J. Howard Pew (1882-1971) was president of one of the largest wholesale distributor of motor petroleum companies, the Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco) from 1912 to 1947. He was a prominent philanthropist. In 1948, Pew and his siblings co-founded The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-profit, non-governmental organization with the purpose of serving the public. The J. Howard Pew papers are primarily concerned with Pew's political activities and philanthropy. The collection is arranged into seven series: Alphabetical general correspondence; Subject files; Presbyterian Church; Christian Freedom Foundation; Glenmede Trust Co.; Pew Memorial Foundation; and Grove City College.

Jasper Crane (1881-1969) was an executive with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company and a noted Presbyterian layman. Crane's personal papers are primarily concerned with his political activities. This collection consists largely of Crane's correspondence with public officials and conservative organizations, who, like Crane, actively opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and the activist state that emerged from the Second World War.