Letters from Elijah Briggs to parents Benjamin and Susanna Briggs and brothers Alexander and Benjamin. Also letters from Elijah Briggs' wife Helen Briggs to her mother-in-law, two essays written by Elijah Briggs, a few miscellaneous letters, and one photo, possibly of Benjamin and Susanna Briggs.

Elijah Briggs' letters describe life in Indiana and the changes taking place in the Wabash Valley during the late 1830s to the early 1850s. Briggs takes various jobs, chronicles the price of grain, pork, and whiskey, and talks of starting his own business. In one letter from 1939 Briggs expresses frustration over President Andrew Jackson's "Bank War" and the economic collapse that took place in its wake. Briggs' wife Helen describes an isolated domestic life, and her great sadness at the loss of her children. One of Briggs' essays, entitled "Priest Craft" derides the role of priests in society, which he says, "seeks to keep people in religious darkness," a view which may indicate that Briggs was a Quaker.