The correspondence from the 1850s consists of a few letters describing Thomas Cochran, Jr.'s experiences at the City Academy of Brooklyn and a single letter to Emilie Belden Walsh from Emily M. Brown [an aunt?] describing what it means "To be a Christian . . . ."

The 1860s files contain various ephemera from the Eucleian Society at New York University (NYU), and various church and YMCA flyers. Twenty essays by Thomas Cochran, Jr., while a student at NYU (such as "Muscular Christianity," "The Liberty of the Soul," and "General McClellan") are present as well as compositions by Emilie Belden Walsh and a variety of family letters to both Thomas, Jr. and Emilie from relatives and friends.

In addition, in 1863 Thomas, Jr. and Emilie began a prolific correspondence which continued unabated after their marriage in November 1867. Part of this correspondence consists of a journal kept by Thomas, Jr. on his trip to California and Oregon with his brother Samuel (November 12, 1865-May 6, 1866). The journal details their trip around Cape Horn on the clipper ship Young America; a description of San Francisco and the mercury mines near San Jose, California; an excursion to Oregon, including visits to Astoria and Portland, and a week-long voyage up the Columbia River as far as Wallula, Washington (including descriptions of the Nez Perce Indians encountered enroute); and a visit to some of the giant sequoia stands and the Yosemite Valley in California. In addition, Thomas recorded a conversation he had with a man who described (as he perceived them) the rather unpopular political and real estate machinations of John C. Fremont (1813-1890) within the state of California. Other folders reflect familial concerns over the early death of Samuel in Rome in March 1869, and specific friendships such as that between Thomas and James R. Walsh (Emilie's brother), and between Emilie and Fanny Comstock.

Much of the correspondence in the late 1860s revolves around Thomas, Jr.'s decision to move west to St. Paul, Minnesota, for health reasons (he suffered from tuberculosis).

The correspondence of the 1870s is dominated by the many letters exchanged between Thomas and Emilie. These describe the couple's growing family (the six children were born between 1869 and 1881), and the strains on the marriage occasioned by Thomas, Jr.'s frequent travels related to business and the YMCA (see the June 11, 1870, letter from Thomas to Emilie consoling her after she reported that a man named "Kurtz" had made improper advances towards her). Most of the other folders in this decade contain letters from a variety of relatives.

The number of letters between Thomas and Emilie grow relatively sparse by the early 1880s, as the correspondence shifts to letters between them and their growing children. Many of the letters detail problems with servants, business interests, academic performance, concerns over health and Christian education, and a wealth of minutiae associated with a well-to-do and socially prominent family.

Alexander Cochran, the oldest of their children, was a sickly boy who was sent on at least two trips overseas before dying in Rome in 1893, just a few days shy of his twenty-fourth birthday. He kept a diary of his first excursion, an around-the-world trip on a steamer. The fragmentary record includes entries (March 3-May 18, 1892) as well as a local passport he was issued by the United States Legation in Tokyo on June 1, 1892.

Thomas Cochran III, the Cochran's second child, was the subject of much correspondence, especially with respect to his education at Phillips Academy (Andover, Massachusetts) and then at Yale. These included problems with his grades, bad language, football injuries, poor class attendance, and concerns over money. Of interest is a January 14, 1889, letter ("Confidential") from his father concerning the possible involvement of his son with a friend who had reportedly visited a bordello. In 1895 Thomas III penned several letters describing a trip to Europe, where he spent three weeks in England and two in France.

Emily Cochran, their third child, never married but became friends with the American writer Henry James. He penned two letters (September 8, 1906; October 22, 1908) to Emily, and his brother William, the psychologist and philosopher, also wrote her. Emily also became enamored of the Catholic church, to the chagrin of her family, but was supported in her decision to convert to Catholicism by Archbishop John Ireland in a June 21, 1917, letter.

Williams Cochran, the fourth child, joined Company C of the Thirteenth Minnesota Regiment of Volunteers to fight in the Spanish-American War, and kept a diary (June 27, 1898-February 1899). It describes the voyage from San Francisco, via Honolulu, to the Philippines aboard the transport The City of Para; General Arthur MacArthur, their brigade commander; garrison duty in and around Manila; problems with smallpox, dysentery, and malaria; and the growing threat from Emilio Aguinaldo's insurgents. The unit, however, apparently did little fighting.

Moncrieff Mitchell Cochran, the couple's fifth child, married Margaret Turner Davis on July 20, 1916 (though one letter suggests that they had wed as early as December 30, 1913), and their correspondence is fairly mundane.

Louise Cochran, the last child, was a voluminous letter writer. She corresponded constantly with her older brother, Thomas III, whom she idolized as "King," and over the years 1907-1908 she received many letters from an English admirer, James Ryley. During summer 1907 Louise kept a diary describing her day-to-day experiences during the family's vacation at their "Monedin" cabin retreat on Isle Royale. Finally, there are several letters containing correspondence between Louise Cochran and Arthur Harold Savage (1872- ), both before and after their marriage on May 10, 1910.

There are some miscellaneous papers, which include the 1889 proceedings of the 28th International Convention of the YMCA, attended by Thomas Cochran, Jr., and which also includes some letters from the 1870s relating to Thomas, Jr.'s activities on behalf of the YMCA.

The Thomas Cochran, Jr. family and the Arthur H. Savage family correspondence also contains a variety of interesting vignettes: a 5-page typescript description of an attempted two-day circumnavigation of Isle Royale by "T. C." in August 1904; many letters of condolence concerning the death of Thomas Cochran, Jr. on Christmas Day, 1906; several anecdotes describing Thomas III's generosity to his family (e.g., a Cadillac for his mother and an offer to buy a house for Louise); correspondence between Thomas III and his nephew Thomas Cochran Savage (1913-1988) complaining in part about the shabby way in which the young lad had been treating his mother (Louise Cochran Savage); numerous letters of condolence concerning the deaths of Emily Cochran and her mother, Emilie Belden Cochran (April 8 and May 22, 1924, respectively); and correspondence between members of the Cochran and Savage families and James Wallace, Thomas Cochran, Jr.'s biographer (circa 1925-1929.)

NOTE TO RESEARCHERS:

Both the Cochran and Walsh families used the same forenames (or close approximations) repeatedly through several generations. Those more commonly confused in this collection, their dates, and relationships are as follows: Thomas Cochran (1806-1889), brother of James Blair Cochran and Catherine Baylis (1816-1849); Thomas Cochran III (1871-1936), son of Thomas Cochran, Jr., and Emilie Belden (Walsh) Cochran; Emily M. (Brown) Walsh (1816-1881), mother of Emilie Belden Walsh (1844-1924); Emilie Belden Walsh (184-1924), daughter of Alexander Robertson Walsh and Emily M. (Brown) Walsh; Emily Cochran (1872-1924), daughter of Thomas Cochran, Jr., and Emilie Belden (Walsh) Cochran.

Much of this collection consists of personal letters among family members and is replete with a variety of nicknames. The known aliases are as follows:

Children of Thomas Cochran, Jr., and Emilie Belden (Walsh) Cochran:

Thomas Cochran III was commonly referred to as "King" by Louis Cochran; often used "Jr." himself since he disliked "III", and after his father's death, preferred Thomas Cochran without either the "III" or "Jr.;" Emily Cochran (1872-1924) was called "Waity;" Williams Cochran (1876- )was called "Billy;" and Louise Cochran (1881-1968) was "Tootie," "Toots," "Fish plate," and "Chump" and derivatives.

Children of Alexander Robertson Walsh and Emily M. (Brown) Walsh:

James R. Walsh was "Jim;" Margaret Walsh was "Madge," and "Maggie;" Minnie W. Moir, friend of Emilie Belden (Walsh) Conchran was called "Min;" Martha Andrews (Griffin) Cochran (1871-1914), wife of Thomas Cochran III, was "Mattie," and "D;" Arthur Harold Savage (1872- ), husband of Louise Cochran Savage, was "Nubbins," and "Swatty;" Theodora (von Duhn) Cochran (1898- ), wife of Williams Cochran, was called "Teddy;" Moncrieff Mitchell Cochran (1879-1931), husband of Margaret Turner (Davis) Cochran (1881- ), was "To-Be;" Margaret Turner (Davis) Cochran (1881- ), wife of Moncrieff Mitchell Cochran, was "Barg," and "Bargette;" and Elizabeth Robertson (Savage) Snell (1919-1972), daughter of Louise Cochran Savage and Authur Harold Savage, was called "Betty."

Correspondence from the 1830s consists primarily of business-related matters (establishing a store in Terre Haute, Indiana, profit margins, and business dealings in New Orleans), and complaints about the unfinished Cumberland Road, President Jackson, the Loco Foco party, and banks, particularly the Bank of the United States.

The business correspondence from December 1868 to February 1869 includes a suggestion from Thomas Cochran, Jr., that $25,000 might be profitably invested in Minnesota wheat.

Thomas Cochran, Jr. established the Northwestern Investment Company, Inc., around 1900. Six folders contain correspondence primarily between Thomas, Jr., in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his son, Thomas III, in New York City. There is mention of investing in some five million acres of Northern Pacific Railroad lands in Montana that were soon offered for sale; dealings with the Anchor Silver Plate Company (1904-1905); and a $500,000 loan to George D. Dayton (see a March 15, 1906, letter). An additional folder (1906-1912) contains correspondence concerning the estate of Thomas Williams (who died December 13, 1905) and Mary A. Williams (two of the three maps in folder 1 of the oversize items indicate their property holdings in the Twin Cities area).

The collection includes an unrelated hand-drawn colored political cartoon (1806) lampooning a certain New York family (identity unknown) that was found in a desk in Stamford, Connecticut.

The folder containing family genealogical and historical notes is valuable for determining family relationships and for some anecdotal information concerning Thomas Cochran, Jr.

Another folder contains undated personal correspondence from Emily Cochran's sister and several sisters-in-law. This is followed by four folders of undated personal and family correspondence.

There are nine folders of fragmentary letters and miscellaneous notes, which have been organized by author: J. L Roberts, James Blair Cochran (1799-1859), Emily (Brown) Walsh (1816-1881), Thomas Cochran, Jr., Emily Belden (Walsh) Cochran (1844-1924), Thomas Cochran III, Emily Cochran (1872-1924), and fragments from "various family members and friends." Of particular interest is an early 8-page description of Virginia (circa 1830s) by J. L. Roberts, who was probably a business associate of James Blair Cochran. In addition, James Blair Cochran collected numerous short poems, and biblical and mythological passages (circa 1830s and 1840s.) Some of these may also be found in Folder 2 of the oversize items.

Emily Cochran, in addition to some correspondence, drew some pencil sketches of objects and unidentified friends or family members in 1894 and 1895, which have been retained in this collection. There is also a folder containing three items of ephemera collected by the Arthur H. Savage family in 1923.

The 18 folders of photographs are organized by individual family members, unknown family and friends, and by place.

There is one folder containing dozens of visiting cards from family and friends and advertising (business) cards. Another folder contains a child's colored paper cut-out and several postcard pictures.

Finally, there are two folders of miscellaneous newspaper clippings and two folders of other miscellaneous papers. In particular, the researcher will find that the materials in the newspaper folders are a good source of biographical information.