Family papers, 1861-2003, compiled or produced by Mary Ralph Erkkila, her mother Annie Sullivan Ralph, and their relatives on the lives and familial relationships of the Sullivan and Ralph families in the Upper Midwest. The collection, which includes a wide range of materials, also documents certain members of the Erkkila family. In her later years, Mary Helen Erkkila prepared a family scrapbook that incorporated her memories of life and her relatives, photographs spanning the 20th century, family obituaries and war reports clipped from newspapers, correspondence, and assorted other materials. Items pertaining to Erkkila's death were later added by her descendants.

In addition to the scrapbook, materials compiled by Annie Sullivan Ralph illustrate the Sullivans and Ralphs through photographs, letters, greeting cards, marriage licenses, insurance and war bond certificates, probate documents, and other related materials. Of particular interest are Civil War enlistment and discharge papers, as well as pension certificates, for John Ralph, Annie's father-in-law.