The bulk of the Prince Family Papers reflects the legal work of John Prince (1782-1848) as a clerk for the Essex County Courts, a notary public, a justice of the peace, and an attorney active in Salem (circa 1804-1839). The collection also contains personal papers of John Prince (1782-1839), papers of his brother William Henry (1786-1815), and scientific papers of his father Reverend John Prince (1751-1836). The papers are divided into three series.

Series I. John Prince Professional Case Files is comprised of legal cases dealing with the administration of estates, cases of debt, bankruptcy, and spoliation. The spoliation cases contain ships' papers, statements, and protests for a number of Salem vessels which were captured and held in Naples, Holland, and Norway between 1809 and 1810. The Thomas Baker estate papers include a receipt from John Remond.

Series II. John Prince Professional Papers contains appointments, correspondence, case notes, memorandums, legal documents, administrative accounts, and client accounts. The client accounts, miscellaneous correspondence, and many of the legal documents provide background materials relating to legal cases. Additional client accounts may be found in the receipts and account books (Box 2, folder 5 and 6). Prince's clients included members of the Derby, Bowditch, Peabody, Hale, Saltonstall, Ingersoll, and Allen families.

Series III. Prince Family Papers includes John Prince personal papers, the papers of his brothers George (born 1791) and William Henry (1786-1815) and of his father, Reverend John Prince (1751-1836). John Prince papers include his correspondence and minutes as clerk of the stockholders of the Amesbury Nail Factory Company and the Salem and Chelmsford Turnpike as well as miscellaneous accounts and receipts. Reverend John Prince's papers include correspondence on religious subjects, experiment notes on the fuel efficiency of various woods, notes on thermometers and electricity, and the final manuscript copy (1783) of his work on air pumps. William Henry's papers contain his correspondence and accounts as supercargo of the ship Salus, a vessel upon which John Prince (1782-1848) also consigned cargo.