The collection consists of papers collected across three generations of the Brightwell family from 1890 to 1942. Items include church minutes from the 1890s, cotton seed receipts purchased in Longview, Texas, four World War II ration books from Walter Jesse Brightwell’s household, and a ledger page from William Peter Brightwell in 1902.

There are two ration booklets, a partial sheet of ration stamps and two newsletters in this World War 2 collection. Researchers may find the newsletters of particular interest. One pertains to a training class of the Women's Army Corps in Nacogdoches, Texas. The second newsletter is that of an Army Air Corps base unit stationed at Myitkyina in Burma. It is unlikely that these newsletters are widely circulated.