Scope and Content of the Collection From the Collection: Primarily letters from 1839-1851 between Christopher Gardner Pearce and his wife Jane Ann (Sackett), containing details about life as a Mississippi steamboat captain, the life of a captain’s wife especially as it pertains to motherhood, and descriptions of events and opinions in the western states and territories at the time. One letter from Jane Ann after the birth of their first daughter includes a long note from Pearce’s cousin, Jane Maria Fuller. Also a clipping of Pearce’s obituary from...