Topics include Carseldana's marriage with William Potter, Moses Shepard Colton's (Betsey Verona's father) move west, Moses Shepard's joining the Baptist Church, the value of wheat and corn, and farming and weather conditions in Ohio.
Topics include family illnesses, compaints about Brother Shepard's disinclination to help their mother, the death of Andrew's and Ruth's daughter, locals' plans to go to California for gold, farming activities, and local farm product prices.
Topics include the birth of his son Lemuel, the health of his wife Matilda, Shepard's family's health and activities, the weather and farming activities in Indiana.
Topics include their illnesses over the summer, the rich and inexpensive farm land in Indiana, the prices of stock and grains, and the travelling and work activities of family members.
Topics include the deaths of their mother and of Carseldana, the fortunes of brother Moses Shepard Colton, the marriage of Verona, and the birth of their son Carlos.
Topics include their plans to move to Illinois, the age of their one remaining son, the state of their farm and of Moses Shepard Colton's farm, the prices of crops and stock, and family members' health.
Topics include the health and activities of his household, the birth of Verona's girl, Evaline, the marriage of Lyman to Nancy Whistler, the state of his farm and that of Moses Shepard's and the death of their daughter 2 years previous.
Topics include Lemuel's plans to visit with Mary (Harvey?), his stable but poor health, and the cool summer and reduced crop yields of 1883 in Indiana.
Topics include the fine land and opportunities in Kirtland, Ohio, where he is visiting his cousin Josiah, the possibility of his mother drawing a pension, and the possibility of his brother Moses Shepard moving west to join him.
Topics include the ill health of his sister Susan, the coming marriage of Ruth to Andrew Fletcher, the hard winter past in Ohio, which he thinks was not hard but is causing an exodus further west, and the possibility of other family members coming west to meet him.
