This subseries includes personal papers of Charles Henry Appleton Dall from two disbound volumes entitled C.H.A. Dall Journals, 1831-1840 and C.H.A. Dall Letters, 1835 to 1861. The volumes were presumably bound by a Dall family member some years after Charles's death and were disbound because the binding obscured text of some of the journals and letters.

The volume of journals contained several gatherings of diaries and other recollections written by Charles from childhood through his early years of marriage. These include a sketch of an 1831 journey from Boston to Baltimore; a very brief (three-page) journal entry from 1833, when Charles was between secondary school and college; an 1836 "Account of Saturdays"; a diary kept irregularly from 1836 to 1838 documenting college years; a draft of a short autobiographical sketch; and notes on Charles's earliest memories of childhood, undated but written in his early twenties. Also included was a draft of a letter written to an uncle in 1835.

The travel sketch describes Charles's first visit home in 1831 after seven years of schooling in Boston, a journey taken with his uncle John Dall. The account narrates their travels by stagecoach and steamer and impressions of time spent in New York and Philadelphia. In 1849, Charles copied at the end of this sketch a set of notes he had taken during the Baltimore visit. These notes recount a visit to Washington, D.C., a ride on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and visits with friends and family. The 1833 journal documents Charles's school life. The 1836 "Account of Saturdays" focuses on Charles's life outside the Harvard College classroom. The 1836-1838 journal records Charles's academic and social life at Harvard College, his decision about pursuing a career in divinity, academic and social life, and early experiences at Harvard Divinity School. Charles also expresses his opinions on temperance, evaluates his education at Harvard College, and reports on lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The autobiographical sketch, written for the Harvard College classbook, covers his earliest recollections, his years in primary school, and his years at Harvard College. The undated recollections written in Charles's early twenties include his earliest recollections, focusing on his memories of a number of people enslaved by his family (including his nurse maid), his family life, and dreams.

The 1835 draft of a letter replies to a letter from an unnamed uncle (perhaps Charles Austin, whose January 1835 letter to Charles is bound in the correspondence volume) that discusses Charles's decision between careers in law or in the ministry. The draft drifts into a retort to a letter from his father, James Dall, Sr., urging Charles against the religious vocation.

The correspondence that was assembled in the bound volume consists primarily of letters received by Charles from family members from 1824 through 1861. The volume has been disbound and the letters organized by correspondent, but the bound order may be discerned from page numbers that were written in the upper right corner.

Charles's father James Dall, Sr., mother Henrietta Austin Dall, sister Henrietta A. Dall, brother James Dall, Jr., and brother Austin Dall wrote Charles numerous letters when he was away in Boston for his primary schooling (the bulk of the letters are from Charles's father). In these letters, dated 1824-1827, the correspondents discuss the decision for Charles to remain in Boston for his education, inquire after his studies, and update him on news of his family in Baltimore.

Most of the letters originating from the period after Charles's 1840 graduation from Harvard Divinity School were written by relatives close to him from his childhood in Boston, including his uncle John Dall, aunt Sarah K. Dall, and uncle William Dall. Additional correspondence includes an 1840 letter from his father James Dall and an 1845 letter from his mother Henrietta Austin Dall. These letters discuss family news, including the 1840 suicide of his uncle Joseph Dall, as well as news of local events and about friends and acquaintances.

1861 letters to Charles in London from his uncle William Dall discuss the Civil War, the secessionist leanings of some family members, and the financial situation of Charles's wife Caroline Wells Healey Dall and their children.

The diary has been attributed to Caroline Wells Healey Dall's sister Marianne W. Healey, who kept it between June 1849 and December 1850. Diary entries record Marianne's daily activities, such as visits with family and friends, church attendance, reading, and attendance of lectures and lessons. Of particular interest are Marianne's reaction to the arrest of John White Webster for the murder of George Parkman and her description of her experience suffering a prolonged digestive ailment, which she calls dysentery. The volume was received with several diary pages sliced out.

The volume was later used as a scrapbook for newspaper clippings. Clippings that were pasted over several pages of the diary were photocopied and removed. The clippings are of diverse content and include poems, obituaries, marriage announcements, and reports on departing ships. There are a number of clippings about Healey and Dall family members. Most of the clippings are undated, but dated items originate from 1855 to 1881. A poem by William Healey Dall responding to the 1874 death of naturalist Louis Agassiz (mentor to William) is written in pencil on a page among the clippings (it is unclear whether William himself inscribed the poem or if it is was transcribed by someone else). In addition to the clippings, the scrapbook includes the 1853 certificate of matriculation at Harvard College for George W. Healey (brother of Caroline).

In response to an invitation to a subscription banquet for William Healey Dall, Alexander Graham Bell sent his regrets in this letter to the Cosmos Club of Washington, D.C.