Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection consists primarily of incoming personal and professional correspondence received by John Barbour, an Episcopal minister and professor at Berkeley Divinity School, concerning religious life in Connecticut in the late 1800s.

This collection consists primarily of approximately 1,150 incoming personal and professional letters received by John Barbour, an Episcopal minister and professor at Berkeley Divinity School, concerning religious life in Connecticut in the late 1800s. The papers also include 5 photographs, 4 printed portraits, and a small group of additional printed items.

The Correspondence series spans most of Barbour's career. The bulk is comprised primarily of letters John Barbour received between 1883 and 1899, reflecting the everyday lives of clergy in Connecticut and New England, as well as Barbour's work with the Episcopal Church and at Berkeley Divinity School. Many of the letters contain professional inquiries and reports of the writers' daily lives and work with local churches. Several relate to Barbour's role as the librarian of the Berkeley Divinity School, including factual questions and inquiries about specific volumes. Other letters request his services as a minister, including several from the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, Connecticut, and from other clergy requesting substitutes. Additionally, many of the letters concern religious education and mention prominent bishops and others in the Episcopal Church.

Two early items relate to John Barbour's father, Henry S. Barbour, and to administrative affairs of the town of Torrington, Connecticut, in 1852 and 1857. The series also includes a timetable for trains between Hartford, Connecticut, and New York City, and a manuscript complaint from attorney John R. Wittig to the Rt. Rev. Bishop Williams, issued against John Barbour, claiming that Barbour colluded with Wittig's wife in a conspiracy to "get rid" of him and seize his property (March 17, 1885).

The Photographs and portraits series holds 5 carte-de-visite photographs of members of the Barbour family, including Henry S., Sylvester, Herman H., Julia, and Joseph L. Barbour, as well as 4 printed portraits of Episcopal clergy.

The Printed items series contains biographical sketches of bishops, Episcopal clergy, and other figures, removed from published books and newspapers. Among those represented are Bishop John Williams and librarian Melvil Dewey. The series also includes approximately 20 invitations, programs, circular letters, and advertisements. One advertising card for the Fannie C. Paddock Memorial Hospital of Tacoma, Washington Territory, bears an engraved image of the facility.

This collection contains the incoming and outgoing correspondence of Charlotte and Martha Wray, sisters who lived in Washington County, New York; Detroit, Michigan; and Iowa in the 19th century. The letters span Martha's time as a schoolteacher in Detroit, Michigan; Charlotte's work as a teacher in Albany, New York; and Charlotte's experiences in Iowa prior to the Civil War.

This collection contains approximately 110 letters, of which Charlotte Wray wrote about 90 to her sister Martha. Additionally, Martha and Mary Jane Wray each wrote 1 letter, and Charlotte and Martha Wray received about 18 letters from cousins and other family members. Charlotte's letters discuss her experience as a schoolteacher and her life in Albany, New York, and in Iowa, where she lived after the late 1840s. Charlotte's letters also include content on the arrival of new immigrants, her declining health, and her husband's medical practice during the Civil War.

The earliest items in the collection include a 1-page essay by Mary Jane Wray, Charlotte and Martha's sister, titled "of Solitude" and dated September 18, 1839, and a poem Charlotte wrote about her sister. The correspondence begins on May [15], 1842, with a letter from Martha about her arrival and teaching in Detroit. When Mary Jane traveled to Detroit in 1844, she wrote home about the birth and first weeks of her son Van (August 25, 1844).

Charlotte wrote approximately 20 letters to Martha after moving to Albany, New York, around October 1845, where she taught school. She gave news about her life and friends in Albany, such as her intent to turn down a marriage proposal (January 19, 1846) and student expenses at the New York State Normal School (March 15, 1846). In a later letter from Albany, written around the summer of 1846, she explained her reasons for leaving the school, based on the belief that she could earn more money sewing.

After June 22, 1847, Charlotte wrote approximately 70 letters to Martha describing her married life with Thomas. They moved to Garnavillo, Iowa, in the summer of 1847. She informed her sister about life in Iowa, including her travels, the experiences of other new immigrants, and her homes in Garnavillo, Farmersburg, and Monona. Charlotte also discussed married life and her husband's medical practice. She reflected on the Civil War in two letters, mentioning the draft, financial aspects of the war, and her husband's wartime medical practice (August 21, 1862, and February 1863). Following Charlotte's death around March 1863, Martha received 7 letters from her brother-in-law, who described Charlotte’s final sickness and death (March 31, 1863) and the devastating impact on the family.

The minute book of the United Sons of Salem Benevolent Society describes the business proceedings of a mid-19th century African American self-help organization. A hybrid of an insurance agency and charitable operation, the United Sons bound together members of the African American community of Salem, New Jersey, providing a social network, a financial safety net, and support in the event of illness or death.

The minute book of the United Sons of Salem Benevolent Society is a rare survival of a mid-19th century African American self-help organization. A hybrid of an insurance agency and charitable operation, the United Sons bound together members of the African American community of Salem, New Jersey, providing a social network, a financial safety net, and support in the event of illness or death. The Society also made small, usually short-term loans to its members to assist in their business endeavors.

The first 18 pages of the minute book contain the constitution of the United Sons, including a preamble and 25 articles, plus the signatures of eighteen founding members. Six of these men appear to have signed, the other twelve making marks. Thereafter, typical entries in the minute book are very brief, including notice that meetings began with "singing and prays," and tersely summarizing the business at hand -- the election of officers, the induction of new members, society discipline, and the disbursement of funds to compensate sickness and death.

The constitution of the Society is of considerable historical value in explicitly laying out the reasons for forming the Society and providing a highly detailed overview of its structure, ideology, and operations. Providing the names of many of its members and their contributions and roles within the organization, the remainder of the book is a valuable key to examining the social and financial relationships among members of the African American community during a critical period of history.

The Charles F. Tew papers contain letters and documents related to Union officer Charles Tew and his family. The letters document Tew's early career in the navy, his Civil War service, and his family's post-war activities.

The Charles F. Tew papers contain letters and documents related to Union officer Charles Tew and his family (1837-1905). The 1985 series is comprised of 448 letters, 2 diaries, 19 military documents (including orders, supply notes, commissions, and furloughs), 1 roll call notebook, 1 subpoena, 9 financial records (receipts), 3 printed items, and 11 items of ephemera.

The letters begin in 1841, during Tew's early career in the United States Navy, and were written to and from Tew, his mother, and his brother. Tew's letters detail his experiences as a young sailor aboard the Columbus, and include descriptions of ship life. In one letter, Tew complained to his mother that they begin scrubbing the deck early in the morning, and that "if you go below the mate will lick you with out mercy…I am sick of a sailor's life" (September 16, 1841). Several letters deal with his attempts to obtain a discharge. He explained to his mother that if he is not released from service he will simply run away again: "I will never consent to stay here five years on any account whatever I had rather they would throw me overboard with a forty two pound shot tied to my neck" (January 17, 1842). Soon after, the navy agreed to discharge Tew.

Most of the 1850-1860 items are incoming letters to Tew from friends and family, dealing with daily life, town gossip and scandals (such as an illegitimate birth (January 9 and 10, 1851)), firefighting, and cockfighting. Of note is a letter discussing "spirit rappings" (February 22, 1850), and a letter about newly instated fugitive slave laws (November 28, 1850).

The Civil War letters begin on November 5, 1861, when Tew wrote that he and his regiment had reached Annapolis, Maryland. The majority of the letters from this period are from Tew to his wife and family, with some letters addressed to either Tew or Amelia from other friends and family members. The letters indicate that, though Tew missed his family greatly, he was proud of his service for his country: "I am winning an inheritance for my children, and for them a name and a country that they may never be ashamed of" (November 28, 1861). Tew often exhibited frustration at the men who did not enlist, as he believed their reluctance to join the cause only lengthened the war. Tew suggested that their civilian pay should be cut in order to encourage them to enlist (November 21, 1863). Though the series does not include Amelia's letters to Tew, his responses indicate that she was often frustrated by his absence. Tew's letters contain vivid descriptions of army and officer life, battles and expeditions, and his illnesses and injuries. Tew described his part in the capture of New Bern and the ensuing skirmishes (March 16, 1862), Drewry's Bluff (May 22, 1864), Cold Harbor (June 5, 1864), and the siege of Petersburg (June 12-August 11, 1864). Tew wrote that many of his men had grown hard and accustomed to battle: "They are without fear as you may say, heardened to the sight of blood…O Wife you know not what it is to meat death face to face, yet I fear it not…" (April 9, [1862]). Beyond the battlefield, Tew discussed his impressions of and dealings with Southern civilians. He described commandeering houses and burning the homes of those who gave information to the Confederate Army (June 15, 1862). He noted the capture of several Confederate prisoners, mentioning that he wished he could have killed them in revenge for the death of Union soldiers (July 30, 1862). African Americans and slaves are also a frequent topic of discussion, and Tew claimed that, though the people in Maryland have slaves do all of their work, "they cannot be as happy as we are at home with our wives and daughters to do our work so neat for us" (November 1861). Tew occasionally discussed his views of African American troops.

Tew resigned from the service in August 1864, but reenlisted in 1865, to the consternation of his wife. In a letter from March 18, 1865, Tew defended his actions, claiming that he was not a bad husband, nor was he deserting his family. After his reenlistement, Tew felt unwelcome in his new regiment (March 23, 1865). The letters from this period contain a discussion of Lincoln's assassination (April 26, 1865), as well as a first-hand account of the execution of the assassination conspirators (July 10, 1865).

After the war, the series consists primarily of family letters, including several from Charles F. Tew, Jr (1877-1880), who traveled around the United States working odd jobs, including painting, piano tuning, and picking cotton, until he died suddenly in Colorado of an illness. His last letter is dated February 21, 1880, and is followed by a payment for transporting his body back to Massachusetts, and a letter from the hospital containing information on his death (May 17, 1880). Family letters, written primarily by Amelia, Charles, and their children, continue through the next few decades, providing accounts of late 19th century family life. Topics include illnesses, romances and marriages (accounts of Mabel Tew's wedding are provided in letters from January 8 and 15, 1888), work, births, vacations, and general family events.

Also included in the series are several printed documents, including a navy broadside (1837); a pamphlet providing "Instructions for Officers on outpost and patrol duty" (March 25, 1862); and a subpoena to appear at a court martial for men who had gone AWOL (October 19, 1865). Also present are three bound volumes: Tew's roll call notebook for the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment (1862-1865), and two diaries from 1862 and 1865 that contain occasional brief entries.

The 2015 series consists of approximately 250 items, primarily Civil War-era military documents and returns related to ordnance, camp equipage, and clothing. Other military documents concern details, furloughs, and passes for Tew and members of his companies. Application materials for pensions, disability, and other matters area also included. The series also features seven letters from 1849 relating to Charles F. Tew's travels to California to participate in gold mining. Ten letters from Amelia M. Tew to her mother in the mid-1850s detail her young and growing family. These are accompanied by various other family letters, documents, and receipts from 1809 to 1902.

The series also includes several photographs, ephemera, and two essays. One, "An Incident at New Berne, N.C." relates to a Civil War battle in which Tew commanded. The other, "My Childhood Days in the First Third of the Century," is a partial memoir written by a mother for her child. Two autograph albums, one from ca. 1833-1836 and ca. 1874-1878, are at the end of the series.

The Lydia Maria Child papers consist of ninety mostly personal letters by Lydia Child; the bulk of them were written to her wealthy abolitionist and philanthropic friends in Boston, the Lorings.

The collection consists of ninety mostly personal and often playfully provocative letters dating from approximately 1835 to 1877. Most of them are from Lydia Maria Child to her wealthy Boston abolitionist and philanthropic friends, the Lorings, and date from 1839 to 1859. They thus concentrate on the period of Maria Child's distress with the institutional politics of antislavery, her editorship of the Standard, her growing attachment to New York Bohemia, and the publication of Letters From New York. Many of the letters deal simply with her day to day finances, friends, and family.

These letters chart Maria Child's loss of "pleasure" in "anti Slavery" until the martyrdom of John Brown renewed her "youth and strength." They witness her antagonism to the aggressive tactics of elements of the American Anti-Slavery Society and her defense of the "Old Organization." It is in terms of intra-organizational criticism that she justifies her job at the Standard despite reservations. Later, however, the letters witness her declining commitment to pacifism. They describe a remarkable fearlessness to the danger of the mobs in New York, and they note the challenges that the Standard faced. They speak of Maria Child's withdrawal from cliques of reformers and antislavery organizations, though clearly her hermitage was constantly broken by meetings with the likes of Catherine Beecher and Margaret Fuller. Throughout, she declares a radical social egalitarianism while demonstrating a contemporary racial paternalism and liberalism. Of particular interest concerning antislavery and race are:

• (1) To George Kimball, Jan 1835, on Texas and the freemen plantation in Mexico
• (3) To Louisa L., April 1839, concerning the discord within the movement
• (6) To "Nonny", Dec 1840, of a story about "our colored man... our retainers"
• (8) To Ellis L., May 1841, about guilt for accepting money for editing the Standard
• (9) To Ellis L., June 1841, where she insinuates the A.A.S.S. with proslavery form
• (13) To Ellis L., May 1842, about the Boston and Philadelphia cliques and N.Y. mobs
• (17) To Louisa L., May 1843, about the New York Letters and Angelina Grimké
• (48) To Ellis L., December 1852, with reference to Charles Sumner and Catherine Beecher
• (57) To Louisa L., October 1856, about Kansas and Frémont
• (69) To Oliver Johnson (A.A.S.), Dec. 1859, on John Brown's execution
• (70) To William Cutler, July 1862, on the questions of wage slavery and social equality
• (72) To Anna L., Oct (1871?), on a "mulatto girl" asking for handouts.

More peripherally the letters are witness to the homosocial support networks of Victorian America despite their author's exceptional ability to transcend the limitations imposed on her sex. Of the latter she was painfully aware, complaining here of the impropriety of a "young lady" staying at the Globe Hotel, determining to "always avoid belonging to any association of men" because of her "experience," noting how her critics preferred to attack her as a woman rather than deal with the facts, how some were shocked to meet a woman like her, and complaining about her gendered financial liabilities despite her disfranchisement. Indeed, she detaches gender stereotypes from biological sex as she writes repeatedly of the "small female minds of both sexes." Writing domestic guides for women and attending Emerson's lectures on domestic life never reconciled Maria Child to domestic work, of which she often complains here. On the other hand, she seemed to relish romance and also writes of her caring for a "wild Irish girl," and her poor niece Maria, and her taking in of Dolores, a poor Spanish woman, as her companion. Particularly relevant are her letters: (67) To Louisa L., December 1857, a story of two babies engaged in the struggle of the sexes; (71) To Anna L., July 1871, on suffrage for societal efficiency and female education.

Lydia Maria Child's letters also chart her critical attitude to religious and social injustice in general. This is born out in accounts of specific incidents of charity to orphans abandoned in the Tombs. Calling Angelina Grimké a "flaming Millerite," Maria Child also makes fun of her patron Isaac T. Hopper's Quakerism, claims to prefer the "Lord Pope" to the "Lord Presbyters," and "shocked... Christian piety by saying if Mendelssohn were a Jew, I hoped I should get into the Jew's Quarter in heaven." Her "dislike to respectable Puritanical character" crops up repeatedly in these letters. In one letter she jokingly claims her "right to be damned." She praises Plato as a forefather of "modern socialists" and writes of the world of the spirits and of her "bigotted Swedenborgian[ism]." In terms of her pacifism she recounts an argument she had with Samuel Colt over "his battery." Her letters moreover present a consistent picture of her preference for the soul-inspired music of the underdog against anything machine-like, or tainted by the "diseased ambition of wealth and show... and respectability." She criticizes the "ruffianly Forrest" and the Astor Place Riots for demagoguery and violence while repeatedly noting the blindness of aristocracy and arguing for a world in which "all ranks, and sexes, and sects, and barriers of all sorts," would be ignored. In an elusive search for freedom she claims pleasure in acting "contrary to statutes made and provided."

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.

The Puffer papers consist of items relating to the family history and tea room operated by the Puffer sisters in Nobleboro, Maine; much of the material is undated.

The most significant item in this collection is a typescript manuscript in two parts, "Recollections and Recipes," written by Mary Sophia Puffer, and "Nobleboro Community Kitchen", written by her sister, Alice. In addition, there are seven unique copies of Community Kitchen menus and several seemingly unrelated land deeds.

The first part of the typescript is aptly described by the author: "Around the seasons and through the years with a suburban Boston family, from Massachusetts to Maine and New Jersey, with happy memories and good eating made possible by old Yankee recipes handed down from generation to generation, culminating in the successful operation of a popular tea-room." This account of family travels and customs is interspersed with over sixty recipes. A tremendous appreciation for food fuels this reminiscence, which seems to have been written much later in life.

Alice Puffer goes on to describe the "birth and death of a tea room in the pre-war days of plenty" and provides some more recipes, including ones for lemon meringue pie, "the best seller and reputation maker... no ordinary haphazard confection," and the original recipe for Parker House rolls. The roll recipe was obtained by the Puffer's father directly from the chef at the Parker House, but the sisters found ways to improve it.

Two Community Kitchen menus are for afternoon tea and have watercolor paintings on the front. There are also five black menu cards painted by a "gifted art student" and four handwritten menus to accompany them. Lobsters are naturally featured ("We boil our own lobsters and Maine deep-sea lobsters have a flavor all their own"), as well as berry pies, "lemon pie, with a wonderful meringue", "rich creamy milk from a herd of registered cows" and "community pickles."

The six deeds are all for properties in the Nobleboro area and date from 1830 to 1912. They seem to be unrelated to the Community Kitchen materials, even though one deed, dated 1911, is from Robert W. and wife Blanche Puffer to O. C. Nutting. There is also a sketch of property lines done by Frank Bulfinch for Charles M. Hall in 1907.

The Stephen Smith papers are a partial record of the business transactions of a Boston cabinetmaker and furniture dealer, concentrated in the years 1834-1853.

The Stephen Smith papers are a partial record of the business transactions of a Boston cabinetmaker and furniture dealer, concentrated in the years 1834-1853. Despite its incompleteness, the collection provides a good overview of the trade, and includes some detailed information on cabinetry, iron stoves, retail operations, clock making, apprenticing, and business practices, and gives some minor insight into the lives of an upwardly mobile member of the skilled artisan class.

The most informative series of letters in the collection are the more than ninety letters between Smith and his brothers-in-law, Thomas and John L. Lothrop, relating to the manufacture and sale of iron stoves, and the twenty letters written by a Concord, N.H., clockmaker, Abiel Chandler, discussing clock manufacturing and the consignment of his goods through Smith. Chandler's letters provide details on the prices, design and distribution of clocks. Labor arrangement are not a major topic in the collection, however, there are several letter relating to efforts to arrange apprenticeships for boys entering the cabinetmaking trade, and one regarding a boy named Henry, possibly a relative of the Lothrops, who wanted to become an apothecary (3:34). According to the Lothrops, Henry was a difficult case, and suffered from the serious fault of a short attention span and an interest only in things when they were new. One letter, written in 1842, includes notice of a convention for cabinetmakers in Boston (2:45).

The Smith papers contain ten letters relating to the California Gold Rush, six written by Stephen Smith's brother, George L. Smith, in 1849 and 1850, and two by a ship captain who transported them to California from Boston. George's letters include literate, optimistic descriptions of the voyage around the horn and of conditions in San Francisco and Sacramento during the first year of the Gold Rush. They are especially interesting in that George was a minor success at gold mining.

Among the miscellaneous items in the collection are two unusual, brief letters of some note. The first is a letter from a recent widower, Kimbal Smith (3:13), discussing the death of his wife and the emotional hardships he has faced, and the second is a plea from a young man in prison, John Daly (3:51), pleading with his father to get him out and providing a vivid, though very brief sketch of the horrifying conditions.

This collection is made up of correspondence written and received by members of the Dall family of Boston, Massachusetts. Included are letters written and received by Caroline Healey Dall, an early feminist; letters between her daughter, Sarah Keene Dall, and Josiah Munro during the couple's courtship; letters from Charles Henry Appleton Dall to his children, Sarah and William, written while he worked as a missionary in India; and letters from Sarah Keene Dall to her brother William, concerning her life in Buffalo, New York, throughout the late-19th century.

This collection is made up of correspondence written and received by members of the Dall family of Boston, Massachusetts. Eighty-eight letters concern the friendship and courtship of Sarah Keene Dall and her future husband, Josiah Munro, between 1867 and 1870. Dall wrote approximately 680 letters to her brother William about her life in Buffalo, New York, 1874-1907. Reverend Charles Dall wrote 10 letters and postcards to Sarah Keene and William Dall when he worked as a missionary in India in the early 1880s. Caroline Healey Dall received approximately 65 letters from friends in the early 20th century. The papers also include 3 receipts, 1 cyanotype photograph, an original illustration, a newspaper clipping, and Caroline Healey Dall's 1898-1907 commonplace book.

The first 88 letters in the Correspondence series relate to the friendship and courtship between Sarah Keene Dall ("Sadie") and Josiah Munro, including 68 letters he received from Sarah and 18 he received from her mother, Caroline Healey Dall. Sarah wrote many of her letters from Baltimore, Maryland, and Boston, Massachusetts, and she regularly corresponded with Josiah about her social life and daily experiences. She spent much of her time traveling, and her letters include observations about steamboat travel in Ohio (May 23, 1868) and about travel around the South. Occasionally, particularly in her earlier letters, she commented on women's affairs and feminist subjects, including women's suffrage and the general difficulties faced by women who wanted to work outside the home. Three of her letters contain enclosures: a newspaper clipping about commemoration of Confederate Civil War casualties (October 16, 1867), a four-leaf clover (October 23, 1867), and two pieces of fabric (October 28, 1869).

Sarah's mother, Caroline Healey Dall, strongly opposed Sarah and Josiah's courtship and engagement. She wrote Munro 7 times between April 2 and April 26, 1870, requesting that he make his intentions clear and discuss the matter with her and with Sarah. Dall claimed that her daughter wished to wait to become engaged, though Sarah told Munro she preferred to marry before the winter (April 11, 1870). The letters surrounding the tense situation provide insight into aspects of late-19th century romantic customs. Munro also received a sympathetic letter of support from William Dall, his future brother-in-law (April 24, 1870), and a friendly letter from his sister Mary (July 31, 1870).

The bulk of the collection consists of approximately 680 letters William Dall received from his sister, Sarah Dall Munro, and mother, Caroline Healey Dall, between 1874 and 1907. Sarah wrote the majority of the letters while living in Buffalo, New York, and regularly shared news of her social life, travel, and daily experiences. Many of her letters concern housekeeping duties, charity work, and her sons, Willis and Charles. The letters also indirectly reflect William's life and travels around the United States and Europe, and occasionally provide insight into current events, such as the procession of President William McKinley's funeral train through Buffalo (September 11, 1901). William's mother wrote similar letters, though with less frequency. She commented on her life and provided family news. Josiah Munro, William's brother-in-law, sent him at least two letters.

Reverend Charles Dall wrote to Sarah and William while living in Calcutta, India, where he worked as a Unitarian missionary. His ten letters include a letter to Sarah dated November 22, 1872, and 9 postcards to William and his wife Nettie between January 2, 1882, and August 31, 1883. Dall's correspondence focuses on his travel between North America and India, and occasionally regards the local weather. He also often requested news of life in Boston and of his family.

Between 1911 and 1912, Caroline Healey Dall received approximately 65 personal letters from her daughter Sarah and from friends and acquaintances, largely pertaining to their social and personal lives. She also received letters of appreciation from libraries, acknowledging her donations of manuscripts or books.

Two later letters are a personal letter addressed to "Mattie" by a woman named Annie in Santa Barbara, California (September 12, 1922), and a letter from Charles Whitney Dall to Willis Dall (June 15, 1942). Charles W. Dall's letter pertains to a group of Dall family papers, including many letters written by his father and his aunt Sarah, that were moved away from Washington, D. C., to protect them in the event of a bombing raid against the capital. An undated, typed newsletter titled "Our Weekly Boston letter," pertains to anniversaries being celebrated throughout the city and to President Theodore Roosevelt.

The Receipts, Visual Materials, and Newspaper Clipping series holds 1 newspaper clipping concerning the commemoration of Sigourney Butler of Boston, Massachusetts; 3 receipts from E. Rollins Morse & Brother to Merchant's National Bank (June and July 1889); 1 cyanotype titled "Our tent. The Dunbars"; and a small drawing of a building in San Michael (San Miguel), New Mexico.

Caroline Healey Dall's Commonplace Book, dated 1898-1907, contains copied poetry, essays, and articles. Though a few early poems were written in the early 1800s, most date to the 1890s, and they concern a variety of subjects, such as memorials, nature, religion, and Theodore Roosevelt. She also recorded 8 pages of thoughts on criticism of William Shakespeare, biographical notes on prominent figures, and an essay on child marriages. Two poems and an article are clipped from printed sources and pasted into the book.

The Devereux papers consist primarily of essays and speeches written by the progressive philosopher and politician George H. Devereux between about 1840 and 1870 in Massachusetts. The collection also contains book reviews, biographies, fiction, and poetry by Devereux, along with a small number of his letters, legal documents, and printed items related to his sons' service in the Civil War.

The Devereux papers (205 items) consist primarily of essays and speeches written by the progressive philosopher and politician George H. Devereux between about 1840 and 1870 in Massachusetts. The collection also contains book reviews, biographies, fiction, and poetry by Devereux, along with a small number of his letters, legal documents, and printed items related to his sons' service in the Civil War.

The Correspondence series consists of 5 items including a four page letter from George Devereux’s son John Forrester from on board the frigate Constitution, describing Arthur's and his movements with the army (April 26, 1861). George Devereux copied a portion of a letter from his son Arthur that gave an account of his regiment saving the old frigate Constitution from the rebels in Annapolis. Another item is a brief undated letter from Nathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838) to his cousin John Forrester, inviting him to meet the President.

The Legal Documents series contains 2 items. First is a deed of sale transferring the late Reverend Thomas Carlile's "Chaise, Plate, and all the house-hold Furniture" to John Forrester from a group of Salem merchants. This document inventories every object of the house room by room. The second document is an 1866 quit-claim deed to George H. Devereux from Nathaniel Silsbee, husband of Marianne Cabot Silsbee, Georges' sister.

The Essays, Speeches, Poems, and Other Writings series contains 189 items and comprises the bulk of the Devereux Collection. The series consists of essays, speeches, poems, and works of fiction, written by George H. Devereux, between about 1840 and 1870. These reflect his deeply held political and social progressive viewpoints. Devereux wrote an extensive, mulit-part work on the French Revolution and Emperor Napoleon I; 7 essays are on historical topics (including two on the Civil War written during the war); 13 are on philosophical topics (common sense, time, mythology, human nature); and several minor essays are on a wide range of topics, including abolitionism, modern science, spiritualism, Unitarianism, proper names, and woman's rights. He wrote orations for the Children's Friend Society, and on topics of free thought, the forest, and the Massachusetts Legislature (pre-Civil War). While in Maine, Devereux wrote an essay on Moosehead Lake, and composed another on Maine's climate.

Other writings include book and literature reviews concerning Roman and Greek literature, both popular and modern literature; biographical sketches on Lord Byron and Colonel Timothy Pickering; and poetry, of which the most substantial item is Camillus, A Roman Legend, a poem in two parts with illustrations. Many of Devereux's poems are based on Aesop's Fables, such as The Frogs, The Dog and Bone, The Crow and Urn, The Wolf and the Crane, and other animal-themed verses. Other poem titles are: The Sun and the Wind, The Two Curses, The Youthful Wanderer (1836), and The Retrospect (1859). Several of the poems have multiple drafts. Some fragments of untitled prose and one 32-page work entitled Zeke Cutter are writings of fiction. Finally, this series includes three undated and untitled pages of writing and manuscript instructions for card tricks.

• The Weal = Reaf The Record of the Essex Institute Fair Held at Salem: September 5-8 (1860), which describes the vendors and activities, and features contributions from Nathaniel Hawthorne and his son.
• A copy of Our Roll of Honor, a collection of poems written by John Forrester Devereux. These poems commemorate his friends from the Salem Light Infantry who died in the war.
• A pamphlet reprint of the Essex Institute's October 1963 article, "The Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment at Gettysburg," by Hugh Devereux Purcell, which describes Colonel Arthur Devereux’s role at Gettysburg.

The Graphics and Realia series consists of one photograph, a carte-de-visite of John Forrester Devereux in the 11th Massachusetts Infantry, taken by Childs and Adam, Marblehead, and a of a pair of his epaulets.