The bulk of the collection concerns Robert Zenas Johnston (1834-1908) and includes school notebooks from Davidson College and Columbia Theological Seminary, student essays, correspondence, his sermons (1859-1907) and speeches, and a photocopy of his diary (1886-1908) as well as a small amount of financial and printed materials. There is also material on the estates of Rufus Johnston and Robert Caldwell, family correspondence, a copy of a scrapbook for James Davidson Johnston, (1915-1944), family photographs, copies of the Johnston Clan Bulletin (1939-1961), notes and minutes related to Mecklenburg Presbytery, and a sketch of the Memorial Window for Lincoln Presbyterian Church. Johnston's student notebooks contain entries on Astronomy, Davies Alegbra, Johnston's 1858 Valedicatory address, lists of favorite psalms and hymns, notes on church history, a list of topics discussed by the Senior Class of 1861, and lecture notes on Biblical history. The notebook for 1859-1860 also has a list of subscribers to the Mecklenburg Presbytery's Monthly Bulletin for 1894. The 1856-57 notebook includes detailed expense accounts for Johnston's student days at Davidson. The papers written for classes at Davidson College are on such topics as Cuba, Liberty and Christianity, Napolean, Cicero, North Carolina, and the influence of Education in America. One of the student essays is marked with notes from Professor and College President Drury Lacy. Within the correspondence file is a teaching agreement between Johnston and a local school in 1854, a call to Providence Church in 1861, and information on Johnston's chaplaincy with the 4th Regiment NCSG. The majority of the correspondence concerns the death of Johnston's son in 1886. The photocopy of Johnston's diary also contains a brief family genealogy. The sermons date from 1859 to 1907 and include notations on the dates and places they were given. They are arranged chronologically by the date the sermon was first given. The speeches include Johnston's essay on Drury Lacy prepared as part of Davidson College's Sesquicentennial Celebration, a memorial to Jefferson Davis, several talks on education and one on Prohibition. The Estate files contain copies of wills, inventories, and receipts. The Rufus Johnston estate includes a list and valuation of slaves. There is also a description of slavery and conditions during the Civil War in the letters of Mary Gibson. The notes and minutes for the Mecklenburg Presbytery date from 1882-1907 and include the testimony in the case of Rev. D. P. Robinson. The scrapbook on James Davidson Johnston includes copies of letters written during World War II, copies of his obituaries, correspondence relating to the awarding of medals, and clippings on the Barium Springs Orphan Home. The photographs are primarily of children in the Abernethy family.