The papers of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller primarily consist of correspondence, including personal correspondence to family and relatives, biographical materials; art collection files, and files pertaining to her philanthropic activities.

This set of general files chronicles management of the philanthropic affairs of David Rockefeller during the period 1992-1996. when he was naturally beginning to curtail his activities.

The Activities Series provides a partial view of Nelson A. Rockefeller's business, civic, governmental, philanthropic, cultural, and social activities from 1930 to 1979. The records in this series were assembled by the Rockefeller family archivist during the early 1970s following the 1971 transfer of Nelson A. Rockefeller's files to the Rockefeller family archive. The bulk of material dates from between 1946 and 1971, a period when Rockefeller maintained his files separately from the General Files of the Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller, which contained the files of his father and brothers. Records predating 1946 were removed from the General Files in that year to form the core of Nelson A. Rockefeller's files. Most of Nelson A. Rockefeller's personal files created after 1971 are in Record Group 3 and 33 of the Rockefeller family archives,which remain closed to research. However, for reasons which are not now known, some records created after 1971 were filed at the end of this series. They are designated "Post-1971 Material." The title of the series reflects the broad scope of the documentation.

This series includes 16 cubic feet of Nelson A. Rockefeller's personal copies of correspondence, reports, and publications reflecting his interest in the development and management of two private international development agencies: the American International Association for Economic and Social Development (AIA) and the International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC).

This series contains a portion of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller's political correspondence on state and national issues. The correspondence reflects his role as a national political figure and was filed separately from correspondence generated while serving as Governor of New York.

This series contains Nelson A. Rockefeller's correspondence with private individuals and representatives of institutions and governments in 87 foreign countries. With some exceptions, this material consists mainly of financial appeals from individuals and institutions. Appeals from individuals include requests for money for such things as starting a business, traveling to the United States, or publishing a book. The range of institutions includes churches, universities, health centers, and businesses. Because Mr. Rockefeller followed his family's philanthropic tradition of aiding people through institutions rather than individually, nearly all of the personal appeals were declined. Only those institutional appeals that fell within Mr. Rockefeller's areas of interest were favorably answered. Most of the declination letters were written by members of Mr. Rockefeller's staff on his behalf.

This series contains a variety of material pertaining to Nelson Rockefeller's time as a politician, statesman, and public servant. The six subseries cover a broad spectrum of Rockefeller's involvement in political affairs, both on the state level and within the national arena. The majority of the series covers Rockefeller's tenure as Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. A range of public issues are represented in the series, primarily in the first subseries.

This general correspondence file offers extensive documentation on Nelson Rockefeller's business, civic, governmental, philanthropic, cultural, and social activities. Major files cover Dartmouth College's Committee on Economic Development, the Council for Inter-American Cooperation, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Institute for International Social Research, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Museum of Primitive Art (MoPA) founded by Rockefeller, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Pan-American Union (Organization of the American States), Rockefeller Center, the United Jewish Appeal, the United Nations, the U.S. government, the Victory Clothing Drive for Overseas Relief, and the Westchester County Board of Health.

This series is made up of Nelson A. Rockefeller's personal copies of correspondence, reports, and other documents gathered during his service in the federal government in ten presidential appointments between 1940 and 1969. All manner of documents can be found in these files, from handwritten notes to printed reports. Marginal notes found in Rockefeller's handwriting are not uncommon. These records both duplicate and complement official government records held in the National Archives and in presidential libraries.