The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, certificates, and newspaper clippings of Edwin A. Parrott. The correspondence is chiefly with governors or ex-governors of Ohio, or with military officials, dealing with Parrott's appointment as Lieutenant Colonel of the First Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. Correspondents include C. P. Buckingham, Ohio governor Thomas Corwin, Ohio governor William Dennison, Jr., Alexander McCook, Ohio district attorney Robert Cumming Schenck, John Sherman, Henry Stanberry, secretary of war Edwin McMasters Stanton, and Ohio governor David Tod. Included are a letter by Thomas Parrott to his children (Sarah, Marcus, and Edwin), dated 1837, and a letter from Edwin Parrott to his father relating events from the battlefield during the American Civil War. There is an address by the women of Dayton, Ohio, in which they present Parrott with the American flag in appreciation of his patriotism, and Parrott's acceptance letter for the flag. Also included are several letters of recommendation for Parrott, including one signed by Ohio governor and U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes, as well as other letters from soldiers in his regiment asking him not to resign. In addition, there is an envelope addressed to Col. Edwin A. Parrott in Princeton, N.J., postmarked 5 January 1912; however, the letter itself is missing.

Among the manuscripts is a speech (45 leaves) given by Parrott during the centennial celebration period of Ohio. In it Parrott recalls the history of Ohio one hundred years earlier, when wealthy individuals came from New Jersey, such as Nicholas Longworth, and laid the foundation for agriculture and industry in the state; other subjects include the abolition of slavery in Ohio, the effect the Miami Canal had on the transportation of manufactured goods, and the building of schools, libraries, hospitals, and railroads. There is a holograph manuscript (5 leaves) titled "Report of Fights at Dog Walk near Lawrenceburg, K.Y., Oct. 1862, in which I commanded." Also included is a draft manuscript (7 leaves) written in pencil about the prohibition of slavery. In addition, there are several membership certificates of organizations to which Parrot belonged and newspaper clippings about him.