The Freeman Clarke Allen Collection consists partly of correspondence and material relating to early Rochester and Western New York State, including the Hamlet Scrantom letters, which give a detailed account of the village of Rochester in its first years, legal documents, business and financial documents, material relating to the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad, and material relating to the War of 1812 and military affairs in Western New York. The other part of the collection consists of autographs of persons famous in Europe and America.