This series provides a synopsis of Cotton's professional and personal life through family histories, chronologies taken from her diaries, resumes, memorials written at her death, and newspaper and magazine clippings. Cotton's granddaughter, Elizabeth Leighton, wrote a biographical account of her grandmother's career in Russia, which is also included in this series. Other materials include memorabilia, genealogy notes, and a few financial records, including a letter of credit for her YWCA work in Russia.

This series comprises a quarter of the collection, the largest portion being letters between Bessie Boies and her future husband, Thomas Cotton, describing their activities in the YWCA and the YMCA, particularly their work in Russia in the late 1910s. The series also includes letters to, from, and about members of Cotton's family, as well as condolence letters written upon the death of Bessie Boies Cotton. Folders in the family subseries include letters written to and from Bessie Boies Cotton, while letters between other family members are listed in a separate subseries. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent within each subseries and then chronologically within each folder.

This series consists of the diaries of Bessie Boies Cotton spanning the years 1910 to 1919 and 1924 to 1957. Cotton used the diaries as both journals and appointment calendars, and the diaries reveal snapshots of Cotton's activities in both her personal and professional life. Several of the diaries with the title, A Line A Day, allowed Cotton to write daily entries for multiple years on a single page; these diaries are therefore not strictly chronological.

This series focuses mostly on Cotton's work in Russia, but also includes material related to her 1935 visit to the Middle East and the Memorial Fund set up in Cotton's memory after her death. Her official reports to the Department of Method from 1913 to 1916 and her 1935 report on the YWCA in the Middle East provide a detailed look at the work that Cotton performed for the YWCA, along with her opinions about the purpose and goals of the association. The personal reports, as well as the articles and publications, reveal the trials and frustrations that she faced while in Russia. Also included in this series are newspaper clippings tracking the political and social climate in Russia in 1919, as well as official certificates written in Russian related to Bessie Boies Cotton's work there. (The latter includes translations in English written by an unknown author.)

This series contains hundreds of photographs primarily documenting Russian life and culture during the late 1910s. While many of the photographs are not identified, they portray a wide range of Russian people and landscapes, including the work of the YWCA in Russia during Cotton's tenure there. The series also includes photographs of Cotton and her husband, her trip to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915, her return to Russia in 1928, and her trip to the Middle East in 1935. Materials removed from Cotton's photo album are identified.