The collection has been divided into three groups: George W. Gove papers, 1833-1901; George R. Gove papers, 1881-1953; and Marguerite Gove papers, 1917-1963.
The papers of George W. Gove include biographical materials--discharge papers, pension certificates, membership certificates in civic and fraternal organizations, marriage certificate, and obituary clippings; diaries primarily concerning weather, work, and imbursements and disbursements (George W. Gove was a Union soldier in the Civil War when the 1864 and part of the 1865 diaries were written but there are no accounts of battles in these diaries); information on reunions of the 33rd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry; and one folder of sketchy financial records, one of which pre-dates George W. Gove's birth.
The papers of George R. Gove include biographical materials--birth and marriage certificates, school diplomas, and a job appointment certificate; business correspondence--from his years with the New York State Housing Commission, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and the Atomic Energy Commission; diaries from high school and early college days; clippings, mostly related to his job as secretary to the Secretary of the Interior; and miscellaneous business reports and papers.
The papers of Marguerite Gove include miscellaneous notes; diaries giving weather and information about social engagements; address books; and film papers consisting of correspondence, story ideas, conference syllabi (annotated), and an educational film catalog (partial, annotated).
The papers in these three groups are arranged, as much as possible, in general to specific order. Thereunder, the arrangement is chronological, with the exception of George R. Gove's business correspondence and Atomic Energy Commission correspondence which are in reverse chronological order, and his retirement correspondence which has been left in the arrangement of its binder.
