Papers relate primarily to the Smoot family of Austin, particularly patriarch John N. Smoot (1786-1859) of Rowan County, North Carolina; Richmond Kelley Smoot (1836-1905), pastor of the First Southern Presbyterian Church in Austin (1876-1905), professor at the University of Texas, and cofounder of the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary; his brothers Benjamin and Thomas R. Smoot (b. 1834) in Tennessee; his son Asher Graham Smoot (1869-1915), journalist, editor and manager of the Austin Statesman newspaper, and cofounder of the Austin American in 1914; son Lawrence Kelley Smoot (1875-1968), photographer, librarian, and editorial reporter for the Texas Supreme Court; and Lawrence's daughter Jane Smoot (b. 1919). Also included are papers relating to the family of Sallie Graham Smoot (1837-1916), wife of Richmond K. Smoot, particularly Judge Asher W. Graham of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and other family members including Lawrence A. Graham (1833-1917), an Austin merchant. Of special note is a history of the R. K. Smoot home with descriptions and inventory of its contents.