Series I. Shipping Papers include ships papers, correspondence, contracts, account books, bills, and receipts. Ships papers are those of vessels owned or mastered by Richard P. or John G. Waters (see Appendix I). They document the lucrative trade that Waters conducted at Zanzibar on behalf of Salem merchants, particularly David Pingree and George and Benjamin West. Miscellaneous ships papers include the protests of ship Edward and brigs Formidable and Margaret Oakley. The papers of bark Malay (1842) document the loss of the vessel at Mozambique and the request of the American ships crew for passage back to the United States.

The shipping correspondence provides further documentation of trade conducted on behalf of Salem merchants. A number of letters from Pingree and the Wests are located here as well as letters from Vincent Marks, an agent at Majunga. Correspondence between Waters and Said Bin Sultan of Muscat reveals the degree of intimacy reached between the two men and the extent of their common business affairs. Letters between Richard P. Waters and John G. Waters contain business information as well as personal discussions. A few personal letters are located in this section including three lengthy letters from Dr. L. Krapf, a Christian missionary at Mombasa, Kenya. All untranslated letters in Arabic are located in this section. The papers of Norsworthy and Botsford document the dissolution of a merchant house at Zanzibar.