This collection consists of documents relating to admiralty (marine law) cases for more than 132 different ships, several wharves in the Boston area, as well as general correspondence and papers for non-marine legal cases. It has been organized into three series.

Series I. Ship Cases has been arranged alphabetically by ship name. Records include accounts, agreements, bills, bills of lading, case notes, crew lists, contracts, depositions, freight bills, insurance policies, interrogatories, invoices, letters, powers of attorney, protests, trial notes, towing accounts, vessel deeds, and writs.

Series II. Wharf Cases has been arranged alphabetically by wharf name and contains accounts, bills of complaint, and letters.

Series III. Correspondence and Other Cases contains correspondence with Sohier and agreements, bills, bills of lading, bills of sale, depositions, letters, indentures, insurance policies, invoices, notes, petitions, powers of attorney, testimonies, and writs for cases involving unnamed ships or non-marine cases.