The genealogical materials in the Jerry Austin Collections include information on six families and their descendents. The collection has been divided into series by family.

Similarities exist between materials found in each of the series. Materials for each series include a family report written by Jerry Austin, which highlights birth and death dates, names of descendents, and other information for each family. Most series include group sheets used by Austin to collect information on family members.

Photocopies of U.S. Federal Census and some Wisconsin State Census records are included for each series. Correspondence for each series consists of responses from family members to Austin's requests for information about the family.

Birth, marriage, and death records contained in this collection consist of photocopies of original documents or, in some cases, notes taken from documents held by Registers of Deeds in various counties in Wisconsin or Minnesota. Some newspaper clippings and miscellaneous notes are also included with the birth, marriage, and death records.

Obituaries are photocopied from newspapers. Most, but not all, include a notation of the date the obituary was published, but many do not include the name of the newspaper.