This item was written by William Keen for his children and includes genealogy, glimpses of his boyhood in Philadelphia, and reflections on his education at Jefferson Medical College and his medical career. There are accounts of memorable events and surgical cases, including the operation on President Grover Cleveland's jaw. There are mentions of S. Weir Mitchell and other physicians, with historical recollections of such Philadelphia institutions as the College of Physicians.

The collection consists of diaries, 1890-1938, containing brief records of professional work and family events (49 vols.); also autobiography entitled "Memories for my boys," 1930 (B D713m), referring to his childhood and to his professional career and mentioning Franz Boas, William Comstock, Livingston Farrand, William W. Keen, S. Weir Mitchell, Elihu Root, and W. T. Sedgewick and also APS, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, and Wistar Institute (1 vol.); also a few miscellaneous papers, 1869-1932, chiefly letters to and from members of his family, and also Poultney Bigelow, Simon Henry Gage, and W. B. Van Ingen; two essays ("The Days of Man" and "A Venetian Night"): genealogical data; verses dedicated to his wife; extracts of letters to supplement his diaries.

The manuscripts of father William Mitchell and daughter Maria Mitchell are not easily separated, and are treated here together. The collection includes William Mitchell's autobiography, his memoir of Judge Walter Folger of Nantucket, astronomical and meteorological observations, lectures, family and other correspondence.