Records and ephemera in this collection are divided into four series: Personal Life, Political Career, Legal Career, and Memorabilia. While a few items date back to Steger's childhood in Dallas during the 1920s and his service in World War II, the bulk of materials relates to both his political and legal careers. Personal materials include his pilot logs (from his service in the Army Air Corps) family photographs, and genealogy records. Also included in this series are correspondence(from prominent political leaders as well as from former law clerks and personal friends), and news clippings (mainly dealing with Steger's fishing hobby). While not collected by Steger per se, his obituary and items from his memorial services (collected by his wife, Ann Steger) are also incorporated within this series. The political series includes newspaper clippings, photographs, and campaign documents from the time Steger served as Gregg County campaign chair for President Eisenhower in 1952. Also present are materials marking Steger’s bids for Governor and Congress in 1960 and 1962 respectively, as well as his appointment as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas in 1969-70. Interesting to note are the many photographs taken with political characters and autographed by them. In the series of materials concerning his legal career are news clippings and correspondence from his time as a United States Attorney, though the bulk of materials relates to his time as United States District Judge. The latter includes: photographs of Steger with current and former law clerks, case files, appealed cases, calendars, schedules, and statistical reports regarding trials. Ceremonial documents (marking anniversaries, official portrait presentations, etc) are also included. Lastly, the series includes payment and service records for businesses around Tyler, guest lists, signed guest books, and photographs from various events. The final series of memorabilia is not documentary, but rather contains ephemera relating to Steger's various interests, hobbies, and personal achievements. These include models of World War II Spitfires, bricks from Green Acres Baptist Church’s 50th Anniversary, political campaign buttons, portraits, robes, etc. Some of this material is on permanent display at the William M. Steger Federal Building and United States Courthouse and at the University of Texas at Tyler Archives and Special Collections.