Letters from Mary Tefft and Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft, expressing loneliness and sharing news of friends and family, including a story of gun fired into a home by an unknown shooter.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft, August 29, 1858 describing a rat's attack on a chicken, garden vegetables, and the difficulty of finding female friends and the ratio of women to men in Iowa.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Teff describing the hot weather, having a neighbor help with housework, her collection of daguerreotypes; missing the ocean, and what plants grow in Iowa.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft, November 2, 1856, describing her homesickness, houses and churches in her neighborhood, the location of the house they are building, damage to their trunks shipped from Rhode Island, "Indians" she saw in Chicago, and news of neighbors.
Letters from Sarah Underwood to Johnny and Ann E. Tefft, September 7, 1856 describing the contents of a box of fruit, tobacco, and bread sent to her brother, a remembrance gift for her sister, and her preparations to move to Iowa.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft, August 1858 describing her finances, the workers hired to help with the harvest, how she misses lobsters and saltwater fish, and asking after the seeds she sent.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to her sisters Ann E. Tefft and Mae Tefft June 8, 1857 discussing her neighbors and describing potential suitors for her sisters. Sarah also requests fabric samples from her sisters' clothing.
Letters from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft and John Tefft describing the appeal of Iowa to others from the east coast, and sharing news of family and friends.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to her sister Ann E. Tefft, September 27, 1857 describing her reluctance to get to know her neighbors, her lack of familiarity with the English and Pennsylvania Dutch, news about a friend with a new baby, local plants, and requesting more letters from her family.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to her sister Ann E. Tefft, May 24 in which she compares steamboat and carriage travel, describes the plum trees in her yard, recounts catching a lark, and requests samples of fabric from her sisters' clothing.
Letters from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft and John Tefft, describing a flannel sack she is sewing for the baby, asking after news of friends and acquaintances, and describing the process of open cattle grazing after the harvest ends. She also describes the wolves in the area, and how she misses attending religious meetings in Rhode Island. The letters are accompanied by an explanatory note from an unknown author.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft and Mae Tefft, June 7, 1858 describing flower picking on the prairie, raising prairie chickens, the rainy weather's effect on the unmaintained roads and the need to replant the corn.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft reporting on the family's illnesses and injuries, hog butchering, and requesting news of friends in Rhode Island.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft, November 23, 1856, describing a visit to Davenport, progress in setting up her home, the death of a friend, news of her neighbors, nuts that grow in the area, and the election of James Buchanan.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft sharing her illness after the birth of her daughter, her dislike of caring for children, and her concern about the child's birth weight. The letter is accompanied by an explanatory note written by an unknown author.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft and Mae Tefft, November 29, 1857 describing the rainy weather, a toothache, and treatment for her salt rheum.
Letter from Sarah Underwood to Ann E. Tefft, January 11, 1861 reporting on her daughter's illness, sleighing and the winter weather, and the durability of dress fabrics.
