Family correspondence and other materials. There are letters from Lambert Tree and his brothers, Charles and Joseph, to their parents, describing life in Chicago and Norfolk, Va., 1859-1860. Of particular interest are Lambert Tree's 1859 letters describing his courtship and marriage to Anna Josephine Magie, his business dealing with "Old Abe Lincoln," (Springfield, Ill., undated, ca. Feb. 1859) and September letters describing the U.S. Fair in Chicago. These letters also contain commentary about local and national business and politics. Brother Joseph Tree's letters from Norfolk emphatically express Southern and secessionist sympathies, and comment extensively on the John Brown affair. They also talk about the Norfolk shipping and railroad affairs. In addition, there are letters by Lambert Tree's son, Arthur, his grandson, Ronald, and his wife; an essay by his sister, Jeannie Tree Rives; correspondence and mementos re the senior Tree's post office position, and a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings kept by Anna Josephine Tree.