The Rogers Family Papers include business and personal papers of shipping merchants Nathaniel Leverett, John Whittingham, and Richard Saltonstall Rogers, and lawyer and genealogist Augustus Dodge Rogers, Also included are papers for additional Rogers family members. The collection has been divided into five series.

Series I. Rogers Shipping Papers contains correspondence and ships' papers for the brothers Nathaniel, John, and Richard, both before and during their partnership. In addition, there are ships' papers for Augustus D. Rogers' shipping ventures. The majority of the shipping correspondence is written to John W. Rogers while he was supercargo of the ship Orestes. Of interest in the papers of the brig Texel is a letter to John informing him of the death of his brother William Augustus Rogers. The invoice book contains invoices, accounts current, and freight lists for N. L. Rogers and Brothers' ship Black Warrior and John D. Rogers' schooner Petrel.

Series II. Nathaniel Leverett Rogers Papers contains correspondence, financial, and legal papers. Of notes are Nathaniel's letters to his wife Harriet (Waite) Rogers before and during their marriage and correspondence with his son while Augustus was clerk on the ship Grotius.

Series III. Augustus Dodge Rogers Papers includes his autobiographies and diaries, business, and genealogical papers. While the papers range from 1833 to 1895, there are fewer records for the years 1860-1880. Subseries A. Autobiographies and Diaries includes the 1879 autobiography which recounts Augustus' voyage on the ship Grotius (1841-1842). Except for a four-year gap between 1866 and 1870, Augustus' diaries form a continuous series from 1846 until a year before his death. Subseries B. Business Papers contains correspondence regarding the publishing of the Rogers genealogy. Correspondence regarding the gathering of genealogical information may be found with the genealogical papers. Correspondence, summonses, and accounts of cases reflect Augustus' lawyer's practice. His civic papers include correspondence and announcements from his activities on the Common Council, School Committee, and the Board of Managers of the Salem Lyceum. The bulk of the notes on Salem commerce discuss the business activities of the firm of N. L. Rogers and Brothers. Included with these note are biographical sketches of his family and his grandfather, Aaron Waite.

Subseries C. Genealogical Papers includes correspondence, notes, and rough drafts for the Rogers family Genealogy. Within the genealogical note are additional genealogies of the Appleton, Denison, and Lynde families. Augustus' 1840 diary (B2 F10) includes later dated genealogical notes on the martyr John Rogers. Three folders contain rough drafts of the Rogers genealogy published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (Vol. 5, 1851: Vol. 12, 1858; Vol. 13, 1859).

Subseries D. Correspondence contains correspondence from Augustus to his father, his brother, William Leverett Rogers, and other family members. Also included in this subseries is. correspondence about Augustus’ family genealogy.

Series IV. William Leverett Rogers Papers contains correspondence written and received by William, a bill, packing list and instructions from his father, and miscellaneous items. The correspondence is from William’s voyage to Australia and back, as well as his time at Dane Law School. The miscellaneous items include a journal from his time on the bark Shepardess and a passport.

Series V. Family Papers contains correspondence, business, and financial papers for Nathaniel (1762-1799), Harriet (Waite), Abigail (Dodge), John Whittingham, Richard Saltonstall, William Augustus, Nathaniel Waite, horticulturalist Edward Staniford, William Leverett, Henry Whittingham, Harriet Waite Rogers (1828-1859), and Martha Pickman (Rogers) Codman. In addition there are also Richard S. and Edward S. Rogers' trustee papers for the estate of Aaron Waite. The bulk of the family correspondence contains letters from Abigail (Dodge) to her daughter-in-law Harriet (Waite) Rogers. Series VI. Miscellaneous Papers contains financial and legal papers, prices current, a currency conversion chart, correspondence, home valuations, maps and plans, recipes and home remedies, samples of Indian sewing silk, transcriptions of some of the correspondence, and other miscellaneous papers. Some of the materials in the miscellaneous folder are in French.