The Cathren collection covers a period from 1846 to around 1888. The papers have been classified into three groups; correspondence, 1846-1888; legal papers; and bills and receipts. The correspondence has been arranged chronologically. The volume of the correspondence is slight, making up only one-fifth of the collection. It pertains mainly to business affairs of the Judge, although there are a few personal letters throughout the papers. Oddly, there are very few letters relating to political affairs. The legal papers make up the bulk of the collection. They consist of the office copies of the documents prepared by Cothren for the various cases he handled. These papers have been arranged alphabetically, according to case names. (See index that follows the box list.) The remainder of the collection is made up of numerous bills and receipted bills. They too have been filed chronologically.
