This collection, dating from 1880 to 1984, contains manuscript and published accounts of the family line of Hesper, Kansas pioneers Samuel Hunt Davis (1848-1938) and his wife Emma Stubbs Davis (1855-1942), whose Quaker family siblings and descendants figured prominently in the early history of Kansas. Many of the collection's biographical accounts and genealogical records of Davis and Stubbs family members, as well as histories of Hesper, Kansas and the Hesper Academy, are those written by the collection's donor, Mildred Davis Watson, a daughter of Samuel and Emma Davis. Included are published accounts of the family line, including two books, clippings of obituaries, and photographic prints and negatives (at RH MS-P 817) of the Davis and Stubbs families.

A published article regarding Watson's uncle, James Davis, founder of Friends University is included, together with Watson's copy of the book by Floyd and Norma Souders titled Friends University, 1898-1973. The papers contain an obituary of former Kansas Governor Walter Roscoe Stubbs, and a large campaign poster for his re-election, located at RH MS Q201. Also included is Watson's typescript of her grandmother's recollections of her encounter with William Quantrill's raiders at Hesper, Kansas, enroute to their attack on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863.

Reflecting Mildred Davis Watson's service as director of the Douglas County, Kansas Welfare Department from 1937 to 1956 are the collection's memorabilia, clippings, and histories of the Douglas County Welfare Department, as well as Watson's minutes, 1941 to 1955, of the Council of Social Agencies and the Welfare Board.