The collection consists of 34 boxes divided by headings: Genealogy: Married (Boxes 1-16). Genealogy: Unmarried (Boxes 17-19), Marriages, Death Certificates, Cemetery Records (Boxes 22-23), Tehama County Probate Files (Boxes 24-25), Census Records (1852-1880), Miscellaneous Research (Boxes 27- 30) and Newspaper Articles ( Boxes 31-33 ). Box 34 contains articles written by Keith for the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

In 1979, Keith Lingenfelter, a family history researcher from Red Bluff, California, gave Special Collections Department, Meriam Library, a large group of family records he had compiled. Among these records were nearly 50,000 names of the early immigrant families and individuals who lived in or near Tehama County (including some from Butte, Colusa, Shasta and Glenn) from before 1850 well into the mid twentieth century.

The library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claimants of literary property.

Collection is open for research.