The Parker Family Papers consist primarily of shipping papers reflecting the thriving mercantile business of William Balch Parker (1772-1844) and his son, William Bradstreet Parker (1801-1878) of Salem. The collection also contains business and personal papers of William Balch Parker and members of the Parker and Watson families. The collection has been divided into four series.

Series I. Shipping Papers, 1799-1844, which includes ships' papers, shipping correspondence, and financial records, does not truly reflect the magnitude nor the prosperity of the mercantile trade which William Balch Parker and William Bradstreet Parker conducted with the West Indies, Europe, and the east coast of the United States. Only six of their twelve vessels may be found in this collection, and of these only the schooner/brig Argo and the brig Orient are well documented. The ships' papers include a number of vessels of which William Bradstreet was master (see Appendix II). In approximately 1824, William entered his father's mercantile business essentially as a shipmaster and business agent. The collection contains a sizeable amount of William's correspondence as a shipmaster with his father. These letters relay information regarding the state of markets, cargo prices, etc. Of note in the ships' papers is a letter from the master of the brig Alert and an undated international tide table. Shipping correspondence includes correspondence with foreign and domestic merchants, descriptions of William Balch's interests in shipbuilding, letters from business associates John Watson (William Balch's brother-in-law) and Benjamin Hawkes, and miscellaneous masters' correspondence.

Series II. William B. Parker (1772-1844) Papers, 1800-1845, includes correspondence relating to his stocks and leather tanning activities, letters from his wife's family, the Watsons, and financial papers. Besides household bills and receipts, the financial papers contain accounts and receipts generated from William's administration of estates, such as those of John Moriarty, William Foster, and John Watson (1747-1813). Also included here are bills for Abraham W. Parker's stay in the McLean Asylum for the Insane.

Series III. Family Papers, 1762-1845, contain financial papers of William Bradstreet Parker (1801-1878), Abraham W. Parker, miscellaneous Parker family members, and papers of the Watson family of Portland, Maine. Parker family news may be found in William Bradsteet's correspondence as master of the brig Argo, brig Effort, and brig Mercator, and William Balch's correspondence. The Watson family papers include correspondence regarding the family's land in Windham, Maine, legal and financial papers concerning the estates of Samuel Phippen, Sarah and Mary Hathorne, and John Watson (1747-1813), and a bill of sale for the schooner Betsey (1808). These papers also contain bills and receipts and legal sureties which relate to Abraham (1712-1790) and John Watson (1747-1813) as agents of Salem tax collector and tanner John Andrew.