John White Geary was a Union general during the American Civil War. As a teenager he was active in the state militia during the Mexican-American War. John W. Geary was the first mayor of San Francisco, a governor of the Kansas Territory, and the 16th governor of Pennsylvania. He sent many letters to his family throughout his life, which served as first-hand accounts of both wars and his time as mayor.

John’s older brother, Rev. Edward R. Geary received many of these letters. Edward Geary arrived in Oregon in 1851 as a Presbyterian missionary. He settled in Eugene in 1875 before becoming a regent of the University of Oregon. From 1859 to 1861 he served as Superintendent of Indian affairs in Oregon and Washington Territory.