The Stephen Wheatland papers contains the business and personal papers of Stephen Wheatland (1897-1987), a descendant of David Pingree (1795-1863), who served as a manager of Maine and New Hampshire Timberlands for the Pingree family throughout the mid-20th century. The papers chiefly contain administrative records related to the land management companies which Wheatland administered: Aziscoos Land Company, Garfield Land Company, and Piscataquis Land Company. Limited material in the collection relates to Stephen Wheatland’s personal papers and the personal papers of the Pingree-Wheatland family.

Material from this collection comes from the Seven Islands Land Company, a successor organization to the Aziscoos, Garfield, and Piscataquis land companies, which inherited the earlier companies’ records following its establishment in 1964. The Seven Islands Land Company continued to use many of the materials prior to the material's transfer to the Essex Institute (a precursor organization to the Peabody Essex Museum).

To respect the original order of the collection, most papers that were bundled together by the creators were kept together, even if they intellectually belong with other papers. Because of this, certain types of material may appear across multiple series, if it was purposefully filed that way by the original organizations.

Series I. Correspondence contains correspondence sent and received by Stephen Wheatland and his agents dealing with the management of Maine and New Hampshire lands. The series is divided into three subseries.

Subseries A. Incoming Correspondence contains incoming correspondence dated from 1934 to 1951, organized alphabetically by year. Early material is generally addressed to Hosea Ballou Buck or Stephen Wheatland, while material beginning in the 1940’s is generally addressed to Grover C. Bradford, one of Wheatland’s agents. Material dated after 1935 was divided by the original records holders into “incoming correspondence” and “operations correspondence.” Some folders in this subseries are restricted due to the appearance of personal identifying information. Subseries B. Letterpress Books contains chronologically organized letter press books containing copies of outgoing correspondence sent by Wheatland or his agents. Subseries C. Other Correspondence contains additional correspondence which did not come from the 1934 to 1951 filing. Some of these include correspondence between Wheatland and other Pingree family members.

Series II. Land Companies Records contains materials created by, received by, or inherited by the Garfield Land Company, Aziscoos Land Company, and Seven Islands Land Company. The series is divided into two subseries.

Subseries A. Accounting Records contains accounting records for the land companies. Types of materials collected in this series include: bills and invoices, banking records, tax records, receipts for stumpage and scaling, rent accounts, and payroll. It is divided into eight sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1. Bills and Invoices contains incoming bills tendered to Stephen Wheatland or his agents and outgoing invoices submitted by Wheatland or his agents. Sub-subseries 2. Banking Records contains various banking records organized by subject related to accounts held by Stephen Wheatland or his agents, including checks, bank statements, and deposit slips. Sub-subseries 3. Taxes contains accounting records related to federal, state, county, and local taxes. The sub-subseries is divided into three sub-subseries. Sub-subseries a. Tax Receipts contains tax receipts for federal, state, county and local taxes, organized chronologically. Sub-subseries b. Anna P. Phillips Tax Receipts contains tax receipts on land owned by Anna P. Phillips, another Pingree heir. Phillips owned some of the lands administer by the land companies. Sub-subseries c. Timbers Cut Returns contains tax returns for timber cuts. Sub-subseries 4. Stumpage Receipts contains receipts for stumpage bills submitted by the company for stumpage sold by the land companies. Sub-subseries 5. Scale Expenses and Returns contains scale returns and scale expenses submitted by scalers employed by the land companies. It is divided into two sub-subseries. Sub-series A. Scale Returns contains records of the amount of timber removed from a lot. Sub-series B. Scaling Expenses contains expense receipts submitted by scalers. Sub-subseries 6. Rent Accounts contains alphabetically organized records of rental fees paid by organizations and individuals leasing lands from one of the land companies owned by Wheatland. Sub-subseries 7. Payroll contains payroll for employees of the land companies. The subseries is restricted due to the appearance of personal identifying information.

Subseries B. Operational Records contains operational records for the land companies. Types of materials in this series include township records, permits, leases, abstracts of deeds, land sales, reports on lands, and other records. It is divided into eight sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1. Township Records contains land records related to townships owned by the land companies. It is divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries a. Northern Maine Township Records contains records of townships in Northern Maine owned by the companies or the companies’ predecessors. Record types included in the sub-subseries include maps, quit-claim deeds, and other records. Materials are titled based on their location, using the United States public land survey system of township and range. Materials are organized based on the original box order used by the Bangor offices, which is generally ordered by range. Sub-subseries b. Upton, Success, and Rangeley Records contain maps, correspondence, surveys, and other records for land owned in Upton and Success, New Hampshire and Rangeley, Maine. Sub-subseries c. Wentworth N.H. Records contains maps, tax data, correspondence, and memorandums related to lands owned in north-western New Hampshire. Sub-subseries d. Allagash Plantation Records contains correspondence, accounting records, a scrapbook, and other records related to the Allagash Plantation in Northern Maine and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway Creation Act. Sub-subseries 2. Permits contains chronologically ordered permits issued to other businesses and individuals. Sub-subseries 3. Leases contains chronologically ordered leases issued to business, individuals, and organizations. Sub-subseries 4. Abstracts of Deeds contains abstracts of deeds for lands owned or formally owned by the Pingree heirs. Sub-subseries 5. Land Sale Records contains records of land sales and land purchases. Sub-subseries 6. Inspection Trips and Agent Reports contains reports on Pingree owned lands made during inspection trips. The subseries includes an inspection journal created by Stephen Wheatland’s daughter. Sub-subseries 7. Other Records contains a variety of other records related to the administration of the land companies. Material included in the sub-subseries include historical material, including state laws, reports, notices, photographs, and other materials.

Series III. Pingree Family Material contains material related to the greater Pingree family, either created by Stephen Wheatland, his father Richard Wheatland, or other members of the family. Material in this subseries is not directly tied to the family’s management of lands through the land companies. The series is divided into two subseries.

Subseries A. Stephen Wheatland Papers contains personal papers of Stephen Wheatland. The sub-series is divided into two sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1. Maine Land Materials contains records related to Maine and New Hampshire land ownership owned by Wheatland not created by or owned by the land companies. Sub-subseries 2. Other Records contains other records created or owned by Wheatland, some related to his philanthropic ventures.

Subseries B. Pingree and Wheatland Family Papers contains personal papers for other members of the Pingree and Wheatland family. The subseries is divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1. H.S. Follansbee Correspondence contains correspondence sent by the family lawyer, H.S. Follansbee to various Pingree heirs. Sub-subseries 2. Receipts contains receipts for purchases made by Richard Wheatland and Mary Wheatland. Sub-subseries 3. Haskell Island Records contains various records related to the sale of Haskell Island and a house on it owned by the family. Sub-subseries 4. Newspaper Clippings contains newspaper clippings.