General family correspondence, 1859-1929, mostly to A.L. Benedict; correspondence of A.L. Benedict as superintendent of the Division of Ethnology and Archaeology of the Pan-American Exposition, 1900-1902, as well as a map of the exposition grounds and notes on exhibits and concessions. Other papers of A.L. Benedict include writings on archaeology by Benedict and others, 1886-1909, medical and military certificates, and miscellaneous receipts and notes. Papers of N.G. and Gracia S. Benedict include estate papers, real estate records, and receipts for house construction, 1875-1912; estate papers of the Smith family, 1849- 1911, including papers of Lucy S., Sara M. and Kate M. Smith and others, and records of real estate in Buffalo and Clinton, N.Y. Also, notebooks of Charles W. Dobbins concerning archaeological and geological discoveries in Western New York, 1882-1886.

Papers of Judge William Cooper, the founder of Cooperstown, and of his children, Hannah, Isaac, James Fenimore, Samuel, and William. A large part of the collection concerns the land and financial transactions conducted by Judge Cooper and his direct descendants. Of particular interest are deeds, leases, bonds, and mortgages that document his involvement in the settling of Cooperstown and Otsego County, N.Y. His papers also include correspondence, land books, and bankbooks. Isaac Cooper's papers include the contract for building his home, Edgewater. James Fenimore Cooper's papers include correspondence and fragments of literary manuscripts. The collection also contains scattered letters from a few in-laws and grandchildren of Judge Cooper, such as Susan Fenimore Cooper, as well as three photograph albums.