The collection is comprised of birth records, still birth records, death records, and patient accounts from the practices of Dr. E. J. Thurman, Thurman & Dalton and Dr. Martin Dalton of Fenton, Missouri. The records are arranged alphabetically by type of record and date from 1884 to 1938. The birth, death, and still birth records are the attending physician’s records of the forms submitted to the local district (county clerk) for the Missouri State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.

The still birth and death records dated from 1884, when Dr. Elisha J. Thurman practiced alone in Fenton, through 1909 and 1910, after Dr. Dalton took over the practice. The birth records dated solely from Dr. Dalton’s practice. The physicians entered the records into books, often having more than one book, particularly during their partnership, which resulted in date overlaps in the books.

Dr. Dalton's patient accounts are in three volumes dating from 1919 to 1938. The accounts provide the name of the party responsible for payment, type of service (e.g. “visit to son”), and the amount charged for the service. Volume 1 has a name index at the front which provides names in alphabetical order and all corresponding page numbers on which the accounts appear. Volumes 2 and 3 do not have indexes, therefore, each page must be examined to locate all accounts.