The collection is largely composed to records created by the Genesee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution over the course of conducting its activities. A minority of the collection is composed of newspaper clippings and other items collected by members that came into possession of the chapter. Some of these contents are related to the chapter and the DAR; others are not.

Records reflecting its activities come in many forms, but predominantly in chapter rosters, a treasurer’s journal, and minutes recorded by various secretaries between 1897 and 1929. These reflect that the chapter focused more on contributing money to charitable and educational causes due to other women’s groups in Flint taking on duties similar to other chapters of the DAR in other American cities.

Contents collected the by that are related to the DAR include multiple scrapbooks with cards, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Indexes were created for some of these scrapbooks and printed out from computers. No electronic copies are known to exist. These reflect events and stories about the DAR, both local and national. Some coverage is given to the Flint Ladies’ Library Association.

Contents unrelated to the DAR have unknown provenance, but do not reflect any connection to the chapter or the DAR. Many precede the chapter’s establishment by several decades. A number of ledgers document purchases from the 1840s to 1850s. How they were included in the collection is unknown.

The manuscript is a handwritten account of early Flint history from 1819 with the arrival of Jacob Smith to cultural, infrastructure, and political developments in the mid-1850s. It was either dictated or written by Mrs. C.M. Clarke, one of the early settlers in Flint. Events were often described in brief sentences, sometimes no more than one to three in length. Events experienced by Clarke were described in much greater length.

She detailed how Smith acquired property for his trade post and relations with local Native Americans. Coverage then shifted to 1833 when Clarke began describing other early homes, such as a log tavern kept by John Todd and Lyman Stowe, who resided in Smith’s old cabin. She recorded the construction of the first bridge over the Flint River, which occurred in 1834. Travelers had previously been ferried by canoes operated by Native Americans.

Other firsts were described, such as the first meeting of Flint Township officers in 1836, when Beach and Wesson established the first store in Flint, the creation of the first mill dam in 1836, and the construction of the first saw mill by Rufus Stevens on Thread Creek. Clarke gave extensive coverage to the development of schooling. Early schooling began in the 1830s with a private school for boys. Parents paid the teacher, Daniel Sullivan, 10 cents weekly. Boys had to follow an old Native American path to Second Street to reach the school. A girls’ school later opened in 1841 with Sarah Bush teaching at the Presbyterian Meeting House. Public schooling later improved, which included free graded schooling, and private education declined.

Events from the 1850s include the incorporation of Flint, the establishment of the Michigan School of the Deaf, various newspapers, and the founding of the Ladies Library Association, which Clarke described as energetic.

Clarke wrote in great detail about her family’s journey to Michigan in 1839. Her father, mother, and six children including herself left Syracuse, New York, traveling by wagon, the Erie Canal, the steamer Constitution across Lake Erie, and wagon again from Detroit to Flint. She described the road between Grand Blanc and Flint as the worst part of the journey.