniel L. Thompson, settled in Kennebunk, Maine, on January 1, 1856, is laid into the volume.

This volume contains financial accounts related to the sale of goods in the 1830s and to civil court cases heard in the 1870s.

This volume contains financial accounts related to the sale of goods in the 1830s and to civil court cases heard in the 1870s.

The first section of the volume contains an anonymous individual's accounts regarding the sale of various goods, including foodstuffs, household supplies, and tobacco, between 1831 and 1852; most entries are dated 1831-1833. These records are accompanied by notes about planting, a description of a flood, and a brief poem composed mostly of three-word lines (p. 81a).

The second section of the volume consists primarily of notes regarding proceedings and judgments in civil court cases in Berrien County, Michigan, between 1871 and 1873. These notes often include the names of involved parties and details about hearings. Oliver P. Miller, a justice of the peace from Lake Township, is frequently mentioned.

• George Washburn vs. Darwin Wrathman
• Samuel McLellan vs. Darwin Wrathman
• George Ennis vs. George Boyce
• Jacob Raas vs. Warren Nelson
• George Neidlinger vs. William Ushaw and Phillip Meyer
• Andrew Johnson vs. L. Carpenter
• People of the State of Michigan vs. Charles Sterling
• James Lewis vs. John Stiles
• George Neidlinger vs. W. H. H. Long

Other entries in this section of the journal include a "Form of Security for costs by nonresident," illustrated with the case of John Doe vs. John Jones; a "Form of Confession of Judgment;" the poem "The Vacant Chair;" and a song entitled "O come with me in my little canoe" [sic].

• Order for Solomon Neidlinger to surrender his residence and notes on a dispute between Joseph Beans and Melissa B[eans]
• Order for George Ennis to surrender his residence
• A poem, "Lines dedicated to H and M"
• Four pages from the Elson Grammar School Reader Book One
• A recipe for "Washing Fluid"
• A newspaper clipping featuring the following "Lost and Found Poems:"
  • "Unity"
  • "Hang Up the Baby's Stocking"
  • "Annabel Lee"
  • "I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard"
  • "Kingdom Coming"
  • "The Boat Song"
  • "The Discovery of America"
• A cure for whooping cough
• A newspaper clipping featuring "Poetry Written at my Mother's Grave"

The Phebe Plant collection is mostly made up of personal correspondence between Plant and her friend Martha Barnes, especially regarding their religious convictions, as well as letters to Plant's mother, Rebecca Hearsey. Other items include a religious diary and poetry.

The Phoebe Plant collection (53 items) is mostly made up of personal correspondence between Plant and her friend Martha Barnes, as well as letters to Plant's mother, Rebecca Hearsey. Martha Barnes wrote to Phebe Plant from 1814-1819, often discussing her religious convictions and, on one occasion, a religious experience with an auditory component (April 21, 1818; in letter dated April 16, 1818). In a letter dated March 1815, she discussed her reaction to a book about Harriet Newell. Plant's letters to Barnes are mainly contained in an 18-page set of retained copies, which includes entries dated from December 19, 1814-November 30, 1815. Plant wrote about her Christian convictions. Other items by Plant include a religious diary with infrequent entries (July 2, 1816-June 15, [1817], 12 pages) and a poem "composed on the death of a wife" (1818).

After Plant's death in 1819, Martha Barnes occasionally wrote to Plant's mother, Rebecca Hearsey, offering condolences and reflecting on her friendship with Plant. The collection also contains letters that Rebecca Hearsey received from members of the Judd family and others; an account about the estate of Joseph Plant of Southington, Connecticut; and an invoice addressed to the Hearsey family (June 12, 1815).