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The papers include accounts, land papers, correspondence, miscellaneous, and printed materials.

The collection includes Arthur Bronson’s Accounts, 1817-1843 and undated; Land Papers, 1833-1844, for Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, New York (State) and Kings County, and Wisconsin; Legal Papers, 1828-1849; Correspondence, 1820-1848 and undated; Miscellaneous, 1825-1843 and undated; and Printed Materials, including maps, laws, land sale fliers and advertisements, etc., 1815-1867 and undated. Companies documented include the Peru Iron Company, Union Bank of New York, and the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company.

Some of Arthur’s papers are found in the collections of his father and brother, Isaac and Frederic Bronson, and in the Bronson Family Papers. Bronson papers housed at other institutions are available at the Clarke on 30 reels of positive microfilm (Micro. Mss. F-40). These include Arthur’s letters, 1825-1838?, 1815-1844 and accounts, 1823-1844 (reels 3-5); letters, 1822-1834 (reels 9-10); letters, 1838-1844 (reels 13-16); legal cases, undated (reel 19); letters, 1835-1836 (reel 22); and accounts, 1846-1865 (reel 23).

For additional letters of Anna Eliza (Bailey) Bronson, see the Bronson Family Papers finding aid.

Letters to Arthur Bronson may also be found in the Charles Butler Papers (3 reels of positive microfilm, Mss. Micro. F-79).

The collection contains accounts, insurance papers, land papers, legal forms, and letters of Frederic Bronson.

The collection includes Frederic Bronson’s correspondence, 1832-1863, undated; accounts, records of loans, mortgages, 1828-1863; deeds, maps, and other land, business, and personal papers, 182?-1861, undated. Lands covered include those in Chicago, Michigan, Somerset County (New Jersey), western New York counties, New York (city), Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The Clarke also has the original papers of Isaac and Arthur Bronson, Frederic’s father and brother, and the Bronson Family Papers (See those finding aids.). These collections include some additional papers of Frederic Bronson.

On microfilm, the Clarke has the Bronson Family Papers deposited at NYPL (Mss. Micro F-40, 30 reels of positive microfilm). Here, amidst papers of numerous Bronson family members, are found Frederic’s letters, 1825-1861, 1863 (reel 6, 17-18, 23, 25); miscellaneous, 1829-1854 and accounts, 1839-1863 (reels 26-27), and Bronson land and miscellaneous papers (reels 7-9, 18, 25, 29-30). Frederic’s Land Book, 1840, covering Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois, is part of the Arthur Bronson Papers in the Newberry Library. The negative microfilm of this book (Acc#565) is also available at the Clarke. The Land Book, 1840, was filmed by the Chicago Historical Society in 1978 and donated to the Clarke.

Papers include correspondence, accounts, pension papers, estate papers, bills, receipts, contracts, land and legal records, and miscellaneous of Isaac Bronson.

The collection includes Isaac Bronson’s correspondence, 1792-1839, undated; accounts, 1818-1838, undated; pension papers relative to Isaac Bronson’s claims of service in the Second Regiment of Light Dragoons of the Connecticut Line during the American Revolutionary War, 1828-1846, undated; estate papers, 1842; bills, receipts, contracts, land, legal, and miscellaneous papers, 1792-1861, undated.

The Clarke also has the original papers of Frederic and Arthur Bronson, Isaac’s sons, and the Bronson Family Papers (See those finding aids.). These collections include some additional papers of Isaac Bronson.

On microfilm, the Clarke has the Bronson Family Papers deposited at NYPL (Mss. Micro F-40, 30 reels of positive microfilm). Here, amidst papers of numerous Bronson family members, are found Isaac’s letters, 1802-1838 (reels 1-2), 1820-1832 (reels 11-12), 1833 (reel 19), 1760-1838 and 1814-1836 (reels 20-21). Also available at the Clarke on microfilm are selected papers of Isaac Bronson which are deposited at NYPL (3 reels of negative microfilm, no Acc#). These papers were filmed at the NYPL in 1970 and donated by Dr. John Hager.

The Sheldon family papers contain correspondence, financial documents, and legal documents related to Lucius M. Sheldon, a wealthy landowner, and his son Gardner. The bulk of the documents pertain to Sheldon's land holdings in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Texas, and the correspondence primarily consists of Gardner's letters to his mother, Harriet Sheldon, about his experiences working for the Corralitos Mining Company in Chihuahua, Mexico.

The Sheldon family papers contain correspondence, financial documents, and legal documents related to Lucius M. Sheldon, a wealthy landowner, and his family.

The Correspondence series begins with a few items related to Lucius M. Sheldon, including an early letter pertaining to a contested land patent (December 15, 1862) and several letters from Minnesota attorney R. B. Galusha regarding land in Sherburne County, Minnesota. The bulk of the series is comprised of Gardner Sheldon's letters to his parents about his life as a mining engineer and superintendent for the Corralitos Company in Chihuahua, Mexico. In frequent letters to his mother, he described his life in the Southwest and in Mexico, and he occasionally shared his opinions on subjects such as the local population and their spending habits (July 21, 1881). His final letter (May 10, 1887) is followed by a letter of condolence signed by several company employees following Sheldon's death (April 9, 1889). The collection has a business card for Beckett & McDowell, mining engineers and machinists from New York.

Legal and Financial Documents comprise the bulk of the collection. These primarily pertain to Lucius Sheldon's land holdings in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Texas. The series holds indentures, tax receipts, and land contracts, as well as Sheldon's last will and testament, naming as beneficiaries his wife, son, and grandson (February 2, 1898).