The collection contains 34 letters written by Marcus Junius Parrott to his Dayton, Ohio family members. The letters date from April 7, 1851 to April 28, 1862, and are arranged chronologically. Also included in the collection are a brief handwritten statement by [Laurette?] Parrott [Irvin?] regarding the collection content, and an offprint of a published 1865 sermon by Phillips Brooks, delivered at the time of Abraham Lincoln's death.

Autobiographical letter from Marcus Junius Parrott to Charles Lanman in response to a circular requesting biographical information prepared by Lanman as he compiled data for the Dictionary of the U.S. Congress, 1851. Also included in the collection is a photographic likeness of Parrott on paper.