In 1872, there is a subscription list in support of D. Irvin Craig's education at the D. Hughes Academy. Around 1896, Alice M. Craig married Robert P. Blackwood. In the late 1890s, there are many letters from Alice, in Chapel Hill or other locations in Orange County, to Robert, traveling as an engineer with the Southern Railway Company. Also included during this period are a few letters from Robert to Alice or their children. In the early 1900s, letters are chiefly to Robert and Alice's daughters Mattie and Alice, at school in Chapel Hill, from relatives and friends.
Few letters mention school activities.
Letters are occasionally addressed to Mattie, visiting her Craig relatives in Reidsville. From 1913 to 1917, Mattie received letters at Bear Creek, where she lived while attending college, but none of these letters discuss her studies or student activities. During World War I, there are a few non-substantive letters from brother Vernon, serving with the United States Navy. After the war, Mattie apparently began teaching in Seaboard, N.C., where she remained until 1929. Several letters discuss brother Carl, who, according to his siblings, was having difficulty finding his niche in life.