Emma Whittier, in letters to her sister, Anna Patten, describes her life as a schoolteacher in California. In May 1875 she writes from Altaville, California, where she has just started teaching. She comments on the local geography and briefly describes the town's businesses. She mentions her teaching salary and writes briefly about her students and classroom. In a December 1875 letter, written while onboard the steamer "Senator," Emma writes of her plans to take the state teachers' certification exam, her search for another teaching position since the Altaville school closed due to heavy rains, and her trip to San Francisco, Oakland, and Southern California. In a third letter, undated but presumably of the same period, Emma writes mainly about family news.
