The collection contains Samuel Bolitho Jeffries (1884-1953) diaries from 1912-1951 (minus several individual years). These diaries depict both Jeffries' personal life, as well as his career as a civil engineer, mostly for the Davis Coal and Coke Company. Although short, his entries tend to record the weather, family and personal events (how he rung in each New Year, for example), and his work activities and travels (which train he took to which location on a given day or if he drove someplace, for example). The 33 diaries provide a detailed view of nearly half of Jeffries' life and career. He writes of his work and personal life, and of employees, injuries, strikes, the union, F.D.R. taking over mines during WW2, reports of war events, fires in the mining community and at the mine, politics (apparently he was a candidate in 1928 and lost by one vote), he & his family becoming very ill with flu in 1918, and the death of his 13 year old daughter in 1933, among others.