The Gurdon Black Collection consists of correspondence, receipts, deeds, land transactions, account books, and genealogical information. The collection contains the papers of Dr. John Kennedy, including attendance tickets from his university courses at Glasgow University (Glasgow, Scotland), account books noting fees and patient records from his practice, a prayer book, and various land records. The collection also contains papers of John McKnight, which include correspondence and business receipts relating to McKnight's involvement in the Santa Fe trade and land records relating to McKnight's property in St. Louis County. A history of the construction of Clayton Road is filed in Box 1, folder 7. The history provides a description of property lines and other information concerning landowners along the original stretches of the road. The history also includes survey maps and plats. Box 2 and the two volumes contain genealogy notes and charts relating to the Black, Rice, Clayton, McCutcheon, and Yates families. The notes consist of detailed, handwritten copies of land descriptions, personal histories, and family tree charts.