Included in Silas Seymour’s personal papers are materials from the Wisconsin Railroad Farm Mortgage Land Company (of which he was Commissioner), a local Civil War relief organization, essays, and speeches. The collection also includes letters from relatives in North Dakota (mainly Silas’ sister, Elizabeth S. Harris) and the papers of the Seymours’ daughter, Ella, consisting of a diary and a “letter.” The diary details her studies at the Teachers' Institute, work as a teacher in Dellona, and life on the farm, including domestic chores and hop picking. The “letter” is an explanatory document about a Centennial needlework piece created by Ella, and also discusses the death of her sister and best friend, Ida, about whom she made a mourning piece. (Both artifacts are in the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society Museum 1993.58.1 and 1993.58.2.) There is also a photograph of Ella. These items document the life of a disabled person, since Ella suffered from Kyphosis. Finally, there are reports on local Sauk County personages W.H. Canfield, Archibald Barker, and Levi Moore, written by Ruth Seymour Burmester in the 1970s and 1980s.
