The Willard Peele (1773-1835) Papers are comprised of shipping, business, and personal papers of Willard and J. Willard Peele. The collection has been divided into three series.

Series I. Shipping Papers is comprised of ships' papers, shipping correspondence, account books, business papers, and personal papers. The ships' papers contain documents relating to vessels owned or chartered by Willard Peele, as well as the cargo he shipped on non-Peele vessels. The papers of ship Argonaut are notable for their documentation of the premature condemnation of the ship and the resultant legal action against the Merchants Insurance Co. The papers of the ship Perseverance include correspondence from part-owner J. Willard Peele in Antwerp. The majority of the shipping correspondence consists of market advices and prices current from ports in American and abroad.

Series II. Business and Personal Papers includes accounts and miscellaneous documents of his farms in Malden and Chelsea. Personal correspondence includes discussions of Willard's guardianship of Alfred C. Appleton.

Series III. J. Willard Peele (1804-1871) Papers includes his accounts with Stephen Clarendon Phillips, Willard Peele Phillips, and Peele Hubbell and Co. They also document his interest in the ships Elizabeth and St. Paul, of which he was a partial owner.