The Elizabeth Sewall and Robert Horne Charles Papers mainly document the couple's adult life in college (1935-1936) through their marriage and child-rearing years in St. Louis (1938-1960). In addition to these papers is a scrapbook, apparently compiled by Robert Horne Charles' mother Mrs. Benjamin Horne Charles of St. Louis, which records the life and times of the Horne family of Keokuk, Iowa, and the Charles family of St. Louis, Missouri, during the years 1887-1937. The Correspondence Series consists of personal letters from the time of Elizabeth Sewall's courtship by Robert Horne Charles in 1935, engagement and wedding congratulations, and letters from her children through 1956. The Printed Material Series includes diplomas, certificates, passports, baptismal and birth certificates, newspaper and magazine clippings, promotional materials 1917-1958, engagement and wedding books, programs, announcements, and house plans. The Literary Productions Series consists of a speech by Martha Horne on the history of Keokuk, Iowa, 1925; and a speech by Governor Sumner Sewall to the Maine legislature, 1943. The Scrapbooks Series consists of a scrapbook created by Mrs. Benjamin Horne Charles on the Horne family in Keokuk, Iowa; and a scrapbook compiled by Elizabeth Sewall Charles chronicling the years 1937-1944 with clippings and photographs of the Sumner Sewall and Robert Charles families.