The earliest material found in the collection is a memorandum book of Samuel Mills (1752-1814), which contains a small book of "expressions or sentences quoted", dating from 1774 to 1775, a collection of short essays written between 1778 and 1779, and sermon ideas from 1802 to 1811. There is also a diary written by his daughter, Sarah, dating from October 16, 1808, to April 13, 1810. The first part of the diary, covering the year 1808, contains Sarah's religious musings and descriptions of sermons heard on Sabbath days. The second section, dating from January 5, 1809, contains information on the weather, her health, her reading material, handicrafts and family news. The Conant family material consists of two folders of letters written to Samuel Mill's daughter, Elizabeth T. Mills (1794-1884), later the wife of Samuel Stillman Conant. The first folder contains letters written to her before her marriage from friends and relatives, mainly concerning their religious and social lives. The second folder contains letters written to Elizabeth after her marriage to Samuel S. Conant; it contains mainly letters from her husband and son, William. Samuel S. Conant traveled principally for his health, as far afield as Havana, Cuba. He wrote primarily about his health, though he included some witty character sketches of fellow travelers. Other letters are from her son, William Conant, while he was living in New York City and contain information about his social life and finances. There is also a folder of letters written to William Conant from family members, containing advice about his future prospects and family news, as well as a folder of letters written to Elizabeth M. Conant from her brother, William, giving her advice, commending her progress in her studies and describing life in New York City. The bulk of the collection consists of letters written to Gertrude Richards Selden by her family, including children, grandchildren, siblings and cousins. The letters contain references to family news, business matters, religious matters and social life. Of particular interest is a letter written in 1849 containing a detailed description of a New Year's Ball in Sudbury, Vermont (MS 81, folder 10). Also of interest is a letter, dated September 2, 1868, written to James Selden by his brother Charles, describing gold mining in Forest Hill, California (MS 81.1, folder 7). There is also a folder of letters written by Gertrude Selden to her husband, David Selden, while she was living in Paris, France and London, England from 1837 to 1839. She mentions many acquaintances, describes the behavior of their children and writes about being presented at court. Many of the letters deal with financial issues. As well, there is a folder of mainly business letters written to David Selden by S. E. Crocker relating to land speculation in Maine and New Hampshire, though there is one letter from William Selden to his father, writing from Burlington, Iowa. The rest of the collection consists of photographs, genealogical material, deeds, miscellaneous manuscript and print material and envelopes.
