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The records of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary includes meeting minutes, financial reports, photographs, agendas, matriculation books, correspondence, material from Board of Visitors Rectors Oscar L. Shewmake and Roy Harvey Chappell, Jr., publications, and audio recordings of meetings from 1961-1999.

The collection includes: correspondence and land records of Robert "King" Carter; correspondence and land records of his sons Robert Carter (1704-1731) and Landon Carter (1710-1778); correspondence, accounts, land records and the appointment to the Virginia Council of Robert Carter (1728-1804), son of Robert Carter (1704-1731); correspondence, diaries, land records and accounts of Robert Wormeley Carter (1734-1804), son of Landon Carter of Sabine Hall; and correspondence and land records and papers concerning the estate of Robert Carter's grandson, Landon Carter (1757-1820).

Papers, 1831-1863, of John B. Floyd, governor of Virginia, United States Secretary of War and Confederate general. The papers, chiefly 1850-1862, concern the three positions he held. Correspondents include James Buchanan, Jefferson Davis, Samuel Houston, Benjamin Huger, Alexander von Humboldt, R. M. T. Hunter, Charles James Faulkner, Jenny Lind, James Murray Mason, William Ballard Preston, Winfield Scott, John Tyler, Daniel Webster and the Duke of Wellington.

Letter from United States Senator John Tyler (1790- 1862) to Benjamin Ogle Tayloe dated May 30, 1835. In it he discussed horses and horse racing. He also comments on the recent Democratic Party convention of 1835. As a newly emerged Whig party leader, Tyler was nonplussed by the nomination of Martin Van Buren and voiced support that Virginia voters would go for Judge White (Hugh Lawson White) one of four Whig Presidential candidates in 1836.

Letter from John Tyler to Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise dated July 4, 1855. The letter states that Wise's being elected Governor would not be inconsistent with his remaining on William & Mary's Board of Visitors, and that other members of the Board hope Wise will not resign.

Letter written and signed by John Tyler in Charles City, Va. , September 9, 1819 to Robert S. Stanard in Richmond, Virginia concerning a chancery suit between Knib and Dr. Dixon's Exors which had earlier been handled by John Tyler's Father in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Papers, 1840-1931, relating to John Tyler. Includes document, 1842, signed by Tyler; campaign ribbon, 1840, for William Henry Harrison and Tyler; speech, 1915, by Armistead Churchill Gordon at the dedication of monument to Tyler in Richmond, Va.; program, 1931, at the unveiling of Tyler Bust in Virginia State Capitol; and engravings, prints, photographs of portraits and copies of a silhouette of Tyler.

This collection consists of papers collected by various members of the Peter families. It includes letters from George Washington, letters of condolence to Martha Washington after George Washington's death, estate documents, Major George Peter's military papers, land plats and surveys, photo albums, letterbooks, and notebooks that tell of the life of this prominent family in Virginia and the City of Washington.

A two page handwritten letter signed by President John Tyler on a folded sheet of paper. Letter is addressed to Eli, likely Elisha R. Potter. One engraving featuring President John Tyler.

The nucleus of this collection was created from papers given to the Association by Ann Pamela Cunningham around the time of her retirement as Regent. Several other Vice Regents followed her example and later donated their papers as well. These records were referred to as the "Early Records" since the time they were first established as an archival collection. A large portion of this collection is correspondence concerning the founding of the MVLA and the operation of Mount Vernon as a historic site. Other important resources are the appeals written by Ann Pamela Cunningham and the Vice Regents, governing documents, subscription or donation lists, printed material or publications, and bound volumes such as ledgers or scrapbooks. Individual items were added to the collection as they were acquired. The Early Records includes items dated 1852-1951, however the bulk of the material dates from 1858 to around 1880.