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Frank C. Gates was a professor of botany at the University of the Philippines, 1912-1915. He later taught botany and biology at the University of Michigan Biological Station and Kansas State College. His collection includes personal and biographical material, including a biography written by his son, David M. Gates; personal and professional correspondence; journals; academic and research material, such as birding and botany notebooks as well as descriptions and drafts of writings pertaining to Philippine vegetation and travels in the Philippines; and photographic material, including lantern slides, photographs, and photograph albums.

The Frank C. Gates papers are dated from 1871-2010 and include biographical and personal material, such as a biographical monograph authored by his son, David M. Gates; personal and professional correspondence; journals; publications; research notebooks; postcards, photographs, photographic negatives, photograph albums, and lantern slides. In addition to documenting Gates's time spent teaching botany at the University of the Philippines and exploring the vegetation of the Philippines Islands (1912-1915), this collection also documents his personal and professional life, service in World War I, and research interests and efforts.

The University of Michigan Herbarium, started in 1837, is home to over 1.7 million species and is one of the world's leading botanical collections. The U-M Herbarium records collection includes correspondence, photographs, and research materials documenting early Herbarium history, U-M's ethno botanical research practices, and the international professional discourse surrounding botanical research.

The collection represents the Herbarium's actions as a collector of the historical correspondence and photographs of botanical researchers. The records contained within this collection primarily document the research methods and professional conversations of American botanists. Through the correspondence and papers of Michigan and U-M botanists, this collection also documents the development of the Herbarium, its activities, and its status as a collector of botanical specimens and historical records. Researchers should note that there are photographs and plant specimens scattered throughout the correspondence series, and whereas the plant specimens are noted in the box listing, the photographs are not. The collection's four series include Harley Harris Bartlett Papers, Herbarium Historical Correspondence, Herbarium Historical Photographs, and Archived Website.