Because of the nature and provenance of the Palmer Papers many facts concerning the life and genealogy of Charles Palmer are unknown. The collection was found in 1951 by Richard Marsh, a professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota when he rented a house that had been owned by a member of the Palmer family. The papers consist almost entirely of letters received by Palmer and his wife Minerva from 1862 to 1876. As a result, the collection primarily documents the activities and interests of the Palmers' family and friends rather than the lives of the two Palmers.
The letters are divided into two groups: letters to Charles and letters to Minerva. These two groups are each further subdivided into letters from relatives and general correspondence from others. Minerva's correspondence is less useful for genealogical purposes because the last names of her relatives are unknown.
The letters to Charles while he was in the Army contain inquiries about his health and welfare, as well as news from the homefront. This correspondence originates from widely varying locales such as Wisconsin (especially Berlin), Ohio, Vermont, and Kentucky. There are also letters from several of Palmer's friends, many of whom were also from Berlin, Wisconsin, concerning their service in the Army. Notable is a letter from Hiram Sleeper of the 38th Wisconsin who eventually deserted and joined the Confederate service and who died on December 28, 1864. There are also several letters from Wiley B. Arnold, a former associate on the Courant and Griffith J. Thomas, another associate from the Courant, who also served in the First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. Several of Thomas' letters concern his post-war work as a quartermaster on the U.S. customs steamer John A. Dix. There are also incidental letters from other members of the First Wisconsin Cavalry: George W. Clayton, the printer at the Courant, who published the Cape Girardeau Eagle with Palmer, and Charles G. Appley. Palmer also received one letter from William L. Bronson, formerly of the First Heavy Artillery, after his assignment to the Permanent Party at Camp Randall.
Charles' postwar letters principally consist of letters from his associates in Ohio, primarily fellow students from Antioch College, many of whom became teachers. Of note are several contemporary accounts of the Chicago fire written by Palmer's mother and a sister and many letters from Nellie Cox, a cousin. (The folder about Nellie Cox contains information supplied by Antioch College which holds a small collection of her correspondence). Many of Palmer's associates became teachers, and the papers contain scattered references to their individual experiences.
Minerva's correspondence dates from 1871 to 1876 and primarily consists of letters from family members, especially her sister Ella.
At the end of the collection are General Papers consisting of seven diaries containing brief entries for the years 1883, 1886-1890, and 1899-1900; an 1877 notebook, and some miscellaneous papers. The most useful of the diaries, which combines entries for 1899 and 1900, contains personal information about the illnesses of Minerva and daughter Mary Ella as well as some data concerning Palmer's real estate dealings.
