Printed material, undated

The collection primarily contains the correspondence of James Howard McHenry (1820-1888) from 1849-1885 (circa 1000 items), which includes both incoming family and business letters as well as some drafts of McHenry's replies. The letters are largely from the period 1867-1878. The business letters are mainly about his farm "Sudbrook" in Pikesville, Maryland and the livestock he bred and judged. His frequent business correspondents include Henry White in Paris, 1868-1869; Thomas H. Buckler in Baltimore, 1867-1868; Thomas Hill writing about McHenry's real estate in Baltimore, 1867-1876; and Thomas J. Hand discussing cattle breeding, 1868-1878. His family correspondents include his wife, Sarah (Cary) McHenry; their son, Wilson Cary McHenry, writing from the Pennsylvania Military Academy in West Chester, Pennsylvania during 1875-1876 and from Yale University in 1876-1878; his uncle, Charles Howard, writing from Fort Warren prison during the Civil War, 1861-1862; and his aunts, Sophia McHenry in Baltimore and Monmouth in the 1860s and Sophia C. Read in Baltimore, in the 1860s. The correspondence also contains a few letters written to Sarah (Cary) McHenry from her friends, 1863-1878.

The collection also includes three scrapbooks kept by McHenry with clippings on farming (volume 1), clippings on politics and the Civil War (volume 2), passports and one commonplace book (volume 3). A commonplace book, 1817-1819, is attributed to McHenry's mother, Juliana Howard McHenry, and there is one unidentified account book from the 1860s. McHenry's memoranda and receipts from the 1860s-1880s, pertaining to his farm and livestock, are included in the collection as well.

Additionally, there are two letters/essays written by McHenry's grandfather James McHenry (1753-1816) and a copy of his estate inventory. I