The Watts Family Papers contain original correspondence, land documents, legal and financial papers pertaining to several generations of the Watts family. The geographic range of the collection includes Virginia, Ohio, Mississippi, and Texas, with special emphasis on San Augustine County, Texas.

Notable items in the collection from an historical perspective are the letters of James Pinckney Henderson, dating from 1843 to 1857. As a lawyer friend residing in San Augustine, Henderson advised William W. Watts about the debt collection business. At least three of the letters relate to Henderson's initially secret mission to negotiate a treaty of annexation between the United States and Texas in 1844. Henderson was inaugurated Governor of Texas in February 1846.

The collection also contains teaching certificates authorizing John Watts to teach second grade in San Augustine County in 1881 and 1882.