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This collection is made up of 7 letters that Elias D. Leach wrote to his family about his medical studies with a physician in West Greenville, Pennsylvania, and at Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1840s. Leach wrote about local and national politics, his medical education, and his financial difficulties, among other topics.

This collection is made up of 7 letters that Elias D. Leach wrote to his family about his medical studies with a physician in West Greenville, Pennsylvania, and at Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1840s. Leach wrote about local and national politics, his medical education, and his financial difficulties, among other topics.

Leach wrote 6 letters to his brother, Jacob B. Leach of Austintown, Ohio, from August 31, 1842-December 23, 1844, and 1 letter to Jacob and to S. F. Leach, also of Austintown, on January 8, 1848. In his 3 letters from West Greenville, Pennsylvania (now Greenville), Leach described the town's daily, religious, and political life (August 31, 1842-July 25, 1844). He commented extensively on political issues, such as local elections, the presidential election of 1844, and local religious activities (often related to Methodists). Leach also discussed Dr. Henry Cossitt's return from a trip to eastern Pennsylvania and New York, where Cossitt had acquired medicines, had sold a horse to Martin Van Buren, and had witnessed the spread of Millerism.

From November 15, 1844, to December 12, 1844, and on January 8, 1848, Leach wrote about his medical studies at Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Ohio (now Case Western Reserve University). He mentioned the city's frequent fires and discussed his efforts to find lodgings and his difficulties paying tuition. He also described his medical studies, the size of his class, and his participation in a medical debating society.

This collection contains letters written to James Cunningham of Adams County, Pennsylvania, by members of his family, and early letters to family members concerning the Cobean family of Adams County, related to Cunningham through marriage. Correspondents discussed family news, agricultural prices, health and medicine, and politics.

This collection (21 items) contains letters written to James Cunningham of Adams County, Pennsylvania, by members of his family, and several early letters from family members concerning the Cobean family of Adams County, related to Cunningham through marriage. The early letters include 1 from Polly Waugh Cunningham to her daughter Betsy (June 2, 1821) and 4 from John Cunningham to his brother James and to their brother-in-law, Samuel Cobean. Cunningham offered his condolences following the death of James's son Alexander and mentioned a recent land purchase by John W. Cunningham (May 23, 1831).

James Cunningham received 9 letters from his nephew, Dr. Alexander Stewart of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Stewart mentioned his medical practice and the growth of his family and occasionally commented on political issues, such as his thoughts about the Anti-Masonic Party (March 19, 1840) and the Locofoco presence in Pennsylvania (October 28, 1845). John S. Cunningham, another nephew, wrote 5 letters about his life in Pulaski, Pennsylvania, addressing topics such as agriculture and his financial troubles. He wrote about the health of his family and in one letter described a person experiences a lengthy trance (February 24, 1844). A third nephew, Alexander Cobean, wrote to James Cunningham of his trip from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Euphemia, Ohio, where he found work as a teacher. Cobean provided insight into his life as new arrival among strangers in the Midwest, discussing local land prices, the landscape, and the corn crop (February 8, 1848). In the final letter, dated October 27, 1851, Cobean reported that he had to abandon his teaching career because of his poor health.