This collection consists of three subgroups: John H. Shober; John H. Shober, Jr.; and Harriet Shober Nolan.

The John H. Shober subgroup contains interview notes with Shober by A.J. Noyes (circa 1917), miscellaneous incoming correspondence, outgoing correspondence, financial records, legal documents, and miscellany. The majority of the correspondence is between John and his father George and brother Herod. John H. Shober describes the conditions in Dakota and Montana in the early and mid-1860s. Several letters describe the mining conditions in and around Helena. Other correspondence reflects John Shober's political attitudes in the 1860s and 1870s. The financial and legal records in this subgroup document Shober's mining investments. There are also some miscellaneous materials including some memo books belonging to George Shober, some identification papers, etc.

The John H. Shober, Jr. subgroup consists of incoming correspondence (primarily love letters) (1880s-1940s) and some miscellaneous general correspondence. The legal documents and the three subject files in this subgroup deal with his interest in several mining companies. There are also some miscellaneous items.

The Harriet Shober Nolan subgroup consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence (1877-1929), including letters from suitors and from Cornelius B. Nolan prior to his marriage to Harriet, as well as correspondence from school friends who became teachers and administrators at the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute in Valparaiso, Indiana. The subgroup also contains some minor financial records (1928-1929) and miscellany (1876-1926).