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The Green-Mitchell family papers are made up of correspondence, legal documents, receipts, and other financial records pertaining to the business and personal affairs of New York attorneys Timothy Green and John W. Mitchell (Timothy Green's son-in-law). Much of the collection pertains to mercantile affairs and land speculation in the South, Northeast and Western United States. A large portion of the collection pertains to South Carolina (Charleston), New York, and Massachusetts (Worcester). The Manuscripts Division has also created an inventory of the letter-writers in the collection: Green-Mitchell Family Papers Correspondent Inventory.

The Green-Mitchell family papers are made up of correspondence, legal documents, receipts, and other financial records pertaining to the business and personal affairs of New York attorneys Timothy Green and John W. Mitchell (Timothy Green's son-in-law). Much of the collection pertains to mercantile affairs and land speculation in the South, Northeast and Western United States. A large portion of the collection pertains to South Carolina (Charleston), New York, and Massachusetts (Worcester).

The Correspondence series contains 1,470 letters to and from members of the Green and Mitchell families between June 26, 1780 and October 1, 1880. Four hundred and sixteen incoming letters to Timothy Green date between 1780, and 1812. He received the bulk of them from family members, business partners, and clients in South Carolina, New York, and Worcester, Massachusetts. Timothy's brother, Samuel Green, a prominent merchant in Columbia, South Carolina, was among his most frequent correspondents. The collection includes 160 letters by Timothy Green, primarily sent from New York. Timothy Green's correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection's materials related to land speculation.

John W. Mitchell received 540 letters, approximately a third of the series, between 1806 and 1880. His primary correspondents wrote from Charleston, South Carolina; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and New York. The subject matter represented in these letters is diverse, pertaining to business and personal affairs, and the Episcopal Church. Other frequent writers include Timothy Ruggles Green, Clarence G. Mitchell, Samuel Green, and Judge Peter P. Bailey, founder of Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The Legal Documents series relates to estates administration and 48 legal suits in which the Green and Mitchell families were involved, either as attorneys or as parties to a suit. Materials for some of these cases are extensive and others include only a few pages. The cases comprising much of the series are Conklin v. Mitchell and Davis v. Duffie. Conklin v. Mitchell (New York, 1852-57) pertains to a land dispute between George Conklin and defendant John W. Mitchell. Davis v. Duffie (New York, 1825-1861) concerns charges brought against Smith Davis for fraud and a related mortgage taken out by Cornelius R. Duffie. John W. Mitchell and Clarence G. Mitchell defended Duffie.

Five certificates document commissions held by John W. Mitchell and Clarence G. Mitchell. Additional legal papers include insurance policies, powers of attorney, deeds, civil actions, summonses, depositions, agreements, and other items compiled by Timothy Green and John W. Mitchell in carrying out their work as attorneys.

The Financial Documents series contains 143 receipts, checks, bank notes, accounts, and other financial records dating from 1785-1874. Timothy Green compiled 11 summaries of accounts, representing a portion of his business transactions between 1787 and 1809.

Printed materials include a quarterly chronicle for the Mission to the Working Men of Paris (1877), two monthly bulletins for the Charity Organization Society in New York (1884), a notice of sale, and a cover page from the book One Day With Whistler.

Miscellaneous materials include two items: a partially-printed report card for Clarence G. Mitchell at the Episcopal Institute at Troy, New York, in 1837, and a genealogical document concerning the Boudinot family of Philadelphia.

The Manuscripts Division has also created an inventory of the letter-writers in the collection: Green-Mitchell Family Papers Correspondent Inventory.

The Rogers-Roche papers contain the outgoing letters of Robert Rogers and his stepson, John Roche. The Rogers material mainly concerns his military activities and money-making endeavors in North America and England, while the Roche letters relate to Roche's service on the U.S. Ship Constitution during the Quasi-war with France.

The Rogers-Roche collection contains 53 letters and documents, spanning 1758 to 1881, with the bulk concentrated around 1758 to 1801.

Approximately half the collection consists of letters written by Robert Rogers to his wife, Elizabeth ("Betsy"), between 1761 and 1775, while he was in New York, South Carolina, Michigan, Ontario, Quebec, and London. The most frequent topic of letters is Rogers' finances; he often informed his wife of various attempts to get money that he believed the British government owed him, whether for commanding at Lake George during the French and Indian War (June 2, 1758), or for his expenses related to service at Fort Michilimackinac (March 8, 1770). On April 7, 1774, he notified his wife of his plan to send a memorial to General Thomas Gage requesting reimbursement and included a copy of the document on the verso of the letter.

The collection also includes three letters written by Rogers to his wife during his imprisonment at Montreal on charges of colluding with the French. On August 25, 1768, he noted, "my confinement…is made as agreable for me as possible," but several months later, he angrily noted, "I hop to soon have it in my power to reveng on my Enemys" (December 24, 1768). His early letters to Betsy are very loving in tone; he referred to her as "dearest dear," and soon after their marriage, wrote that he wished "once more to feast my Eyes on hir who so suddenly made me a prisoner to love" (November 9, 1761). In the same letter, written from South Carolina, he noted that a peace had been made between the Cherokees and British forces. His fine description of the capture of Fort Presque Isle by Native Americans during Pontiac's War is dated July 15, 1763.

The remainder of the collection primarily relates to John ("Jack") Roche, Jr., who joined the Navy and served on the U.S.S. Constitution during the quasi-war with France. The letters mainly concern his naval career and wartime service between 1798 and 1801. On May 7, 1798, Edward Livermore wrote to Roche, informing him, "I have entered your name as a midshipman on board the frigate-- You must come immediately if you mean to secure the place" and notified him of the pay and terms. In a letter of June 19, 1798, Roche described conditions onboard the Constitution, including the excellent provisions, the crew, and the ship's ordnance. In other letters, he made note of his duties and the capture of prizes. On September 25, [1798], he described the capture of the 24-gun French ship Niger, carrying "large sums of money in bags & chests which have not been op'ned, probably the plunder of defenceless Americans."

Other topics include the death of several shipmates from yellow fever (September 29, [1798]), the difficulty of finding French privateers off of Prince Rupert's Bay, Dominica (March 16, [1799]), and the capture of a ship called the Indiaman (November 26, 1799). Roche also commented several times on conditions in Haiti, which had recently experienced a revolution. On Toussaint l'Ouverture, Commander-in-Chief of French Forces in Saint Domingue, he wrote, "we may shortly see the whole Island containing near a million of Inhabitants govern'd despotically by an ignorant negro, formerly a slave" (January 30, 1801). Several orders are also included among the papers, including one by the Constitution's commander, Silas Talbot, which required that "each Lieut, Master and Midshipman Keepe an exact Journal of the Ships way" (December 15, 1800). The collection closes with a few scattered letters relating to Arthur Rogers and conveying family and financial news.