The Allen Family Papers contain the personal correspondence, shipping, and business papers of William Allen (1766-1853), his sons, Charles Henry Allen (1810-1899), Joseph Augustus Allen (1808-1840), and George Franklin Allen (1813-1852), grandchildren, William Henry Allen, Margaret Lockhart (Allen) Davis, and her husband William Augustus Davis (1813-1886). This collection has been arranged into two series.

Series I. Family Correspondence includes letters to William Allen, letters to and from Charles Henry Allen, and miscellaneous family correspondence.

Subseries A. Letters to William Allen from his sons discuss their shipping ventures and experiences in foreign ports. Margaret Davis' letters reveal her life in Pernambuco, Brazil with her husband William Davis and their children. Correspondence from various relatives include letters from William's brother-in-laws, Samuel Edwards and Thomas Lee, grandson William Henry Allen, great-granddaughter Ellen Davis, and niece Lucy Story (Allen) Leach. Of note are William Henry Allen's letters which describe his early shipping career.

Subseries B. Letters to Charles Henry Allen include letters from his wife and children, cousins William Henry and Margaret, brother George Franklin, niece Ellen Davis, sister-in-law Laura Sprague, and friends Daniel Appleton, Nathaniel Perkins, and William Brown.

Subseries C. Letters from Charles Henry Allen include letters to his wife Mary discussing his life in shipping, business letters to his cousin William Henry Allen, and letters to his niece Ellen Davis after the death of her mother Margaret.

Subseries D. Miscellaneous Family Correspondence includes a letter from William Allen to his wife Mary; letters to Joseph Augustus Allen from Margaret Davis; letters to Mary Penniman (Wright) Allen from friends; and letters to George Henry Allen (1838-1925) from his cousins William Augustus Davis, Charles Henry Allen Jr. and sister Margaret Lockhart Allen (1830-1910).

Series II. Business and Personal Papers, include the shipping and business papers of William Augustus Davis, George Henry Allen, George Lockhart Allen and several other Allen family members.

Subseries A. William Augustus Davis Business Papers contain his correspondence regarding cargo from merchant houses and letter discussing his store in Brazil. Additional letters from William to his cousin Charles Henry Allen are located with the Charles Henry Allen Business Papers, MSS 385. Davis' ships papers are arranged alphabetically for ships he mastered or on which he consigned cargo. His miscellaneous shipping papers (F6) include accounts, receipts, and circulars for multiple or unknown ships.

The miscellaneous Allen business papers (F7) include William Allen's shipping account book (1808-1818), for the ships Algol, Adaline, and the schooner Sally; an 1823 certificate for William Allen as the Salem Inspector and Measurer; William Henry Allen's papers for the ship George; miscellaneous receipts for William Allen; and an 1890 insurance policy for George Henry Allen's furniture. Miscellaneous papers (F8) contain an 1834 safe passage certificate for the brig Henry, notations of Davis genealogy, shipping letters, and envelopes. Folder 9 contains a research paper on the Allen Family by Blaine Edele (1977).

Subseries B. George Henry Allen (1838-1925) Business Papers contains receipts and correspondence for George Henry Allen and some papers for the ship Sooloo.

Subseries C. George Lockhart Allen (1865-1920) Personal Papers consists of one folder of personal papers belonging to George Lockhart Allen, the son of George Henry Allen and great-grandson of William Allen. This folder contains Harvard University Class Day programs from 1888, a letter from a friend "Walter," a Harvard University graduation program, and a number of items concerning his sister, Caroline Lockhart Allen.