MS 8183 chiefly comprises Fife family correspondence. Included are letters from William Fife to his son Nixon in Australia, 1860-1881, and correspondence between Nixon Fife and his cousins Josephine Cowan and Minnie Davidson from the United States, 1870-1945. There is a folder of papers relating to Wal Fife's 2004 publication Mary Ann's children, which is about Thomas Whittaker, Mary Ann Hardy, James Lester and their descendants. There are original letters, together with transcriptions, birth and marriage certificates and a 3rd class passenger ticket purchased by Whittaker for travel from Liverpool to Australia in 1869 aboard the SS "Great Britain". The collection also comprises material relating to the Sherwin's Flat Wyatts, 1778-1991, and includes research material, draft family histories, and family correspondence about family reunions and other matters (2 boxes, 1 security binder).