A series of nine autograph letters and two substantial but incomplete letters written to Carnahan's mother in Indianapolis. The letters are dated February 6, 1848 to April 2, 1849, and cover such topics of daily life as the personalities of other local women, her wardrobe, social engagements (her first time playing host to the sewing circle, for example), news of cholera epidemics in the region, and the inconveniences of life in a small town in the West.

Kate misses her mother, her family, and her former home, and her letters are full of references to adjusting to life in a new town with her husband. She speaks quite often of domestic chores, and includes "receipts" for some of the savory dishes that have been brought in to her during episodes of illness, and talks of furnishing her new house. Kate also talks of her reading, asking her mother to send the Evangelist as often as she can, and wondering if her father will take the new paper, The Watchman of the West. She also reads a paper called The Locomotive.