The Loughead correspondence includes 22 letters written by or to James A. Loughead, from 1827 to 1850. The letters may be divided into three chronological series. The earliest group (December 1827 to June 1828) consists of four letters directed to James at the port of Baltimore by his father, Robert Loughead: these are brief messages of acknowledgement, news, and parental advice. The second group (December 1834 to March 1842) consists of eleven letters written between James and Elizabeth Loughead during the couple's long, enforced separations. James is typically in New Orleans, Elizabeth in Philadelphia; his letters are loving but bear undertones of domestic and financial strain. The third, and most significant group (July 1846 to April 1850) includes seven letters written to James by Robert Loughead while the latter was consul at Londonderry. Writing during the Great Famine, Loughead instructs his son (in Camden) in arranging the purchase and shipping of specific foodstuffs that might be sold in Ireland at favorable prices, while increasing the fees collected at Derry.