Series I: Correspondence 1865, 1904-1917 contains thirty Civil War letters written to and from Binghamton, New York and a variety of places in Tennessee. The letters were written from February 22 to June 19 in 1865. Some of the letters are written on paper provided by the U. S. Christian Commission. Most of the letters still have their original envelopes, some with postmarks and stamps still affixed. Some of the envelopes are undated and unattached to any of the letters. The letters from Binghamton are written by Eliza Smith and D. D. Cooley, a friend of the family. The letters from Tennessee are written by William and Alfred Smith. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence between William and Eliza. The letters written by William describe his engineering work for the Union side, his health, and descriptions of the various places he worked in the South. The majority of William's letters are written from Chattanooga, Tenn, but he mentions several other East Tennessee locations such as Knoxville, Lookout Mountain, Bulls Gap, Bristol, and MacDonald's Station. William also passionately expresses his grief at the death of his son Alfred in Nashville. The letters written by Eliza describe happenings in Binghamton, N.Y. and her distress at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. She also describes the floods of 1865 that greatly impacted the Northeast. There are very few letters from Alfred, but he does write about the conditions at Camp Irvin and about the five-mile long procession for Lincoln's funeral in Nashville. This series also includes other early 20th century correspondence relating to the affairs of Fannie Smith. There are two handwritten letters written in pencil that are very difficult to read.

Series II: Photographs, 1920, undated includes three 19th century photographs, possibly of William and Alfred Smith. This series also includes a postcard dated to 1920 with two Civil War era photographs copied on the front of the card. The photographs could possibly be of Eliza and Alfred Smith, but the handwriting is unclear.

Series III: Other Papers, 1904-1917 includes cemetery and burial receipts, newspaper clippings of obituaries and wedding announcements belonging to Fannie Smith. One of the newspaper clippings contains Civil War era railroad fares.