Papers of family historian Ernest A. Griffin, proprietor of the Griffin Funeral Home on Chicago's south side, including family documents, photographs, audio/visual material, genealogical notes, and materials relating to the history of Camp Douglas (on which the funeral home stood) and Charles H. Griffin who served in a colored regiment during the Civil War. Also includes documentation of the funerals of prominent African Americans.

Four loose-leaf travel journals and four photograph albums documenting automobile trips through the western United States taken by Virginia Estelle LaGrutta (1914-1998) and Joseph R. LaGrutta (1912-2004). Journals include daily notes of routes, costs, and activities. Some of the journals correspond with the photograph albums, and most notes and photographs were created by Virginia LaGrutta.