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The Ismailia-Damascus pilgrimage photograph albums consist of a three-volume set containing approximately 260 photographs taken during an Ismailia Shriner pilgrimage trip in 1902 to the western United States and an undated expedition overseas to various places in Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Lebanon, and Italy.

Volume 1 (23 x 25 cm) contains approximately 98 photographs pertaining to an overseas Shriner expedition to various locations around the Mediterranean Sea region including sites in North Africa, western Asia, and southern Europe. It is unclear when this expedition took place, though it likely occurred ca. 1902. Many of the sites visited by the group are related to biblical stories, events, and personages. Images of particular interest include the Lion's Gate at Mycenae (pg. 1); the Arch of Hadrian in Athens (pg. 3); the supposed tree under which Mary and Joseph rested in the Land of Goshen (pg.8); ruins from a "last stand" made by European Crusaders (pg. 11); the Plain of Sharon (pg. 12); the Great Pyramid (pg. 14); a "Nilo-meter" on the River Nile (pg. 14); an elevated view of Istanbul (pg. 16); a group of Greek Klephts marching in traditional uniforms (pg. 17); Tiberias (pg. 18); a tour boat conducted by guides of Nassaire, Farajallah & Co. (pg. 19); Jerusalem's Damascus Gate (pg. 21); the bell tower on the Mount of Olives (pg. 24); the Monastery of Choziba (pg. 24); the Mosque of Amr in Cairo (pg. 28); ancient Egyptian ruins at Luxor (pg. 30); the public square in Corinth where Paul was said to have preached (pg. 31); Bisharin villagers near Aswan (pg. 34); a waterfront view of Algiers (pg. 35); Pompeii (pg. 36); Job's Wall in Silwan, Palestine (pg. 40); the Bosporus Strait (pg. 41); Haifa (pgs. 43 & 45); Damascus (pg. 46); Ba'labakk (pgs. 47 & 48); and Hotel Fast in Jerusalem (pg. 49). Many but not all of the images have inscribed captions on their versos. A loose cartoonish engraving/etching of a bald man with a moustache wearing Arabic clothing while riding a camel titled "Dr. Walter D. Greene" is also present inside the front cover. The album is string bound in black leather covers with the word "Photographs" embossed in gold on front.

Volume 2 (18.5 x 27.5 cm) contains approximately 98 photographs related to the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage of 1902. Images of particular interest include a cyanotype of B.W. Rowell (pg. 1); a group portrait of the travelling party at the railroad station in McFarlan, Kansas (pg. 5); scenes from Pikes Peak, Colorado (pgs. 7-23); views of the Garden of the Gods (pgs. 24, 25, 28-36 & 38); the Royal Gorge (pgs. 37, 39, 40, 42 & 44); Glenwood Springs, Colorado (pgs. 47-49, 57 & 58); the Mormon Tabernacle and Salt Lake Temple (pgs. 52-54); Monterey Bay, California (pgs. 64-66 & 67); Santa Barbara, California (pgs. 68-71); Mount Shasta and Shasta Springs (pgs. 73-77); natural landscapes in Oregon (pgs. 81-86); and a ferry boat on the Columbia River (pgs. 91-96). The album is bound in red leather covers with the words "Photographs of the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage 1902; Compliments of B.W. Rowell, Imperial Recorder; To Walter D. Greene" embossed in gold on front.

Volume 3 (18.5 x 27.5 cm) contains approximately 63 photographs related to the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage of 1902. Images of particular interest include scenes from Spokane, Washington (pgs. 1-3); geysers at Yellowstone's Norris Basin (pgs. 12-22) and Upper Basin (pgs. 27-36); Yellowstone Lake (pgs. 39-43); Yellowstone's Upper and Lower Waterfalls and Grand Canyon (pgs. 46-51); Shriner Caleb Saunders posing with a haul of fish (pg. 52); and Walter D. Greene posing with his wife Mary L. Greene (pg. 55), an unidentified fellow "manager" of the pilgrimage (pg. 56), and alongside George F. Loder and a man identified as "Gass" (pg. 57). The album is bound in red leather covers with the words "Photographs of the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage 1902; Compliments of B.W. Rowell, Imperial Recorder; To Walter D. Greene" embossed in gold on front.

The Marshall Hilliard diary contains Hilliard's account of his experiences as a non-military prisoner of war of the Confederacy in Mississippi and Alabama, as well as his escape back to Ohio in 1864.

The Marshall Hilliard diary contains brief, near-daily entries covering January 11 to December 31, 1864, with the exception of January 26-March 3, 1864, for which the pages are missing. The bulk of the pocket-sized, 350-page diary documents Hilliard's experiences as a non-military prisoner of the Confederacy in Mississippi and Alabama, as well as his escape from prison at Meridian, Mississippi, and return home to Ohio. The diary opens with brief accounts of Hilliard's activities in the South prior to his capture, including letter writing, several financial transactions, and the arrival of his brother Frank's wife from Yazoo City, Mississippi (January 21, 1864). On January 23, l864, he wrote that he had been arrested near "the Fortifycations," but had eventually received permission to leave. At some point in the spring, likely during the late-winter period not covered by the diary, Confederates again arrested Hilliard and imprisoned him first at Yazoo City, where he was held until he could be transferred west by a steamship (March 17, 1864). He then spent time held in unnamed, likely makeshift prisons in Demopolis and Mobile, Alabama, and Meridian, Mississippi.

During his imprisonment in various locations in the Deep South, Hilliard frequently commented on the food he received and the general conditions in which he and his fellow prisoners lived. He and his friends frequently suffered from food poisoning due to the rottenness of the provisions they received. On May 27, 1864, in a typical entry, he wrote "We drew sour molasses for breakfast and they made me sick all day." On June 8, 1864, he noted that the prisoners had received "very bad beef for breakfast," but he had eaten a small enough amount of it that he avoided becoming sick. On many other days, Hilliard was not so lucky, as his frequent complaints of diarrhea and other digestive ailments bear out. Hilliard described the poor conditions in which he stayed, often noting that the rooms were dirty and cold. On March 15, 1864, he gave an account of staying in a large room with no fire: "Most all of the boys could not sleep at all and had to walk and dance to keep warm." He also remarked about traveling through the rough terrain, which he called worse than the pine woods of California (March 12, 1864).

Hilliard frequently expressed his belief that he would be exchanged soon, and the need became more urgent as he suffered increasing health problems in the spring of 1864. Eventually, he became too impatient to wait longer, and escaped on July 24, 1864, writing in his diary, "I broke out of Prison at Meridian Miss last night at 9 oclock…. We got out under the Posts." He then began a journey to the North that included such adventures as stealing chickens for sustenance (July 26, 1864) and escaping a pack of hounds (July 28, 1864). After more than a week as a fugitive, he encountered Union soldiers and took an oath of loyalty (August 5, 1864), eventually making his way north along water routes, which he described in several entries in August. The volume closes with Hilliard's return to ordinary civilian life, including social visits and church attendance.