This group of letters is part of the Heinrich A. Ratterman Collection of German-American Manuscripts, held by the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections division of the University of Illinois Library. The letters were sent to Friedrich Wilhelm Hess of Cincinnati by his mother, Marianne von Rappard Hassel, and his sister, Emilie Hassel, between 1871 and 1877. Hess was evidently born with the name Adolf Hassel in Hamm, Westfalen, but for reasons that are unclear adopted the name Hess at some point after arriving in the United States.