The Elizabeth Mary Bell Welch Papers consists of a journal (with typescript excerpts); weekly journal of sermons; notebook of drawings; pastoral pencil sketch; and memorabilia. The material in the collection primarily dates from her middle and senior years (1846-1847) as a student at the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Her journal entries begin in the second term of her middle year and include her thoughts on religion, academic studies, health, domestic activities, regulations, and special events. One event that Welch makes particular note of is the July 4th excursion to the Mount Holyoke Range. Welch's entries mention not only her friends, but her teachers, including: Principal Mary Lyon, Associate Principal Miss Mary C. Whitman, and Mrs. Hannah Kingsbury Porter. She also addresses those in the community who awaited conversion and the illness and subsequent deaths of several members of the Seminary. The journal of sermons is a compilation of quotations dating from March 1846. The preachers include three who spoke at Mount Holyoke: Joseph Dayton Condit, Ebenezer Burgess, and J. Williams. The sermons incorporate the religious sentiments of the Second Great Awakening, the evangelical revival of the nineteenth century. The sermons concentrate on a Christian's obligations to God and missionary work. Of particular interest is a drawing of the Seminary Building and reference within one sermon (Mar. 29, 1846) to the Ahmadnagar mission in India.

This collection is organized into three series:

• Journals
• Drawings
• Memorabilia