The Whittemore Family Papers consist of business papers of the Whittemore family of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Also included are papers of the related Parsons family, also of Gloucester. The collection has been organized in three series.

Series I. Legal Documents contains legal documents belonging to the Whittemore family and their close relations, the Parsons family. The legal documents are primarily deeds, but also present are indentures, bonds, summons, probate documents, depositions, petitions, and powers of attorney. Most of the deeds pertain to land in Gloucester, Massachusetts, but others pertain to land in the counties of York, Cumberland, or Lincoln in Maine. Copies of two wills are present, those of Ebenezer Parsons (1680-1761) and Hannah Parsons (1739-1821). The legal papers have been arranged chronologically rather than by subject because many refer to more than one family member. Thus the folder titles are not inclusive but rather refer to a primary subject of each set of papers.

Series II. Accounts, Receipts, and Inventories contains business papers of the Whittemores. These papers primarily concern the estates of Samuel Whittemore (1693-1784) and his son Samuel (1733-1806), and they include detailed inventories. Other documents pertain to Samuel Whittemore (b. 1693) in his role as Deacon of the First Church in Cambridge or to the estates of Hannah Parsons (1739-1822) or Nathaniel Whittemore (1784-1855).

Series III. Other Papers includes property boundary maps, copies of vital records, memorials, one letter, printed materials, and two documents pertaining to Gloucester town affairs. Most of the maps are unlabeled but are presumably of property in Gloucester. The vital records of the Whittemores are copies of the original records of Cambridge or Charlestown, Massachusetts.