Only one eighteenth-century item, a 24 September 1798 letter (an apparent handwritten copy) from Benjamin Rush to M. VanYeveren of Albany, appears, and concerns the death of Henry L. Schmidt. Two letters, 1810 and 1811, appear from Anthony Porter to Governor David Brydie Mitchell (1776-1837), written while Porter was serving as the governor's secretary. No letters appear from 1811 to 1818. Between 1819 and 1823 several letters appear addressed to Alexander family members, including Adam Leopold Alexander. Also included are letters, 24 December 1821 and 12 January 1822, from Adam Leopold Alexander to Sarah Gilbert before their marriage

From 1823 to 1851 much of the correspondence consists of letters written to Sarah Gilbert Alexander in Washington, Ga., by friends and family. Frequent correspondents are her cousin Mary L. Hillhouse in New Haven, Conn., and her friends Harriet Staples Douglass Smith (New Haven and later New York) and Bell Taylor in New Haven. Letters discuss the social and religious life of the Alexanders and their Northern connections. Of note are a letter, 26 September 1836, from Bell Taylor soliciting funds for the Durand Society and a letter, 1 April 1834, from Harriet discussing the role of emancipation in splits among Presbyterians in New Haven.

Adam Leopold Alexander's most frequent correspondent was his wife, Sarah, though he also exchanged letters with a number of other friends and relatives. Many of the earlier letters between Adam and Sarah, especially circa 1825-1832, discuss family news, personal feelings, plantation and other financial affairs, and Adam's travels. Their later letters focus on religion and education. Of note is a letter, 13 August 1835, Adam wrote Sarah about the establishment of a Methodist academy in Washington, Ga. Topics of interest in Adam Alexander's other correspondence include life at Yale and Dartmouth in the 1820s, free blacks, Georgia politics, and education. Of interest are several 1843 letters from Robert Toombs discussing Georgia elections; a letter, 30 April 1839, from a former slave requesting that Alexander buy her back; a letter, 13 September 1848, from W. Baud discussing the establishment of a school for women in Savannah; and a letter, 4 August 1849, from William Bostwick concerning a free black man Alexander had asked Bostwick to give employment.

Both Adam and Sarah Alexander maintained correspondence with their children and a number of relatives throughout the 1830s and 1840s. Letters to and from Sarah and Louisa at boarding school in Savannah chiefly discuss school life. Letters from Adam's sister, Louisa Porter, and to and from other relatives chiefly discuss mostly family matters.

Other correspondence of note is that of Anthony Porter and Dorothea VanYeveren. Most of Porter's correspondence appears after 1827 and is business related. Dorothea VanYeveren received scattered letters from relatives in Germany (letters are in German).

Mostly letters received by Louisa Alexander before her marriage in 1850. Many letters are from her mother, Sarah Gilbert Alexander and concern family. Louisa also received several letters from friends. Other correspondence belongs to Adam L. Alexander, Dorothea VanYeveren, and Louisa Alexander Porter. Of note is a letter from "Sally" offering funds to an abolitionist; a letter from the Alexander's nurse Cynthia (a slave?) to Louisa Alexander; a recommendation written by Adam L. Alexander for Mary Moseley; and a letter to "Miss B." from the Trustees of Washington Female Seminary listing the resolutions of the Board.

Mostly correspondence of the Alexanders with their children and new in laws, together with a significant number of letters their children exchanged with friends and relatives. A large number of ardent love letters exchanged between Harriet Alexander and Wallace Cumming appear for 1852. Of note are letters from Edward P. Alexander while he attended West Point, 1859-1860, discussing school life and plans, and letters from him during the Civil War. The Civil War letters are written from Richmond in 1861; from the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, Richmond, and near Rapidan Station in 1862; from near Fredricksburg, Caroline County, near Culpeper, near Bunker's Hills, and near Chattanooga in 1863; and Petersburg in 1864. These letters often discuss troops and strategies. Letters, circa 1852- 1860, to Anthony Porter and Adam L. Alexander from Jeremy F. Gilmer concern projects Gilmer was involved with in the Army Corps of Engineers. There are also letters from Gilmer in Richmond during the Civil War. Letters exchanged among other family members frequently discuss religion and slavery, secession, wartime preparations and hardships, and family news.

Only one letter appears between 1871 and 1875. This is a letter, 2 November 1874, written by Lula (Lucy Roy) Alexander, age 11, to her first cousin, Nora Lawton.

Mostly letters received by the Alexander children and Mrs. Anthony Porter of Savannah. Included are a few letters to the family of Mary Clifford Alexander Hull. Topics of interest are estate matters, family news, and World War I medical care. Two letters, 3 January and 16 January 1915, from Elizabeth Nourse, an American nurse serving in France, to her friend Lucy Baldwin, provide information on hospital conditions and wartime refugees.

Correspondence, 1938-1952, of Elizabeth (Boots) Baldwin (1913-1998) and Adam Leopold (Leap) Alexander (1902-1960) of Savannah, Ga., and a letter, 28 April 1932, from Adam Leopold (Leap) Alexander to his sister, Eleanor Whitaker, describing the 50th wedding anniversary dinner of Alexander R. Lawton (1858-1936) and Ella (Daisy) Beckwith Lawton (1860-1949). The first few letters from Leap Alexander to Boots Baldwin were written in 1938, before they were married. Most later letters were written when Boots Alexander was visiting her parents or other family members. The letters chiefly contain expressions of affection, and also give news of family and friends and some description of travel. Beginning in the 1940s, letters often contain news of the couple's daughter, Elizabeth Baldwin Alexander (born 29 December 1941), who was called Betty or Punkie. Another daughter, Eloise Porter Alexander, was born on 10 November 1944.

Arrangement: chronological.

Clippings, notes, and other material related to the Alexander family. Of note is a memorandum of the baptism of Adam Leopold Alexander, dated 30 July 1803 (actual baptism 29 July), made by his father.

Arrangement: Chronological.

Clippings concerning politics and Confederate currency. Three clippings are 1859 letters to the editor of the New York Evening Express by "A.B.C." (probably Jeremy F. Gilmer) defending the United States Army Corps of Engineers from attacks levied by the paper and others. One clipping (probably 1865) lists the value of Confederate money. A final clipping appears only as a fragment and contains several advertisements.

Arrangement: chronological.

Personal writings, recipes, and other miscellaneous items collected by members of the Alexander family. Included are childhood and later compositions and poems by Sarah R. Alexander and Sarah (Gilbert) Alexander. Of interest is a brief dramatic sketch (undated, author unknown) describing a scene around the Adam Leopold Alexander dinner table.

Volumes include two undated recipe books. The first contains recipes in German (pp. 1-79) and in English (pp. 80-100 and unnumbered) for cooking and curing diseases. The second is a 90-page, pocket-sized volume containing recipes for cooking and medicines. An 1801 travel journal of Dr. Adam Alexander appears, and describes a trip he took with William Peacock to the North, including various stops in New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington City, Virginia, and North and South Carolina.

Several loose pages also appear from a German sketch and notebook (1759-1763), belonging to Egydius Heinrich Schmidt, which includes verses in German and several watercolors. Translations of three items from the volume are filed with it.

Mostly correspondence of David P. Hillhouse, with significant correspondence also for his brother-in-law Felix H. Gilbert; his parents, David Hillhouse and Sarah Porter Hillhouse; his two sisters, Sarah Hillhouse Gilbert and Mary Hillhouse Shepherd; and his niece Sarah Gilbert Alexander. Also included are scattered letters received by three generations of the Porter family of Hadley, Mass.

The letters to the Porter family were received 1775-1848 and are chiefly from their connections in Washington, Ga. There are two letters to Colonel Elisha Porter "in the American Camp Before Boston" in June 1775, one from Samuel Hopkins at Hadley, poignantly reporting the death of Porter's son, and one from D. Jewett at New London; four letters to Elisha Porter from his daughter Sarah after her marriage; and about a dozen letters scattered between 1804 and 1848 to Samuel, Abigail, and Elisha Porter from relatives in Georgia

Letters addressed to David P. Hillhouse begin with 1808. His most frequent correspondents were David Buel, Jr. (Troy, N. Y.), Oliver H. Prince (d. 1837), and Adam Leopold Alexander. Their correspondence (mostly 1820s-1840s) discusses politics and current events, including conflicts between whites and Cherokee Indians in 1836, the Nullification crisis, abolitionism, and the rise of the Whig party in Georgia. Letters to Hillhouse also deal with business and family affairs.

Between 1802 and 1813 personal correspondence of Felix H. Gilbert includes a number of letters to and from his wife and mother-in-law while he was traveling and attending the legislature at Milledgeville, 1807-1808. These letters discuss family and politics. Gilbert also frequently wrote David P. Hillhouse and other relatives concerning political affairs. Of interest are letters discussing the proceedings of the Georgia legislature (1808-1809) and the outbreak of the War of 1812 (including the invasion of Canada, 1812-1813).

Sarah Gilbert Alexander's correspondence appears primarily between 1813 and 1823. (Correspondence after her marriage in 1823 is filed in the Alexander subcollection.) Of note are two letters, probably written in 1822, from educator and antisuffragist Catharine Beecher, which comment on social news and Sarah's engagement to Adam L. Alexander. Several letters from Mary L. Hillhouse in 1823 discuss Catharine Beecher's emotional state after the sudden death of her fiancee, Professor Alexander Metcalf Fisher of Yale College. One letter, 12 July 1822, quotes Beecher on her feelings about Fisher's death.

Mostly letters of Felix H. Gilbert to his wife while Gilbert was traveling away from home. Letters discuss his travels through the Southeast and New England, family and financial matters, and news of friends. Miscellaneous family letters to Felix H. Gilbert and Sarah Gilbert Alexander also appear and focus mostly on family news.

The correspondence of Margaret P. Hillhouse of Yonkers, N.Y., who was gathering family data from members of the Hillhouse and Alexander families. The bulk of this correspondence appears in 1921 and consists of letters from the children and later descendants of Adam Leopold Alexander and Sarah Gilbert Alexander. Letters and their enclosures provide biographical, historical, and genealogical information on members of both families. Additional correspondence of Margaret P. Hillhouse, mostly relating to genealogy, may be found in the Jackson and Prince Family Papers in the Southern Historical Collection.

Two travel journals of David P. Hillhouse. The first journal (168 pages in two volumes) is dated 29 April 1826 to 16 January 1827, but appears to be an account written at a later time, probably from detailed notes. The journal describes, in significant detail, a trip Hillhouse took to visit relatives and tour in New York State, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Among places described are a Jewish synagogue in Charleston, S.C.; the Connecticut legislature; a deaf and dumb asylum in Hartford, Conn.; a penitentiary in Auburn, N.Y.; Round Hill School; New York City High School; the Erie Canal; and the University of Virginia. The second volume ends with a summary of the contents of the two volumes, keyed to page numbers. A loose sketch of "the country around the Falls of Niagra" is included.

The second journal, written sometime between 1826 and 1828, documents a trip Hillhouse took to Washington and then to New England. Jotted down hurriedly, the journal gives little detail, but offers general information on his travels through South and North Carolina and Virginia; proceedings of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court; and several industries (including clock and button factories) he saw in Connecticut.

Clippings, notes, printed publications, biographical sketches, and miscellaneous items relating to the genealogy of the Alexander, Porter, Baldwin, and Hillhouse families. Of note are an index to the New England ancestors of Lucie Harvie Hull Baldwin (undated) and handwritten genealogical extracts from a memorandum book kept by William Hillhouse in 1789 while on a trip to Ireland.

The earliest item is an astronomical almanack by Nathaniel Ames, printed in Boston in 1770. Interleaved pages include manuscript entries, presumably by a member of the Porter family of (North) Hadley, Mass. (perhaps by Sarah Porter Hillhouse's father or grandfather, Elisha Porter). Three entries include references to Bible verses, sermons, and family comings and goings, and a list of births and deaths, presumably of citizens of the town for the year. Other miscellaneous items are verses copied by Felix Gilbert in 1811; a prayer copied by Gilbert in 1812; a printed address entitled "The Confederate Veteran" made by General Edward Porter Alexander on Alumni Day (9 June 1902) at West Point's Centennial; a handwritten transcription of the lines Catharine Beecher had inscribed on the gravestone of Professor Fisher of Yale College, her fiance; and an undated handwritten poem (author unknown).