The Ernst A. Bessey Papers includes personal and professional correspondence from 1935 to 1956. Topics include botany, various national and international science organizations, research, and publications. Of note are a few letters from Albert Einstein.

This collection contains twenty small notebooks that are filled with Darlington's handwritten notes. All of the notebooks relate back to Darlington's expeditions, interests, publication notes, Michigan history, and Botany 314 class. Included are notes related to Dr. Beal's seed viability experiment from 1930 and 1940.

One notebook is restricted until 2055, because it contains student grades.