The papers of this Salem, Massachusetts, man reflect a wide variety of interests and include papers of a number of family members. His personal papers include diaries of voyages; deeds; patents issued to him; correspondence from Serope A. Güdajian, a Turkish man who hoped to found an American-style university in Turkey; papers related to Kimball's interest in and correspondence from Charles A. L. Totten about Anglo-Israelism, plus the formation of the Anglo-Saxon Identity Association to promote this theory; and genealogy of the Kimball and Knight families. Papers of family members include those of his first and second wives, Eleanor Brodhead and Catherine Arnold; his son, Edward Adams Kimball; and relatives Nathaniel A. Kimball, Susan Sawyer Kimball, and Sarah Knight Kimball, plus papers of the Brodhead, Arnold, and Dearborn families. It has been organized into 15 series.

Series I. Frank Reed Kimball Papers are subdivided into four subseries. Subseries A. Personal Papers contains: early diaries; a fishing list; an essay on a trip to Ireland; Bowdoin College related material; a deed for land on Marblehead Neck; legal documents related to a trust agreement and the disposition of his father's estate; letters patent and patent transfer papers; stock transactions; essays on marriage and work ethics; correspondence from his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson; church membership transfer request; several pencil sketches; and galley proofs. Subseries B. Papers Related to Serope A. Güdajian, contains materials related to a scheme to found an American-style university in Turkey. Also included is an insurance policy on Güdajian, with Kimball as the beneficiary. Subseries C. Papers Related to Anglo-Israelism and the Anglo-Saxon Identity Association contains materials associated with Kimball's belief in the theory of Anglo-Israelism and the formation of the Anglo-Saxon Identity Association to promote this theory. Additionally, there is correspondence between Kimball and Charles A. L. Totten, a prolific writer and proponent of Anglo-Israelism. Subseries D. Genealogical/Family History Papers includes: genealogy-related correspondence; material related to the Kimball and Knight families; a genealogical notebook; and two biographical sketches of family members.

Series II. Eleanor Brodhead Kimball Papers includes correspondence with her husband, Frank Reed Kimball, and a number of others; a furniture inventory of pieces transferred to her by her husband; and an undated address book.

Series III. Edward Adams Kimball Papers consists primarily of a small collection of correspondence between Edward A. Kimball and his grandmother, Susan Sawyer Kimball.

Series IV. Brodhead Family Papers contain correspondence between various members of the Brodhead family.

Series V. Arnold Family Papers includes correspondence regarding a note owed by Edmund Arnold and a piece of land owned by his estate; trust agreements between Frank R. Kimball and Catherine E. Arnold for the contents and personal property in two houses owned by Kimball and subject to probate of his mother's and first wife's estates; and a trust agreement between Kimball and Arnold for property on Cape Breton Island. (Catherine Arnold became Kimball's second wife in 1905.)

Series VI. Edward Dearborn Kimball Papers are subdivided into Business Papers and Personal Papers. Subseries A. Business Papers contains correspondence from his agents; receipts for funds paid to merchants and agents; accounts of candle sales; insurance claims; and the acquisition of the Staten Island Oil and Candle Company. (Edward D. Kimball acquired the assets of the Staten Island Oil & Candle Co. as a result of its inability to pay him for palm oil that Kimball supplied from Africa.) Subseries B. Personal Papers includes bills and receipts for travel, household items, clothing, etc.; a power of attorney; deeds for land in North Salem, North Andover, and Philadelphia; material related to building a "mansion house" in North Danvers; and a stock purchase agreement.

Series VII. Susan Sawyer Kimball Papers contains two small pocket diaries; an account book of living expenses; bank drafts; a deed for the transfer of property on Pleasant Street, Salem, to Frank Reed Kimball; and correspondence regarding property Susan owned in Independence, Missouri.

Series VIII. Elbridge Gerry Kimball Papers includes a memorandum book and cargo notebook; business correspondence; a wallet and the papers removed from it, which include demand notes, accounts, and gold memoranda from the Philadelphia mint; and an accounting of his estate.

Series IX. Nathaniel A. Kimball Papers include two personal letters and one business letter.

Series X. Dearborn Family Papers includes papers related to the estate of Phebe Dearborn; miscellaneous bills and receipts; and a wallet.

Series XI. Sarah Knight Kimball Papers contains an 1847 copy of her last will and testament.

Series XII. Ships' Papers contains insurance policies, bills of sale, bills of lading, owner's instructions, accounts, and shipping articles for the following vessels: Schooner American Belle, Brig Ann Elizabeth, Bark Buckeye, Brig Gambia, Bark Manchester, Brig Pactolus, Brig Rolla, Bark S. W. Porter, and Brig Tiberius.

Series XIII. Seaman's Protection Certificates consists of a collection of fifty documents, including 48 Seaman's Protection Certificates issued by the Customs Service and two affidavits certifying that two black men were free and citizens of the United States.

Series XIV. Miscellaneous Materials is quite diverse and contains: six small (21 x 17cm) handwritten notebooks copying "North Pole Adventure," the work of Joseph Latique LaJore (?) describing his fourteen years among the Native American tribes in the polar region; notes; letters; poems; an address list; a bill of fare for Boston's Parker House; a proposal for "The Woodruff Scientific Expedition Around the World"; a Civil War era projectile; etc.

Series XV. Kimball -Related Images contains photographs of Kimball family members, two pen and ink drawings on silk, and thirteen photographs of the interior of 94 Washington Square, Salem.