This collection consists of correspondence and various other papers of Edna Z. Emley (nee Osterrout), of Mason, Michigan, and her family. The earliest letters (1836-1851) are to Bernhard Stohlmann of Allen, Hillsdale County, Michigan, a relative of the paternal great-grandmother of Emley's first husband, Clifford Migrants. Most of these letters are written in German and pertain largely to personal matters of Stohlmann and his friends still living in Germany. This correspondence is not completely translated. Included are notes on the nature and contents of the letters by professor William N. Hughes, chairman of the German and Russian Department at Michigan State University.

A series of letters (1940-1941) between Mrs. Emley (then Mrs. Clifford Migrants) and a Mr. E. E. Neely deal with a labor dispute over seniority rights of employees of the New York Central Railroad. Also included are a personal cash book and bill book (1888), miscellaneous personal correspondence of Mrs. Emley (1895-1929), an annual report (1930) of the Continental Motor Corporation, and printed song sheets of the early twentieth century.