Contains assorted correspondence, estate documents, bills, and receipts of Joseph Bowditch (1700-1780) of Salem, Massachusetts, dated 1715 to circa 1785. Included are several medical bills from Bowditch's physician John Cabot. The papers were bound in a volume at an unknown date with a typed table of contents inserted. There are also legal documents generated by Bowditch when he served as a justice of the peace, including warrants for the sale of debtors' property to be paid to England. In addition, there is a warrant for the arrest of John Clark of Salem for non-payment of a debt, and twentieth century correspondence regarding the document.

Joseph Bowditch (1700-1780) was a merchant and ship owner, and he served as a justice of the peace for Essex County, sheriff, and town treasurer in Salem, Massachusetts.