John Watson was a Primitive Methodist minister from Weardale, in the North-East of England. In 1879 he was sent overseas as a missionary: first to South Africa, then to Australia, returning to England in 1889. The core of this collection is the correspondence exchanged during this period with his mother Jane Watson (nee Jane Harrison). Despite their gaps, these surviving letters provide a revealing (and, at times, moving) picture of the events and issues that occupied their lives.

The second major group comprises the letters of John's sister-in-law Kate Parker (nee Catherine Jane Cook), who emigrated to Australia with her husband and children in 1878. The early letters were written to her sister Eleanor (John's wife); the later ones (after Eleanor's death) to her nieces Kate and Annie Watson. Special thanks goes to the Brandon family for helping to reassemble this collection.

Around 1923, ten years after John Watson's death, his daughter Annie determined to write his biography. This appeared in short form in 1924, as a series of articles in the "Primitive Methodist Leader". For reasons of cost, the hoped-for book was never published.

Whereas John's writing is of a high calibre, and almost word-perfect, other writers have more of a vernacular style and idiosyncratic spelling. This transcript tries to be faithful to the original words, while correcting some punctuation and spelling to help convey the writer's meaning. The spelling of personal names is difficult to cross-check, and their rendering is a "best effort". Place names can often be verified, but this work is not yet complete. The letters are organized into sets by author, and arranged chronologically.