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This collection contains the personal correspondence of Levi Henry Elwell and his family. Elwell was a professor in Amherst, Massachusetts, and many of the letters relate to his children's studies at Vassar College and Amherst College, as well as their everyday lives in Massachusetts and New York.

This collection contains 226 personal letters, 8 Greek-language examinations, and 5 loose newspaper clippings regarding Levi Henry Elwell and his family.

The Correspondence series contains letters between and to members of the Elwell family. During his early days as a student at Amherst College and as a teacher in Poughkeepsie, New York, Elwell wrote to his mother, Harriet Adaline Elwell, and fiancée, Abbie Miner Nickerson, about his scholarly life and experiences. In these letters, Levi and Abbie often discussed their engagement and wedding plans. Though later correspondence includes some letters that the couple sent to Levi's parents, most originated from their children, Marion, Florence, and James. The sisters frequently wrote each other to discuss Marion's experiences at Vassar College. They also received mail from various friends, several of whom enclosed sketches. Levi Elwell wrote many of the later letters to his daughter Florence during her studies at Vassar College, including a postcard entirely in Latin (June 1906) and a report on the family's reaction to witnessing Halley's Comet (May 10, 1910). Though the letters primarily concern personal news, correspondents occasionally discussed contemporary politics; in a letter to Marion dated October 30, 1904, Levi described the American political landscape and discussed his own political views. Around 11 newspaper clippings are enclosed in various letters.

The Newspaper Clippings and Exams series has 8 examinations (December 20, 1897-January 20, 1908) for students of Amherst College, who were required to translate and interpret classical Greek texts, printed in their original language. The 5 loose newspaper clippings concern women's colleges (May 14, 1910), faculty promotions at Amherst College (undated), dirigible balloons (undated), and Halley's Comet (2 items, ca. April 1910).

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.