The Currier Family Papers document the Currier families of Amesbury and Newburyport, Massachusetts. The collection features papers of the thriving Newburyport shipbuilding business of John Currier Jr. (1802-1887) and his son, John James Currier (1834-1912). Also included are personal, political, and historical papers of John James Currier and papers of other family members. Of special note in the family papers are business and militia papers of Captain John Currier (1726-1806) of Amesbury. The collection is divided into three series.

Series I. Shipbuilding and Shipping Papers contains letterbooks, account books, and ships' papers, reflecting the prosperous shipbuilding and charter activities of John Currier Jr. and his son, John James Currier. The letterbooks and loose correspondence contain orders for shipbuilding supplies (especially lumber) and correspondence with merchant agents discussing the shipment of cargos and the chartering or sale of vessels. In addition, the loose correspondence includes letters regarding Geneva and French spoliation claims from 1902 to 1907. The account books contain shipbuilding, shipping, chartering, and insurance accounts. The 1854-1882 shipbuilding account and agreement book (B2 F2) includes legal agreements for the construction of vessels, a directory of merchants and agents, a listing of the ships' voyages (1857-1873), and accounts of ships' incomes (1882-1892). The 1857-1883 shipbuilding account book (B2 F3) features a list of the vessels built by John Currier Jr. from 1831 to 1883, while the 1873-1900 marine insurance volume (Vol. 1) contains the arrival and departure dates in ports of call for Currier vessels. See Appendix I for a list of ships built or used by the Curriers in this collection.

The ships' papers, arranged alphabetically by vessel, are comprised primarily of masters' and agent correspondence, disbursement accounts, and bills of sale or charter agreements. All but two of the vessels in this collection were built by John Currier Jr. These ships voyaged to nearly every part of the world including Australia, the Far East, India, Europe, North America, and South America. Of interest in the ships' papers are the 1875 medicine chest and stores inventories of the ship Hibernia and the sails and furnishings inventory of the ship Big Bonanza. The papers of the Big Bonanza also include protests and correspondence regarding the master's attempts to eliminate the high costs of hospitalization which the consul at Manila charged in 1891 for a crewman infected with small pox. See Appendix I for a list of ships built or used by the Curriers in this collection.

Series II. John James Currier Papers includes business, personal, and mayoral correspondence, historical and genealogical correspondence, historical lectures, and genealogical notes. The business, personal, and mayoral correspondence documents the wide range of John's activities. Personal letters include notes from his niece Suzie and nephew David P. Coffin (1879), letters regarding the Tuesday Evening and Unitarian Clubs, of which John was a member, condolences received following the deaths of his father (1887) and his wife (1910), and correspondence from a windmill company concerning the installation of a machine at John's house (1878-1879). Personal correspondence from John's wife Susan may be found in the Family Papers (B5 F8). Business letters include correspondence regarding John's interests in railroad and bank stocks and his activities as agent for estates and land, such as the Moody estate (1877-1879), and the estates of Benjamin Perley Poor (1887), and Mary C.L. Fitch (1912). Once John was elected mayor of Newburyport in 1879, he researched and worked on a number of projects including sidewalk and bridge construction, steamrollers for the roads, enlargement of the jail, erection of a statue of George Washington, and Newbury's 250th anniversary celebration. Following the bulk of the business and personal letters are folders of correspondence regarding the commemorative service and memorial for Honorable Caleb Cushing, and John's memorial on his wife, Susan (Page) Currier.

The historical and genealogical correspondence contains information regarding the Currier, Titcomb, Lunt, Farnum, Hay, Bayley, Colby, Thornton, Carr, and Felton families, as well as letters concerning shipbuilding in Essex County and Maine, house histories, the Yankee Hero spoons, and ship disasters of Plum Island. Also included is correspondence discussing a number of John's books. The genealogical notes include memorandums and notebooks which also provide information concerning the Currier family genealogy and the history of shipbuilding. John's miscellaneous papers contain financial, legal, and miscellaneous papers such as his estate inventory, book copyrights, costs of remodeling the Chickering house (1872), costs and lists of guests invited to the Newbury 250th anniversary, and an 1852 notebook on how to calculate the magnitude of lunar eclipses.

Series III. Family Papers includes records of Captain John Currier (1726-1806) of Amesbury, John Currier Jr. (1802-1887) and Susan (Page) Currier (1838-1910) of Newburyport, and papers of other family members and relatives. The papers of Captain John Currier feature farm and shoemaker's accounts and correspondence and accounts regarding John's tenure as Amesbury's tax collector. Of special note are John's military records which document his campaigns at Lexington and Charlestown in 1775. These include general orders, accounts of army stores and soldier's wages, muster rolls, and lists of imprisoned disorderly American soldiers. John Currier Jr.'s papers are primarily comprised of land deeds. The bulk of Susan (Page) Currier's papers contain letters to her husband written during her 1896-1897 excursion to Gibraltar, Italy, France, England, Germany, and Switzerland. Also included is a small diary from this voyage and estate papers.

The Currier family papers (B6 F1) contain business and personal correspondence, financial and legal papers for family members from Amesbury and Newburyport. Included are: letters of condolence received by John James Currier's niece Suzie regarding Susan (Page) Currier's death (1910); papers and accounts of Amesbury Highway Surveyors David and John Currier Jr. (1828-1853); John Currier Jr.'s Amesbury farming account book (1833-1835); and papers of Daniel, David, Captain Richard, and William Currier. The Currier family genealogy (B6 F2) contains notes compiled by Freeman B. Currier on the history of the Currier, Coffin, Barnard, Doyle, Hoyt, Osgood, and Greenleaf families from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The relatives' and miscellaneous papers (B6 F3) include correspondence, financial, and legal documents of the Hoyt, Page, Coffin, Farmer, and Moddy families. Of interest are papers of David P. Coffin who worked on the licensing of Newburyport liquor dealers in 1913.