Series I. Bowen Family, which is the collected material of the Bowen family of Marblehead, Massachusetts, make up more than half of the collection, the bulk being almanacs interleaved with diaries dating from 1742 to 1847.

Subseries C. Nathan Bowen (1752-1837) may contain materials pertaining to Nathan, Jr. (b.1798). Box 1 Folder 12 contains the papers of Woodward Abraham, the father of Polly Abraham (Nathan's third wife), and Nicholas Melzard, the father of Mary Melzard (Nathan's fourth wife).

Subseries D. Ashley Bowen contains only a handful of Ashley's materials. Besides correspondence there is one paper for the Sloop Nancy from 1785 and one largely blank journal from 1778.

Subseries E. Family Almanacs, Box 2 Folder 1 contains two bound volumes of almanacs interleaved with journals that belonged to Nathan, Edward and his son Nathan. The remaining folders in the two boxes that make up this subseries contain separate almanacs interleaved with diaries belonging to different family members, who are noted on each folder. See Appendix I for detailed descriptions of the almanacs.