The collection consists of correspondence, legal documents, genealogical research, and other materials pertaining to the Johnson, Franklin, and Lightfoot families. Many family members lived in Arkansas throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Notable among the materials is an affidavit from Mary M. Lightfoot and M. L. Royston regarding their experience with an alleged theft of cotton by Union troops during the Civil War.

The collection consists of the papers of Arkansas philanthropist and University of Arkansas alumna Jewel Minnis and the Minnis family. The bulk of the materials are financial, legal, and property records, including 19th-century Arkansas deeds. The last series of the collection consists of a biography of Jewel Minnis by Bill Sayger, as well as photographs and research materials he compiled for the project.