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The Chapman family papers consist primarily of letters between John W. Chapman of Brooklyn, New York, and his immediate family, written around the turn of the 20th century. Most of the letters relate to his daughter, Sarah Dimon Chapman ("Sallie"), including a series of letters written to her by her mother, Mary C. Chapman, with advice for Sallie's European travels, as well as later letters to John and Mary from Sallie's husband, Lewis Witherbee Francis.

The Chapman family papers contain about 98 items, of which 85 are letters exchanged by members of the Chapman family around the turn of the 20th century. John W. Chapman and his wife, Mary Dimon Chapman, received incoming letters from numerous family members and other acquaintances, such as Mary's father, Charles Dimon. Of the 85 letters, 42 pertain to their daughter Sallie and her husband, Lewis Witherbee Francis. In 1896, Mary Chapman wrote 12 letters to Sallie in which she offered her opinions about several European countries while Sallie was traveling abroad. Her letters occasionally enclose newspaper clippings. Sallie also received letters from her father, grandparents, and other relatives and acquaintances throughout the late 1800s. She and her husband occasionally wrote to her parents, reporting on their health and news from New York City. In one letter, Lewis commented on the stock market and the assassination of President William McKinley (September 15, 1901). A woman who signed herself "Aunt Cordelia" also wrote to John and Mary Chapman on the same subject, sharing her feelings about the shooting and about anarchists (September 8, 1901). Many of these letters are written on stationery with printed letterheads from hotels and businesses, including two of John W. Chapman's professional letterheads.

The collection also contains receipts from Sallie Chapman's purchases in France in July 1896, calling cards, a printed report on the expenses of the Union Pacific System (July 30, 1901), some cat fur kept as a souvenir, and an illustrated newspaper clipping on the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.

This collection is made up of correspondence, soldiers' newsletters, and other items related to Emanuel Levy's service in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II and his involvement in veterans' reunions. Levy corresponded with family members and friends in Brooklyn, New York, while serving in in the United States and the Pacific Theater from 1941-1943; he later received updates from fellow veterans. The collection also includes Levy's war reminiscences, and sheet music and manuscripts of Levy's musical comedy, Hey Mister Satan (1942).

This collection is made up of correspondence, soldiers' newsletters, and other items related to Emanuel Levy's service in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II, and to his involvement in veterans' reunions.

The Correspondence series (244 items) contains Emanuel Levy's incoming and outgoing correspondence from January 1941 to June 1943, and a single letter written in September 1945. "Manny" received letters from family members and friends in Brooklyn, New York, who discussed the family news and, less frequently, politics and the war. His correspondents included women named Muriel, Evelyn, Alberta, and Frances. In his letters and postcards, Levy commented on his experiences at Camp Upton, New York; Camp Shelby, Mississippi; Camp Beale, California; Camp Butner, North Carolina; other bases; and in Hawaii and the Pacific Theater, where he was stationed for most of 1942. He described his life on base immediately prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, discussed finances and allotments, and responded to news from his family's letters to him. He occasionally used stationery from the Jewish Welfare Board, USO, and various military installations.

The Military Transmissions and Communications series (8 items) consists of official communications sent during World War II, primarily related to the signal corps and the Pacific Theater. The series includes Irving Strobing's transmission reporting the surrender of Corregidor (May 4, 1942) and a separate order to stop American vessels bound for Corregidor, a communication from Franklin D. Roosevelt to the United States Army forces in the Philippines (beginning "Personal from the President to Lt Gen Wainwright…"), and an undated notice of the German surrender.

The Reunions and Postwar Papers series (94 items) includes materials related to reunions of the 303rd Signal Operation Battalion, the history of the unit, and Emanuel Levy's involvement with veterans' organizations. The 303rd Signal Operation Battalion held reunions from 1947-1993. Items include Emanuel Levy's postwar correspondence with fellow veterans, invitations, address lists, newspaper clippings, and ephemeral materials. Several incoming letters to Levy inform him of fellow veterans' postwar lives and deaths.

The Writings series (8 items) pertains to Emanuel Levy's service in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II. Three personal reminiscences, written sometime after the war, recount his work for the 101st Signal Operation Battalion and 303rd Signal Operation Battalion in the United States, the Pacific, and Europe during and just after the war, with details about military communications operations, his movements, and specific incidents. One item is a list of the posts where Levy served between April 1941 and September 1945. The series contains an article that Levy submitted to Harper's Magazine in 1957 ("Two Ugly Beasties") and typescripts and manuscript sheet music for Levy's musical, "Hey Mister Satan," written with George H. Johnston and C. W. Erdenbrecher.

The Printed Items series (20 unique items) contains multiple copies of soldiers' newsletters. The Burpee, by the 303rd Signal Operation Battalion, related news of the battalion's activities while at Camp Crowder, Missouri, and in Sunnyvale, California (August 5, 1943-November 18, 1943). The Taylor Maid chronicled events onboard the General Harry Taylor at the close of the war in the Pacific; the series holds a marquee "War Ends" issue (August 15, 1945) and a signed souvenir issue (August 18, 1945). Other items are a copy of The Message, a professional newspaper produced in Camp Crowder, Missouri (September 9, 1943), and a published volume, 303rd Signal Operation Battalion: An Informal Unofficial History, April 17, 1943-February 25, 1946. The publication is a unit history comprised of photographs and essays by several of its members and a unit roster.

Three World War II-era newspaper clippings pertain to Emanuel Levy's promotion to master sergeant, a Women's Army Corps member's visit to her dying soldier son, and the 303rd Signal Operation Battalion's service in Europe, including participation in the Battle of the Bulge.

This collection is primarily made up of letters that George M. Chase wrote to M. Kathryn Hicks of Rhinebeck, New York, while serving in the United States Navy during World War I. Chase, who was a native of Poughkeepsie, New York, and a member of the New York Naval Militia prior to the war, served on the USS Lydonia in European waters and returned to New York in June 1918 after sustaining a knee injury.

This collection is made up of correspondence and other materials related to George M. Chase of Poughkeepsie, New York. The Correspondence series contains 48 letters that Chase wrote to M. Kathryn Hicks of Rhinebeck, New York, between October 7, 1917, and December 25, 1918. From October 1917-March 1918, Chase discussed his service in the New York Naval Militia and the United States Navy; he served on the Lydonia in European waters until March 1918, when he sustained a knee injury during a storm. He commented on Hicks's life in Dutchess County, New York, and expressed his confidence in an eventual Allied victory.

From March 1918-May 1918, Chase recuperated at a hospital in Europe, and he was transferred to a naval hospital in Brooklyn, New York, in May 1918. While there, he was often permitted to visit Poughkeepsie, New York, and his letters to Hicks describe his accident and the continuing effects of the injury. His letter of June 10, 1918, encloses a newspaper clipping regarding his return to Poughkeepsie, and his letter of September 2[2?], 1918, encloses a printed photograph of himself in uniform, a negative of the same image, and an additional negative showing sailors. From October 1918-December 1918, Chase wrote about his life in Rahway, New Jersey, where he worked for the local YMCA; he enclosed a clipping with a drawing of the building in his letter of October 20, 1918. An undated letter encloses 4 photographic negatives; the letter implies that the photographs depict George M. Chase (in uniform) and M. Kathryn Hicks.

The Printed Items and Ephemera series (5 items) includes 2 newspaper clippings about George M. Chase's military service and the Lydonia a New Year's card that Chase sent to M. Kathryn Hicks, a piece of red ribbon, and a program for commencement activities held at Rhinebeck High School on June 22, 1914. M. Kathryn Hicks gave the valedictory address at her commencement and won class honors in every subject except for German.