The main portion of the papers consist of copies of the letters of Dr. Ralph Emms Elliott and his wife Margaret Cowper Elliott for the period 1835-1848, typed and edited by Clermont H. Lee in 1977 and a typed copy (created by Lee in 1985) of "History of a Small Mahogany Table", dictated by Phoebe Caroline Seabrook to her son William Elliott Seabrook in August-September 1873.

The Elliott letters, written to relatives in Beaufort, SC, and Savannah, GA, describe the daily life of the Elliott family at their home "Rock Cell" in Pendleton and trips undertaken by the family. Appended to the letters are genealogical charts for Dr. Elliott and his wife and their parents, as well as the 1854 estate inventory for Dr. Elliott. The Elliotts were neighbors of the Huger and Pinckney families; Mary Stevenson had edited the book Recollections of a Happy Childhood, which dealt with all three families. The "History" is a narrative, told from the viewpoint of a mahogany table, describing the history of the Waight and Elliott families of Charleston (and nearby areas) from c.1775 until 1830. Appended at the end is a short list of descendants named "Phoebe" of the families mentioned in the narrative. Clermont Lee made a number of corrections to names, dates and other items in the text.

There are also four letters in the collection: a photocopy of an August 22, 1977, cover letter from Lee to Stevenson that came with the edited Elliott letters; a photocopy of a November 18, 1977, letter to Stevenson from J.W. Gordon Gourlay, Director of the Clemson University Libraries, thanking her for the donation of the Elliott letter copies; a December 7, 1985, cover letter from Lee to Stevenson which came with the "History"; and a December 11, 1985, letter from Stevenson to Lee asking if she could donate the "History" to the Clemson University Libraries.