The collection provides a detailed account of Gillilan's life, and of Methodism in Ohio and Utah. The most significant items in the collection are Gillilan's thoroughly kept diaries. In addition, he was a meticulous keeper of scrapbooks, collecting many articles about Methodism and religion in his time. He was also a published author, and copies of many of his published poems and essays are present in the collection. It seems that he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Strickland Gillilan. It is possible that this is a family member. In his collection are also present two threatening letters. One dates from 1886, and is from Gillilan's time in Tooele, Utah. It relates to issues of polygamy and Mormonism. The other is less specific, but threatens Gillilan' s "precious throat." Gillilan's papers contain approximately 2000 sets of sermon notes, numbered from 5 to 2394. The system by which these numbers were assigned is unknown. One of Gillilan's diaries, the largest, contains several pages of what seem to be land ownership claims and mining records. He may have obtained this book, already used, and subsequently used it for his journal. Another of his diaries contains several pages written in a substitution code, and several more in shorthand. The key to Gillilan's code is in the Diaries: General File. Many of the books and documents are fragile, and should be handled with extreme care.

This collection contains information pertaining to the personal and professional life of Reverend James Jolene Loomis of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.The records reflect Loomis' service in the Civil War and his ministry in Southern Methodism. Also included are materials related to his daughter, found in the scrapbook. These papers contain sermon notes, letters, and documents regarding his children and grandchildren. The documents contain information regarding both the Civil War and Methodist teachings. The scrapbook also contains journal entries by Loomis along with printed items added by his daughter.

The collection contains materials relating Lind's personal activities as a missionary. There are seventeenth diaries in this collection. They range in date from 1924 to1979. The years 1926 to 1928 and 1939 are missing. Entries in these diaries are only a few lines and discuss daily events, school activities, Bible meetings, and weather conditions. Many of the diaries reflect China's social unrest because of Western intervention. One diary makes note of mid to late twentieth century China and is a good resource for a student of Chinese culture as impacted by Protestant mission work. Another diary describes the military occupation in Kimkiang and communist regime in Nanchung. There is one more diary which describes historical sites of Egypt, the Middleast and Europe.

Correspondence is dated from 1935 to1962 and relates to family and friends, including "Memories of China" in 1951.

There are two memory scrapbook, dated 1960 and 1964 respectively, which were created by Lind's Bible Class Students. A third scrapbook is a 1959 graduation commemorative yearbook from Aoyama Woman's Junior College in Tokyo, Japan. The final part of this collection contains various clippings, programs, pamphlets, and photographs related to Lind's work and family.

This collection contains papers related to John Balmer Showers. The bulk of this material includes writings by Showers. There are three folders of short typed pages. Some are on selected topics such as faith, Pentecost, stewardship and service, evangelism, the home, and the preacher. Other writings are greetings, welcomings, or dedications prepared by Showers on special occasions such as anniversaries, dedications, and conference meetings. The remaining writings are tributes or memorials to A. B. Statton, Elizabeth Ann Powell, Harold C. Urschel, Sam Stanrod, and Walther Murth.

Also included is a booklet kept by Showers when he was a student at Berlin University. It contains a listing of courses in German. There is a certificate of appreciation present to Showers from Otterbein Press in 1946 and an honorary degree diploma presented to him from Indiana Central College in 1947 are part of this collection. An essay Showers wrote on his father-in-law, Edmund S. Lorenz, is part of these papers. Some work Lorenz did on the hymnal book questionnaire can be found in the same folder. Finally, there is a scrapbook entitled, "Memories of My Years at Otterbein Press." This contains photographs of Showers and staff members, as well as articles written by Showers.

A great deal of the work, biography, and family life of John Talbot Gracey is contained in this document. Gracey wrote a great deal of sermons in his life, many of which exist in this document. Some of these are completely written out, while some are still in outline form. Also included are many newspaper and magazine articles written by Gracey about various aspects of his life. There are articles about mission work, about other religions, and about his own Christian faith. The majority of these would have been published in a Christian newspaper or magazine, such as The Methodist.

Much of Gracey's missionary life is documented, from articles written about his experiences to notes he took while on different mission trips, to photographs of mission work. Gracey had many journals, some of which can be found in this collection.

As for his biography and family life, there are correspondences between Gracey and different members of his family. Some of his wife's writings are included in this collection, as well as responses to her work. Also included is information about his daughter Ida's missionary work in China. An interesting thing to note is the copy of marriage licenses from his wife Annie's father during his pastorate. This provides a bit of family history for the Gracey household.

The John Samuel Stamm Collection is comprised of two series. In the first series there are three typed manucript volumes which include lectures, Bible studies, and orientation messages delivered to Evangelical Seminary students in 1955. Other bound manuscript volumes include a commentary on I Thessalonians; an autobiobraphy; two volumes of sermons; letters of appreciation on the occasion of Stamm's retirement as well as a volume of Remembrances; and a history of the proceedings in the union of the Church of the United Brethren and the Evangelical Church. The second series is comprised of two scrapbooks containing clippings, articles, and expressions of appreciation at the time of his death.

This collection contains one scrapbook of materials related to the Miami, Ohio, Branch of the Woman's Missionary Association of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. The scrapbook contains programs, correspondence, reports, articles, and clippings from magazines. In the interest of storage and scrapbook is disassembled and placed in file folders.

The Luddwell Hunter Estes Papers contains the assorted papers, photographs, and writings of Ludd Estes. Together these materials document the life work of Mr. Estes and represent the variety of positions he held within the denomination.

The Marion Lane Conrow Papers document Conrow's life as a missionary and educator in Korea. In addition to detailing her professional and personal life, these papers also describe the history of women's education in Korea and of Ewha Woman's University. The papers have been divided into twenty-two series.

The Matilda Saxton Winn Collection is comprised of informational files, a journal from her college days, awards, certificates, and family photographs, dating from the late 19th century to 1996. This collection reflects the personal life of Matilda Amelia Saxton Winn and her family.

The largest component of the collection consists of photographs. These photographs are of Matilda, her husband Harvey, and their families. There are photographs that date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These photographs are of Matilda’s side of the family, and depict people like her parents, her maternal grandmother, and her siblings. Using both evidence from the collection, as well as photograph information found online from the Old State House Museum in Arkansas, the people in some of these photographs can be named. The photograph by Dawson in Little Rock, Arkansas of a man sitting in a plaid jacket is of Uncle Duke Freeman. The photograph by Dawson in Little Rock, Arkansas of a man standing with his arm leaning on a fence is of George T. Saxton Sr. The photograph by M. C. Davies and T. B. Rayburn in Little Rock, Arkansas is of Elizabeth Freeman. The photograph with a oval opening of a young man is of George T. Saxton Jr. In the photograph of three woman, the woman sitting is Mrs. Millie Freeman, Matilda’s maternal grandmother. The two photographs of women and children taken in 1897 and 1899 are from George T. Saxton Sr.’s time at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta. In the two kinds of family portraits found in the collection, the children are positioned in the following order from left to right: Matilda, George Jr., and Mary Myrtle Lois.

The other photographs found in the collection range from the early 20th century to about 1985. These photographs are of various events in Matilda’s life, including her college graduation and her marriage to Harvey in 1950. In the file folder “Matilda and Harvey Winn and Friends” is a letter written to Matilda by her mother-in-law found in the folder with the photographs. In addition to the photographs found in the file folders, there are photographs held in a scrapbook put together by Matilda. While most photographs are still attached, and were reattached in areas, there were a few photographs that seem to have been shoved into random pages. These have been taken out of the pages in which they were found and places in an envelope in the back of the scrapbook. There is also a photograph of Miss Rosa Hale in the back of the scrapbook, as well as a few papers pertaining to Lois Saxton and a handwritten note.

Another item of note is her yearbook. There were two items shoved in the pages of the yearbook. On the page that holds Matilda’s Senior Portrait is the program from graduation. On the page that contains a blurb about the Bit and Bridle Club (2 pages prior to the Kansas State Sweetheart winners section) is a photograph in a sleeve that had been interleaved into the book. This photograph depicts three people, one woman and two men, standing outside of a building.