Reprint of the 1882 ed. published by O. L. Baskin, Chicago, with a newly prepared index.

Vol. 1, t.-p. dated 1897, includes the Society's proceedings and all papers and publications from its organization in 1830 to 1886. Each succeeding volume made up from papers originally issued separately. Vol. 6, no. 4 contains minutes of the society, 1886-1918.

In 1854, Wilhelm F. Kempe, 26, and his sister Auguste, 20, left their native Kingdom of Saxony in Europe for a new home in Texas. Remaining in Saxony were their aging, widowed father and a 10-year-old sister and an 8-year-old brother -- people who struggled for decades to reconcile their lives in the Old World with that of their relatives in the New World. Their letters to Wilhelm tell, often painfully, of the emotional toll this disruption took on the lives of family and friends who remained in the Fatherland. As the only connection betwen his family in Europe and his family in America, Wilhelm carried the weight of both. Over half a century he coped with all of their needs, as well as the Civil War and the desires of others who wanted to leave Europe and join him in Texas -- challenges that come alive through the letters they wrote.

Any biography of Henry Clay's 46 year political career quickly becomes entangled with his monumental, though youthful, political leadership of the War Hawks in urging the Madison Administration to arm the United States for war with Great Britain. He continued to advise in the war's progress and ended by being one of the five distinguished Americans to treat for peace with a difficult team of mediocre British envoys. There has been no detailed treatment of his major role in this early American war until this present work.