Correspondence, manuscripts, and printed material by and about Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard (1809-1889), spanning his adult life from 1831 to 1889. The majority of the correspondence covers his positions as President of the University of Mississippi, 1856-1861, and President of Columbia College, 1864-1889.

Letters written to Gay from political and literary contemporaries such as Horace Greeley, Charles Sumner, and William Bryant; reports in letter form from his reporters at the front during the Civil War; and personal correspondence including many letters from his wife, Elizabeth Neall Gay. Letters written to Mrs. Gay from family friends and business associates including many from her husband. Correspondence of other members of the Gay family including Walter Gay, Sarah Gay, and Allan Gay. Diaries, notebooks, and journals of Sydney Howard Gay.