The collection contains 5 diaries kept by Anton George (1857-1862, 1871). The entries are both routine and terse, generally referring to the day's work or church activities. The diary entries provide insight into the day-to-day affairs of one settler whose experiences were more typical of American pioneer life than those of other more colorful and prominent people. The two smaller diaries cover the period 1861 and 1862, and complement the entries made for the same period in the larger volumes. Of special note is the record George kept of the duties he performed as justice of the peace between April 1862 and April 1865; this record is found in the larger diary volume covering the period from June 1860 through March 1862.
Included in the folder containing the smaller diaries is a German language hymnal owned by George.
The miscellaneous family documents contain several letters in English and German relating to family matters, Anton George's last will and testament, his postmaster's commission, and other ephemera. Also included is a history of the Zimmerman family, written by D. E. Zimmerman in 1973, containing useful genealogical information, and material about the local churches with which Anton George and his grandson, John George, were associated.
