Series I. Early Ropes covers the years 1702-1815, and contains the personal and business records of Salem merchant Nathaniel Ropes I (1691-1752), his wife Abigail (Pickman) Ropes (1706-1775), their son Judge Nathaniel Ropes II (1726-1752), his wife Priscilla Sparhawk (1739-1778), their children Samuel, Jane, and John Ropes, and Sparhawk relatives. The account books of Nathaniel I, Nathaniel II, and Abigail Ropes contain accounts of their stores which were operated first on Washington Street, and later on Essex Street. Of interest in Nathaniel II's personal and financial papers is an account book of the committee to build a prison in Salem in 1764. The original 1769 deed for the Ropes house on Essex Street is filed with Nathaniel II's legal papers; there are also five of his judicial appointments located in box 19. Priscilla Ropes' papers include a household account book dated 1778, and letters from Sparhawk family members in Kittery, Maine. The folder of Reverend John Sparhawk's church papers relate to the dismissal of Reverend Samuel Fiske from the Salem First Church in 1738, the subsequent appointment of Reverend Sparhawk, and his salary disputes. The folder of miscellaneous papers (box two, folder two) contains Joseph Ropes 1815 Mediterranean passport for the ship Morgann, John Ropes' 1798 ship's papers for the brig Hind, and Hannah Ropes' 1803 copy of Jonathan Harradin's will.