Martha Van Patter Robison (1905-1998) was born in Ames, Iowa, on 5 August 1905, the daughter of Charles Van Patter (1871-1947) and Gertrude Beckwith Van Patter (1875-1953). After a severe bout of polio, Martha graduated from Ames High School and graduated from Iowa State College (University) with a B.S. (1928) in Mathematics. She taught at the Evergreen School, southeast of Ames.

In 1936 she married Forest Arthur Robison (1901-1973) of Nevada and they settled on the Robison farm. Martha did not teach after her marriage, but maintained the farm household. She died on 15 February 1998.

This collection (1924-1995, n.d.) contains biographical material, materials pertaining to coursework at Iowa State College (University), including tests, examination blue books, class assignments, lab reports, homework, as well as records concerning the teaching profession.

Biographical information compiled by Martha's nephew, Dennis Wendell, includes a brief history of her life and a listing of students who attended her classes at Evergreen School. Class notes, quizzes, experiments, and homework document the classes that Robison took while a student at Iowa State; the subjects represented include Geology, Educational Theory, History, Industrial Science, Mathematics, and Physics.

Robison's time as a rural school teacher in Iowa is documented by lesson plans, guidelines, and other materials relating to the classroom. The collection also contains valentines that were sent to Martha by classmates, and a photograph that is presumably of her at the time of her high school graduation.