The Marcus Jamieson collection is made up of approximately 90 incoming personal letters to Jamieson from friends and his immediate family, as well as 12 letters that he wrote to his future wife, Emma Crary of Webster City, Iowa. Jamieson received letters from Emma, his father, and numerous friends in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, and other states while living in Grinnell, Iowa, between 1877 and 1883, and he received letters from his mother and brother in Grinnell, Iowa, while living in Warren, Pennsylvania, between 1891 and 1902. The letters pertain to numerous aspects of daily life, such as education, local news, and social activities.
T. W. Gilmore, Jr., and Marcia Gilmore frequently wrote to Jamieson from Ann Arbor, Michigan, between 1877 and 1881. They commented on their social activities, the city, and education. In one letter, T. W. Gilmore, Jr., drew a floor plan of the house in which he lived (November 3, 1878), and in others he mentioned aspects of student life at the high school and at the University of Michigan. Jamieson's father, Hugh A. Jamieson, wrote from Warren, Pennsylvania, and several friends shared news about their lives in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, and the Dakota Territory. Some commented on baseball, and one drew a sketch of a woman (August 22, 1879).
After 1880, Jamieson corresponded with Emily Crary ("Emma") of Webster City, Iowa. The couple's early letters primarily concern everyday news, but later letters reflect their transition into a more formal courtship. One letter has Jamieson's drawing of a picture of a fireman (August 6, 1882).
After a gap between 1884 and 1890, Jamieson's incoming correspondence resumes with letters from his brother Charles and his mother Julia, both of whom lived in Grinnell, Iowa. Charles discussed his educational experiences at Iowa College, and Julia provided news of her social life and of Emma's mother. The final item is a letter from a representative of Iowa College requesting a financial donation.
Additional material includes a wedding notice, a printed program, a flier of facts about Grinnell College, a newspaper clipping, and a photograph of an unidentified infant.
Marcus William Jamieson was born in Pennsylvania in July 1861, the son of Hugh A. Jamieson, a hardware dealer in Warren, Pennsylvania, and Julia F. Jamieson. He lived in Grinnell, Iowa, from 1877-1883, where he attended Iowa College (now Grinnell College), and later returned to Warren, where he was a bookkeeper and oil refiner. In the mid-1880s, Jamieson married Emily Crary ("Emma") of Webster City, Iowa. They had three children: Louis, Marcia, and Hugh. Marcus Jamieson died in 1928.
Charles Jamieson, Marcus's brother, attended Iowa College in the early 1890s and later lived in Grinnell, Iowa, with his wife Lilly.
