The collection contains letter fragments, receipts, handbills, copies of a hand-written newspapers, and business and household accounts of John, Edward, and Purden Waterous, who moved from Avon, New York, to the Grand Blanc area of Michigan (circa 1830).

Three ledgers - "cider books" - record the business transactions of Edward Waterous' New York distillery. Dated from 1807-1829, the ledgers note customers' names, grain and whiskey prices, and some grocery prices. A whiskey tax receipt issued to Edward Waterous in 1800 is included. Purchase receipts from an Avon, New York, general store note prices of a variety of items, including silk, raisins, umbrellas, and a vest pattern. A small notebook lists wages for farm labor in the Avon area in 1825.

Also included are a letter from Purden to John; pages apparently from an assessor's notebook for an area in Genesee County, Michigan; a receipt to John Waterous for a purchase of land in this area; two other receipts to John for paid installments on shares in the Algerville and Grand Blanc Plank Road (1856); copies of the "Star of the West", a paper put out by S.E. Waterous in 1852; an advertisement for a medical cure-all; a handbill for a concert; and two essays.