Series of 31 letters (July 24, 1864 - July 11, 1868) to Eliza (Lizzie) Ives, a school girl in Salisbury, New York. Written by friends and relatives while Miss Ives was attending school in Little Falls, New York and by former classmates after her return home, the letters contain comment on social life in small-town America in the mid-19th century and give some picture of current educational practices and attitudes both from the point of view of the student and of the neophyte "schoolmarm." Letters from a friend teaching in Orange, Massachusetts describe her experiences in a school where she must study diligently to keep ahead of the older boys (Nov. 2, 1866-May 30, 1868). One lettter from Paris (August 9, 1867) gives a friend's impressions of the city. Also includes Lizzie's first school composition entitled "Summer"; a letter to her teacher (Nov. 14, 1864); a prospectus of the Troy Female Seminary and a photograph of Emma Willard, the school's founder; and a list of clothing donated to the Ladies' Missionary Society of the Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church near Raymilton, Pennsylvania (1849). Also, one letter from Roxan[n]a Smith (later Mrs. Truman Ives) to her sister Ruthene (Mrs. Anson Ives) concerning family matters (July 11, 1813).