The collection contains an 1860 diary to the Pikes Peak gold rush region; memoirs of Aurelius T. Bartlett, dated March 20, 1890, describing his Civil War service; official papers relating to Bartlett’s Civil War service; and other Bartlett family papers.

The collection consists primarily of letters written to Ellen Magill from family and friends, which mostly discuss family and local news regarding Florissant, St. Louis, and Mexico, Missouri. The collection also contains correspondence relating to a cousin, Lucy Sullivan, whose account at St. Vincent’s Institution was paid for by Ellen and Jane Magill; receipts for items and money sent to St. Vincent’s Institution; and an account book from a Florissant grocery store, dated 1877.