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The Billings-Stanton correspondence largely consists of incoming correspondence to Abby Billings Stanton from her family and acquaintances, who wrote about their lives in New York and Ohio. Incoming personal letters to Fanny Stanton of Wethersfield, Connecticut, her sister-in-law, are also present.

The Billings-Stanton correspondence (103 items) largely consists of incoming personal correspondence to Abby Billings Stanton in Trenton and Russia, New York, but also includes incoming personal letters to her sister-in-law, Fanny Stanton of Wethersfield, Connecticut; notes from a book on Christian miracles and prophecy; and genealogical notes about the Stanton family.

Abby Billings Stanton regularly received letters from cousins, aunts, siblings, and friends, mostly female, between 1826 and 1852. Her most frequent correspondents were Gloriana Fosdick, her aunt; Sarah G. Hollister, her cousin; and Frances B. Mason, another cousin. They commented on numerous aspects of their daily lives in towns in Connecticut, New York, and Ohio, and shared news of family members and acquaintances. Some letters pertain to education, marriage, and local travel. Fanny Stanton of Wethersfield, Connecticut, Abby's sister-in-law, also wrote to Abby; her letter of June 24, 1851, mentions a recent visit by P. T. Barnum and the opera singer Jenny Lind's decision to leave his management. Most of the remaining correspondence is addressed to Fanny Stanton, including two partially printed reports of her performance at Hartford Female Seminary in the mid-1830s (October 11, 1836, and October 10, 1837). The final items are 3 pages of notes copied and summarized from Joseph Butler's The Analogy of Religion Natural and Revealed (1736) and 4 pages of genealogical notes about the family of Robert Stanton, beginning with his departure from Lancashire, England, around 1640.

The Sears family papers contain the financial records and correspondence of Peter Sears, who owned a general store in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and his adopted son, Peter, who settled in Dexter, Michigan.

The Sears family papers contain 31 letters, 21 account books, 20 legal documents, 9 school writings, and 360 receipts, spanning 1767-1848.

The Correspondence series primarily covers two periods of time: 1771-1806 (21 letters) and 1832-1842 (10 letters). Relatives of the elder Peter Sears and his wife Thankful wrote many of the letters dating to the earlier period, concerning family news and health. An early undated letter, written by Salley Sears during the Revolutionary War, conveys the news that one of Peter Sears' brothers had been captured and transported to Charleston, South Carolina. On September 12, 1802, Joseph Sears wrote a letter to Thankful, acknowledging Peter Sears' death and expressing sympathy. Several other letters of this period contain orders for salt from Peter Sears' store. The younger Peter Sears is the recipient of all of the later correspondence; relatives who had settled across the Midwest, in towns such as Kalamazoo, Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Perrysburg, Ohio, wrote to him with updates on their new lives. A common theme in the letters is the hardships they faced as early settlers.

The Documents series contains 20 items ranging in date from 1770-1853, including three wills, several legal documents relating to land in Washtenaw County, and two items relating to the younger Sears' service in the Massachusetts Militia. The Account Books series encompasses records for Peter Sears' store in Yarmouth from 1768-1794, which list items that he bought for himself, as well as orders that he placed for others.

The Receipts and Financial Records series is by far the largest, and spans 1770-1849. Records from 1770 to 1802 show the types of items that Peter Sears stocked in his store, as well as well as his network of suppliers. After 1802, the financial materials relate to the younger Peter Sears; they document his purchases, payment of taxes, sale of land prior to leaving for Michigan, and debts.