The bulk of the Benjamin Pickman (1763-1843) Papers, reflects the shipping and personal activities of Benjamin Pickman (1763-1843), a prosperous shipping merchant who traded with India, China, the East and West Indies, and Europe. The collection also contains shipping and business papers of Benjamin's father, Benjamin Pickman (1740-1819); real estate and business papers of his brother William Pickman (1774-1857); and shipping, business, and personal papers of other family members and relatives. The collection is divided into seven series.

Series I. Benjamin Pickman (1763-1843) Shipping Papers contain shipping papers from 1789 to 1857. The ships' papers, arranged alphabetically by name of vessel, contain records of ships that Benjamin owned or in which he consigned cargo. Included are papers of Benjamin's whaling vessels, the ships Bengal and Catherine. Of interest in the ships' papers is master's correspondence from the ship Martha that describes an 1800 plague in Turkey and Bonaparte's defeat in Italy that same year. Also of note are two Samuel McIntire receipts, signed by the son of the Salem architect, for the figureheads and decoration of the ship Asia (1803) and the ship Derby (1806). The general shipping papers contain a letterbook, account books, miscellaneous merchant correspondence, and shipping accounts. Included are Derby/Pickman receipts generated from Benjamin and William Pickman's work as agents for Elias Hasket and John Derby. Series II. Benjamin Pickman (1763-1843) Business and Personal Papers, 1784-1842, contains correspondence, legal, and financial papers reflecting Benjamin's political and domestic concerns. Of interest in the family correspondence are letters from the Routh family (Benjamin's British relatives by his cousin Abigail [Gardiner] Routh) that describe the general political situation in Great Britain as well as England's war with France; Benjamin's letters to his mother, Mary (Toppan) Pickman, written during his 1784 visit with his exiled father in London; Benjamin's eulogy composed upon the death of his mother in 1787; and his 1843 will. Of special note in the miscellaneous correspondence is a letter from Captain Baker concerning Napoleon's return from Elba (1815), an 1826 note from Lafayette thanking Benjamin for a copy of his oration given on George Washington's birthday in 1797, and correspondence with John Quincy Adams. The Adams/Pickman correspondence is comprised of certified copies of correspondence and original letters written in 1825, 1827, and 1834. The 1834 correspondence is of special note, discussing the death of Adams' son John, America's worsening relations with France over the spoliation claims made during the War of 1812, and the 1814 New England Federalist attempt to secede from the United States in order to unite with Great Britain. The civic papers include donations to charities, shares in town projects, and certificates for political and civic organizations. Accounts and legal papers for Temple Place document the house Benjamin bought in Boston in 1838. The 1807 travel journal records only a fragment of Benjamin's journey to New York.

Series III. Benjamin Pickman (1740-1819) Papers, 1752-1820, contains correspondence, account books, and financial papers reflecting Benjamin's personal and shipping interests and his activities as Salem's treasurer. Of note is the family correspondence written during Benjamin's ten-year exile in England. These letters discuss the social and political climate in England during the Revolution and oftentimes advise his wife on domestic and business matters. Also of interest is a 1775 copy of a letter from Benjamin's mother, Love, describing the battle at Lexington and Concord, Benjamin's 1780 letter to his mother recounting the death of his sister Abigail Gardiner in England, and a 1783 letter from Benjamin's wife, Mary, written soon after peace had been declared, relating her hope for Benjamin's swift return home. The shipping account books record transactions of the family shipping business before the Revolution. Due to Benjamin's exile, there is a ten-year gap in these accounts. Upon his return, Benjamin used the volumes to record only non-shipping business transactions. The miscellaneous papers include a 1793 history of Salem written by Benjamin.

Series IV. William Pickman (1774-1857) Papers include business, legal, and estate papers from 1799 to 1864. The real estate papers contain rent receipts for William's houses and land, and accounts for the Pickman Farm in South Salem.

Series V. Pickman Family Papers, 1679-1923, contains legal papers and wills of Benjamin Pickman (1671-1718/9); shipping, real estate, and estate papers of Benjamin Pickman (1707/8-1773) and his wife, Love (1709-1786); and personal and business papers of Clark Gayton (1746-1781), William (1747/8-1815), Thomas (1773-1817), Dudley Leavitt (1779-1846), Sophia (Palmer) (1786-1862), Love Rawlins (1786-1863), and Benjamin (1827-1893) Pickman. Of interest in Clark Gayton Pickman's papers is a 1770 letter from Abigail Eppes to Mary Pickman describing Clark's marriage to Sarah Orne. Sophia (Palmer) Pickman's personal correspondence includes letters from her husband, Thomas, as well as his letter to her mother asking for her hand in marriage. Appended to this series are genealogical notes and letters kept by William C. Endicott.

Series VI. Relatives' Papers, 1704-1835, contain personal, business, and political papers of the Toppan, Palmer, and Osgood families. The bulk of the Toppan papers are comprised of deeds and receipts of Bezaleel and widow Mary Toppan. The Palmer family papers, which document the Palmer family of Quincy, Massachusetts, include correspondence between Joseph Pearse Palmer Sr. and Joseph Jr. discussing domestic, political, and salt business concerns. Of note is a 1784 letter from John Adams regarding Joseph Sr.'s oil and candle business. Also among the Palmer papers are a 1774 letter to Samuel Adams from Gen. James Warren, a list of the Committee of Safety (1774), a 1775 interrogation of a British deserter, a letter from Gen. Charles Lee (1775) (second in command under Washington), and 1776 orders to Gen. Washington. The Osgood family papers contain correspondence and legal papers of Isaac and Gayton Pickman Osgood. Isaac's papers include clerk's correspondence, written while he was employed in the Essex County courts, and estate and guardianship papers. Gayton Pickman Osgood's correspondence covers his years at Harvard College (1811-1815) and in the U.S. House of Representatives (1833-1835). Of interest is an 1813 letter describing his cousin Gayton Pickman's derangement, and an 1833 letter from his father discussing the French spoliation claims and their effect on U.S. banks. Gayton's journal contains a record of his 1813 journey to New York.

Series VII. Miscellaneous Papers, 1734-1878, includes business correspondence, deeds, receipts, poetry, and store catalogs. Of interest is an essay describing the election of George Washington, and the 1837 diary of an unidentified Newburyport woman.