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Personal and business correspondence of William Patterson Smith (1796-1878), merchant and planter of Gloucester County, Virginia; and of his son-in-law Isaac Howell Carrington (1827-1887), provost marshal at Richmond (1862-1865) and attorney in Pittsylvania County and Richmond, Va.

The papers of the Malet family span the dates 1808-1937, with most of the papers being dated between 1824 and 1908. The papers consist chiefly of correspondence among members of the Malet family, particularly Sir Charles Warre Malet, Sir Alexander Malet and his wife Lady Marian Dora Malet, Sir Henry Charles Eden Malet, and Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, and their friends and diplomatic associates. Notable correspondents include Queen Sophia of the Netherlands, Sidney Herbert, Lord Clarendon, Lord Napier, Lord Stuart de Rochesay, Lord Brougham, Sir Rennell Rodd, Lord Lyons, Lord Granville and Lord Dufferin. The papers also include printed material, writings, financial papers, clippings, photographs, Lady Marian Dora Malet's diary (1831-1833), Sir Henry Charles Eden Malet's album of illustrations of his service in the Crimean War, and miscellaneous papers. The collection is particularly rich in material concerning 19th-century British diplomacy. The letters of Sir Alexander and Sir Edward Malet thoroughly document British relations with Russia, Portugal, Holland, Austria, Germany, the United States, France, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Belgium, China, and Egypt. The letters and album of Sir Henry Charles Eden Malet in the Malet Family Correspondence Series provide detailed information about the Crimean War, particularly the siege of Sevastopol.

The Walter Lee Sutton Papers span the period 1811 to 1947 with the bulk dating from 1883 to 1939. Three generations of the interrelated Anderson, Danforth, Sutton, and Wynn families are represented in the collection. While the collection primarily focuses on Sutton, many of the earlier papers relate to his wife's family, the Wynns and Danforths, her paternal and maternal relatives respectively.

The papers of the lawyer and educator William Righter Fisher and the journalist Mary Wager Fisher consist primarily of correspondence, but also include photographs (several of them tintypes and cartes-de-visite), financial papers, diaries, clippings, printed material, and writings and speeches. Among correspondents are many journalists, physicians, educators, and other notable figures of the late nineteenth century including Lucy Abbott, Mercy Baker, Jennie Chapin, Mary L. Booth, W.S. Burke, James Gowdy Clark, M.E. Dodge, Weston Flint, P. Girard, S. D. Harris, Albert Leffingwell, Henry C. Olney, W. Trickett, George Boyer Vashon, and Frank J. Webb. The collection also includes letters from James B. Hazelton of the First Regiment, New York Artillery. Hazelton's letters describe battles and political events of the Civil War, including Lincoln's re-election campaign and the anti-draft riots. The papers are particularly rich in documentation of women in medicine and women's medical education in the second half of the nineteenth century; the Freedmen's schools in the Reconstruction South; the movement for women's rights; and friendship among American women in the late Victorian era.

The collection consists of letters written to Charles Gilpin between the 1830s to 1874, many from British politicians, social reformers, and abolitionists. Topics include capital punishment, Hungarian exiles, parliamentary elections, foreign relations, prisons, Poor laws, and the abolition of slavery. Quakers are prominent, but the Society of Friends was not discussed. The content is varied and represents his social and political interests. The publishing business rarely appears in the correspondence. Correspondents include Elihu Burritt, William Lloyd Garrison, Joseph John Gurney, Samuel Gurney, Victor Hugo, Charles Mackay, Eliza Meteyard, and Grace Greenwood (Sara Jane Lippincott).

The Cannon Mills Records, a textile manufacturer, span the years 1836-1983, although the bulk occurs during 1887-1983. Files and account books concern the operations of Cannon Manufacturing Company and its successor in 1928, Cannon Mills, its subsidiary and associated textile mills, related business interests, and community involvement. The records include correspondence, volumes, memoranda, statistical compilations, reports, printed material, and financial and legal documents.

The Fairbank Family Papers consist almost exclusively of correspondence written between members of the Fairbank family and their religious associates. The letters, carried by steamer between India, America and other parts of the world, span the years 1837-1971, with the bulk occurring between 1905 and 1940. Earlier letters were sent by Samuel Bacon, Katie, and Emily Fairbank and Thomas Snell Smith to Samuel's brother and other relatives in the United States.

The papers of William Mahone span the period 1853 to 1895, with the bulk of the material dating from 1876 to 1892. The collection consists of copies of letters written by Mahone to others, incoming letters to Mahone, subject files on a variety of topics, clippings, and scrapbooks, but primarily focuses on Mahone's railroad and political interests. There is a great deal of overlap of topics between the different series in the collection; thus information concerning Mahone's political and railroad interests is repeated in the different series.

The Daniel C. Roper Papers, 1860-1958 (bulk 1933-1938), consist chiefly of professional and political correspondence, including telegrams and memoranda, but also include speeches, financial papers, clippings, invitations, legal papers, printed material, and pictures. The collection primarily documents Roper's term as Secretary of Commerce during the first administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In general the papers provide an inside look at this Democratic administration during the early depression years, as well as the relationships among business, government, and politics. In particular, Roper had close ties to people in the business community and was sympathetic to their concerns. In addition, the collection tracks the course of the New Deal in the Department of Commerce and the career of Roper not only as a United States government official in Roosevelt's cabinet but also as a progressive Democrat. However, there are some gaps in these professional files in that there is very little material pertaining to Roper's career prior to his appointment to the cabinet post. Also, files for 1931 are almost entirely missing, and cross-reference sheets in the collection prepared by Roper's staff appear to refer to a separate set of files missing from this collection. There is relatively little in the papers concerning Roper's personal life, except for financial papers.