This subseries includes letters to Coolidge while he was a student in France from 1789 to 1792 from his father Joseph Coolidge, who discusses his business, policies of the newly-formed American government, and his son's education. Letters from his father in London in March and April 1795 mention the work of Joseph's future brother-in-law Charles Bulfinch on Harrison Gray Otis's house in Boston's Bowdoin Square. In later letters (1819-1820), he primarily discusses his health and family matters.

Coolidge's correspondence with his wife Elizabeth Bulfinch Coolidge includes courtship letters written when he is in Portsmouth, N.H., Newport, R.I., and London in 1793 and 1794. Elizabeth writes primarily of the health and activities of family and friends. Letters also include those from 1823-1825 and 1835, while Joseph is in Washington, D.C. and Elizabeth is in Boston.

Letters from Joseph's son Thomas Bulfinch Coolidge are largely undated. Thomas writes from Baltimore and Quebec and includes a description of his travels through New York. Additional family correspondence includes that with Joseph's brother Daniel Coolidge, his stepmother Katherine Boyer Coolidge, his daughter Susan Bulfinch Coolidge (Lyman), and his son Joseph Coolidge (1798-1879), who expresses his disappointment with business in Canton and his determination to succeed in an 1833 letter.

Personal papers include correspondence from Joseph's Soreze schoolmates (some in French), an 1805 letter describing a party held by Coolidge, and an 1827 letter from Maryland senator Robert H. Goldsborough. The bulk of the papers are shipping receipts and business correspondence, largely dating from 1811 to 1813, related to Coolidge's work in Portsmouth, N.H., New York, Charleston, Merida (Mexico), and Portland.

Letters to Elizabeth's mother Susan Apthorp Coolidge contain family news and details of her travels to New York and Canada in the summer of 1806. Undated letters from her sister Anna Bulfinch Storer discuss family activities and health. Other family correspondence includes that with her son Joseph Coolidge about the 1820 death of his fiancé and his travels throughout England; a letter from her father-in-law Joseph Coolidge; and correspondence with her son Thomas Bulfinch Coolidge and daughter Susan Bulfinch Coolidge.

Elizabeth's papers include undated poems and personal correspondence.

Joseph's family correspondence includes letters to his sister Susan Bulfinch Coolidge (Lyman) from London, Siena, and Rome from 1820 to 1822, and in 1838 from London and Canton. Correspondence with his son Algernon Coolidge includes several childhood letters from Algernon, as well as letters from the U.S. Army hospital in Portsmouth, R.I., where Algernon served as a surgeon in 1862. (For additional Civil War letters of Algernon Coolidge, see Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge - Family Correspondence; and Algernon Coolidge - Family Correspondence.) Joseph writes to Algernon from Rome, Paris, and Edinburgh from 1867 to 1869, discussing his daily life and activities, the family's long connection to King's Chapel in Boston, and American politics. Joseph also writes affectionately to his daughter-in-law Mary Lowell Coolidge in 1868 congratulating her on the birth of her daughter. Also included are several letters to his grandsons Algernon and Sidney Coolidge from Rome in 1869. Some letters include transcriptions.

Included are an 1819 receipt for fines incurred from Coolidge's failure to appear at militia musters, as well as 1863 correspondence related to the death of Coolidge's son Sidney at the Battle of Chickamauga in Georgia.

Ellen's 1834 letters to her sister-in-law Susan B. Coolidge Lyman mention the Ursuline convent riots in Charlestown and include a lengthy description of her visit to James and Dolley Madison at Montpelier in October 1834. Letters to Susan from Ellen in Boston in 1837 and 1838 discuss Bowdoin Square and King's Chapel, as well as her husband's activities in Canton and Calcutta. 1838 letters describe her impressions of England. An 1840 letter from Macau gives a detailed description of its people and customs, including a funeral in the Portuguese colony. Later letters written from Pau, in southern France, and later Geneva, Paris, and Italy largely discuss family and friends.

Correspondence with Ellen's son Algernon Coolidge consists of childhood letters, some written from school at Vevey, Switzerland in 1844. Ellen's letters to Algernon largely consist of family news. Algernon also writes in 1854 while studying medicine in Vienna, and in 1862 from the Chesapeake Hospital in Old Point Comfort, Va. and the U.S. Sanitary Commission ship, where he discusses conditions and news of the war. Many of these 1862 letters are transcribed. (For additional Civil War letters of Algernon Coolidge, see Joseph Coolidge (1798-1879) - Family correspondence; and Algernon Coolidge - Family correspondence.) Later correspondence consists largely of news of family and friends.

Ellen's correspondence with her daughter-in-law Mary Lowell Coolidge discusses family news and health, local events, and the activities of her grandchildren. Also included are several letters between Ellen and her grandsons Algernon and Sidney.

Ellen's letters to Sarah Hathaway Forbes, the wife of her husband's business partner John Murray Forbes, speak of her uncertainty about joining her husband in China and commiserate about their similar situations. She writes from London, Macau, and Geneva, discussing local customs and daily life. Several letters are undated.

"Virginia Legends" and "Negro Stories" is a manuscript volume of stories that Ellen recalled from her childhood at Monticello, many including descriptions of early Virginia and its natural landscape. The twelve "Negro Stories" were those she heard from enslaved people at Monticello and include her reminiscences of religious practices, fables, and favorite tales. A table of contents at the back lists the individual legends and stories.

Algernon's letters to Mary Lowell (Coolidge) include several courtship letters written while Algernon was in Europe. The bulk were written from March to July 1862, while Algernon served as an assistant surgeon with the U.S. Army in Virginia and with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, transporting wounded soldiers. They describe the politics between the regular medical staff and the Sanitary Commission; Dorothea Dix and her nurses; conditions and daily life at the army camp and the Chesapeake Hospital near Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort, Va.; descriptions of Sanitary Commission hospital ships; accounts of individual soldiers; and McClellan's defeat on 30 June. Several letters discuss the ironclads Monitor and Merrimack (Virginia) in great detail, including a 9 May letter describing an encounter between the two ships, with drawings and maps, and a 5 July letter containing a description of his visit to the Monitor and its interior cabins. His 11 May letter describes meeting President Lincoln at the Chesapeake Hospital and the president's interaction with the wounded soldiers there. Other letters chronicle his observations of the "contraband" families living in Newport News, Va. and the "secessionist mood" of Baltimore, along with many military and political details. Most of Algernon's 1862 letters have been transcribed and dated by his descendants.

Later letters to Mary include those from September-October 1863 written in Louisville and Cincinnati as Algernon searches for information about his brother Sidney, who was killed in the Battle of Chickamauga. A letter from Richmond in June 1865 describes the post-war city and the condition of its people, as well as Algernon's visit with the family of his mother's brother, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, and their views of the war and the future of the south. Letters from the Caribbean and Honduras in 1890 include a description of Algernon's meeting with President Luiz Bogran of Honduras.

Letters from Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, Algernon's brother, were written while Thomas was in Dresden from 1844 to 1846. Later letters were written from Boston and Paris, discussing family news and the effects of the war. Algernon's letters to his sister-in-law Georgina "Nina" Lowell largely discuss news of family and friends. A series of 1871-1872 letters chronicle the family's voyage and relocation to Berlin while Algernon's sons attend school there, describing his impressions of the city and the family's daily activities. Later letters are written from Cotuit (Mass.), Mexico, Europe, and Jamaica.

Letters from Algernon's brother-in-law Edward Jackson Lowell include a March 1880 letter from Dresden describing social conditions there and in Berlin, particularly "the Jewish question." Later letters were written from Rome, Paris, and throughout Europe, including news of friends and family and descriptions of the places he visited. Miscellaneous family correspondence includes that with Algernon's brothers Sidney and Randolph, his brother-in-law George G. Lowell, his niece Anna Cabot Lowell, and his father-in-law Francis Cabot Lowell.

General papers include report cards and other school papers in German and French; personal correspondence; military papers, including his contract as a private surgeon with the United States Army; correspondence related to his position as assistant surgeon at the military hospital; a letter of introduction to the Sanitary Commission from Frederick Law Olmsted; and a contract with the hospital in Portsmouth Grove, R.I. Also in this subseries is a 25 Jan. 1865 letter from James Murray Mason, Confederate liaison to England and France, in reply to Algernon's letter accompanying the Sanitary Commission's report of Union prisoners treatment; a draft of Algernon's reply; and a letter from Amos A. Lawrence addressing Mason's letter and discussing Lawrence's involvement with John Brown. Papers also include a letter of recognition upon Algernon's resignation from Massachusetts General Hospital in 1876, a series of letters from George Parker Winship related to Algernon's collection of early Mexican printed volumes, and other personal and professional correspondence.

Savannah plantation papers include correspondence with Arminius Oemler, a Savannah doctor and former classmate, who lost his land and fortune during the Civil War. Papers relate to the partnership of Coolidge and Oemler in a cotton plantation on Wilmington Island, details of Coolidge's investment, an 1866 contract and promissory note, and the subsequent failure of the investment.

Papers related to the death of Algernon's twin brother, Sidney Coolidge, include telegrams, correspondence discussing various accounts of his injury or death at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, the whereabouts of his effects, obituaries, and printed memorials.

Volumes include an 1850 memo book written in French and two 1850-1851 diaries discussing daily activities and events while Coolidge was a student at Harvard. A memo book, written in several hands, contains miscellaneous quotations and excerpts, including what appears to be an account or an interview with Samuel Dana Greene, executive officer of the U.S.S. Monitor, about the Battle of Hampton Roads on 14 March 1862.

Included in this subseries is the correspondence of Susan Elizabeth Goldsborough, the wife of Thomas Bulfinch Coolidge. The bulk of her letters were written to her sister-in-law Susan Bulfinch Coolidge (Lyman), containing news of friends and family. Also included are several undated letters to her husband's parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Bulfinch Coolidge. Letters from Susan's mother Henrietta M. Goldsborough and her sister Mary Caroline Goldsborough to Susan Bulfinch Coolidge are also included here.

Other Coolidge family correspondence includes letters from Ellen Coolidge Dwight and Sidney Coolidge.

These volumes were most likely compiled by Ellen Dwight Coolidge, but are written in several hands. The bulk of recipes date from the 1870s, with many later additions, and are attributed to various friends and family members. Each book is devoted to a particular group of recipes, including "Puddings, sweet dishes, and vegetables," "Meat, soups, and fish," and "Breakfast bread, cake, and cooling drinks for sickness." The volumes included many loose clippings and recipes, now foldered with the volumes.

Anna's correspondence includes letters written from Roxbury to her half-brother Francis Cabot Lowell (1775-1817), discussing family activities and offering him advice on his friendships at school. Later letters were written from Portsmouth, N.H. and Paris to Francis when he was merchant in Boston. Also included are two copy books containing extracts of her letters to "Ann B." (possibly Ann Bulfinch Storer), not written in Anna's hand, discussing news of friends, family, and daily activities; and a copy book of Anna's letters to her stepmother Rebecca Russell Lowell, discussing her trip to Europe in 1805-1806. This subseries also includes Anna's letters to Rebecca Amory Lowell, Sally Sullivan, Mary Gardner Lowell, and John Thornton Kirkland.

A series of poems in Anna's hand are largely undated. Several are dedicated to "Miss C. R." Some poems attributed to Anna appear to have been copied by others.