The collection contains nine diaries and three account books documenting farm life by Susan E. Hoyt who resided in McMinnville, Tennessee for many years. The Hoyt family moved from Michigan to Tennesee in the 1870s. Susan moved to Vassal, Michigan in 1925. The collection also contains transcripts of letters by Susan Hoyt and other family members. Correspondents include Susan's mother Clarinda Hoyt, her sister Claribel Hoyt Hart and her husband Lemuel P. Hart, her brother Scott Hoyt, and other relatives Lemuel Jay Hart, Esther Hart, and Annie Hart MacPherson. The letters describe daily activities, farm life, news of relatives and neighbors. The original letters are not at the Michigan State University Archives.