The manuscript file collection on early University of Iowa history is a rich source on 19th-century and early 20th-century developments at the University of Iowa. It consists of the University's earliest known records documenting its business transactions, academic activity, and external communications. For the most part the material was prepared or received by William J. Haddock (1832-1906), secretary to the Board of Trustees, later Regents, from 1864 to 1901. It is also considered the foundation collection of the University Archives, as it resulted from the first institutional attempts to document University of Iowa history. Many types of records comprise the collection: correspondence, receipts from Iowa City businesses and those located in Des Moines, Chicago, New York and elsewhere, official memos, expense records, contractor's bids, applications for employment, letters of reference, resignations, status reports of buildings and departments, supply requests, signed protests and petitions, statistics about students, salary negotiations, comparisons of UI course requirements to other U.S. universities, information regarding societies and organizations, lab teaching assistants (called demonstrators), hospital rules, numerous investigations, Army regulations, ROTC memos, alcohol issues, student workers, student aid, University publications, scholarships, honorary degrees, University expeditions, University branches, local and state governing boards, lawsuits, fees and tuition, and land deeds.

Items of interest include the original document of an act in 1898 to create a state board of control to govern public institutions of higher learning in Iowa, and a letter conferring an honorary law degree upon Booker T. Washington in 1902 (SEE: Registrar's Office: Honorary Degrees).

The third series is an index to the collection, which may be used in conjunction with the box contents list. It identifies categories and individuals referenced in this collection, and in many cases indicates where pertinent folders are located. Note that some location information in the index is now obsolete.