The William Barron Calhoun Papers consist of approximately seventy letters of the Calhoun (also spelled Colhoun) family of Boston, over half written by or to William B. Calhoun during his study at Yale College from 1810 to 1814. The letters discuss religion, for the family was very devout, family events in Boston, and William B. Calhoun's experiences at Yale. A letter of April 28, 1811, tells of a town-and-gown riot; another of February 26, 1812, tells of student violence against tutors. There are also comments on politics and foreign relations, and reports of incidents in the War of 1812 (April 23 and June 18, 1814). William Calhoun's letters after 1814 come from his father, mother, brothers Charles, James, John, and Henry, and his sisters. They are written from Boston, Rindge (New Hampshire), and from Canojoharie (New York), where his parents moved in 1821. There are also several letters from his mother to friends in Rindge, mostly concerning religion, and a few letters to other family members. The letters deal largely with family matters, but one letter from one of William Calhoun's brothers to an aunt (June 16, 1838) describes travel in Turkey.