The Cole family papers consist chiefly of photocopies of Ethel Cole's family correspondence and other family papers. The letters, which date primarily from the late 1870s to the early 1930s, include outgoing letters from Ethel Cole while residing at Sego and at Arlington, Kansas, as well as outgoing letters from her parents while living in Darke County, Ohio, and later at Bone Springs and Arlington, Kansas. Most of the collection's letters are addressed to Ethel Cole and her parents from their Cole, Wise, and Elston family members of Darke County, Ohio. Wallace S. Cole's letters also contain his correspondence and other papers regarding the Reno County school district. The collection contains a number of photocopied family records, including Grange roll books and minutes of Darke County in the 1870s, and a program and audio tape of Ethel Cole's memorial service, donated by the wife of Ethel's nephew, Robert Cole. The collection also contains a variety of original family photographs from both the W.S. Cole and Reverend Henry Cole branches of the family.

Arrangement of letters is alphabetical by family name of the writer, subarranged alphabetically by given name within each surname. Photocopies of letters within each folder appear largely as received from copying--in a continuous, uninterrupted sequence, with letter content copied on both sides of each sheet and letter content displayed in reverse order. A photocopy of the letter's postmarked envelope is usually included, appearing in front of its respective letter.