Series IV. Benjamin Goodhue (1707-1783) Papers are arranged into two subseries: shipping and non-shipping papers. Subseries A. Shipping Papers cover the years 1714 until 1784, with the bulk of the papers between 1750 and 1770. Most of the shipping papers are the records for the schooner Benjamin and the schooner Salem. These papers include accounts for the building of the schooner Salem, correspondence, receipts, portledge bills, and insurance policies. The remaining papers are filed alphabetically by ship name, and include mostly insurance policies and accounts. Any other shipping papers which refer to more than one ship or unidentified ships are integrated with the Benjamin Goodhue (1707-1783) business papers. These business papers include the correspondence, accounts, and receipts for Benjamin's blacksmith and shipping business.

Following Benjamin's shipping and business papers are his account books which range from 1722 until 1780. The majority of the account books record business transactions of Benjamin's blacksmith business; Volume 1 also records his shipping accounts. Volumes 15 and 16 are to be noted as the only account books that only record shipping accounts. Volume 15, which contains the schooner Sarah's accounts, lists many captains and voyages. Volume 16 contains the accounts for the schooners Benjamin and Salem. Two corresponding account books transfer the outstanding debtors from the ledger (Volume 9) to the daybook (Volume 8). Volume 13 is noteworthy as Benjamin's first daybook, which he used after his father's death, to list his many places of employment.

Following the account books are the legal, domestic, and civic papers of Benjamin and his family ranging from 1719 until 1806. Among the legal documents is: a 1729/30 summons for Benjamin to appear in court for nonpayment of a debt; the 1729-1730 estate papers for his mother Mary (Lowden) Goodhue; a 1730 document giving Goodhue permission to set up a blacksmith ship with Joseph Clough; a promissory note to Harvard College for his son, Stephen's, tuition; Benjamin's 1778 will; and a 1783 inventory of his estate. The domestic and civic papers include medical receipts, tax receipts, liquor licenses, and a 1756 copy by Benjamin, of the 1680 Church Covenant for the First Church of Christ in Salem.