Series I. Reverend Brown Emerson Papers consists of papers of Rev. Brown Emerson, pastor of South Church in Salem, Massachusetts, for 67 years. Many are handwritten, and they include sermons, diaries, records of meetings, correspondence, and South Church records and history. Also included are printed sermons, pamphlets, and photographs.

In Folder 1, nine sermons handwritten by Brown Emerson span the years 1805 to 1852. Folder 2 holds a transcript of his "Answer to the Call of JC", in which he accepted the call of South Church in January 1805. Folder 3 contains a personal diary with notations every year from 1799 (age 21) to 1833 (age 55), that summarizes the highpoints of his career, both professional and personal.

Brown Emerson travelled abroad only once, in 1846. His diary (F4) describes travel in Ireland, England, Scotland, and France. Upon his return he spoke at the Salem Lyceum about his impressions of these countries (F5). Folder 6 holds a brief biographical sketch that Brown Emerson wrote about his youngest brother Noah (1788-1860). Noah, also a minister, was a controversial figure known for his compassion for the poor. One letter to Brown Emerson's granddaughter Harriet Latting is contained in Folder 7.

The book in Folder 8 records the meetings of the Religious Conference of ministers from Salem, Beverly, and Marblehead, which met from 1804 to 1823. The same book records "Deaths in the South Society, Salem" from 1826 to 1859. Brown Emerson and his brothers formed a Family Convention in 1808. According to Emerson's record book (F9), this group met annually until 1818 when it was dissolved. Of particular interest are the records Emerson kept of his sermons, noting the topic, biblical reference, dates and locations of delivery. Two books (F10) are present in this collection, spanning sermons #771 (1820) to #1750 (1852).

There are five unbound record books in Folder 11. These concern "Exchanges and Help" between local ministries (1807-1859), "South Society Deaths" (1812-1826), a statement before the Essex County Conference of Churches (1829), a list of pastors in Salem churches from 1629 to 1849, and a "General Index" of topics and relevant literary and biblical references to them. Folder 12 contains South Church collection receipts.

Folder 13 contains two printed copies of a sermon preached by Rev. Daniel Hopkins, pastor of South Church from 1778 to 1814, at the dedication of the New South Meeting House in 1805. Folder 14 contains three printed sermons of Rev. Brown Emerson. Folder 15 holds his copy of the "Annals of Salem from its First Settlement" in 1661, and Folder 16 contains a pamphlet "Reminiscences of a New England Church and People" (1907), which contains a description of South Church and its pastors. Photographs in Folder 17 depict the Brown Emerson house, the Emerson burial plot in Salem, the Emerson coat-of-arms, and the South Church. There are also two photographs (one hand-painted) of Harriet Emerson Latting in a silk gown, originally worn by Susanna Saunders Hopkins, Brown Emerson's mother-in-law.