The Coye papers represent the numerous challenges and issues that arose in Oswego County, New York, prior to the American Civil War. The correspondence among friends and relatives across the United States and western territories reflect the many important events of the era. A few of the letters discuss the Gold Rush in Colorado and the hardships of frontier life in the Iowa territory. The main focus of the letters center upon school life in Oswego County during the middle 19th century. Mentions abolitionism in New York.