The Margaret Bobbitt Ettleman papers date from 1951 to 1984 and measure 0.25 linear inches. The papers include a memoir written by Ettleman in 1951 of her girlhood. She tells of her father's family moving from Marion County, Indiana in 1849 to settle in Iowa. Ettleman describes her how her parents met in 1871 at a Sunday School Convention in Cass County, Iowa. Benjamin Bobbitt and Laura Littlefield corresponded for two years before marrying on September 23, 1873.

Ettleman also describes living on a homestead southwest of Sidney, Iowa, telling of hail storms that damaged her father's crops, as well as a business raising timber that Benjamin Bobbitt started. She also remembers a barn-raising on her parents' farm, as well as the coming of the Ringling Brothers' Circus to Sidney, Iowa. As a child, Ettleman's main job was wood gathering.

In her memoir, she describes the attributes of each kind of wood, as well as the best way to start a fire. Ettleman also describes making homemade ice cream and how her Aunt Mollie could make lye from wood ashes for soap. In 1893, Ettleman and her parents traveled by train to Chicago to attend the World's Columbian Exposition. Ettleman recounts the wonders of the exposition, the crowds, the 265-foot Ferris wheel, a cooking school, and various restaurants. In her memoir, Ettleman discusses memories concerning her ancestors, including weddings, locations, and occupations. One ancestor, Randolph Bobbitt who lived in Virginia, was rumored to have been a descendent of Pocahontas. Also included at the end of the memoir is a family genealogy and Ettleman's obituary.