The letters found in this Subseries document Jane Clarke-Owen's life from 1869-1914.The bulk of this Subseries consists of the letters from Jane Clarke-Owen to her two daughters, written while a student at Women's Medical College in Chicago between 1886-1889. Her descriptions of her lectures, clinical routines, and professors provide a vivid picture of her life as a medical student. She also routinely discusses family business and her social life in Chicago during this period. Her later correspondence discusses family business, financial matters, and her struggles in the medical profession. The collection also includes Clarke-Owen's letters to her mother, Marie Furlong, from the period of her life prior to attending medical school; letters to her sister in law, Mary Parks; and early letters to her first husband, Thaddeus Clarke.

The letters from Therese Clarke found in this collection were written primarily to Jane Clarke-Owen between 1893 and 1912. The bulk of the letters were written between 1900 and 1905, while she was working as an actress and traveling with various stock companies in the south and midwest. Therese Clarke often signed these letters using her stage name, Marguerite Urquhart. In her letters, she discusses her job prospects, living arrangements, and financial difficulties. She also often discusses the actors and actress with whom she is working, making specific references to such noted actors as Edwin Booth, Anne Sutherland, Richard Mansfield, Mrs. Fiske, Eleanora Duse, Sir Henry Irving, and Erroll Dunbar. She discusses similar matters in the letters to her sister from this same period. The collection also includes a small number of her letters to her husband, Will Dougherty, written in 1919.

The Laura Clarke Correspondence Subseries spans the period form 1893 to 1912. The primary recipient of these letters was her mother, but the collection also includes letters to her sister from 1904 and a small collection of correspondence with other individuals. In her letters she discusses family matters, social relations, job prospects, and work life. She often expresses concern for her mother's health and financial situation.

The Miscellaneous Correspondence Subseries includes letters from Dr. Jane Clarke-Owen's relatives of and other individuals to Dr. Clarke-Owen, Therese Clarke, and Laura Clarke. Also included is a small sample of business correspondence relating to the lumber industry and addressed to Thaddeus Clarke.

This box includes a small amount of correspondence (Acc. 2011-0153) from "Jennie," believed to be a nickname of either Jane or her sister, written to Marie J. Parks, MD. These letters were written while Jennie was a student at Steubenville Academy from March 1871 through December 1872. Additional information about this portion of the collection is available in Box 4.