This collection is primarily correspondence between members of the White family, Mary H., her husband Luther and their daughter Mabel. Mary White's sister, Lucy Ellen Hadley Ober is the author of many of the letters as well as her husband, Foster Ober and their children. The letters detail daily life, marriage, motherhood and community reflecting the norms and the attitudes of a middle class family in the late 19th century.

Mary Hadley White was married to Judge Luther White of Cicpee, Hampden Co., Massachusetts and their daughter, Mabel White who attended school at Haward Seminary in West Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts. Mary's sister, Lucy Ellen Hadley Ober was married to the Boston architect J. Forster Ober. Lucy Ober died in December 1889.

This collection is entirely correspondance, many letters include their envelopes. The correspondence is written to Mary Hadley White, her husband Luther White and her daughter Mabel A. White. Many of the letters written to Mary Hadley White are from her sister, Lucy Ellen Hadley Ober. Letters written to Luther White, many are from Lucy Ellen Hadley Ober's husband, Foster Ober, including a drawing of a plan for the White's Chicopee house, "Apple Tree Knoll." There are two telegrams in the collection regarding Lucy Ellen Hadley Ober's decline in health and eventual death. Many other letters are from nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and inlaws of the White and Ober families.