Most of this collection is comprised of letters from Lucy Jones Townley to her fellow teacher and friend, Ethel Lowry, in the early twentieth century. The two were teachers in Columbus, Cherokee County, Kansas. The earliest letters in autumn 1909 are more formal and professional as Lucy makes preparations and arrangements for the coming school year. By Christmas 1909, the tone of the letters is much more informal as a friendship has grown between the two women. In 1910 most of the letters share Lucy's experiences on her European trip. The collection also holds the diary of her trip. Upon her return to the States, Lucy writes her friend Ethel when they are separated during school breaks and the summer and she shares stories of family and Christmas. She continues her correspondence when she moves to Everett, Washington, to teach German. In spring 1914, Lucy writes of her plans to wed Wayne Townley in Washington in June of that year. Ten months later, their daughter, Isabel, is born in Kansas and in the years that follow, Lucy shares the news of her daughter and the rest of family as well as her social and civic activities. The letters from Lucy were kept by Ethel in a gray suede leather pouch (which is also part of the collection) and were given to Isabel sometime in the 1940s.

The other papers in the collection include Lucy's teaching certificate from the state of Kansas and two newspaper clippings relating the story of Lucy's death. There is also a letter to Isabel Townley Voss from Ethel Blincoe Jones, Isabel's babysitter, and an unpublished volume of Isabel's childhood memories.

The photographs are of Lucy, including ones from her high school graduation in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1903 and her graduation from the University of Kansas in 1907. In addition there is a wedding picture of Lucy and Wayne Townley and a photograph of their home where their daughter, Isabel, was born in Columbus, Kansas. Isabel is pictured as a child and as a young woman graduating from high school in Topeka.