Ella McNeal Gardner, undated

The 103 photographs in the collection are predominately late 19th and early 20th century era photographs of the McNeal, Watters, Preston and Munnikhuysen families, distant relatives or friends; however the collection does include some tintype images from the mid 19th century, and also some more recent photographs from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Much of the collection consists of portraits taken by photography studios which include Bachrach Bros. of Baltimore, MD; J. S. Lytle of Bel Air, MD; Mesny Studio of Baltimore, MD and Blessing & Co., of Baltimore, MD. A 1925 signed camera study by Cecelia Norfolk Eareckson is included in the collection. There is a class photo of the 1906 Maryland School of Law graduating class, as well as a photograph of an unidentified theatre troupe.

Family houses are represented in the collection such as Pleasant Plains, the Towson estate of the Preston Family, and Hillside, the Harford County farm belonging to the Watters family. Most of the photographs are identified, but many are not. Often a name is given, however the exact relationship with the families in the collection is not known.