The papers of Jefferson Patterson (1891-1977) span the years from 1824 to 1981, with the bulk of the papers concentrated in the period from 1921 to 1977. The majority of the items document Patterson's career in the foreign service on five continents, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, from 1921 to 1952 and 1956 to 1958. One of Patterson's most notable achievements as a diplomat was his instrumental role in arranging a ceasefire between Israel and Egypt in January 1949 during the Palestine War. The papers consist of eight series: Diaries , Family Papers , Correspondence , Subject File , Speeches and Writings , Miscellany , 2018 Addition, and Oversize .

Transcripts of Patterson's diaries , 1928-1930, document his personal and professional activities during his last three years as a junior embassy official in Ankara, Turkey. There are two copies of the 1928 diary.

The papers of Patterson's immediate family make up the bulk of the Family Papers series, 1824-1978. The majority of this series consists of family letters to and from Jefferson Patterson, the papers of his parents, Julia Shaw Patterson Carnell and Frank Jefferson Patterson, and his sister, Mary Patterson Davidson. Patterson's letters to his mother comprise over half of her papers and provide a detailed account of his life as a foreign service officer from 1921 through 1950. Much of Jefferson Patterson's family correspondence relates to his social activities and obligations as a diplomat. Letters to his mother describing Berlin, Germany, during the outbreak of World War II and his duties as head of the Prisoner of War Section at the American embassy are especially noteworthy. He was responsible for ensuring that the prisoners of war of France, Belgium, and Britain were properly treated according to the rules of the Geneva Convention.

The papers of Frank Patterson include personal correspondence and financial and legal papers relating to the National Cash Register Company, which he owned with his brother, John. Letters written by Mary Davidson concern family matters and news about her travels and the various military posts where she and her husband, Major General Howard C. Davidson, were stationed, including Montgomery, Alabama; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Riverside, California; Washington, D.C.; Honolulu, Hawaii; and London, England. Also included in the papers of Julia Carnell and Mary Davidson are letters of condolence regarding the death of Patterson's younger brother Stuart who was killed in 1918 at Dayton, Ohio, while testing an airplane. The airstrip was subsequently named Wright-Patterson Field in honor of Stuart Patterson and the Wright brothers.

The Family Papers also contain typescripts of letters written by Jefferson Patterson and his sister. The typescripts were arranged previously in notebooks in chronological order. The original order has been retained, and the typescripts are filed with Patterson and Davidson's papers. The series also provides background on the family's early settlement in Dayton, Ohio, and include letters of Patterson's grandfathers, George W. Shaw and Colonel Jefferson Patterson. Noteworthy correspondence collected by the family, located in the folder "Miscellaneous" (container 14), includes a letter of John C. Calhoun to a Major Austin inviting him to assist in the evaluation of West Point cadets, 1824; a letter of William H. Seward to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee regarding the application of treaties to foreign countries and United States ports, 1864; and a letter by William T. Sherman concerning the importance of doing one's duty in "any phase in which fortune may find you," 1878. The general scrapbooks in the Miscellany series also include family papers.

The Correspondence series, 1909-1966, consists of incoming and outgoing letters pertaining to Patterson's personal and professional interests, including typed excerpts, 1921-1949, of Patterson's letters pertaining chiefly to his foreign service activities while stationed at various embassies. The excerpts, arranged chronologically, provide no indication to whom Patterson was writing. Probably used by Patterson to write his books about his diplomatic career, these excerpts approximate diary entries and describe his daily life in the various locations where he was stationed, such as Peking, China; Bogota, Columbia; Ankara, Turkey; Washington, D.C.; Breslau, Poland; Oslo, Norway; Berlin, Germany; Lima, Peru; Brussels, Belgium; and Cairo, Egypt. Among the more prominent and frequent correspondents in this series are William H. Beck, Katharine Kennedy Brown, George H. Chaney, J. Rives Childs, James Aloysius Farley, Stanton Griffis, James Hugh Keeley, Jr., John L. King, Harry L. Munger, Maxwell M. Rabb, S. Pinkney Tuck, and Edward D. Vance.

The Subject File, 1946-1978, consists primarily of correspondence, memoranda, invitations, and receipts pertaining mainly to Patterson's life after his retirement. The series reflects his interest in art and sports, his philanthropic contributions to various organizations and causes, his active involvement with the Republican party, and the operation of his farm in St. Leonard, Maryland, where he raised tobacco and Aberdeen/Angus cattle.

The Speeches and Writings File, 1923-1971, contains speeches, book drafts, notes and related material, and other writings. The majority of the series is made up of drafts and notes of Patterson's books Diplomatic Duty and Diversion and Diplomatic Terminus and an unpublished work, "Flashbacks and Reflections."

The final series, Miscellany, 1894-1977, contains correspondence, financial and legal papers, notes and recollections, academic notebooks, and scrapbooks. The academic file consists mainly of notebooks documenting Patterson's business and law studies at Harvard University. The ambassador and diplomatic service file, which overlaps with the Correspondence and Subject File series, includes a wide variety of material, such as clippings, correspondence, and printed matter documenting Patterson's personal and professional activities. Much of the material in the ambassador file relates to Patterson's service as United States representative to the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans, 1950-1952. His notes and recollections provide a vivid account of the work of that committee. Financial and legal papers document Patterson's personal business interests and expenditures.

The 2018 Addition spans from 1909 to 1981 with the bulk of the items concentrated from 1941 to 1977. Papers in the 2018 Addition complement the initial portion of the collection and consist mainly of correspondence, family papers, and scrapbooks. The correspondence and scrapbooks pertain chiefly to Patterson's personal and professional endeavors. The majority of the correspondence, 1953-1955, relates to Patterson's career and his wish to be considered for another diplomatic posting. The scrapbooks also include letters pertaining to the books Patterson wrote about his diplomatic career.