Subseries A. Shipping Papers contains documents relating to vessels owned or chartered by Willard Peele or co-owned with Jonathan Peele, Jr. The papers of ship Argonaut are notable for their documentation of the premature condemnation of the ship and the resultant legal action against the Merchants Insurance Company. The notebook of Captain Gamaliel Hodges contains extensive notes on the culture of native Sumatrans. The papers of the ship Perseverance include correspondence from part-owner J. Willard Peele in Antwerp. The majority of the shipping correspondence consists of market advices and prices current from ports in American and abroad. Also included is a series of letters (1821-1822, 1824) from Daniel Webster and his associate Alex Bliss regarding the spoliation claims of an anonymous group of Salem merchants. Researchers interested in the voyages of particular ships after 1810 should consult the "Index to Journals C and D" for access to accounts from particular voyages of individual ships. The shipping account book contains accounts from ships Aurora and Perseverance, and brig Jane.