Series I. Personal and Biographical Papers contains records documenting Rantoul's personal and early professional life. Included in this series are certificates he received for various legal and political accomplishments, correspondence regarding his life and early work, and mementos of his two eldest daughters Edith and Margaret. Also included are financial records pertaining to his early work as a lawyer and Collector of the Port of Salem, as well as household finances and records pertaining specifically to his in-laws, the Neal's. Rantoul oversaw many legal and financial dealings for the Neal's and was inheritor to his father-in-law's will. Finally, the series contains a folder of Rantoul's personal effects, including early poetry transcriptions, a notebook documenting his trip to Germany for the Centennial, and a hand-drawn map of Salem, as well as a folder of news clippings pertaining both to Rantoul's life and his personal interests.