The Hale Family Papers are comprised of shipping, business, and personal papers of this Newbury, Massachusetts, family. The bulk of the collection consists of personal correspondence among family members. The remaining papers contain only a partial record of the Hale shipping business and scant information concerning the maritime insurance activities of Moses (1799-1874), Thomas (1800-1854), Josiah (1803-1875), Ebenezer (1809-1847), and Joshua (1812-1894) Hale. The papers have been divided into seven series.

Series I. Shipping Papers, 1810-1865, contains ships' papers, business correspondence among the Hale family as merchants and ship masters, and miscellaneous shipping correspondence. Only a portion of the ships' papers produced by the family's 20 vessels are included in this collection (the bulk of the papers may be found in MH 113). The records do, however, provide a glimpse of the thriving maritime business which Hale brothers, Thomas (1800-1854), Joshua (1812-1894), and Josiah (1803-1875), conducted in partnership with their uncle Ebenezer (1774-1848). The papers of the brig Alice and the ship Geneva, the best documented ships in this collection, typify the prosperous business which Hale vessels conducted in iron, salt, and cotton from the southern United States and the West Indies to Europe. Of interest in the papers of the ship Geneva is a list of Joshua's shipboard library while he was master of the vessel. The collection also contains papers of the Hale family's whaling vessels: the bark Alice, ship Huntsville, and the ship Splendid. Accounts of Ebenezer's (1774-1848) and Thomas' (1773-1836) ship Belleville may be found in Thomas' ledger (box 6 folder 4). Miscellaneous ships' papers include records of chartered vessels and documents mentioning more than one ship. Correspondence of Thomas (1800-1854), Joshua (1812-1894), and Ebenezer (1774-1848) while they were masters or mates on Hale vessels is included with the papers of each ship. Correspondence among the Hales reflecting the general activities of the family's mercantile business is located with the Hale shipping correspondence. Miscellaneous shipping correspondence includes letters from merchants and information regarding the family's shipbuilding activities.

The papers of family members are primarily organized by the birth dates of individuals. Exceptions include wives, who immediately follow their husbands, and Series VI. Benjamin Hale (1797-1863), who is filed with his family. Correspondence among family members is filed under author rather than recipient. Papers of an individual's parents, children, and siblings must therefore be searched for letters written to that individual. Family correspondence of Alice Little (Hale) and her husband Revered John March may be found in MSS 118.

Series II. Thomas (1773-1836) and Mary (Little) Hale (1786-1871) consists primarily of personal correspondence and financial papers from 1796 to 1860. Thomas' correspondence and ledger also reflect his business as a hatter and store owner, and his shipping interests in the southern United States and the West Indies. Correspondence from Thomas and Mary to Colonel Josiah Little (1747-1830) and Josiah Little Jr. (1791-1860) may be found in the Little Family Papers (MSS 67). Mary's correspondence contains a number of letters from her brother, Edward Little.

Series III. Ebenezer Hale (1774-1848), 1798-1856, consists mostly of his financial records as an agent for Sarah Little and guardian of her husband John (non compos mentis). In addition, Ebenezer's correspondence and account books briefly illuminate his activities as financial agent for other individuals, Dummer Academy, and a number of rental properties. Ebenezer's merchant papers and records while master of the ship Dromo and bark America are located in Series I.

Series IV. Thomas Hale's (1773-1836) Children, 1815-1875, is comprised of correspondence and financial papers of Moses and his wife Mary Lane (Miltimore), Thomas (1800-1854), Sarah, Josiah, Edward, Mary, and Ebenezer (1809-1847) Hale. Apart from personal information, Moses' papers contain slight information regarding his interest in maritime insurance. Thomas' (1800-1854) papers are of a personal nature and contain no records of his insurance activities. His merchant records and papers while master of the brig America, brig Alice, and ship Persia, are located in Series I. Of interest in the papers of Sarah Hale is the record of her last hours of life. Josiah's papers contain correspondence and a letterbook regarding his banking and insurance activities. These include records of insurance on vessels and cargos, and descriptions of and instructions regarding maritime protests. The papers of Edward Hale consist of correspondence and a ledger reflecting his farming life. The ledger also includes estate accounts of his father Thomas (1773-1836). The papers contain no information concerning his store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This series, while it does not hold papers of Ebenezer's (1809-1847) medical practice, does contain information relating to his insurance business and his interest in Hale genealogy. Papers and two notebooks of genealogical material compiled by Ebenezer may be found in Series VII.

Series V. Joshua (1812-1894) and Sophia (Tenney) Hale (d. 1901) consists of personal correspondence. Of note is a letter from an acquaintance convicted of smuggling in Liverpool (1837), news of Indian scares in Colorado Springs (1878), and descriptions of black labor strikes and riots in Thibodeaux, Louisiana (1887). Joshua's correspondence and financial papers also include banking and insurance papers, and estate accounts of the Little and Hale families. For his part in the family shipping business and papers generated while he was master of the brig Alice, and the ships Geneva, John Baring, Pacific, and Persia, see Series I. Sophia's correspondence includes letters from her parents, Abner and Sophia Tenney, and her sisters H. Ann, Mary, and Martha Jane.

Series VI. Benjamin Hale (1797-1863) and his Children consists primarily of the correspondence of Josiah (1841-1903), Thomas (b. 1834), Cyrus (1838-1874), and Alice Little Hale (b. 1845), and Benjamin Hale Douglas (b. 1855). Benjamin's (1797-1863) correspondence includes letters written while a student at Bowdoin College (1816-1818) and the Andover Theological Seminary (1820), while a tutor at Bowdoin (1820), principal of the Gardiner Lyceum, a professor at Dartmouth College, and president of Geneva (later Hobart) College in Geneva, New York. His papers also include his will and the copyright for his book An Introduction to the Mechanical Principles of Carpentry. This collection does not contain significant information concerning Benjamin's activities as a minister. The papers of Benjamin's family include Thomas' (b. 1834) correspondence regarding his financial investments, letters from Josiah (1841-1903) on his farm outside of Boston, and letters from Benjamin Hale Douglas while he was sheepherding in Colorado (1878-1879).

Series VII. Family Papers contain miscellaneous Hale papers, genealogical material, 19 volumes of the family diaries, and photographs. Miscellaneous papers include papers of Lucy (Balch) (b. 1836), Benjamin (1827-1901), Lydia (1769-1852), Joshua (b. 1869), Daniel, and Cyrus (1867-1903) Hale. Anonymous proposals for the construction of a school house in Newbury (1848-1849) are also located here. Most of the genealogical notes and two of the genealogical notebooks were compiled by Ebenezer Hale (1809-1847). Volume 5 was compiled by Benjamin (1797-1863). In addition to information on the Hale family, the volumes contain notes concerning the Little, Banister, Wigglesworth, White, Toppan, and Bailey families. The family diaries, started by Thomas Hale (1773-1836) in 1834, run without interruption until 1915. Over the years, many family members recorded domestic and family news in these 19 record books. The photographs consist of four photograph albums, portraits, and views of Newbury homes.