Series I. Timothy Orne (1717-1767) Papers consist of the business, legal, and personal papers of Timothy and his relatives. The bulk of the collection contains records of Timothy's prosperous shipping business, from 1737-1767.

Subseries A. Shipping Papers includes ships' records, merchant house shipping correspondence, and insurance papers. Sub-subseries 1. Ships' Papers are arranged alphabetically and include records for the ships Timothy owned, shipped cargo on, or insured from 1732 to 1767. These papers consist of owner/master correspondence, ships' orders, bills of lading, portledge bills, invoices, insurance papers, receipts, bills of sale, powers of attorney, accounts for building and outfitting the ships, and merchant house correspondence. Because Timothy owned two schooners named Molly between 1751 and 1757, notations of the different masters have been made on the Contents List. Accounts for the voyages of the fishing vessels (see Appendix I) include not only the accounts of fish caught but also accounts for other cargo the ship may have carried. A few of Timothy's ships were captured as a result of England's war with France in the 1750s and 1760s. Legal protests regarding such capture are filled with that ship's papers. Master's correspondence to Timothy during the years of the French War contains reports of fighting and captured Orne ships. While Timothy was not known as a slave trader, the brig Cicero's papers include accounts listing Negroes as part of the cargo. Both ship's orders for master of the Cicero and sloop Rebecca instructed the captain to look for any slaves that his family could use. Of note are the papers of the schooner Seaflower, the only ship that was owned by Timothy's father found in this collection.

Of interest in the series are the letter and invoice book, 1756-1767 and three ships' books for the years 1748-1767. The letter and invoice book contains Timothy's copies of letters to various merchant houses and ships' invoices. While the three ships' books mainly record his accounts for ships he owned, a few accounts of ships he had cargo on are also recorded here. Both the ships' journal, 1748-1751 and the ships' ledger, 1758-1759 include indexes on either the first inside page or the title page. The index for the ships' ledger, 1760-1767, lists the ship's name, rigging, and voyage. Insurance Papers contain accounts, receipts, and other documents regarding his insurance business with John Nutting and John Higginson. Insurance papers of specific ships are filed with those ships' papers. Shipping papers are arranged by year only and include accounts, receipts and bills for more than one ship, unidentified ships, or cargo in general.

Sub-subseries 2. Merchant House and Shipping Correspondence is filed alphabetically by firm name (see Appendix II) and includes correspondence from merchant houses regarding cargo information of more than one ship of cargo information in general. Many times the firms would include information of the political stability of a particular port and include advice of where to sail and purchase cargo. The shipping correspondence, 1742-1767, contains letters from local merchants concerning cargo or shipping in general.

Subseries B. Business Papers contains correspondence, account books, almanac/diary/memorandum books and accounts, receipts, and orders. The business correspondence concerns his warehouses and general shipping business as well as some non-shipping concerns. The account books, which range from 1733 to 1767, include waste books, journals, and ledgers. While these primarily record Timothy's shipping business, there are also accounts for non-shipping activities. Two ledgers include indexes and record at the head of each account the name and occupation of the debtor and creditor. Of special interest are his waste book, journal, and ledger for May to October 1733. These record his shipping ventures as well as his wagers with friends for the summer before he began college. The September 2, 1733 entry records his taking on an apprentice for three years.

Noteworthy in the business papers are the almanac/diary/memorandum books for 1736-1767. The yearly almanacs include interleaved diary pages on which Timothy recorded his activities, the daily weather, and incoming and outgoing ships. The memorandum books contain Timothy's insurance accounts, cash lists, taxes paid, cargo accounts, tables of gold and silver values, and other notations. Of interest in these memorandum books are the 1747-1748 plan of Eaton's farm which was involved in a legal battle, and the 1753 accounts of his father's estate, funeral, and tomb expenses. The bulk of the accounts, receipts, and orders, 1736-1768, consists of requests for merchandise from Orne's warehouses.

Subseries C. Legal Papers includes a 1719 deed from Joseph to Timothy Orne (1683-1753), deeds for Timothy Sr., and a 1748 power of attorney for Timothy (1683-1753) to Timothy (1717-1767). The Eaton papers revolve around the lawsuit between the Ornes and Eatons over Eaton's farm, and the Barnes Robinson correspondence discusses the fraud Robinson perpetrated and his escape from justice. Found in the estate papers are many legal documents regarding both estates of Timothy Sr. (1683-1753) and Timothy Jr. (1717-1767).

Subseries D. Personal and Family Papers contain correspondence from family and friends, civic activities, and accounts of family expenditures. Noteworthy items include letters from Timothy to his parents describing his education in Boston and a letter from a friend in Barbados, a 1754 list of Salem voters, and Joseph Orne's (1683-1748) account book, 1719-1743 which contains the accounts of Timothy's uncle, a prominent Salem merchant.