The papers in this series revolve around Louisa H. Eastman Maynard. The majority of the correspondence is to or from Louisa and deals with life in and around Auburn and Springfield, Illinois from the 1840s to 1900. Louisa's brother Augustus was in California during the gold rush, and his letters to his mother Salinda Eastman and his sister Louisa Maynard describe this. Louisa's other brother George L. Eastman settled in St. Augustine, Florida, and his letters (1882-1905) describe life there.

The Eastman papers are largely the correspondence of Louisa's parents David and Salinda Eastman. There is a series of letters written in the 1830s when David was in Farnham, Virginia and Salinda and her family were in Winthrop, Maine. There are also some papers of their son George L. Eastman.

Included also are the papers of Louisa Maynard's son Richard D. Maynard and her daughter Julia Maynard Thomson. Richard's papers are letters from friends and his wife Mary Hillary Maynard (1849-1922). There is a long series of letters from Mary written in 1896 while she was in Kirksville, Missouri seeking treatment for their epileptic son.

Julia Maynard Thomson's papers are letters from friends. Her letters to her mother as well as Richard's are in Louisa's papers.

There are some papers of Julia's husband Dr. I. Davis Thomson. These deal with his service during the Civil War and include two letters of recommendation signed by Jefferson Davis.

Richard F. Maynard (1815-1897) was Louisa Maynard's brother- in-law. He was the treasurer of St. Thomas Church in Garrison Forest, Maryland. The small group of his papers include accounts (1865-1892) of the church and some letters from family and friends.

The Owen family papers revolve around Louisa Maynard's mother-in-law Juliana Owen Maynard (1774-1846). There is correspondence among Juliana's father Richard, her brothers Richard H. and John and her sister Mary Owen. Richard Owen (1745-1822) was a Methodist minister and teacher of writing and mathematics at the King William School (later St. John's College) in Annapolis. Aside from his children Owen received letters from John Willson writing from Montgomery in the 1780s. John Owen studied medicine in Philadelphia and his diploma signed by Benjamin Rush is part of the collection. John also studied medicine in Edinburgh in 1798 and there are letters to his father from this period. Richard H. Owen (1777-1858) was a librarian in Baltimore. His papers include correspondence with his family and business letters. Juliana and her sister Mary spent their later years (1830s-40s) at Plinlimmon with Owen and Louisa Maynard.

There are some papers relating to Juliana's husband James Pelham Maynard (1747-1817), and papers, especially estate papers, of their son Dr. James Maynard (1809-1861).

An account book (1810-17) of Richard Owen and a collection of Maynard family papers is owned by the Maryland Historical Society.

The Ridgely papers are largely those of Greenbury Ridgely. There are a few letters (1781-1821) among his mother Elizabeth Short Ridgely (1766-1822) and her sister Jane Short Wilkins, and her brothers William and Peyton Short in Philadelphia and Lexington. There are also papers of Greenbury's father Dr. Frederick Ridgely (1757-1824). This is largely letters (1806) between Greenbury when he was studying or working in Litchfield, Connecticut or Maryland and Frederick when he was in Lexington.

Greenbury Ridgely's papers are correspondence and sermons. The letters are from family and friends especially his father, his sister Julia in Lexington, and his sister Jane Ridgely Graham in Dayton, Ohio (1824-30). Related letters (1816-21) written to Greenbury while a student in Litchfield by his uncle William Short are owned by the Maryland Historical Society.

Included also are the papers of Louisa Maynard's son Richard D. Maynard and her daughter Julia Maynard Thomson. Richard's papers are letters from friends and his wife Mary Hillary Maynard (1849-1922). There is a long series of letters from Mary written in 1896 while she was in Kirksville, Missouri seeking treatment for their epileptic son.

There are a few itmes relating to Ridgely's wife's family especially letters (1838-1848) from her sister(?) Alethea Worth.

The Howard papers are mainly land records and photographs. The land papers (1684-1870) deal with land transferred among family members especially Joshua Howard (fl. 1684-98), Cornelius Howard, Sr. (1706-77) and Jr. (1755-1844), John Eager Howard (1752-1827) and James McHenry Howard.

The photographs are daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, and cabinet photographs from the 1860s to the 1890s. Many are unidentified. There are also photographs of two Howard family homes Grey Rock and Belvedere.

Items to be sorted.