James Wingate Sewall acted as an agent for the Coe and Pingree lands in Maine and New Hampshire. The business records in this collection consist of correspondence, financial records, and legal documents dealing with the management of the lands.

SERIES I. Correspondence is comprised of letters received by Sewall regarding taxes, leases and permits, squatters, stumpage bills, legal matters, insurance, and matters regarding the estate of E. S. Coe (1814-1899). Frequent correspondents include R. C. Pingree & Company, the International Paper Company, Elwyn W. Lovejoy, David Pingree, and Thomas Upham Coe. Most letters contain a note with the date responded, or that a letter was not answered. There are two volumes of letters sent dated September 1904 to August 1905. The majority of these letters were written by or on behalf of James Sewall. Those dated after his death were written by Hosea Buck and David Pingree (1841-1932). There are a few letters of a personal nature, mainly relating to genealogy. This series is arranged chronologically.

SERIES II. Financial Records is organized into four subseries, each arranged chronologically. Subseries A. Checkbooks and Returned Checks include those checkbooks kept by Sewall, as well as checks that were returned as receipts after being cashed. Subseries B. Accounts, Bills, and Receipts are the financial records of the day to day business. Some of the receipts have been separated out by payee for those that did a larger volume business. Subseries C. Taxes are taxes on land in Maine and New Hampshire. Subseries D. East Branch Dam Company includes checkbooks and returned checks for the company.

SERIES III. Land Management is separated into three subseries. Subseries A. Scale Accounts includes the returns of scalers reporting on the board feet cut on various properties. Subseries B. “C Surplus” Land Dispute Records is comprised of papers relating to a dispute relative to the title of “C Surplus,” an extension of Township C in Oxford County, Maine. Edwin A. Jones filed a petition against David Pingree et al. in 1900. The papers include deeds (both originals and copies made while researching title history), depositions, correspondence, and family trees for the Peck and Coggswell families. Subseries C. Miscellaneous Land Management includes an oversized map showing townships in which David Pingree held interest, a memo book of applications for permits, and a general office memo book.

Books removed from this collection and cataloged separately are listed in Appendix I.