This collection is comprised of the shipping and business papers of Michael Shepard and his son, Michael Webb Shepard. The bulk of the collection is related to Shepard's shipping activities at ports in East Africa from 1835-1855, when he traded in ivory, copal, textiles and cloves. The collection is divided into three series.

Series I. Shipping Papers include ships papers, correspondence, ledgers, journals, memoranda, and notes relating to Michael Shepard's trading activities in Padang and Zanzibar. Although the majority of the ships papers concern Michael Shepard's shipping activities in East Africa from 1835-1855, some shipping material from 1852-1856 was actually produced by Shepard's son Michael Webb Shepard (born 1826) during the period when his father battled various illnesses. Shipping correspondence after 1865 is almost entirely comprised of letters to Michael W. Shepard from William. H. Nichols III, who acted as his agent in Zanzibar during this period.

The ledgers and journals in the collection are associated with Shepard's relations with a number of partners, agents and ship masters. Some of these volumes were started by Michael Shepard and continued by his son. Other volumes were kept by Michael W. Shepard even though some of the shipping information concerns events during his father's lifetime.

Series II. Civic and Religious Papers document Shepard's financial assistance on behalf of Salem area citizens. Shepard made himself available as an executor to a number of families who could not afford professional assistance in managing a deceased relative's estate. As a result the papers of the estates of various individuals not related to Shepard are found in his papers. Assignments were legal agreements whereby an individual in financial difficulty could assign legal title of his assets to an unbiased financial manager. Shepard accepted assignments from some local individuals in danger of bankruptcy.

Series III. Michael W. Shepard Papers include an 1848 diary describing a voyage to Pernambuco, Brazil and a subsequent trip up the Amazon River. The account books are largely concerned with personal investments in securities and real estate but also contain accounts related to a number of other Shepard family members, including the estate of his father.