Minutes of the Bellville, Texas Town Meeting on January 18, 1858, which was called in memory of the recently deceased Thomas Bell, "the father of Bellville," who arrived in Texas in 1822 and settled in Austin's Colony and served under Ben Milam during the Texas Revolution.

Letter from Ann Roberts to her sister, Junia Roberts Osterhout, discussing family news.

Letter from Junia Roberts Osterhout to her sister, Mary Roberts, discussing the death of Mary's husband, the birth of her baby, and other news.

Letter from Junia Roberts Osterhout to her sister, Ann Roberts, discussing the possibility of Ann coming to liver with the Osterhouts in Texas. Junia says that she thinks Ann would easily find a husband there.

Certificate of payment stating that E. H. Cantes was owed money and that John Patterson Osterhout, an attorney, would obtain the payment and receive half as commission. On the back the certificate says the payment was received in full on March 15, 1855.

Business card for John Patterson Osterhout, an attorney and collector of claims for Austin and surrounding counties. On the back of the card is a note concerning that if money was collected from a claim, it would be paid to someone while John would retain half as commission.

Certificate of payment for J. Bird and the enlisted help of John Patterson Osterhout, an attorney, in collecting the debt. On the back of the certificate it states that the debt was paid in full on March 15, 1855. Included is a business card for John Patterson Osterhout. The card states he is an attorney for Bellville, Texas and on the back of the card is an agreement for another collection to be done by John.

Letter of appointment to Public Notary for John Patterson Osterhout for the county of Austin. It was signed by the governor of Texas, Peter Hansborough Bell, and the Secretary of State.

Certificate of appointment to Notary Public in Austin County, Texas for John Patterson Osterhout. The certificate was signed by the Texas governor, Hardin Runners Runnels, and the Secretary of State, J. S. Anderson.

Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his mother, Sarah Osterhout, discussing his safe arrival to Bellville, Texas. He told her he might be staying there for a few months and starting a school, but was unsure. He promised to write her a longer letter soon and let her know the mail only came through once a week.

Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his mother, Sarah Osterhout, regarding his time in Bellville, Texas since his recent move there. He was undecided about whether or not he would remain in the county or travel around Texas. He wrote about how sparse buildings were where he lived and that the way wealth was measured there was not by amount of land, but by the amount of slaves owned. Many in the area had begun growing their own gardens and he had learned from them that he needed to be careful of poisonous spiders and centipedes. John told his mother that the mail was arriving with irregularity and they were lucky if they got it once a week.

Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his wife, Sarah Osterhout, regarding his time in Bellville, Texas. He apologized for not writing her sooner since he has been busy with setting up his business as a lawyer. He was considering purchasing slaves although he mentioned a preference for having "white hands" to work with like he did in Pennsylvania. Recently, his friends had been telling him that he was in a good position to marry and he told his mother that he had someone from Pennsylvania in mind. The rest of his family was offended that he had not written then, but he felt that they read the letters he sent to each of them and that it would be repetitive to write the same thing to all of them. He told his mother not to share this letter with any of them and shared that his lawyer business was going well.

Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his brother regarding his time in Bellville, Texas. He was appreciative of his brother sending him news from home and told him about a real estate sale that had happened recently. People from the U.S., Germany, and Bohemia were in attendance and alcohol was passed around. Money has been short in Bellville because of the cotton and corn crops failing. John needed to borrow money and requested a loan from his brother or anyone else in the family. He requested that his brother write again soon with more news from home.

Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his brother, Orlando Osterhout, thanking him for the news in his letter. John and his wife, Junia Roberts Osterhout, expressed their desire to hear more from Orlando and wanted him to visit their parents to gather more news. He wrote briefly about what he and his wife were doing and in the post script, he asked for a canning recipe for his wife.

Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his brother discussing brief news about him and his wife, Junia Roberts Osterhout. He sent gifts to some friends and that he hoped they arrived safely. He had begun constructing a kitchen and dining room for his home and asked that his brother try to locate some seeds that were misplaced somewhere.

Letter from John Patterson Osterhout to his brother regarding land in Texas. He sold a couple hundred acres out of the 400 acres he bought a few years earlier. He wrote about other land he had bought and the cheap pricing of land in Texas. An uncle of theirs was thinking about moving to Texas and John agreed that he should and could get a lot of land for his money. He gave some advice for his uncle if he chose to move to Texas and recommended he should have a few thousand dollars before coming. At the end of the letter, John wrote about several pieces of furniture and cattle he purchased.

Legal petition related to the estate of minors Alexander P. and Minerva P. Fisher (wards of Austin County) from their trustees, describing costs related to their care and requesting additional funds due to special circumstances (laid out in the text). A statement at the end indicates that the petition was accepted by the Court.