The John Patch Papers are comprised of correspondence, lectures, plays, poetry, political commentary, journals, genealogical notes, and legal documentation belonging to John Patch (1807-1887), an Ipswich, Mass. lawyer and author. Also included are the writings and correspondence of Emily Goodwin Patch (born 1859), his daughter. This collection is arranged into five series.

Series I. Personal Papers is comprised of various writings by John Patch and is divided into five subseries. Subseries A contains Patch's Lectures, the content of which is divided between whole compositions and fragments of lectures. Their subject matter is diverse; topics span music, literature, the human character, government, and politics. Most notable are Patch's expansive writings on slavery, the economy, women's rights, and education (B1 F1). Subseries B consists of Patch's original Plays—dramas and tragedies written in three acts. This subseries also contains several excerpted sections of The Literary Museum, a Boston-based publication that Patch edited and published for a number of years. The clippings cumulatively make up a play called "Erodia, the Spirit of Love and Beauty; or, the Law of Love: A Drama in Three Acts," the author of which is unspecified. They also contain fragments of various dramatic, musical, and poetic compositions. Authors noted on the fragments include composer O.W. Withington and poet Lieutenant A.T. Lee. Subseries C contains Patch's Poetry, an assemblage of complete and fragmented works ranging from the religious to the political to the sentimental. Subseries D contains Political Commentary pertaining to Constitutional Conventions in New York, North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts. The majority of these writings concern the adoption and ratification of the Constitution in these states. Subseries E. Journals contains a maritime journal where Patch wrote about trade, correspondence, travel, and conditions while at sea. It covers the period from 1804 to 1805, though the paper booklet is quite fragile and is likely missing pages. The second journal includes the following handwritten note on the inside of its front cover: "Commonplace Book, found in the John Patch house, Ipswich, Mass." It is a bound hardcover book containing myriad thoughts and reflections, the bulk of which are religious in nature.

Series II is an assemblage of Correspondence contained within the collection, received or exchanged by John Patch. A significant portion of the series is made up of letters exchanged by John Patch and Margaret Ann Gurley Poor, whom Patch would eventually marry; it appears that Patch frequently created facsimiles of his outgoing letters for his personal cache. Series II also contains two letter books—bound hardcover books containing transcriptions of letters from various individuals. It is unclear to whom many of these letters were addressed, as they are dated prior to John Patch's birth, but nonetheless the entries' handwriting appears to match his other compositions. Also of note are a series of catalog-type numbers assigned to each transcribed letter; it appears that each sequence begins with the senders' initials and ends with a series of numbers (i.e., "DK2986177").

Series III. Legal Documentation consists of two items, both collected and compiled by John Patch. The first item is a property deed wherein five acres of land previously under the purview of Roswell Saltonstall of Saltonstall Farms in Ipswich were deeded to an individual named John Patch in 1732/3. While it is presumably pertains to an ancestor of John Patch (1807-1887), it is unclear who that may be. Also included in Series III is a hand-written, hand-bound account of two Supreme Judicial Court cases that took place in beginning in 1860, titled "Charles Kimball et al Executors vs. John Patch, Appellant." The opening statement, given by L.B. Ives, Jr., on May 7, 1860, outlined the issues at hand: John Patch Sr. (1770-1858), left behind an 1853 will that made clear his disappointment in the "pecuniary failures" of his son and bequeathing his estate accordingly. John Patch's (1807-1887) appeals addressed the value of his father's estate and questioned his father's willed intention. The compilation is lengthy and detailed, and includes substantive local and family history.

Series IV. Emily Goodwin Patch Papers contains papers and writings belonging to John Patch's daughter, including extensive correspondence, original poetry, and miscellaneous lectures and editorials. Much of her writings pertain to family events but also touch on a wide variety of topics including architecture, social and religious demographics, and literature.

Series V. Miscellany contains a collection of items pertaining to either John Patch or Emily Goodwin Patch. The large majority of these items are undated fragments and excerpts for which context or origins are unascertainable; however, several items were authored by Emily E. Patch, John Patch's sister and Emily Goodwin Patch's aunt. Series V also includes detailed genealogical notes; the notes' authors and dates of composition are largely unspecified, but they do provide extensive insight into the Patch family's lineage. One packet of notes was copied from the Historical and Genealogical Parish Register of South Petherton, Co. Somerset, England, outlining the Patch family's roots going back to 1575. The majority of the dates contained are for baptisms dating through 1678. Also of note is a brief account of John Patch, born in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1699 to James and Sarah Balch.