The bulk of the Barton Family Papers is comprised of shipping and business papers reflecting the activities of four generations of merchants, ship owners and masters. The collection also contains business and personal papers of family members and relatives. The papers have been divided into seven series.

Series I. Samuel Barton (1688-1772) Papers, 1709-1772, contains correspondence, legal, and financial papers documenting Samuel's general store, his fishing ventures, and the small amount of trade which he conducted with Europe, the West Indies, and Virginia. His financial papers include a money conversion list from old tenor to new and estate bills and receipts.

Series II. Samuel Barton Jr. (1738-1773) Papers, 1738-1774, consists of merchant, business, and personal papers. These reflect Samuel's shipping interests in the South American, European, and West Indian markets, as well as his business in the family store and his position as captain in the Salem militia. Of interest in the merchant correspondence are letters regarding British duties: a 1764 letter to the master of the brig Salem, advising him to sail through St. Eustatius in order to avoid British duties on molasses and sugar; a 1770 official complaint regarding increased Customhouse fees; and an undated fragment supporting the nonimportation of British goods. Merchant financial papers include ships' papers, a 1769 tax list, and information concerning Samuel's shipbuilding ventures. Of interest in the business and personal papers are correspondence and financial papers regarding Samuel's farm, the erection of Salem's workhouse in 1772, and military service excuses written by physicians, including E.A. Holyoke, to militia captain Samuel Barton. For a list of ships owned or chartered by Samuel Barton, see Appendix I.

Series III. Samuel Barton (1767-1795) Papers, 1784-1798, is comprised of merchant correspondence and shipping papers. These document the partnership of Samuel Barton and Boston merchant Nathaniel West from 1784 to 1796. For a 1798 letter from West to Samuel's mother commenting on his partnership with her son, see box 9, folder 4. Merchant correspondence includes letters to and from such notable merchants as George Crowninshield, Elias H. Derby, John Derby, and Samuel Derby. The ships' papers, arranged alphabetically by vessel, include papers of a large number of Elias H. Derby's vessels in which West and Barton shipped goods to Europe and the West Indies. Also of interest in the ships' papers is a 1793 protest of the brig Katy, and accounts of seamen on the brig Katy and ship Margaret. This series also contains business and personal papers relating to Samuel's shipping business outside of the West-Barton liaison. These include accounts of Samuel's earliest shipping ventures and business conducted with his brother-in-law Samuel Derby. His personal and business correspondence includes letters to and from his mother and siblings. For a list of ships owned or chartered by Samuel Barton, see Appendix II.

Series IV. John Barton (1774-1818) Papers contains merchant correspondence, ships' papers and personal papers from 1787 to 1836. They reflect the prosperous trade which John conducted with Europe, South America, India, the East and the West Indies as a ship owner, shipmaster, and merchant. The ships' papers, arranged alphabetically by vessel, document the voyages of a number of ships belonging to John's brothers-in-law, John and Samuel G. Derby. These papers also contain letters from John to his mother while he was a master at sea. Of interest in the ships' papers are the insurance settlement of the brig Liberty, lost at sea, and papers relating to the sale of the rigging of the bark Moses, stranded off the coast of Cape Cod in 1812. John's extensive personal accounts reflect the activities of a well-to-do young shipmaster setting up house and raising a large family. For a list of ships owned, mastered, or chartered by Samuel Barton, see Appendix III.

Series V. Samuel Barton (1804-1840) Papers, 1819-1840, are comprised of ships' papers, merchant correspondence and accounts, and personal papers. Among the ships' papers, arranged alphabetically by vessel, are records of a large number of ships owned by Gideon Tucker, and Joseph and Joseph A. Peabody. Of interest are papers of the brig Leander and brig Roque, vessels which carried opium from Turkey and China circa 1819-1826. Of special note are Samuel's extraordinarily complete supercargo's accounts of the ship George's voyages to Calcutta from 1819 to 1836. The records of the George have been divided into letterbooks, account books, invoice books, memorandum books, and loose ship's papers. It is possible that much of the material in the folder of miscellaneous ships' papers (box 8, folder 2) may also belong to the ship George. For a list of ships chartered by Samuel Barton, see Appendix IV.

Series VI. Family Papers, 1677-1897, contains material documenting four generations of the Barton family, members of the Marston and Webb families, and miscellaneous papers. Among the papers of Barton family members are wills, legal and financial papers of Thomas Barton (1680-1751), his wife Mary (Willoughby), and their son John (1711-1774). Of note in Margaret (Gardner) Barton's papers is a 1798 letter from Nathaniel West commenting on his partnership with her son Samuel (1767-1795), and a 1786 receipt for a spinet made by artist Samuel Blyth (1744-1795). The papers of miscellaneous Barton family members contain correspondence and financial papers of Elizabeth (Barton) and William Cleveland, Margaret (Barton) Derby, Sally (Barton) Derby, and Lydia Barton. The Marston family papers, the bulk of which is correspondence, reflect the activities of Elisabeth (Marston) Barton's father and brother. The Webb family papers consist primarily of financial and legal papers of innkeeper Benjamin Webb, Mary (Webb) Barton's father. Of interest in the miscellaneous papers are possible protest papers of the ship Argo (undated) and a 1768 inventory of the estate of Phillip Saunders.

Series VII. Genealogies contains 3 volumes of genealogical notes plus an index for the Barton and other families.