The Dr. Samuel Johnson Papers document the personal and professional life of this Salem, Massachusetts, physician. The papers are divided into three series.

Series I. Medical Records incudes mostly birth and dispensary records from 1818 to 1847. The birth records list patients and the sex of the child. The dispensary records list the patient and their ailments or diseases including fever, pneumonia, and syphilis.

Series II. Financial Records is comprised of account books, daybooks, cash books, and expense books. Both Johnson's professional and personal accounts are included, sometimes in the same volume. The account books and daybooks list patients with the amounts of charges, but not the ailments for which the visits were made. The account books list the debtor amounts and dates and the credit amounts and dates; payment is mostly in cash, but occasionally in services and/or goods. Of interest is the occasional receipt of an amount for "ext. tooth." Most of the volumes are indexed. The account books also document income to Johnson from his investments, such as bonds, railroads, stocks, the Salem and Chelsea Turnpike, etc. They list in great detail Johnson's expenses. This series also includes bills and receipts (B8 F3).

Series III. Personal Papers includes personal correspondence with family and friends, and business correspondence. The personal letters concerning Harvard (B8 F5) include references to classmates and "get togethers" and reunions, including that held in 1874. The legal records (B8 F7) include insurance policies and a promissory note. The miscellaneous papers (B8 F8) are primarily loose papers removed from the various account books.