Series I. Public Records contains records generated from governmental activities (primarily local, but also state or county). Within the civic records (B1 F1), documents may be found which reflect official activities of the town of Topsfield, including state election returns for 1799, 1810, and 1812; a 1758 petition to separate a group of families from the Ipswich parish and join Topsfield; a circa 1828 list of scholars at the North School; petitions for building new roads, appointments of Zaccheus Gould as field driver and Samuel McKenzie as sealer of weights and measures and as measurer of wood and bark; an 1833 return of the town poor which lists name, age, occupation, and ailment; disbursements of aid to disabled soldiers and widows; and the number of church members in 1772. Also included are warrants to collect taxes, personal tax receipts (B1 F2), and tax lists (B1 F3). The common land records (B1 F4) contain agreements, warrants, and accounts of its division into lots.

The bulk of the military records (B1 F5-6) concern the Topsfield Warren Blues. These include a muster list, rules and regulations, and newspaper clippings on the history of the company. Other military documents consist of letters, orders, and notes from Topsfield-related troops.

The folders of legal documents (B1 F7-11) contain correspondence on a case of larceny against Henry E. Lake; a petition to widen the road to Boxford; correspondence regarding the case of Mrs. Francis D. Peabody; an unidentified book of legal cases; notice of appointments for estate administrators (1886-1893); and petitions to the Land Court regarding Ipswich land.