A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his father John Ball Sr. at Kensington Plantation discussing his travels from England to Edinburgh, the landscape of the country, gothic architecture, the differences in cultivation between South Carolina and England, viewing "the lions and other wild beasts," a visit to the armory, attending Botany class, and William's annual expenses at school.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his father John Ball Sr. at Kensington Plantation discussing health, the weather, a storm damaging the vessel that carried William's previous letter, a political peace between "the French and the combined forces," and the death of William Pitt the Younger.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his brother John Ball Jr. at Comingtee Plantation asking why John is not writing to him, studying physics, astronomy and chemistry at school, William's opinions on his professors, and that John's friends, which includes a clergyman, are also attending school in Edinburgh.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his brother John Ball Jr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing a visit to the ruins, chapel, and landscape of "Roslin Castle," attending a graduation ceremony for future doctors and seeing "eighteen men receive licenses for killing their own species," and observations on the graduation process at the university.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his father John Ball Sr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing the birth of twin girls for John and his second wife Martha Taveau, attending a graduation ceremony at the university for doctors in medicine, and the landscape and cultivation of Edinburgh.
A letter from William Ball in Edinburgh, Scotland to his brother John Ball Jr. at Comingtee Plantation discussing letter writing, their brother Isaac, William's traveling companions, his views on how the enslaved persons in South Carolina are "better off" than the "highland peasantry," and an account of the living conditions of the Scottish Highland inhabitants.
A letter from Elias Ball in Boston, Massachusetts to his nephew John Ball Jr. in Charleston, South Carolina discussing travel with John's brother Isaac, meeting acquaintances, their future travel plans, ordering a carriage with horses, and requests for "negro cloth" and mending clothes for enslaved persons.
