This collection contains correspondence, photographs, clippings, short stories, poems, musical compositions, and other materials documenting the lives of brothers Murphy DeWitt and Robert Neill Smith.

The collection is first arranged into two series based on individual:

Series I: Murphy DeWitt Smith consists primarly of correspondence between Murphy and various members of his family. It also houses a number of photographs (many of them portraying Murphy himself) and various other materials relating to his family and life.

Series II: Robert Neill Smith is primarily composed of personal and professional correspondence (Sub-Series A) and materials documenting Robert's artistic endeavors (Sub-Series B). Artistic materials consist of short story manuscripts, poems, plays, musical compositions, and information about Robert's involvement with a number of small theatres. Other materials in this series document Robert's personal life (Sub-Series C), education (Sub-Series D), professional life (Sub-Series E), and death and estate (Sub-Series F). Finally, this series includes photographs (Sub- Series G) and scrapbook material (Sub-Series H) relating to Robert and his family, friends, and activities.

The final series, Oversized Material, is comprised of large format items within the collection.