A journal, correspondence, cased photographs, and artifacts related to Patrick Kerin O'Donnell, his employment, and his family, 1851-circa 1987.
A journal kept by O'Donnell includes notes of engineering projects , calculation tables, and newspaper clippings, 1851-1861. Drawings in his journal of Jefferson City, Missouri, include depictions of the Missouri River in 1851 and the State Capitol from Hotel Sevie in 1853. The collection also includes a set of his drafting tools.
Two letters from Patrick Kerin O'Donnell to his wife discuss his health and their financial affairs in 1853 and 1865. Two letters from his brother, John Kerin O'Donnell, in 1861 and 1865 outline his opinions of the American Civil War, and provides reports of inflation and disease in County Limerick, Ireland.
Cased photographs consist of a half plate ambrotype portrait of Patrick Kerin O'Donnell, circa 1850, and a half plate tintype portrait of Kate Clark O'Donnell, circa 1860.
The collection includes brief typescript biographical notes of Patrick Kerin O'Donnell and Kate Clark O'Donnell Gifford by their granddaughter, Fannie Case Smith, as well as a printed mourning poem in the memory of John Kerin O'Donnell.