Papers, 1831-1887, consisting mainly of incoming letters to Draper in the 1842-1847 period, arranged chronologically and followed by undated notes and miscellany. Three letters prior to 1842 include genealogical data (1831) on descendants of Thomas Crutcher and his brothers and sisters in Kentucky and Tennessee, a letter (1833) on legal matters by Roger M. Sherman, and a letter (1835) by the noted physician Benjamin Waterhouse explaining the necessity of good wells and pure water for good health.

Draper's correspondence pertains to his ceaseless search for manuscripts, printed sources, and persons to interview; thus there are allusions to most of his early major research and publication projects. Several letters (1872-1886) concern his interest in autograph collecting and his study of collections of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Letters of his friend Henry Beard include an original woodcut letterhead by Beard promoting the “log cabin” presidential campaign of William H. Harrison (1840, but bound out of order as 2 Q 110) and later mention (1854) of his work with Indian delegations and treaty negotiations in Washington, D.C.

Among the letters of S.H. Laughlin are a proposal (1846) for a lecture tour with Draper and discussion of the significance of Virginia senator and writer John Taylor (1754-1824). Several letters describe the activities and problems of early historical societies and state libraries in Kentucky (1845-1846), Ohio (1848, 1849, 1852), New York (1849), Maryland (1849, accompanied by a printed copy of rules for access), and Virginia (1875). Recollections of Stephen Ruddell, an account of the Indian captivity of Absolom Hicklin and his subsequent life with Indians west of the Mississippi River, and discussion of the writer's attempts to gather information on the language of the Sauk and Fox tribes and of his experiments with a new phonetic alphabet fill a long letter by Lewis Masquerier (1859). In 1865-1866 Taliaferro P. Shaffner, former secretary of the Kentucky Historical Society, described his Civil War service with Grant and his years in Europe as a professional soldier, instructor, and writer on artillery and telegraphy. The Civil War and Reconstruction also brought expressions of dismay, denunciation of the Lincoln administration and federal Reconstruction policies, and a spirited defence of the Ku Klux Klan in letters by Pat Clark (1864) and John H. Logan (1871). Draper's interest in spiritualism was evidenced by an account of an unusual spiritualist experience related (1874) by Silas McDowell and a report (1883) of a reputed “spirit portrait” in London.

Other miscellaneous letters include: Joseph Martin's introduction of Draper to his brother William Martin (1842); an extensive description of the Kanawha River by Ben Rush Floyd (1848); brief genealogical data on the William North family and Fairlie family by H.E. Ludewig (1848); discussion of emancipation of slaves by Lewis Collins (1849); description of the falls of the Dan River at Danville, Virginia by Nathaniel T. Greene (1852); comments on the Potawatomi Black Partridge and Billy Caldwell by Juliette A. (Mrs. John H.) Kinzie (1865); report of mastodon bones in Grant County, Wisconsin by J. Taylor (1875).

Also included are a biographical account of John Bannister Gibson, chief justice of the,Pennsylvania Supreme Court by Charles H. Smiley (1875); and an undated biographical sketch of William Davies, son of Samuel Davies (1723-1761), who was president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University), by Miss E.G. Whittle. Numerous notes by Draper, some accompanied by clippings, are on assorted topics such as Andrew Jackson's birthplace; the South Carolina Yazoo Land Company; Thomas Paine; the attitudes and practices toward slavery of Edward Coles, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson; Thomas Heyward and the poems and songs he composed as a prisoner in St. Augustine. Many biographical references relate to Jonas Clark, Burr Harrison, David Hendrick, Benjamin Stites, and particularly to the many participants in the Mecklenburg Declaration. Copies of Revolutionary correspondence, 1775-1776, of John McPherson, furnished (1845) by McPherson's son, include one letter by Philip Schuyler.