The collection consists of one letter from Eliason in Raccoon Ford, Culpeper County, VA to Mrs. Ann Hodgson. The letter, dated January 15, 1860, details the death of Hodgson's brother William. Eliason describes writing the letter as an "unpleasant duty." Nevertheless, he offers Ann his condolences and instructs her to visit her mother and father "as soon as [she] can." At the bottom of the letter, William wrote a series of equations, the purpose of which is unknown.