This collection was in the possession of Walter Barron Williams, Jr., of Milledgeville, Georgia, and was donated in the summer of 1974 by his wife to the Ina Dillard Russell Library. Mr. Williams was a great-grandson of William Tappan Thompson.
The William Tappan Thompson papers were originally processed in 2014 and re-processed in 2017 for a more concise organization. The collection is now arranged with a scrapbook summarizing Thompson's accomplishments to provide an overarching view, heading the collection. Personal correspondence follows, followed by photographs, other papers. Content is arranged by subject.