Emma E. Holmes (1838-1910) was the daughter of Dr. Henry M. Holmes (1790-1854) and Eliza Ford Gibbes (1808-1875). The diary chronicles Holmes's life in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Civil War, detailing the Charleston fire of December 1861, visiting army camps, taking a position as governess and tutor, and plundering Union troops near the end of the war.

Joseph H. Hanson (1820-1858) was a farmer in St. Georges Hundred near Delaware City, Delaware. The volume is a combined ledger and memorandum book covering the operation of Hanson's farm and the employment of tenants and/or farm laborers. There are pages for the accounts of individuals employed, mostly boys and young white men but also some women and some African Americans, with lists of chores performed.

The account books document a general store situated in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, likely owned in part by Jeremiah Brown (1749-1831). Brown was a successful businessman, owning a grist mill, sawmill, and slate quarries. The general store was a major center of exchange, which included a mix of cash and barter transactions, the latter including both goods and labor.

Martha Brown Ogle Callender Forman (1788-1864) was the second wife of Gen. Thomas Marsh Forman (1758-1845). Her diaries are entirely personal, with many details of the daily life of enslavers and the enslaved at Rose Hill, a Cecil County, Maryland plantation.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. He was an advocate for a national educational system and promoted Franco-American trade relations. The collection consists of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours correspondence and writings in addition to correspondence of his second wife, Françoise (Robin) Poivre.

Robert Coleman (1748-1825) was one of the most important ironmasters in Pennsylvania and acquired Elizabeth Furnance near Manheim, Pennsylvania. His papers consists of correspondence, receipts, and miscellany, mostly involving land purchase.