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The Crittenden family papers contain the letters of a Kentucky family living in the California and Nevada frontiers. The material centers on the family of Alexander Parker Crittenden and his wife Clara Churchill Jones, and includes letters from their parents, siblings, and children. The collection also contains diaries, documents and financial records, and family photographs (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and other paper prints). The collection documents the murder of Alexander Parker Crittenden as well as family members who fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War and who participated in mining and prospecting in the West.

The Crittenden family papers contain the letters and documents of the family of Alexander Parker Crittenden and his wife Clara Churchill Jones Crittenden. The bulk of the collection consists of personal correspondence between members of the extended family, including Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden, seven of their eight (surviving) children, Clara’s parents and siblings (the Jones family), and Mary Crittenden Robinson (Alexander's sister). In addition to correspondence, the collection contains diaries, documents and financial records, and 96 family photographs (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and other paper prints), including one carte-de-visite of Laura Hunt Fair.

The Correspondence series (approximately 1,280 items) covers several topics of interest. The letters by Clara and Alexander Parker Crittenden (hereafter A.P.C.) illustrate the passionate courtship and strained marriage of a couple living in California in the 19th century; Laura Crittenden Sanchez’ correspondence presents a picture of a woman’s life on the 1860s western frontier in California and Nevada; and Ann Northey Churchill Jones’s letters to her daughter Clara provide frank commentary on womanhood. The following summary is a brief description of the collection’s major correspondents and the content of their letters.

The collection includes over 260 letters from A.P.C.to his wife Clara, which span the length of their relationship, from their first meeting until his death. The courtship letters are full of expressions of youthful passion. Especially valuable are A.P.C.'s letters describing San Francisco in the early 1850s, which contain information about the Gold Rush and early statehood, and include discussions about women in California, and troubles he experienced from not having a wife present to care for him. The 1860s letters written from Nevada to Clara in California provide a good account of early Nevada, as well as insight into their deteriorating marriage. However, the twenty letters written during Clara's 1870 transcontinental trip to the East Coast, exhibit an apparently genuine change of heart in Crittenden, who had purchased and redecorated a lavish new home as a surprise for Clara on her return. Almost every letter begs her to cut the trip short and return.

A.P.C.'s eldest son, Churchill, is represented by 62 letters to him from his father, and 62 letters written by Churchill to his parents and siblings, largely from 1858 and 1861, while he was studying at Hanover College. While at Hanover, Churchill developed Union sympathies, which upset his Kentucky-born father. Of note is a letter from A.P.C., who at the time was the leader of the southern wing of the California Democratic Party, to Churchill defending southern rights for secession (December 10, 1860). Churchill wrote six letters while in the Confederate Army. The collection also contains 60 letters from James Love Crittenden. His early letters discuss school life, ante-bellum politics, and family relations. He wrote 10 letters while fighting with the Confederacy.

Clara Jones Crittenden wrote 19 letters in the collection: two to her husband, one to her eldest son, Churchill, and sixteen to her daughter Annie (“Nannie”). The letters to Annie are almost all dated November-December 1864, and reflect the deep gloom Clara felt following the murder of her son Churchill in October 1864.

Laura Crittenden Sanchez wrote 71 letters to her mother, 87 to her sister Nannie, and a few to other family members. They present a view of domestic life on the 1860s western frontier. Of note are Laura’s routine comments that reflect the values of a woman raised to believe in the Southern ideals of gentility and womanhood. However, she also held advanced ideas on women’s rights and divisions of duties in the home. Her husband, Ramon B. Sanchez, shared these beliefs and described his role in housework and his ideas of manhood, in his letter to Nannie Crittenden (July 25, 1862).

This series holds 16 letters from A.P.C. to his daughter Nannie, 6 to her husband Sidney Van Wyck, and many letters of condolence received by the family at the time of Parker’s murder. Van Wyck, who held evangelical beliefs, was deeply concerned about the well-being of his pregnant wife. He sent 117 letters to Nannie between January and May 1870, while she was in San Francisco and was he in Hamilton, Nevada, attempting to strike it rich prospecting for silver. He gave a rich account of life in a snowy Nevada mining town. The collection also includes approximately 40 business letters concerning Sidney's mining interests between 1879 and 1882. After 1874, the collection constitutes letters addressed largely to members of the Van Wyck family, including 8 letters from Nannie's daughter Clara Van Wyck to her brother Sydney Van Wyck, Jr.

Mary Crittenden Robinson, A.P.C.'s older sister, wrote 23 letters to Clara Crittenden, almost entirely in 1863. They are domestic in content, with occasional references to politics and society. Mary also wrote to A.P.C., and to various nieces and nephews, and her children are represented as well: Mary, Kate, and Tod, Jr.

The collection also contains letters from Clara Jones Crittenden's parents and siblings.

Clara's father Alexander Jones, Jr., wrote 5 letters to Clara, including one offering consolation on her husband's murder (November 7, 1870), and 3 to his granddaughter Nannie. Ann Northey Churchill Jones, Clara's mother, sent her seven letters from 1839-1841. She provided a frank commentary on womanhood and discussed childbirth, the proper preparation of breasts for nursing, a mother’s role in fixing children’s values, marital relations and what a wife could do to improve them, and how a woman should deal with an unworthy husband.

Clara's brother Alexander Jones III wrote 21 letters to A.P.C. and Clara (1849, and 1857-1870). These describe frontier Texas, news of the Civil War, and Confederate patriotism. In one notable letter, he described life in Brownsville, Texas, and advised using birth control (January 30, 1860). Clara's sister Mary "Mollie" Farquhar Jones Joliffe wrote 15 letters, 1858-1870, primarily made up of family news. Her wartime letters are a window onto the hardships of Confederate civilian life. William Marlborough Jones is represented by 13 Civil War and Reconstruction era letters, which reflect on the costs of the war to both the family and the nation. Of note is a 12-page account of the war near Jackson, Mississippi (November 7, 1870), and his report on the fall of Vicksburg (July 7, 1863). Sister Rebecca Churchill Jones Craighill, wrote 13 letters (1858-1899) to multiple recipients. In 1866, she composed excellent reflections on the war and criticized a Virginia friend who had eloped with a Yankee officer.

The collection also contains letters from two of Clara’s uncles: 8 from Marlborough Churchill and 2 from George Jones.

The Journals series (2 items) contains an official transcript of a journal of Elizabeth Van Wyck, and a diary kept by Sydney Van Wyck. The Elizabeth Van Wyck journal is a transcript of a reminiscence of her life from age 7 until November 12, 1808, when she was 26. The copy was made in 1925, at the request of Elizabeth's great-grandson, Sidney M. Van Wyck, Jr. The second item is a detailed journal kept by Sydney Van Wyck during his time at school in the 1840s. In it, he described his life at school and many of his family members.

The Documents and Financial Records series is made up of four subseries: Estate Papers, Insurance Papers, Legal and Financial Documents, and Account Books.

The Estate Papers subseries contains 11 items concerning the property of A.P.C. and 24 items related to Howard J. Crittenden. These include A.P.C.'s last will and testament and court records surrounding his murder and the handling of his estate (1870-1875). The Howard J. Crittenden items document Howard's financial holdings at his death and how his estate was divided.

The Insurance Papers subseries (3 items) includes a record of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company (1871) and a fire insurance policy from Pacific Insurance Company for Clara Crittenden (1872).

The Legal and Financial Documents subseries (16 items) consists of bank notes, telegraphs concerning business dealings, receipts for goods and payments, contracts, and personal tax bills. Of note are contracts signing over gold and silver claims in Nevada to Howard Crittenden. These include locations in White Pine, Nevada, such as "Lucky Boy Tunnel" and "Adele mining ground" (1869).

The Account Books subseries (3 items) contains a 12-page account book for A. Hemme (1873), a 20-page account book for S. M. Van Wyck (1873-1874), and a mostly empty National Granit State Bank account book of Thomas Crittenden (1874).

The Photographs and Illustrations series contains 106 photographs of Crittenden family members. These include cartes-de-visite, tintypes, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, cabinet cards, and several modern reproductions. They depict many of the Crittenden family members, including several Crittenden men in Confederate uniform, Clara Crittenden, Clara Van Wyck, and Laura Fair, among others. See Additional Descriptive Data for the complete list.

In addition to the photograph, this collection also contains an ink sketch of the floor plan of a San Francisco cottage (in the letter dated July 4, 1852).

The Miscellaneous series (9 items) contains school report cards, Laura Van Wyck's application to become a Daughter of the Confederacy (which includes a heroic account of Churchill Crittenden's death in the Civil War), Nannie Crittenden Van Wyck's address book (with contacts in Saint Louis, Chicago, Kentucky, New York, and Brooklyn), a newspaper clipping about mining in Nevada, and 3 unattributed writing fragments.

The folder of supplemental material relates to Robert E. Stewart's publication Aurora Ghost City of the Dawn, Las Vegas: Nevada Publications, 1996, including a copy of the book and 10 photographs taken by Stewart of Aurora and the Ruins of the Sanchez home.

This collection is primarily made up of correspondence between and addressed to members of the Gough family of Gort, Ireland, including George Stephens Gough; his wife, Jane Arbuthnot; and their children, Hugh, George, Rodolph, and Eleanor ("Nora"). The Gough family directly descended from Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough. Most of the letters pertain to the education and military career of the younger George Gough. The collection also includes a travel diary, documents, financial records, and notes.

This collection is primarily made up of correspondence between and addressed to members of the Gough family of Gort, Ireland, including George Stephens Gough; his wife, Jane Arbuthnot; and their children, Hugh, George, Rodolph, and Eleanor ("Nora").

The Correspondence series (740 items) largely consists of incoming personal letters addressed to Jane Gough, Viscountess Gough, and her son George. George Gough frequently wrote to his parents (most often his mother) throughout the 1860s, describing aspects of his education at Woodcote House in Henley-on-Thames, England; Eton College; and the University of Cambridge. He also commented on family news and his desire to join the military. George's later letters, written from the 1870s-1890s, concern his career with the British Army, which included service in England, India, and Africa; some of his letters from 1881 refer to political relations around the time of the First Boer War. He also wrote letters from Dresden, Germany, and from Switzerland.

Jane Gough received additional letters from acquaintances, including a group of letters expressing sympathy after George was wounded at the Battle of Abu Klea in January 1885. George Gough received letters from his siblings Hugh, Rodolph, and Nora, and from school friends and other acquaintances. One frequent correspondent, "Hubie," wrote throughout the 1860s, telling Gough about his experiences at Eton College and University College, Oxford.

The Diary (147 pages) recounts George Hugh Gough's travels in Canada and the United States during the fall of 1888. The volume covers the entirety of the trip up to Gough's return departure for Ireland, including ocean travel between Ireland and North America and railroad travel throughout Canada and the United States. Gough's entries regard daily activities, the scenery, historical context about places visited, and current events (such as the United States presidential election of 1888). The first page contains a list of visited locations and the distances between them. The final four pages contain a list of expenses incurred between September 28, 1888-November 15, 1888. A menu for passengers on the "'Allen' Line" of "Royal Mail Steamers" is pinned into the volume.

• Québec, Québec
• Montréal, Québec
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Toronto, Ontario
• North Bay, Ontario
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• Victoria, British Columbia
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco, California
• Yosemite Region, California
• Ogden, Utah
• Denver, Colorado
• Chicago, Illinois
• New York City, New York

The Documents series (11 items) contains military appointments for Hugh Gough (March 15, 1843, and May 1, 1861) and George Stephens Gough (January 5, 1849), a document authorizing the recipient to raise a number of men for a military regiment (November 5, 1804), and 7 accounts for purchases made by G. V. H. Gough in March 1914. Gough paid for automobile repairs, shoe repairs, medical supplies, and food.

The Photographs series (11 items) includes nine black-and-white prints showing soldiers at leisure, soldiers with horses, and a military encampment. The remaining items are a carte-de-visite portrait of an unidentified boy and an informal outdoor picture of a boy with a dog.

The Writings, Lists, and Genealogy series is made up of 12 items. Writings include a small notebook containing French poetry, a sheet containing limericks and drawings, and an item titled "Liber secundus." Extracts and notes pertain to a House of Lords commission respecting forfeited Irish estates around the turn of the 18th century, to an "Index to the "Prerogative Wills of Ireland," and to a poem entitled "The Migration of the Sons of Umor." Lists include a "Catalogue of a Collection of Minerals and Geological Specimens arranged and sold by J. Tennant" in London, a list of clothing belonging to a member of the Gough family, a list of men involved in a cricket match, and a list of words made for an unidentified purpose. A family tree traces the descendants of Hugh Gough, great-grandfather of Hugh Gough, first Viscount Gough. One group of papers was intended to be used to record purchases in February 1862, though it contains only a heading.

Two items in the Printed Items series (11 items) pertain directly to Viscount Hugh Gough: a poem addressed to Gough and his wife during their visit to Bath on April 1, 1850, and a document regarding the construction of a memorial to Gough following his death (May 21, 1869). Other items include a "Map of the Northern Uaso Nyiro" (1914), three scorecards from cricket matches held at Lord's Cricket Ground in 1868 and 1780, and newspaper clippings pertaining to wineglasses, a funeral, and the Franco-Prussian War. The collection includes two books: a pocket-sized Book of Common Prayer that belonged to George Gough (1872) and a Catalogue of Pictures at Basildon Park, Berkshire (1910).

The Personal Stationery and Family Crests series (62 items) includes a drawing of a jester and numerous drawings and crests, most cut out of personal stationery belonging to a variety of individuals and families.

The Henry Fairfield Osborn photograph albums contain pictures taken during a visit to Germany and Russia in 1898 and while camping in Colorado in 1899.

This collection consists of two photograph albums that once belonged to Henry Fairfield Osborn. The first volume (19cm x 26cm), which has the title "Russia 1898" imprinted in gold on the front cover, contains 124 photographs (each 8.5cm square) taken in cities such as Paris, France; Cologne, Dresden, and Munich, Germany; St. Petersburg, and Moscow, Russia; five loose items, including a cyanotype and a view of the Eiffel Tower, are laid into the front cover. The pictures from Russia are mostly scenes of everyday city life, often showing local residents and horse-drawn vehicles. Some of the pictures from Germany show an outdoor market in a city square. One group of images was taken along a lake or river in a mountainous region, and another at a zoo; a man poses next to a hippopotamus's open mouth in two of the images. Visible landmarks include Cologne Cathedral (Cologne), a statue of Friedrich Wilhelm III in Heumarkt Square (Cologne), Kreuzkirche (Dresden), The Bronze Horseman (St. Petersburg), Kazan Cathedral (St. Petersburg), the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (Moscow), the Cathedral of the Annunciation (Moscow), Spasskaya Tower (Moscow), the Kremlin (Moscow), the Isartor (Munich), and the Glyptothek (Munich).

The second volume (29cm x 38cm) has the titles "Photographs" and "Colorado 1899" imprinted on its front cover, the latter in gold. The 269 photographic prints, often mounted five or nine to a page, are scenes from a camping trip showing mountainous and wooded landscapes, camp and campers, and travelers on horseback. One group of photographs features a woman on horseback, and another group shows the head of a buck, complete with antlers. Two images show lightning strikes against a dark background. Henry David Osborn appears in at least one photograph--at the head of a group eating outdoors.

The Solomon G. Haven family papers contain the business and personal letters of Solomon Haven, a Buffalo, New York, lawyer and politician, as well as many letters concerning his wife, Harriet Newell Scott, and daughters Mary and Ida Haven.

The Solomon G. Haven family papers contain the business and personal letters of Solomon Haven, as well as many letters of his wife and daughters. The collection holds 185 letters.

The Solomon Haven Correspondence series consists of 103 letters written from Haven to James Smith, his law partner in Buffalo, New York; 33 letters to his wife; and several letters addressed to various political acquaintances. Most of the letters were written during the period of Haven's congressional career, with the heaviest concentration being from 1853 to 1856.

The letters to Smith contain scattered commentary on the Supreme Court, before which Haven argued three times, on Erie County politics, and on their legal practice in Buffalo. These also offer extensive commentary on New York state politics, including discussions of most of the major figures in the state at the time; references to the various intraparty factions; and discussion of the role of political newspapers during this period of political volatility. Of particular note is the detailed commentary on congressional politics surrounding the struggle over the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, the election of the Speaker of the House (1855-56), and a description of various party conventions in 1856, especially the Know Nothing convention in Philadelphia. By this time, Haven had become a fierce American Party supporter, a fiscal conservative, and an ardent critic of the political games being played by most of the Democratic, Whig, and Republican schemers in Washington and Albany. In a letter to his friend James Osborne Putnam (1818-1903), Haven wrote: "You ask for the Whig party. You would as yet ask in vain for any party here -- there is but little doing effective here for the future -- Cass and Douglass are playing high at the game of Weasel" (December 20, 1851).

Solomon’s letters to his wife Harriett (Hatty) were written between 1839 and 1858, and have an affectionate tone; their focus is largely on the many Washington, D.C., social events, such as parties, celebrations, balls, dinners, and other social/political gatherings, which he typically found tiresome. He was a regular guest for dinner at the White House. His letters relay information about who attended the parties, such as the wives of generals, congressmen, and the President, what the ladies’ were wearing and how they interacted with the men. An 1856 letter mentions the reaction of Elizabeth Spencer Cass (wife of lawyer and politician Lewis Cass) to the caning of Charles Sumner (1856).

The Mary and Ida Haven Correspondence series (39 items) documents two trips taken by Mary Haven to Europe. The first commenced sometime before December 1877 and ended in 1879. Mary spent her time primarily in Paris, leaving only for short excursions to Cannes, France, and Geneva, Switzerland. Her second trip began in June 1884, and lasted until sometime after August of the same year. This trip started with short visits to several cities in Germany and Switzerland, and, by August 29, 1884 (the last letter of her correspondence), she had returned to Paris.

Mary, also known as Ninnie, wrote her letters to her sisters, Ida and Antoinette, and to her mother, all of whom lived at the same address in Buffalo, New York. She traveled with other Americans including a traveler named “Puss,” who, as internal evidence suggests, is her husband, Charles Day. She often discussed her activities in Paris and the differences between life at home and life in Paris, her membership in an Art club, other social engagements, and her trips to other European countries. Her letters show, however, that she spent much of her time socializing with other Americans and British friends. While in Europe, she attended “English church.” As a member of an Art Club, Mary spent some of her time painting and taking art classes.

In two letters from Paris (April 29 and May 16, 1878), Mary wrote about attending the opening of the Exposition Universelle: she waited amidst hordes of other people and saw celebrities who passed near her, such as Queen Isabella and her daughter; the Prince of Wales; the Prince of Denmark; foreign ambassadors and generals of the French Army; and many others. Mary wrote a particularly interesting anecdote about a dressmaker, Madame Connelly from New York, who, in a state of drunkenness, told her that she purchased dresses and belts in France very cheaply and re-sold them in New York for an enormous profit (March 26, 1878). A letter from May 16, 1878, mentions the divorce of a woman whose husband cannot support her, possibly because he was an alcoholic. When traveling to Europe in 1884, Mary noted that writer Mariana Griswold Schuyler Van Rensselaer was on the same ship.

Seven incoming letters to Mary and a single miscellaneous item complete the series. Her sister Ida wrote two letters while she traveled abroad in Germany in the summer of 1880. At this time, Mary was living in New York. Alice Craven Jones, a family friend in Hampstead, London, wrote five letters in the 1890s. Alice offered hopes that her family would come to visit them overseas, offered condolences for the death of a loved one in 1890 (likely Mary’s sister, Antoinette), and related the news of Minnie Jones’ marriage to a lawyer by the name of Perks (1895). Finally, an 8-page unsigned letter to Ida Haven describes visits to small villages in Italy; the writer worked with the Red Cross and commented extensively on the manner, dress, and religion (Catholic) of the citizens.

Two items contain decorated letterheads: the letter from August, 24, 1879, has scenic pictures of famous locations on stationary from a hotel in Zurich, and an undated item (marked only July 15) features printed pictures of the buildings Sprudel-Colonnade and Muhlbrunn-Colonnade.

This album, compiled by Wilhelm Hasselbach in 1871, contains photographs of Chicago buildings before and after the Great Fire of 1871, as well as commercial illustrations of buildings and landmarks in Germany and Switzerland, and photographic portraits of women.

Wilhlem Hasselbach, a German druggist living in Chicago, Illinois, compiled this album (24cm x 20cm) in 1871 and 1872. The album has green pebbled leather covers and a title, "Scrap Book," appears in a stylized gold design on the front. Photographs and commercial illustrations are pasted directly onto the book's colored pages. Hasselbach first inscribed the volume in Chicago in November 1871; a second note on the same page (written in German) is dated in Munich on September 16, 1894. Three items are laid into the volume's front cover: a Christmas card from the Northern Trust Company with a colored illustration of Michigan Avenue, Chicago, as it appeared in 1870 (printed after 1871); a pamphlet, "Chicago Since 1837" by Gordon Best (1917); and a card from S. D. Childs & Company (undated).

The first group of items includes a printed advertisement for a meeting of Chicago citizens to be held on October 9, 1871, and a photograph of a collage of portraits of United States presidents. These are followed by 62 photographs showing Chicago buildings and street scenes before and after the Great Chicago Fire, including pictures of commercial and municipal structures, a factory, and churches. One page has a small manuscript map showing the location of Bodemann & Hasselbach's drugstore and several other businesses at the intersection of State Street and Harrison Street. The Chicago pictures are followed by groups of commercial engravings and other illustrations depicting prominent buildings and landmarks in Berlin, Germany; Dresden, Germany; Zurich, Switzerland; and other locales, as well as a painting of Germania and a photograph of a collage of small portraits of German royalty and generals arrayed on an iron cross (around 70 items total). The final items are clippings with a picture of a dog who survived under a pile of rubble for over a day during the Great Chicago Fire and an advertisement for a secure bank vault and safe deposit boxes. Nine portraits are pasted into the album's final pages, including one of a well-dressed man and eight of unidentified women.

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The items include diaries, financial records, a newspaper clipping scrapbook, and a photograph album.

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family.

The D. Abeel Williamson Diary, composed in a pre-printed pocket diary, contains David Abeel Williamson's daily entries about his life in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from January 1, 1862-May 25, 1862, and about his experiences with the 7th New York Militia Regiment from May 26, 1862-August 27, 1862. His early entries mainly record the weather and his social activities; he mentioned his admission to the bar in his entries of May 21, 1862, and May 22, 1862. A newspaper clipping about the surrender of Fort Donelson is pasted into the entries for February 16, 1862, and February 17, 1862. During his time in the army, Williamson noted the hot weather near Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, and mentioned other aspects of military service, such as guard duty, marching, and reviews. A commuter's ticket for the "New Jersey Rail Road" is laid into the volume's pocket.

The Hattie S. Williamson Memorandum Book contains financial records of collections that the Second Reformed Dutch Church Sunday School of New Brunswick, New Jersey, received from November 26, 1865-June 16, 1867. The amount of each donation is recorded next to the donor's name. Other records pertain to the Sunday school's accounts with the Novelty Rubber Company and the church's efforts to raise money for an organ.

The Clara Gurley Account Book, kept from July 9, [1875]-April 16, 1880, contains accounts for Gurley's purchases of items such as books, ribbon, fabrics, and buttons. A piece of fabric is pinned onto the book's final page.

The first Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, written in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, covers the year 1905. Williamson began writing in Dresden, Germany, where she had lived with her children since late 1903, and recounted her daily activities and news of acquaintances. In April, she and her children took an extended tour of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Holland, where Williamson remarked on visits to museums and other points of interest. The entries from August concern the family's return to the United States on the Holland-American Line steamer Ryndam and their first months back in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Williamson kept a record of letters written and received and acquaintances' addresses in the volume's memoranda section. She laid newspaper clippings, a letter, calling cards, small photographs, stamps, and other items in the volume. The final page of the diary contains a newspaper clipping about the Williamsons' return to the United States and intention to relocate to Indianapolis.

The Mary Williamson Diary recounts the author's travels through Europe from April 10, 1905-August 11, 1905. Williamson described her daily activities and sightseeing in cities such as Prague, Munich, Venice, Rome, and Paris, as she visited museums and places of historical importance with her mother and sister. The diary includes a list of books Williamson read from 1907-1908 and a list of addresses of European hotels.

The Ruth A. Williamson Diary pertains to the author's experiences and travels in England from June 7, 1909-September 3, 1909. She spent most of her time in London; some later entries mention travels around southern England and to Edinburgh, Scotland. Williamson most frequently wrote about sightseeing and visiting famous landmarks, but also commented on other activities, such as shopping. Ruth A. Williamson's calling card is laid into the volume.

The second Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, also in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, contains daily entries about Williamson's life in Indianapolis, Indiana, from January 1, 1918-April 2, 1918. Williamson commented on her social activities, her health, and news of her friends and family members, especially her children. She occasionally mentioned news of the war, such as the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 22, 1918). Financial records and instructions for knitting a "Kitchener sock" are written in the back of the volume. Items laid in include a calling card for Charles G. Williamson containing his military address, a cloth United States flag mounted on a small wooden dowel, and clippings about the deaths of Henry Janeway Hardenburgh and Douw D. Williamson. A postcard with a painting of Waikite Geyser in New Zealand, addressed to A. Parsons in London, England, is also laid into the diary.

The Scrapbook (1860s-1880s) is comprised of newspaper clippings about numerous topics, including biographies of William Gurley and biographical notices about other members of the Gurley family, such as Clara Gurley Williamson and Esther Gurley Cook. Some clippings feature prominent individuals such as Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Dickens, and Louisa May Alcott. Items report national news, news from Troy, New York, and stories about Emma Willard and the Troy Female Seminary. Additional topics include poetry, international travel, and stamp collecting.

A Photograph Album contains 42 carte-de-visite photographs, 2 lithographs, and 1 tintype print. Most of the photographs are studio portraits of men, women, and children, including many members of the Gurley family and related families. Most of the pictures are dated 1866-1880, though the album includes a 1902 photograph of Charles G. Williamson in a military uniform.