Correspondence, photographs, clippings, and genealogical records of these families, including materials relating to operating a farm near Prescott, Kansas; letters home from a worker on the Chautauqua circuit; and letters home from a professor of music.

Poet (numerous books from Worn Earth, 1932), editor of the O. Henry Prize Stories, 1954-1959, director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, 1941-1967, and co-founder and director of the International Writers' Program, 1967-1976 at the University of Iowa. Literary manuscripts, correspondence, subject files, and student works documenting his career as a writer and teacher.

Benjamin Shambaugh (1871-1940) was a University of Iowa professor of political science and, for many years, superintendent of the State Historical Society of Iowa. He and his wife, Bertha (1870-1953), hosted many scholars' visits to the University.