The upstate New York newspapers in the collection contain both local and national news. During 1861-1865, the Civil War loomed large on their pages and even more so in nearly 100 maps taken from the New York Herald and the New-York Daily Tribune, both New York City newspapers. The latest map in the collection, which shows the seat of war between Germany and France (Franco-Prussian War of 1870), appears on a broadsheet advertising the Germania Fire Insurance Company of New York City. Also included in this collection is a manuscript letter written by Joseph Backus (1764-1838) offering to exchange his book for law books from other lawyers.

There is only a single issue of a newspaper title for several cities in the collection throughout the Midwestern and Eastern states. For cities where the family lived, including Bridgeport, Connecticut, New York City, and Rome, New York, there are several issues, sometimes from several newspaper titles. Issues have been physically separated into boxes and folders of appropriate size, so newspapers from a single city may be present at multiple call numbers. This has been noted throughout the finding aid.

Of the key Backus family members noted in the biographical note, Joseph Backus is named frequently in handwritten inscriptions on the earliest Connecticut newspapers dating from 1814-1820. These inscriptions usually refer to articles about legal and civic topics contributed by him, often under a pseudonym (a common writing practice during the 19th century). While Joseph Backus may have written the inscriptions identifying him as the author, they could also have been written by a relative or friend.

The surname Huntington and Wright recurs in inscriptions on various of the later New York state (Albany, New York City, Rome and Utica) newspapers dating from 1828-1878. The Huntingtons were Backus relatives, perhaps stemming from the 14 October 1779 marriage of Abigail Backus to Thomas Huntington in Windham, Connecticut. Henrietta H. Wright, who wrote "Save this paper" on the 20 December 1859 New-York Times, was the daughter of Henrietta Huntington and Benjamin H. Wright, who also inscribed some of the newspapers.

The next two generations of the Backus family, represented by Oswald Backus and Oswald Prentiss Backus, Sr., carried on the tradition of legal careers but did not inscribe the newspapers of their day. However, the presence in this collection of several Civil War-era newspaper issues and especially of nearly 100 Civil-War maps, consisting of newspaper supplements and tear-sheets, indicates the family's strong interest in the progress of the War between the States.