Joseph Trego wrote from Sugar Mound, Kansas Territory, to his wife, Alice, in Illinois. Trego described the furnishings and atmosphere in their "Bachelor's Hall" of a cabin. As he greatly missed them, Trego was eager to receive his family's daguerreotypes by mail; he also spoke at length about both business and domestic matters at home. His friend Ell (Thomas Ellwood Smith) prepared to embark on a trip to St. Louis to purchase a corn mill, which they hoped would translate into a business enterprise that would sustain the three of them.