Maryland -- Social life and customs -- History -- Sources

This collection contains a group of business-related letters, addressed to a Pleasant Hunter, mainly from correspondents in Annapolis and Baltimore. Hunter was active in local politics and was the county sheriff of Baltimore County for many years. Also includes letters addressed to Sheriff Hunter's daughter, Laura ("Lida") Hunter in which the women describe their families, personal relationships and jobs.

Correspondence between Thomas Kensett to his Baltimore fiancee, Gertrude W. Brown, during their courtship. Topics include day-to-day life, ill health, dental work, a poem about the joys of smoking, and skin problems. Also included are documents pertaining to the couple's daughter, Gertrude Kensett Vanderhoef, including her 1906 will. A sister collection may be found at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore (MS 2854).

The collection consists of letters written to the lawyer and educator John McDowell (1751-1820) of Peters Township, Cumberland, now Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Among the correspondents is Charles Goldsborough, member of Congress and Maryland's last Federalist governor. Subjects include personal and family affairs, anti-war feelings, and the democratization of Maryland.