The bulk of the Phillips Family Papers is comprised of materials relating to Stephen C. Phillips' merchant house and other family business. The collection has been arranged into five series.

Series I. Stephen Phillips (1761-1838) Papers includes ships' papers, shipping and business papers, and civic and personal papers extending from 1783 to 1838. Subseries A. Ships' Papers, arranged alphabetically by ship, are comprised of documents relating to vessels owned, mastered, or chartered by Stephen Phillips. Included are insurance papers, account books, accounts, memorials, and correspondence with ship masters and merchants regarding specific ships. Of particular interest are the papers of the schooners Joseph, Margaret, Mary, and the brig Sukey, which contain the memorials of Stephen Phillips concerning the capture of these vessels by French privateers.

Subseries B. Shipping and Business Papers includes documents relating to more than one ship, correspondence, accounts, and insurance papers. Financial materials relating to Stephen's partners Henry Prince and Nathan Peirce (Phillips' brother-in-law) are also found in this section. Many of these papers are prices current with personal holograph notes to Phillips on the inside leaves. These papers were used as sources of current market prices for various goods in specific ports, however they also document the impacts of military action upon maritime commerce.

According to James Duncan Phillips (see bibliography), Stephen Clarendon took charge of his father's shipping business in 1821. All shipping and business papers dated previous to 1821 have been retained with the Stephen Phillips Papers, while those generated after 1820 have been included in the Stephen Clarendon Phillips Papers.

Subseries C. Civic Papers contains some correspondence and memoranda, though the bulk is comprised of bills and receipts from the building of Phillips' house on Chestnut Street in Salem (1804-1805). Also included are bills of sale and receipts for pews from the Independent Congregational Church. Another item of interest is Phillips' lesson book (1783), which contains case studies and problems in practical navigation.

Series II. Stephen Clarendon Phillips (1801-1857) Papers extends from 1820 to 1861 and consist of ships' papers, shipping and business documents, and personal and civic material. Subseries A. Ships' Papers, ranges from 1821-1851 and includes account books, accounts, protests, and correspondence with captains and merchant houses regarding individual vessels that Stephen Clarendon owned, mastered, or chartered. Of interest is a letter from Captain James Cheever of the bark Peru describing a revolution in Peru.

Subseries B. Shipping and Business Papers (1820-1856) contains materials associated with more than one ship or for cargo carried on non-Phillips vessels. Of interest is an item from R.B. Forbes in Boston discussing the status of the China trade. The business papers also include documentation of financial transactions conducted for friends and the papers of the Salem and Lowell Railroad, which describe some of the related planning efforts and land purchases of the 1840s.

Subseries C. Civic Papers (1824-1855) contains a significant portion of materials related to his work in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives (1824-1829) and Senate (1830-1834). The miscellaneous committee minutes and notes include materials related to the building of a bridge across the Charles River from Charlestown to City Square in Boston (1828). Other papers reveal Phillips' continued political work on the local level during his tenure in the State House. The political printed matter includes a number of interesting newspapers: The Free World (Salem, Mass., 1848), Free State Rally and Texas Chain Breaker (Dec. 6, 1845); Essex Register (Mar. 28, 1839, contains Phillips' Mayoral Address to Salem), and Manufacturers and Farmers Journal and Providence and Pawtucket Advertiser (Nov. 12, 1837). Other civic papers relate to Phillips' work with the Salem Lyceum, the American Unitarian Association, and the Sunday school.

Series III. Phillips Family Relatives, 1636-1897, contains materials created by a distant ancestor, Reverend George Phillips (1593-1644), a relation from Watertown, Massachusetts, Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), and two of Stephen C. Phillips' sons, Willard Peele Phillips (1825-1901) and George William Phillips (born 1827).

Subseries A. Reverend George Phillips (1593-1644) is limited to three items. Two are undated theological notes and drafts of sermons, and the third is a reproduction of a letter to John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Subseries B. Wendell Phillips (1811-1884) includes a brief letter (circa 1870) to W.K. Heinzen regarding the Franco-Prussian War.

Subseries C. Willard Peele Phillips (1825-1901), includes correspondence received from W.H Osborn concerns coastwise trade and the financial affairs of Stephen C. Phillips.

Subseries D. George William Phillips (born 1827), includes correspondence which is concerned with insurance and financial matters, and reveals George's close financial relationship with his brother Stephen Henry Phillips.

Series IV. Phillips Family Businesses, 1849-1888, is divided into lumbering papers, and forwarding merchant and railroad shipping papers.

Subseries A. Lumbering Papers, 1854-1860, documents the day-to-day operation and sale (circa 1860) of the family's timber concern in Canada. The documents are primarily correspondence between George William Phillips, the overseer of operations at Three Rivers Quebec, Willard P. Phillips, the company treasurer, and Stephen C. Phillips.

Subseries B. Forwarding Merchant and Railroad Shipping Papers documents business conducted at Phillips Wharf from 1849 to 1888. Here a number of commodities such as coal, wood, and cotton were transferred to railroad cars for shipment to cities throughout New England via a number of local railroads including the Salem and Lowell Railroad. There were at least four corporate entities that operated at Phillips Wharf: Phillips, Goodhue, and Bowker, Phillips and Company, Phillips Wharf Corporation, and the Phillips Wharf Trust.

Series V. Miscellaneous Papers, 1809-1883, contains memoranda and printed matter.