This collection is comprised of 11 letters by James Sproat Green of Princeton, New Jersey, to a longtime friend and future United States representative, John Jones Milligan of Wilmington, Delaware, between 1813 and 1818. Green wrote 2 letters from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in August 1813, and 9 letters from his home in Princeton, New Jersey, between November 1813 and April 1818.
In his first 2 letters, written in August 1813, Green focused on his ideas about and recent experiences with romance and relations with women. On August 10, he shared his personal "theory of love," and both letters mention his relationship with a Lancaster native named Julia. The remaining letters, all written from Princeton, New Jersey, concern a variety of personal and political topics. The recent death of his brother caused Green to reflect on the subject as he dealt with his late sibling's financial affairs (November 2, 1813). He frequently shared his personal opinions on life. Many letters mention recent news, such as the peace negotiations following the War of 1812 and a visit by Christopher Hughes (April 8, 1815), the election of U.S. Representative Louis McClane (November 6, 1816), a riot at the College of New Jersey (February 24, 1817), and a recent scandal involving the Dupont family (April 27, 1818). Several letters concern Milligan's financial affairs and legal career. In Green's letter of July 3, 1817, he discussed the possibility of moving west to practice law and inquired about Milligan's plans. The letters also provide news of mutual acquaintances and of Green's family, and reflect a strong male friendship in the 1810s.
James Sproat Green, son of College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) President Ashbel Green and his wife, Elizabeth Stockton Green, was born in Philadelphia on July 22, 1792. He had two siblings and one half-sibling: Robert Stockton Green (1787-1813), Jacob Green (ca. 1790-1842), and Ashbel Green (b. 1811). After graduating from Dickinson College in 1811, James Green moved to Princeton, New Jersey. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1817. He served as United States district attorney for New Jersey between 1829 and 1845, and President John Tyler unsuccessfully nominated him for secretary of the treasury in 1844. From 1847 to 1855, Green taught jurisprudence at the College of New Jersey. In 1825, he married Isabella Williamson McCulloh, and they had five children: Ashbel (1825-1898), Anna McCulloh (b. 1827), James Sproat (1829-1892), Robert Stockton (1831-1895, Governor of New Jersey, 1887-1890), and Isabella (1834-1906). James Sproat Green died on November 8, 1862.