The collection includes three letters and a pastel drawing.

The first letter, dated May 29, 1860, was written to former U. S. President and William & Mary alumnus John Tyler, who was serving as Chancellor in 1860, about the views of the faculty and the organization of the curriculum. The second letter, dated November 5, 1863, was written by Joynes to R. G. H. Kean, about Mary Southall of Williamsburg. He states she is a refugee and provides a recommendation for her employment in the War Department, if possible. He describes her character and provides examples of the same, including the following, "When William & Mary College was consumed by fire, she was the leader of a small band of heroic women who, unaided, and surrounded by the threats and insults of a drunken soldiery, made efforts, wonderful indeed, to save the buildings, and actually succeeded in rescuing from the flames a large portion of the valuable library of the College." The third letter, dated July 3, 1866, was written to the Board of Visitors and serves as Joynes' resignation from William & Mary.

The pastel drawing is of Joynes. The artist is unknown.