Fifteen letters from Milton Lamaster to his brother, chiefly describing his overland travels to the California gold diggings in 1852, and then to British Columbia in 1858. He describes the cost of food and provisions, his trip across the plains, the value of livestock in Calif., various business ventures, and his financial condition. Letters written after his return to the mid-West in 1860 concern family, personal finances, and political gossip. Also includes three letters from Joseph E. Lamaster concerning family matters and politics, ten letters from Hugh Lamaster (their father) concerning Joseph's education, Milton's travels, and their family, and one letter from Hugh Lamaster (Joseph's son). The bulk of the letters Joseph received were from fellow Nebraska Republicans, including P.W. Hitchcock, T.W. Tipton, C.H. Van Wyck, and W.H.H. Waters; many wrote to Joseph from Washington, D.C. The letters discussed Nebraska's admission to the U.S., railroad construction in Nebraska, federal funding bills, political appointments at the federal and state level, and Joseph's own political career, as well as use of the "Daily Chronicle", a Republican newspaper with which Joseph was involved, to affect the readers' views of current political events. Finally, there are letters written by Joseph's correspondents but not addressed to him, as well as Charles W. Hamilton's certificate of citizenship to Douglas County (Neb.), signed by Governor Alvin Saunders.
