Correspondence, 1837-1924 and undated

Correspondence, 1837-1924 and undated, largely consists of letters received by the female members of the Carr and Lukens families. Early letters are predominantly addressed to Myra Lukens Mayhew Carr from her siblings and other family members writing to update her on life events. Of note is a letter, 18 May 1839, from Edith Lukens describing a trip to have her fortune told in Philadelphia. In June 1840, Myra's first husband died, and family members wrote to her to express their grief and condolences. In September 1840, Myra's brother, Samuel, wrote to her describing details of a bloody flux (dysentary) outbreak in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. Especially in the early decades of the family's correspondence, relationships between family members seem strained, and letters mention feelings of neglect and disrespect.

The bulk of the correspondence hails from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of these letters were written to Eliza Jane Carr Lukens from family members and friends. Most of the letters in the 1850s were written to Eliza Jane at school in Galesburg. One letter, 18 July 1858, was sent by her cousin and future husband George McKinney Lukens telling Eliza Jane what he sought in a wife and asking her to set him up with one of her friends.

The family remained largely unharmed by the Civil War, although some Civil War-era letters do express frustration with secessionists and the Confederacy and mention friends and acquaintances fighting in the war. Eliza Jane's family and friends were scattered across the country, and most letters deal with casual topics such as the weather and family members' health. Winter letters often mention sleighing. In July 1862 George McKinney Lukens wrote a love letter to Eliza Jane begging her to marry him and urging her to break off a blossoming relationship with another man.

20th-century correspondence almost exclusively consists of letters written to Eliza Jane by her nephew, Benjamin Carr, who was 9 years older than her and raised by her father and stepmother.