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Tomás Estrada Palma (TEP) was born on 9 July 1835 in Bayamo, Oriente Province, Cuba, to Andrés María Estrada and Candelaria Palma Tamayo. He studied in Havana and at the University of Seville in Spain until the death of his father brought him back to the island. In 1868, he joined the rebel forces during Cuba's Ten Years War (1868-1878) against Spain and was selected president of the provisional government in 1876. Captured by Spanish forces in 1877, TEP was exiled to Spain until the signing of the Pact of Zanjón in 1878 that ended the Ten Years War. After some travels, TEP settled in Honduras where he married Genoveva Guardiola, daughter of Honduran president Santos Guardiola. He served as director of the postal service in Honduras, and in 1879 he established his new family in Central Valley, NY, where he founded and directed a school for Latin American children. TEP and Genoveva had six children: Manuel José (1875-?), Tomás Andrés (1884-1960), Carlos Joaquín, María de la Candelaria (1887-?), and the twins Mariana de la Luz and Rafael Morales.

With Cuba renewing its struggle for independence in the 1890s, TEP was soon drawn into politics again. José Martí, "Apostle of Independence," visited TEP in Central Valley to enlist his assistance and support. When Martí was killed on 19 May 1895, TEP was asked to replace him as delegate-at-large for the Cuban Revolutionary Party and later became minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba in Arms. In these roles, TEP raised funds in support of the fight for independence, promoted the Cuban cause, and served as diplomatic liaison to the United States.

After the end of Cuba's War for Independence (1895-1898), the island was occupied by a US military government. Cuba held its first presidential elections in 1901, and TEP was elected the Republic of Cuba's first president. Once elected, TEP renounced his US citizenship and returned to Cuba for the first time in almost 25 years. He arrived in Gibara on 20 April 1902 and traveled from there throughout the island before arriving in Havana on 11 May. He was inaugurated on 20 May 1902, establishing the first Cuban Republic.

Due to the election crisis of 1905, TEP resigned the presidency in September 1906. His resignation was followed by another US military occupation of Cuba that lasted for three years. TEP retired to Bayamo. He passed away on 4 November 1908 and is buried in Santiago de Cuba.

Tomás Andrés Estrada Palma II (TEP II), TEP's second son, attended Cornell University in New York. He married Helen Douglas Browne in 1910 and served as a Cuban consul in various locations, including Nova Scotia and Ireland. He and Helen had three children, Tomás Douglas (TEP III) (1911-1999), Helen Christine, and Candelaria. TEP III served in the United States Marine Corps and had four children: Tomás Ramón, Patrick Carroll, Candelaria "Candita" Margaret, and Kathleen.

The Tomás Estrada Palma Collection contains materials from a scrapbook donated by the great-grandson of TEP, Tomás Douglas Estrada Palma III. Items that were preserved in the scrapbook include photographs, letters, personal documents, and newspaper clippings. They document primarily the Tomás Andrés Estrada Palma II branch of the Estrada Palma family tree, including some materials related to his wife, Helen Douglas Browne, and her family.

Correspondence includes letters written by TEP, TEP II and other members of the Estrada Palma family. Clippings largely cover the 1906 resignation of TEP from the Cuban presidency and the consequent US military occupation, TEP's death in 1908, as well as events honoring TEP in the years after his death. Also amongst the clippings are articles relating to TEP II's marriage to Helen Douglas Browne in 1910. Other items include documents such as TEP II's report card, marriage certificate, and passport. There are also photographs of TEP, TEP II, and TEP III, as well as photos of other members of the family such as Genoveva Guardiola de Estrada Palma, Candelaria "Candita" Estrada Palma, and Helen (Douglas Browne) Estrada Palma. Of special interest is a photograph of the presidential convoy that traveled with TEP from Bayamo to Havana for his inauguration in 1902 and photographs of the Presidential Palace in Havana taken during TEP's presidency.

Included in this collection is the citizenship certificate of José Guimunde y Martínez, which was signed by TEP. This document was donated by Mirtha Alberto in August 2000 and added to the Tomás Estrada Palma Collection at that time.

The Tomás Estrada Palma series contains letters from him to his son, Tomás Andrés Estrada Palma II, some written on Cuban presidential letterhead. Also included in this series are his will, an unpublished biography by an unknown author, and a genealogy tracing his family to the 17th century. Newspaper clippings pertain to the 1906 uprising in Cuba and his consequent resignation of the Cuban presidency, his death, and events honoring him in subsequent years. A citizenship certificate signed by TEP is included in this series, as is a photocopy of the "Annual Reports of the [US] War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1906."

Included in the Tomás Estrada Palma II series are letters authored by TEP II and clippings related to his marriage and trips to New York City and Cuba. Personal documents include a 1902 report card, passport, marriage certificate, certifications of birth date, and an announcement of daughter Helen's wedding in Miami in 1944. Several of these documents include photographs of TEP II, and the passport includes a photo of his wife Helen and their three children as well.

This series contains one folder of letters and postcards authored or received by various members of the Estrada Palma family. The remaining folders contain clippings, correspondence, and documents pertaining to Tomás Douglas Estrada Palma III. Amongst these are letters to his parents, birth announcement and certificate (which contains his photograph as a young boy), and an obituary.

In this series are photographs of TEP, TEP II, and TEP III. Other family members represented here are Candelaria "Candita" Estrada Palma, Genoveva Guardiola de Estrada Palma, and Helen (Douglas Browne) Estrada Palma, as well as unidentified friends of the family. There are also photographs of Central Valley, NY, including the interior of the parlor of the Estrada Palma home there, and scenes in Havana. Several photos depict Central Valley baseball teams, on which the Estrada Palma boys played. One folder contains photographs of the interior of the Presidential Palace in Havana. Also included in this series are photos of monuments dedicated to TEP in Cuba.