This collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial records, maps, photographs, published works, and genealogy of the Bowditch family of Salem, Massachusetts. It also contains papers of the Babcock family, Swann family, Lyon family, Ingersoll family, and Plummer family. It has been divided into seven series.

Series I. Nathaniel Bowditch Papers consists of correspondence, shipping papers, and other records of Nathaniel Bowditch. This series has been subdivided into three subseries. Subseries A. Correspondence contains letters to and from Nathaniel Bowditch, the correspondence of his wife, Mary Ingersoll Bowditch, and correspondence with publisher Edmund M. Blunt (1770-1862), who published the New American Practical Navigator. Subseries B. Early Work, Financial Records, and Legal Papers consists of the original notebook for the 1794 survey of Salem, receipts, shipping papers, mathematical tables, a land deed, and newspaper clippings arranged chronologically. It includes papers for the ship Putnam, and sloops Polly, Nancy, and Industry. There is also a folder of ships unrelated to Nathaniel Bowditch's life, which includes documents from the schooner Freedom, brig Eunice, ship Henry, and brigantine Cadet. The folder with drawings of Bowditch's dividing engine contains Xerox copies of the wooden pattern pieces, measured drawings of the metal parts by Philip C.F. Smith, Curator of Maritime History at the Peabody Museum, 1971, and Xerox copies of a notebook relating to the theoretical application for dividing in the hand of Bowditch's son, J. Ingersoll Bowditch. Subseries C. Publications contains a copy of Directions for Sailing into the Harbours of Salem, Marblehead, Beverly and Manchester with an inscription and document from Harold I. Bowditch pasted in.

Series II. William Ingersoll Bowditch Papers consists of family letters, business papers, and material from his studies at Harvard during the 1830s. Manuscripts, copies of many of Bowditch's speeches and pamphlets, and numerous clippings on anti-slavery and women's suffrage are also included. This series has been subdivided into four subseries. Subseries A. Correspondence contains correspondence with family and friends, which is arranged alphabetically by correspondent name. Subseries B. Others' Correspondence contains letters between reformers including that of William Lloyd Garrison, Francis Jackson, Lydia Maria Child, Theodore Parker, Susan B. Anthony, and Samuel May. Subseries C. Financial and Legal Papers contains receipts, accounts, bills, legal documents, and obituaries as well as a plot plan of his lot in Brookline. Subseries D. Writings includes original manuscript versions of books, printed pamphlets, and articles as well as a journal and school notebooks. This subseries has been organized into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1. Personal (Academic) contains Bowditch's handwritten notebooks from his academic work at Harvard College and Harvard Law School as well as an article that he wrote for the Boston Globe about his college class of 1838. Sub-subseries 2. Genealogical (Family History) contains background material on Bowditch family members, handwritten manuscript drafts, and the final version of Our Family Story from 1639 to 1838, which was published in 1896. Family Letters, etc. collected by William I. Bowditch, 1906 contains original letters, maps, music, and photographs of Nathaniel Bowditch, Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch, Jonathan Ingersoll Bowditch, Charles Ingersoll Bowditch, Henry Ingersoll Bowditch, Mary Ingersoll Bowditch, wife of Epes S. Dixwell, and Elizabeth Boardman Ingersoll Bowditch, wife of John James Dixwell. William I. Bowditch's Life Volume II, 1907 details his activities on anti-slavery, women's suffrage, aiding discharged convicts, and the Plummer School [Salem, Massachusetts]. Sub-subseries 3. Anti-slavery contains notes and original manuscripts of various publications that Bowditch published in the late 1840s and 1850s. Reply to Mr. Peabody was a series of newspaper articles. Sub-subseries 4. Women's rights contains notes, manuscripts, and printed articles that Bowditch wrote in the 1870s and 1880s. Subseries E. Clippings and Printed Material contains newspaper clippings and pamphlets on subjects in which Bowditch was interested, mainly slavery and women's suffrage.

Series III. Ernest William Bowditch Papers contains correspondence, journals, family genealogy, and correspondence of his wife. It has been organized into four subseries. Subseries A. Personal Papers consists of personal and business correspondence, receipts, a certificate, and various miscellaneous items. Subseries B. Darien Expedition Material consists of journals and correspondence relating to his work on the Darien Expedition in 1870 to map out a route through the Panama Canal. Subseries C. Genealogy contains correspondence, charts, obituaries, and information about the Ebenezer Bowditch house in Salem, Massachusetts. The genealogical chart of Higginson family has been restricted due to its fragile condition. Subseries D. Publications contains eight printed pamphlets owned by Bowditch on topics of interest to him. Subseries E. Margaret Swann Bowditch Papers contains her sketchbooks, family correspondence, letters from her husband, and obituaries.

Series IV. Related Family Papers contains material from other Bowditch family members or individuals related to the Bowditch family by marriage. Subseries A. Early Ancestors' Papers contains a musical score by William Bowditch, copies of wills of William, Ebenezer, and Habakkuk Bowditch, and an account book/journal by an unidentified man. The author of this journal stayed with Mr. John Coburn of Boston while recovering from an illness. He was treated by Dr. Nathaniel Perkins and was visited by his brother, James. Subseries B. Nathaniel I. Bowditch Papers contains notebooks created by Nathaniel's son, Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch (1805-1861) and two letters. Subseries C. Babcock Family Papers contains the correspondence of Babcock family members who are related through Nathaniel Ingersoll. It also contains typescript copies of the journals of Rev. William Smyth Babcock (1764-1809), a Freewill Baptist minister preaching in Vermont and New Hampshire. Subseries D. Swann Family Papers contains letters, calling cards, and a will from the Swann family to which Margaret Swann Bowditch, wife of Ernest William Bowditch, is related. Subseries E. Lyon Family Papers contain correspondence of Lizzie and Henry Lyon, ancestors of Margaret Swann Bowditch. Subseries F. Ingersoll Family Papers contain correspondence, financial records, a diploma, and genealogical charts for the Ingersoll family, who are related to the Bowditch family through Mary Ingersoll Bowditch (1781-1834). Subseries G. Harold Bowditch Papers contains correspondence, clippings, genealogy, printed materials, and a radio playlet about Nathaniel Bowditch compiled by his great-grandson, Dr. Harold Bowditch. Subseries H. Other Bowditch Papers contains four letters, one each from J. Ingersoll Bowditch, Henry I. Bowditch, Charles P. Bowditch, and Vincent Y. Bowditch.

Series V. Plummer Family Papers includes the letters and papers of Ernestus Plummer, Caroline Plummer, Joshua Plummer, Lyman Plummer, Olive Plummer, and Theodore Plummer. Caroline Plummer was a close personal friend of William Ingersoll Bowditch.

Series VI. Photographs consists of photographs of family members and Salem scenes arranged chronologically.

Series VII. Genealogy consists of many volumes of genealogical research and writings. Volumes include original letters, the family crest, and genealogy of related families. The family hired at least four professional genealogists over the years and their work is included here.