The Bessey family papers have been arranged into the following series: Biographical Data, Manuscripts and Publications, General, Correspondence, Scrapbooks, Oversized materials and Photographs.

The biographical data series includes information on Charles and Ernst Bessey, and on relatives of Edith Carleton Higgins (Mrs. Ernst A. Bessey), including her mother, Ella M. (Noyes) Higgins (1851-1913); her sisters, Mabel Cornell Porter and Bertha Noyes and, her brothers, Leslie A. Higgins (1886-1951) and Harry A. Higgins.

The manuscripts and publications series contains letters from Ernst Bessey to his father while he was in Halle, Germany and Algeria; publications of Ernst Bessey; a manuscript by Charles Bessey on his experiences in the Caucuses; botanical manuscripts by Charles Bessey and colleagues, and the lecture notes of Charles Bessey. Of note are: the publication Vegetationsbilder aus Russisch Turkestan (1905), by Ernst Bessey; a partial manuscript of the Essentials of Botany, by Charles Bessey, a pioneer textbook of the "New Botany" movement; and the lecture notes by Charles E. Bessey for the seminary, "Plan and Purpose in Nature", (these notes are valuable since they are informative on early teachings of evolutionary theory in botany). Supplementary to this series regarding the Besseys' travels are two scrapbooks with photographs and notes depicting the agriculture, people, geography and culture of Russian Turkestan compiled by Ernst Bessey, and a scrapbook of Europe and the Caucuses supplemented by published articles on Russian agriculture by Charles Bessey.

Within the general series can be found receipts of contributions to the Royal Botanical Gardens Society of London by Charles Bessey; newspaper clipping from the Omaha World Herald; and botanical drawings and exams probably pertaining to a later era.

The Bessey family papers contain primarily correspondence between Charles E. Bessey and colleagues, circa 1880-1905. An important feature of Charles Bessey's correspondence is the continued contact he kept with his students, including Joseph C. Arthur, one of his first students at Iowa in 1870, who later became the foremost mycologist of this country. Correspondence with many noteworthy botanical leaders of the era is available in the collection, including Liberty Hyde Bailey and William J. Beal from the Michigan Agricultural College; Bernhard E. Fernow and Gifford Pinchot from the USDA Forestry Division; and with botanists from other USDA Departments and American universities.

The correspondence series covers educational and administrative, personal, and professional topics. Pertaining to his educational and administrative interests are exchanges concerning the acquisition of scientific equipment and the teaching of botany in the American school system. Subjects of interest include correspondence with Julius Sterling Morton, Secretary of the USDA, regarding the tariff bill and its effect on universities. Correspondence containing matters of a personal nature include "gossip" about colleagues; a collection of funds for a birthday gift for Asa Gray; on Gray's illness and death, and on the deaths of other colleagues. Professional exchange includes discussions on a wide variety of technical botanical matters including botanical evolution and structural physiology; exchange of criticisms and remarks on scientific manuscripts; job requests and recommendations; and discussions on forest conservation and management. Subjects of interest include correspondence with Bernhard E. Fernow on state tree designation and on reforestation of the Sand Hills of Nebraska and with Gifford Pinchot on forest management and the establishment of the reserves at Halsey, Nebraska.

Also available within the correspondence series are exchanges with Henry Holt, Bessey's publisher, regarding the progress of Charles E. Bessey's publications and sales, and an official statement from George A. Gates, president of Iowa College, regarding the conferring of an LL.D. upon Charles Bessey.