This collection consists of papers and diaries belonging to the Haraden family, prominent seamen and rope makers in Salem, Massachusetts, in the nineteenth century. Of particular interest are the letter to Captain John Derby, the papers relating to the ropewalk owned by the Haraden family, and the weather diaries of Sarah Haraden Rose and Lydia Anne Haraden.

In Folder 1 is a letter to Captain John Derby (1767-1831) written by Andrew Haraden in 1797 from Spain. The letter is incomplete and is in poor condition. Captain Haraden wrote of a blockade as he left Cadiz in April 1797 and also of his plans to transport wine or brandy from Barcelona but explained that merchants refused to ship in American vessels due to the anticipated war between France and America.

Folder 2 contains five deeds relating to a ropewalk on Brown Street in Salem, Massachusetts. These include purchase of the ropewalk in 1825 by Andrew and Jonathan Haraden, a release and quit claim deed signed by the heirs of Andrew following his death in 1835, a mortgage deed to Joshua Ward in 1837, sale of one-half interest in the ropewalk to Andrew Haraden Jr. in 1837, and an indenture agreement to remove the ropewalk in 1843.

In Folder 3 is a small pamphlet recording ropewalk sales in 1836 and 1837. Among the schooners billed were Gen. Miller, George, Hannah, John Q. Adams, Morning Star, and Richmond Packet. Also listed are the brigs Gazelle and Malaga and the sloop Common Chance.

Folder 4 contains assorted accounts and papers of Andrew Haraden Jr. (1811-1877). These include invoices for shipments on the ship George to Calcutta (1829-1832) and on the brig Almena to the west coast of Africa (1848). There is also one personal letter from Jonathan Kenny written in 1862 while training with the Salem Cadets at Fort Warren in Boston, Massachusetts.

In Folder 5 is a 20-page commonplace book written by Abigail Ives Haraden, who married Timothy Haraden in 1807. It contains poems, notes, and one recipe.

In Folder 6 are two diaries containing almost daily descriptions of the weather as recorded by Sarah Hardy Haraden Rose. The first diary spans the years 1840 to 1849 and the second the years 1862 to January 1874, only a few months before Sarah Rose's death on June 3, 1874. In addition to the weather, the author mentioned family and friends, social outings, church services and events, and on occasion public events such as President Harrison's inauguration and death in 1841 and President Lincoln's inauguration and assassination in 1865. The first diary also contains a 50-page account book itemizing the expenses of the ropewalk owned by Andrew and Jonathan Haraden and kept by Andrew's son, Andrew Jr., from 1825 to 1834. The second diary includes genealogical information and tributes to deceased relatives and friends, including Emerson Brown (1778-1872), pastor at the old South Church in Salem, Henry Derby (1803-1881), husband of Mary Haraden, Jonathan and Sarah Haraden, and Sarah Hardy Haraden Rose. These latter notes were most likely added by Clara Haraden (b. 1842).

Folder 7 contains an almanac diary kept by Lydia Anne Haraden from January 1, 1832 to February 9, 1832, and interleaved in The New England Farmer's Almanac, 1832. Lydia, like her sister, Sarah, made daily entries and recorded the weather, her grandmother's death, social outings, church affairs, and Lyceum lectures.