The papers in this collection give insight into three generations of the Benjamin Ropes family of Salem, Massachusetts, from the mid-nineteenth century into the twentieth century. Included are miscellaneous deeds, correspondence, a wedding album, and several albums and journals belonging to Martha Reed Ropes.

Folder 1 contains miscellaneous deeds, many of which concern property in Salem acquired by Charles Augustus Ropes (1818-1890) or his brother Reuben Wilkins Ropes (1813-1890).

Folder 2 contains one long letter to the "Home Folks", Reuben and Grace Ropes, dated August 8, 1906, from "Austin," presumably Grace's younger brother Austin Tuttle. It is written from St. Moritz, Switzerland, and describes Austin's hikes and sightseeing in the Italian and Swiss Alps.

Folders 3 and 4 contain letters to Reuben and Grace Ropes from two of their children while at college; there is also one letter addressed to Uncle Austin (Tuttle). Laurence (1898-1968) (Folder 3) writes with enthusiasm about his freshman year (1915-1916) at Tufts College in Somerville, Massachusetts, and mentions sports, the school newspaper, chess club, and especially the Zeta Psi fraternity. Esther (1899-1983) (Folder 4) writes in considerably more detail about her first two years (1918-1919) at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, including descriptions of her courses, friends, clothes, rooms, and school traditions.

Folder 5 contains one letter (1917) to Grace Ropes from Mary Campbell Rice of the Women's National Missionary Association of the Universalist Church. It describes the Association's efforts to place young women as missionaries in Japan and to support Japanese women studying in the United States or Japan.

In Folder 6 is the large bound wedding album of Reuben and Grace (Tuttle) Ropes. They were married on June 18, 1895, at the First Universalist Church in Salem, Massachusetts. After honeymooning in Montreal and Quebec City, Canada, they settled at 18 Felt Street in Salem. The wedding album contains signatures of all the wedding party and many of the guests, the newspaper announcements, photographs of the Church and several houses, a diary of the honeymoon, and also signatures of the participants at the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary on June 18, 1920.

The remainder of the collection is a series of albums and journals belonging to Martha Reed Ropes (1826-1888). One set of three bound albums entitled Affection, Sonnenie, and Amitié mostly contain poetic farewells from family and friends written between 1845, when she was visiting family in St. Petersburg, Russia, and 1849, when she married Charles Trask. There are also three booklets and one bound book containing extracts of sermons (1840-1844, undated) and one booklet containing Martha Rope's poetry and essays (1843-1844, undated).