This collection contains research compiled by Harold Bond Fields. One set of research notes pertains to Captain Ransford D. Bucknam. This research is composed of newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, correspondence, and some rough drafts of a biography on Bucknam. The last will and testament of Bucknam’s adoptive mother, Julia A. Elliott, is also included.

Another set of research notes relates to Edward H. Ryder, dean and history professor at Michigan State University. This research is mostly composed of letters and newspaper clippings donated to the estate of Harold Fields by Ruth Ryder St. John, Edward Ryder’s daughter.

The collection also contains information about Fields’ appointment at Michigan State University and his social life while on campus.

There is also a folder about the naval cruiser, The Maine.

The collection also contains many photographs of Edward Ryder and his family. There are also portraits of Captain Lewis Elliott and his wife, Julia.

Postcards in the collection include several of ships, the Roger Williams Hotel in New York City, and Beaumont Tower on the Michigan State University campus.