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Peter and Hannah Keyes of Porterville, New York, received 23 letters from their son, siblings, and friends between 1846 and 1867. Jane Keyes Foster, Peter's sister, described her life on farms in Kaneville and Sycamore, Illinois, in the 1840s and 1850s, and Orson S. Keyes, Peter and Hannah's son, discussed his financial affairs and attempts to find employment in Rochester, New York, in the late 1850s.

Peter and Hannah Keyes of Porterville, New York, received 23 letters from their son, siblings, and friends between 1846 and 1867. Jane Keyes Foster, Peter's sister, described her life on farms in Kaneville and Sycamore, Illinois, in the 1840s and 1850s, and Orson S. Keyes, Peter and Hannah's son, discussed his financial affairs and attempts to find employment in Rochester, New York, in the late 1850s.

In letters to her brother and sister-in-law, Jane Keyes Foster discussed many aspects of farming life on the Illinois frontier. She provided information about local illnesses and her family's health, and often expressed her homesickness. In one letter, she reflected on the death of one of her children (April 10, 1852). Foster also provided details about working on the farm. In later letters, she often commented on her religious beliefs, and her last letter, written in 1867, expressed sadness about the abuse that her sister Betsey suffered from her husband, Calvin Combs. Jane composed one letter on stationery bearing an image and business directory of the Sycamore courthouse (July 8, 1859). Peter and Hannah Keyes also received letters from "Franklin," one of the Keyes siblings, about his journey to Kaneville, the price of crops in Illinois, local religion, and his thoughts on moving to Texas.

Orson S. Keyes, Peter and Hannah's son, also wrote frequently. He composed most of his letters from Rochester, New York, in the late 1850s, and discussed his attempts to find employment, the dried apple industry, and local churches. He often requested money from his parents and mentioned his friendship with Foster Dickinson. John S. Blossom, Hannah's brother, wrote to Peter and Hannah Keyes from Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1862, and shared his regret that the war had forced him to return to New York after living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Other correspondents included William Blossom and Hannah Keyes, who reported to Peter about family matters.

This collection is made up of letters that friends and family members wrote to Nancie T. Clark (later Flagler) about their lives in and around Coomer, New York, in the mid-19th century. Henry Bolton Flagler, Nancie's fiancé and husband, wrote about his work as a teacher and store clerk in Michigan and his later search for work in Pennsylvania.

This collection (50 items) is made up of letters that friends and family members wrote to Nancie T. Clark (later Flagler) about their lives in and around Coomer, New York, in the mid-19th century. The earliest letters from Clark's friends and family contain social and family news. Henry B. Flagler, Nancie's future husband, first wrote in November 1858, describing his work as a teacher in Stockbridge, Michigan, and as a store clerk in Martin, Michigan. From 1866 to 1867, he discussed his attempts to find employment in the Pennsylvania oil industry and complained about the brevity of his wife's letters. Additional items include 2 letters from E. Button of Sycamore, Illinois, to Malvina A. Putnam of Charlestown, New Hampshire, about her social life and a recent smallpox outbreak (March and April 1855), and a letter from an unidentified Union soldier about his work strengthening fortifications and fighting against guerillas at Fort Tillinghast, Virginia (March 17, 1864).