Original letters and documents relating to the Brinley family and collateral relatives. The series is organized by family, and then by writer and generation, in roughly chronological order. Although there is some correspondence among family members, particularly during the later generations, the collection includes a good number of legal documents, obituaries, clippings, and other miscellaneous material.

Photocopies of letters and documents held in other repositories, most of which were collected by Nancy Brinley in the course of genealogical research. The series is focused primarily on Daniel Putnam and the Malbone family, with a few items relating to Francis Brinley.

Genealogical notes and correspondence, mostly by Nancy Brinley, relating to the history of the Brinley and Malbone families, and particularly early generations of the American family (e.g. Col. Francis Brinley).

Paintings and photographic portraits of several members of the Brinley family, along with two intriguing pieces of eighteenth-century silver owned by the family. Noteworthy are an early nineteenth century copy by Charles U. Bond of a 1729 John Smibert portrait featuring Deborah Lyde Brinley and her infant son Francis, and a silver salver from 1741, which descended from generation to generation in the family.