This collection consists mostly of correspondence with some financial records such as account books and daybooks; legal documents, especially deeds and land indentures; various ephemera and printed matter, such as pamphlets, clippings, brochures, souvenirs, advertisements; and photographs relating to the Burton family and to a lesser extent, several related families, namely the Harris family.

Chester W. Burton is the most represented, though numerous family members are documented in the collection, particularly Chester's father, Hiram Burton (1799-1892), and grandfather, Simon Burton (1769-1842), one of the early residents of Portland, New York. Both Simon and Hiram were veterans of the War of 1812, and founding members of the local Universalist Society. Others who are represented include Burton's his father-in-law, Joseph Elliot Harris (1809-1884); his daughter and son-in-law, Harriet Burton Correll (1864-1887) and Harris A. Correll (b. 1859); his siblings, Charles Winfield Burton (1827-1903), Insurance Agent and Secretary of the Eastern Iowa Horticultural Society from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Louisa Harriet Burton (1839-1926), who owned and operated several vineyards in Chautauqua County; his wife, Freedom Harris Burton (1838-1916); and his son Charles Addison (Addie) Burton (1878-1932), a civil engineer in Brocton, New York.

In documenting the experiences of numerous individuals, the collection reveals aspects of broader issues and current events such as the Civil War and early settlement and life in the west, including involvement in gold mining, among other things.