This collection contains letters written from Marjorie Van Meter, residing in Empalme, Mexico (in the State of Sonora), from 1912-1913 to her family in the United States. There is one letter from her brother (also residing in Empalme) to Marjorie after Marjorie's return to the United States. Judging from these letters, Marjorie Van Meter went to Empalme to teach in a school which catered to the children of United States colonists in Mexico. The letters describe conditions in Empalme and Guaymas, in particular, but also mention Topolobampo, with regard to revolutionary activity. Interspersed with news of the revolution are comments on Iowa socialites, fashion, detailed accounts of shopping trips in Guaymas, and numerous comments which reveal the privileged status of North American colonists in Mexico at that time. This correspondence also sheds light on ethnic relations among North American colonists, indigenous peoples of Mexico, and mestizo Mexican nationals in the early 1900s. In particular, these letters address frequent changes in leadership in Mexico during that time, interactions with Yaqui rebels, Mexican and North American soldiers, Pancho Villa's revolutionary forces, and local government's fear of General-turned-President Victoriano Huerta's wrath.
