The David Pingree papers contain business and personal papers belonging to David Pingree (1841-1932). The business papers relate to Pingree's shipping and merchant business based out of Salem, Massachusetts, as well as his vast timberland business interests in Maine and New Hampshire. The collection also contains papers relating to the settling of Pingree's estate and his heirs' management of his business interests, which accounts for the materials dated after his death. This collection has been divided into five series.

Series I. Correspondence contains correspondence to and from David Pingree (1841-1932). This series has been divided into three subseries. Persons with mold sensitivities should use caution when handling these materials as these are/were affected with inactive mold; protective gloves are available for use upon request. Subseries A. African Trade Correspondence contains correspondence to and from David Pingree about his shipping and merchant business with African countries and ports. It is possible that there might be some material about the African trade business that is mixed in with the other business correspondence. Subseries B. Other Business Correspondence contains correspondence to and from David Pingree (1841-1932) about his businesses outside of African trade. Much of the incoming correspondence appears to have been kept in a binder before it arrived at the Phillips Library, as many of the materials have two uniform holes at the top of them. This subseries has been divided into three sub-subseries.

Sub-subseries 1. Incoming contains incoming correspondence. The incoming correspondence topics cover the lumber and timber business, stock holder meeting notices and stock dividend payments, the payment of mortgages and leases, some advertisements, landscaping orders, and the occasional letter asking David to give to a charity. Most of the correspondence is business related, however, there are a handful of letters from family members discussing personal matters. Of particular interest in this sub-subseries is a letter from Booker T. Washington, the principal of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, asking David for a second donation to help with students' tuition (dated November 12, 1896). There is a photocopy of a January 1, 1895 letter to David Pingree from North Packing and Provision Co.; the original letter is not in the collection, its location is unknown. Sub-subseries 2. Outgoing contains outgoing correspondence from David Pingree. The majority of this correspondence is in letter books, there is one folder containing loose papers. Sub-subseries 3. Other contains business correspondence that is neither addressed to nor written by David Pingree.

Subseries C. Personal Correspondence contains personal correspondence to and from David Pingree; the majority of it is incoming to David. It is possible that there might be some personal correspondence that is mixed in with the other business correspondence. Included in this subseries is a folder of correspondence to David's mother, Ann Maria Kimball Pingree (1804-1893). Not all of the correspondence to Ann Maria is from David, some is from her other children, nieces, and nephews. There is also a folder of correspondence to Anna Pingree Peabody (1839-1911), some of the correspondence is from David. There is also a folder of correspondence addressed to family members from people other than David.

Series II. Accounting Records contains financial records for David's various business interests. Some of these records extend beyond David's death, possibly from the management of his estate. This series has been divided into two subseries. Subseries A. Account Books contains bound volumes of accounting records. These include journals, day books, ledgers, trial balances, checkbooks, inventories of stocks and bonds and of safety deposit box contents, township balances, and bank deposit books. The trial balance from the estate of David Pingree (1795-1863) was removed from the front of Volume 1, "Trial balances of townships, December 1896 to January 1902". Some of the account books were continued by David's great-nephew, Stephen Wheatland (1892-1987) after David's death. Subseries B. Other contains invoices and receipts from David's merchant and shipping business, check stubs, and canceled checks. Most of the invoices and receipts are from Africa and Liverpool, England. Also included in this subseries are bills of sale for vessels belonging to David Pingree.

Series III. Timberland Records contains land ownership records, maps and plans, tax records, inter-office memos, land agent O. S. Head's papers, and other topics. This series contains six subseries. Subseries A. Conveyances, Deeds and Titles contains various land ownership documents, including land conveyances, records of land transfers, deeds, and titles. Also included in this subseries are land treaties, which were for lots to land formerly given out by the British Crown, that were later granted to Americans following the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 (University of Maine at Fort Kent). There are a number of titles and abstracts of titles in this subseries; most of them were copied by hand from their original source, and there is no date as to when they were copied. Subseries B. Maps and Plans contains maps, plans, and sketches. Some of these are of Pingree's land or interests; others are more general. Included in this subseries are surveys.

Subseries C. Taxes and Valuations contains tax records and land valuations. Included in this subseries are general forest industries questionnaires sent out by the Bureau of Internal Revenue's Natural Resources Subdivisions' Timber Section. This questionnaire was completed by David Pingree and his siblings. In some cases, only part of the questionnaire is present. These questionnaires list which lands were owned, divisions of the land, the type of lumber, depletions, profits, and timber cutting records. Subseries D. Inter-Office Memos contain correspondence, notes, plans, and proposals between Pingree, his agents, and other interested parties. These are arranged by topic. Subseries E. O. S. Head Papers contains correspondence, accounts, deeds, inventories, and sketches of one of Pingree's land agents, O. S. Head. Subseries F. Other contains records of depletions, stumpage rates, and scalers' returns. Also included in this subseries are reports on losses from Spruce Bud Worm damage, and reports from the surveyor of logs.

Series IV. Personal Papers contains materials related to David Pingree outside of his shipping and timberland businesses. The personal papers include wills and trusts, personal business transactions, miscellaneous items, and the management and settlement of David's estate. This series contains four subseries.

Subseries A. Wills and Trusts contains wills, trusts, and related documents in which David Pingree or his family was involved. A number of items are from a trust by Thomas Perkins (1758-1830) for the children of Sarah Moore, Thomas' sister: Sarah Towne, Polly (Mary) Munday, Annar Averill, Lois M. Orne, Sophonia M. Averill, and Elisa M. Adams. Thomas Perkins (1758-1830) was David's (1841-1932) great uncle. John Moriarty, a Salem merchant, was one of the executors of Thomas Perkins' will, and he was the trustee for Sarah Moore's children. Mark Haskell and David Pingree (1841-1932) succeeded Moriarty as trustees for Sarah Moore's children. Also included in this subseries are account and cash books used for the various trusts.

Subseries B. Personal Business contains David Pingree's personal expenses and purchases, fire insurance policies for the family, and personal and business diaries. Subseries C. Other contains some miscellaneous items found within the collection such as invitations, some of David's school compositions, legal rulings, advertisements, news clippings, and a photograph of the Perkins Pingree farm. Also included in this subseries are some of David's obituaries. These have been photocopied to preserve the originals, which are in a separate folder.

Subseries D. Estate of David Pingree contains correspondence about the estate of David Pingree (1841-1932). This includes personal condolences, as well as business correspondence addressed to or sent by the executors of his estate. Also included in this subseries are some check stubs.

Series V. Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks or parts of scrapbooks that have been removed from the original covers, but are the pages are still bound. The scrapbooks are made up of news clippings whose topics include: timberlands and related matters, municipal affairs of the city of Salem, stocks, bonds, bank conditions, and railway interests. It should be noted that the news clippings are very brittle and fragile, making portions of the pages unable to be viewed or photocopied.