Lawrence Sangston photograph, undated

Sangston's manuscript, "Personal Journal of a Prisoner of State," consists of 211 handwritten pages bound into one volume, interspersed with newspaper clippings and occassional edits to the text in pencil. Sangston records his experiences as a political prisoner day by day, beginning with his arrest on September 12, 1861 and continuing up to the day of his release on December 27, 1861. The appendices to the manuscript are contained in five folders.

There are two scrapbooks in the collection containing newspaper articles on events prior to and during the Civil War. One book is signed by Mary R. Sangston, Lawrence Sangston's daughter, and dated November 13, 1859. Her writing is covered up on some of the pages, so it is likely that she or a family member repurposed the book as a scrapbook. The articles in the book are all heavily pro-Confederacy. Examples include a column on "The Right of Sucession," and a poem entitled "True Southern Hearts."

The collection also contains ephemera relating to the publication of Sangston's book, the Agricultural Aid Society, and Arcana Lodge No. 110. There is additionally an 8-page handwritten manuscript of a speech titled "Proceedings at the Corn Exchange Presentation to Lawrence Sangston, Esq." Finally, there is one 2 1/2" x 4" photograph of Lawrence Sangston with notes on the reverse.