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The Autobiography/Biography series includes an autobiography of some fifty pages, covering Steere's childhood to his early college days. The autobiography is rich in detail for the early part of Steere's life, giving a vivid account of rural life in the 1840's-1850's. Steere's description of his college career is less complete, but correspondence from family and friends helps to fill in the picture of his life in the 1860's helps to fill in gaps in Steere's later life, especially during his working years. Also included is a folder of "general" material, one on "Affiliations," documenting the clubs and societies that Steere was affiliated with, and a folder of "Newspaper Clippings," which perhaps provides the best information about the chronology of Steere's life.

The Professional and Published Correspondence series consists of the correspondence received from the transfer of Steere papers from the University of Michigan Museums Library. These letters are charming and vibrant. In fact, they are more informative than his travel diaries. The series consists of two subseries representing a 1973 accession from the U-M University Museums Library and materials received from Mary Louise Steere (1973) and Betty Steere Abercombie (1990).