The Tucker Family Papers contain the business and personal papers of Essex County Court Clerk Ichabod Tucker (1765-1846) and merchant Gideon Tucker (1778-1861). The collection also contains the shipping papers of Samuel and Henry Tucker, 1800-1809, and miscellaneous records of various Tucker family members. The collection has been divided into three series.

Series I. Ichabod Tucker Papers contains correspondence, Justice of the Peace records, diaries, military records, financial records, and historical notes. Also included are the papers of Tucker's first wife, Maria Orne Tucker (1775-1806), and his adopted daughter, Nancy Gay Cole (1795-1890). Subseries A. Correspondence documents his many personal and professional interests and his multitude of correspondents. The bulk of the correspondence concerns judicial matters. Tucker corresponded with a large number of prominent judges and lawyers: Caleb Strong (1789), Nathan Dane (1797-1798, 1815), Samuel Sewall (1806-1807, 1810-1811), Daniel Appleton White (1805-1806), Dudley Tyng (1808, 1814), Judge Theodore Sedgwick (1810), William Prescott (1812), Judge Artemas Ward (1812), John Pickering (1823), Charles Atherton (1799), and Charles Jackson (1806). Also of interest are letters regarding the settlement of Judge Nathaniel Peaselee Sargeant's estate (1805-1806), letters with the Reverend Francis Parkman on the Evangelical Missionary Society (1818, 1823), letters written by Tucker as Overseer of the Salem Poorhouse, and lengthy letters describing Salem news to his daughter, Nancy Gay Cole.

Subseries B. Legal and Judicial Records includes the notebooks of legal extracts kept when Tucker was a student and Justice of the Peace docket books. The lists of Essex County innholders and retailers licenses were compiled by Tucker from court records, although it is unclear if they were made for historical or judicial purposes. Subseries C. Civic and Personal Papers includes a folder of military records consisting of military oaths, 1803-1826, made to Tucker as Clerk of the Courts and a notebook listing soldiers and their military pay, 1777-1781. Of special interest is a list of prisoners incarcerated in the Springfield Prison during Shay's Rebellion in 1787. The account book of broken glass (B4, F6) is a meticulous list of all the windows broken in Salem during a hailstorm in 1815. This document has been attributed to Ichabod Tucker, but its original purpose is unknown. The copies of census records and the historical notes were compiled by Tucker for historical research. Included in the miscellaneous papers are a hand-drawn plan of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and a biographical sketch of Ichabod Tucker. Subseries D. Family Papers includes an 1802 diary kept by Tucker's first wife, Maria Orne Tucker (1775-1806) which provides a detailed daily account of life in Salem, school notebooks of Nancy Gay Cole, travel accounts of Thomas Cole, and estate papers.

Series II. Gideon Tucker Papers contains shipping papers, personal and business correspondence, military records, and bills and receipts. Subseries A. Shipping Papers includes ship's papers for five of Tucker's thirty vessels (see Appendix I for list of vessels owned by Tucker). It is probable that the majority of Tucker's shipping account books and correspondence were destroyed, along with the papers of his partner Joseph Peabody, in a fire. Of note in the ships' papers are records of the ship Concord which document a sealing voyage to China in 1802. The shipping correspondence is primarily to merchant house agents in Europe. The folder of Neopolitan claims (B7, F6) documents Gideon Tucker's and Nathaniel West's activities as agents for various claimants, and include lists of eventual awards for 47 vessels. Subseries B. Business and Personal Papers includes a large number of letters from Tucker's brother-in-law Jonathan Goodhue, a New York merchant agent, as well as letters from Benjamin Shreve, Nathan Dane, and Thomas W. Ward. The military papers contain Tucker's orders from Gideon Foster for the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division. The two notebooks of house and vessel prices, 1821-1847, provide detailed information about the sale of property and ships in Salem. Included in the miscellaneous papers are subscription lists for the Salem July 4, 1805 celebration and an 1809 banquet in honor of Governor Gore.

Series III. Tucker Family Papers includes the papers of Benjamin, John, Samuel, and Henry Tucker. The shipping records of Henry and Samuel Tucker include documents for Gideon Tucker's schooner Fishhawk, ship Cincinnatus, schooner Sally, ship Sally, and schooner Betsey, as well as the brig Three Friends, schooner Theodora, ship Franklin, brig Catherine, ship Fame, brig Betsy, and ship Vernon. Of note in the miscellaneous papers is a copy of a 1680 letter from the Governor of New Hampshire on the separation of New Hampshire from Massachusetts.