This ten-box collection consists of the extensive research papers of Ernest Mahan that he compiled during the 1930s while preparing a biography on Joseph Smith, Jr. For unknown reasons, the biography was never completed.

Box 1 contains biographical sources for early Latter-day Saints publications. Boxes 2-7 contain Mahan's research notes. Boxes 8-10 consist of an array of early Latter-day Saints publications and correspondence, legal documents, and various notes taken by Mahan.