The collection consists mainly of correspondence but also includes military, social, business and financial records. The bulk being letters from Ryan and Ridding family members and friends. Topics include life in Burlington, Iowa, the Civil War, the military, and general life in the American West. Of particular interest are letters to and from Mary Ridding as the two tried to keep alive their nearly 1000-mile-love affair. In these letters, Ryan also talks about military life at Fort Steele in the 1870s.