Series II contains the correspondence of John G. (JGB) and Anna Eliza "Widie" Barnard (AEB), as well as financial records and materials related to John's professional interests. The series also includes three letters written by Jane Elizabeth Brand Barnard, John G.'s first wife, dating from 1851 and 1853.
John G. and Anna Eliza corresponded frequently when they were apart. Their Civil War correspondence includes details about John G.'s experiences in the field, the internal politics of the Army, and contemporary political issues. It also discusses family issues, including the births and deaths of the couple's children, and the difficulties of having Confederate partisans as family members. John G. traveled extensively in Europe in 1860 and 1870, studying engineering; his letters to Anna Eliza during those years describe his studies, often with diagrams. The Barnard children wrote letters to John G. as soon as they were able to write. Their letters provide a firsthand glimpse at the interests and experiences of nineteenth century children. Other frequent correspondents include the couple's siblings; Yale mathematics professor Benjamin Peirce, publisher D. Van Nostrand, composer William Staunton, and the engineers W. P. Trowbridge and Henry Coppée.
Financial records include deeds and other property ownership records, wills and summaries of estates in trust, bank account books, and bills and receipts for everyday expenses. Correspondence related to financial management is grouped alongside other financial records in Series II. Frequent correspondents on financial matters include S. S. Robinson, who managed John G.'s interests in the Sacramento Valley Railroad Company; Ramsay McHenry and J. Howard McHenry, who managed property left to Anna Eliza in trust by her first husband; H. M. Trueheart and Co., who managed property owned by John G. and his heirs in Texas; Frederick B. Brand, who was responsible for John G.'s property in New Orleans; and the real estate manager Thomas Hill. While deeds and other records of property acquisition and transfer are stored separately, records of property maintenance, taxes, and disputes are stored alongside other financial records from the years in which they took place.
A small number of manuscript and professional items belonging to John G. Barnard are also included in Series II. However, the majority of his professional papers were separated from the collection and sold at auction in 2017, prior to the collection's arrival at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
