Series IV. Miscellaneous Papers, 1699-1920, includes the papers of Reverend Samuel Fiske's controversy with Salem's First Church, of which Joseph Bowditch (1700-1780) was a member. The dispute, which began over Fiske's refusal to give a certain lecture and his tampering with the church meeting records, led to a split in the congregation with a number of members leaving. Fiske finally received ecclesiastical censure from the Council of Churches and was dismissed in 1735. The House of Representatives voted to try him in court later that year. The miscellaneous papers also include a 1742 apprenticeship indenture of a French boy to Captain Benjamin Swinnerton, and a 1787 eulogy of Asa Dunbar, once a minister of the First Church. Photocopies (located in box 5) were made of Joseph Bowditch materials in the Salem Court House Records. These documents were bundled in wrappers marked "Private Papers." The records include personal bills and receipts, and materials relating to Joseph as collector for the First Parish Church.