The Coats and Davenport families collection contains correspondence between Emma Coats Davenport, her parents, and her husband describing day to day family life and life on the farm. The collection also contains letters from other friends and relatives. During the time Eugene and Emma lived at Michigan Agricultural College (M.A.C.) (now Michigan State University), the letters contain descriptions of campus life, people, and Eugene’s activities. Later after they moved away, there are the occasional letters from people at M.A.C. including several from Hannah Beal, wife of William Beal. In addition, there are letters from Emma’s sisters, Ethel and Alice, that describe their lives as students. Later letters from Eugene describe his work at the University of Illinois.

Some interesting points in the letters are Professor Davenport's correspondence with a former student who served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War.

Family trips to Niagara Falls, Washington, D.C., southern states and out west are described within the letters.

Transcriptions of the letters can also be found in the collection along with a note from the transcriber, a genealogy chart, list of correspondents, and copies of some family photographs.