The collection consists of selected material by and about John Lott Phillips. Included are two certificates of ordination (1776) as deacon and priest, both signed by Richard, Bishop of London, one containing his seal; a certificate (1782) of King George III, with his seal, appointing Phillips as chaplain to the British Regiment of Light Dragoons commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton; "A Memorial of the Misfortunes of Mr. Phillips an American Clergyman & First Graduate of New Jersey College" (1781?), which is an explanation of how he lost his land in North Carolina for being a Loyalist to the British Crown; and an 1802 document (with seal of) John the Archbishop of Canterbury, with his seal, appointing Phillips' wife Mary as administrator of her husband's estate. There are two letters from family members, including one from Phillips' son Edward W. to his mother telling her about his brother's death. In addition, there is correspondence (1921-1987) between members of Phillips' family including Mrs. A. E. Miles and the Rev. Joseph Meakins Harte, and librarians and others at Princeton University, the Princeton Club of Chicago, The Church Historical Society, and The Bishop of North America, trying to gather information about the life of Phillips.