The bulk of this collection consists of letters created by brothers, Daniel B. and John S. Harris as they each relocated west from their hometown in York, Maine to seek greater economic opportunities during the Civil War era. The Harris brothers held opposing religious and political views, particularly regarding the Abolition Movement, and a portion of their correspondence reflects their views on these issues. John witnessed the outbreak of the Civil War in Missouri in 1861 while working on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. His letters during this period describe some of the violence and destruction brought on by secessionist guerrillas in Missouri including burnt bridges, cut telegraph lines, and attacks on trains. John’s letters also recount the Battles of Boonville and Monroe Station, most notably, how he assisted Union troops in capturing from secessionists, a wagon full of arms bound for Chillicothe and transported it back to Hannibal by rail. Other topics of note include John witnessing the completion of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, the first to cross the state of Missouri, and his involvement with the first Pony Express delivery, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Also included in the collection are letters from Daniel and John’s friends and family members from New England written to them while they were building their careers in the West. These dispatches from home discuss life events (e.g., marriages, illnesses, births, deaths), and the state of their farms. The early letters from Daniel (1854-1856), who was still living in Maine with their parents when John moved west, contain similar content. Life events of friends and neighbors, church news, crop and livestock conditions, quotes from scripture, summaries of sermons he attended, and spiritual and moral advice were common themes in these letters.

Most letters include stamped envelopes,a few of which are enclosed in or written on Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad letterhead. The collection also includes notes, postcards, a Valentine’s card, a receipt, a newspaper clipping, and a 1852 printing of the booklet, Earthly Care, Heavenly Discipline, by Harriet Beecher Stowe.