The papers consist of letters written by Hugo Magnus during WWI to his sisters, letters written by Robert von Drehle during WWII to his sister, and Edward and Regina Magnus family genealogical information. The papers are arranged alphabetically by topic and date from 1887 to 1981. There are several large date gaps in the papers: 1888-1917, 1919-1941, and 1946 to 1980.

There are five letters written by Hugo Magnus to his sisters in St. Louis, Marie and Rosalie Magnus, while he was in the Army at Camp Funston, Kansas. Hugo typed and signed four of the letters and one is handwritten, dating from August to November 1918. He explained some of his duties and how he spent his free time. He also commented upon the African Americans in the camp (19 Aug 1918, 28 Nov 1918). In his October 12, 1918, letter, Hugo referred to the death of Henry von Drehle, who died from pneumonia as a complication of influenza. He had hoped to be an escort and attend the funeral in St. Louis, but he did not receive permission to do so. Hugo mentioned Lee (Elizabeth von Drehle) and worried about her as her family prepared for a double funeral. Lee’s mother Anna von Drehle died just a few hours after her son Henry on October 11, 1918. Hugo alluded to the effects of the influenza epidemic, noting that stores and schools were closed, when the camp was quarantined, and that the camp was busy shipping bodies (12 Oct 1918).

There are eight letters written by Robert von Drehle to his older sister, Elizabeth (Lee) Magnus, from 1942 to 1945, with a gap of almost two years between the second (7 Jan 1943) and third (5 Dec 1944) letters. Five of the letters are dated 1945 and bear censor stamps. The first two letters from 1942 and 1943 are written while Rob was stationed at Sherman, Texas. He wrote his first letter on USO stationery with “Idle Gossip Sinks Ships” printed along the bottom of the pages. He told Elizabeth about receiving packages, his local weather, and some of the letters that he received. On March 1st, Rob told Lee that he would send them each a peso and on April 5th, he explained how the Philippine women dressed. Also on April 5th, he wrote that it was “good to hear that Bud Borneman was freed by the Russians” in Germany. He wrote the last letter on April 9th and explained that he once kept all his letters, but with limited space, now he only keeps them until he has answered them.

The Magnus family genealogical information includes a photocopy of the Edward Magnus and Regina Meis 1887 marriage certificate and a two-page typed history of the Magnus and Meis families (1981). There is also a handwritten family history by Marlene (Magnus) and a photocopy of the 1943 obituary for William H. Magnus, brother of Edward Magnus. William and Edward married sisters, Augusta and Regina Meis, respectively.