While documents written by the Stauffachers predominate, the collection also includes a few of the letters written to them, such as those by Charles Hurlburt, and these are interfiled chronologically with those written by the Stauffachers. The arrangement of the materials in this collection was provided by the archivist, as were the folder titles. The materials are arranged alphabetically by type of document (i.e., Clippings, Diaries, Notes, etc.) and chronologically within each type of document classification. Some items were foldered and boxed separately because of their size. The container list nonetheless reflects the alphabetical arrangement of document types. Duplicates were returned to the donor.

While the documents in the collection provide comprehensive, if sometimes brief, information on the Stauffachers' missionary careers until Mrs. Stauffacher's death in 1959, they are focused principally on the Stauffachers' life and work until the early 1940's. The core for this information is the Stauffachers' correspondence and diaries, which provide an almost continuous record of the Stauffachers' activity. The correspondence in Folders 1-1 through 1-28, 2-2 and 2-3 consists largely of that written by Mrs. Stauffacher to her family. These letters tend to discuss family news, everyday occurrences, and travel, but in this way provide a rich source of information on the routine activities of the Stauffacher family. These documents also include information about other missionaries. Folder 1-1 includes Mr. Stauffacher's introductory application letter to AIM and several subsequent letters which respond to specific questions raised by the mission leaders. Several of these letters have in the margins handwritten notes by the mission leaders on issues they wanted to address with Stauffacher.

Included also in Folder 1-1 is the beginning of John's correspondence with Florence. This series begins prior to his departure for Kenya and documents their courtship by mail and his preparations for going to Africa. Folders 1-2 through 1-4, covering the period from 1903 through 1905, consist largely of John's letters to Florence, and include his first impressions of Kijabe and descriptions of his activities there. During this time, Florence was considering following John to also serve in Africa. In his letters, Stauffacher therefore encourages her to join him. With their marriage, the correspondents become Mrs. Stauffacher and her family. These letters also cover such significant events as the Stauffacher marriage and the birth of their first child, Raymond, and some of their furloughs. Mr. Stauffacher's correspondence in these files tends to be to other members of Florence's family and therefore also includes discussion of family news. However, John's letters tend to include more information on the Stauffachers' ministry. The clippings in Folder 3-1 are principally reproductions of letters from the Stauffachers in the GENESEO REPUBLIC, but do not duplicate the letters in the correspondence section of this collection and therefore serve as a valuable supplement to those.

The diaries in the collection (Folders 1-29 through 1-39) provide the other in-depth source of information on the Stauffachers. With the exception of Mr. Stauffacher's diary in 1-31, all the diaries are those of Mrs. Stauffacher. They provide an almost daily look, although usually brief, at the life of Mrs. Stauffacher from 1906 until 1959. The researcher should note that the history of AIM in the Belgian Congo written by Mr. Stauffacher (Folder 1-41), is autobiographical and therefore gives detailed information on both the mission's activity and the Stauffachers' contribution to it. The diaries also document some of the Stauffachers' furloughs.

Folder 1-41 contains two manuscripts, one on the history of AIM and the other on the mission's history in the Belgian Congo. The former, dated c. 1915, is a detailed but broad overview of the Mission's development and expansion from its beginning in 1895. Included are accounts of expeditions into Uganda and Tanganyika, and the organizational transition from the leadership of Peter Cameron Scott to Charles Hurlburt, caused by the death of Scott, the mission's founder, in 1896. The document is also a good source for names of missionaries involved in AIM work during this initial period of the mission's history. The latter history, dated 1941, deals with one of the areas the Stauffachers worked in. This firsthand account is autobiographical and includes accounts of a meeting with Bishop Alfred Tucker in Uganda, who advised against opening new work in the Congo; descriptions of expeditions into the Congo, and evidence of the respect and admiration which Stauffacher had for Hurlburt, particularly in light of Hurlburt's handling of the transition from Scott's leadership and his difficult personal experiences in the early 1920's at the time of the illness and death of his daughter, Alta.