Color photocopies of notes found with the body of James Henry Dyer, including notes about the accident ("Gun went off by accident/God receive my spirit"), a 'will' leaving all to his wife, a note about hearing a boy calling for cows, a prayer for forgiveness, funerary arrangements, notes to his wife and children, updates on how long he lived (at least 2 hours after being shot) and notes on debts owed him. There is also a copy of dues notices to be collected by Dyer as secretary of the Rutland Masons lodge.

James Henry Dyer, the son of Henry Reed Dyer and Lucy Ann (Miller) Dyer was born in Springfield, Vermont on 22 March 1843. On June 13, 1867 James H. Dyer married Atherlinda Chesterfield Howe; the couple had at least one daughter: Carrie Adams Dyer Rathburn. James H. ran a hardware store in Rutland, VT. On August 11, 1880, he went hunting alone, and, after a fall, accidentally shot himself with his rifle.