This collection is comprised of five volumes of the commonplace books of various members of the Elfreth family, including Rebecca P. Elfreth, Jacob R. Elfreth Sr., Jacob R. Elfreth Jr,. and Jane P. Elfreth. The volumes include poetry, extracts, pressed leaves and flowers, and clippings of illustrations.

The collection, spanning the period from 1832 to 1892, consists primarily of the letters written to Joseph Elfreth (1824-1898), a Quaker, many of which relate to family matters, including health and the birth of children, and occasionally indicates the connections among Quaker families. There are also financial accounts, miscellaneous letters, documents and a few photographs.

Jacob R. Elfreth Sr. was a teacher and a bookkeeper for the Leigh Navigation Company. The majority of entries detail family news, Quaker meetings, Elfreth's work with the Leigh Navigation Company, and births, deaths, and marriages within the Quaker community,

Although the central figure in this collection is the Philadelphia Quaker businessman and philanthropist, T. Wistar Brown (1826-1916), it also includes materials relating to his father Moses Brown, mother Mary Wistar Brown, and wife Mary Farnum Brown, along with other members of the Brown family. Among the papers are correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks and deeds.