The Searls Family Papers contain materials from Niles, Fred and Carroll Searls' law practices, which were primarily focused on mining, probate and real estate. Box 1 contains the papers of Niles Searls (1859-1884), while Boxes 2 and 3 contain the papers of Fred and Carroll Searls. Papers in boxes two and three are broken down into two series: the Fred Searls papers (1885-1916) and the Fred and Carroll Searls papers (1917-1923). The Fred Searls and the Fred and Carroll Searls papers make up the bulk of the collection. Researchers should note that there might be some of Fred Searls' early material in the Niles Searls papers, since he practiced with his father from 1879-1884. The opposite might also be true: some of the papers from the latter part of Niles Searls' career may be mixed in with Fred Searls' early papers. Additionally, if a case was begun by Fred Searls prior to 1917 and then carried into his practice with his son Carroll, it was placed in the Fred and Carroll Searls (1917-1923) section of the collection. Dates in parentheses after entries indicate the period that the case was active. In a few cases, documents lacked addresses and/or dates which made it very difficult to tell to whom they belonged. Box 3 also contains one file of Searls family correspondence.
