This collection consists of undated bound photocopies of letters, ships logs, ship account books, personal voyage diaries, newspaper clippings, ship repair letters, slop accounts, stores and chandlery, damage protest, port charges, song book, charter party, crew pay record, and home accounts, primarily of Captain William H. Gould (includes one ship log summary of the ship Charles Ward, under command of Alexander Gould, father of William H. Gould). There are also selected photocopies of William H. Gould historical papers, which include personal accounts from family members, consul protests for different ships, schooner contracts, letters, debts, genealogical ancestry of William Gould, pew and gravesite purchases, ship photos of some of the ships that William Gould commanded, and additional papers and ship documents. The bulk of the collection consists of ship logs, which contain considerable information about wind, weather, sea, longitude and latitude, repair and sewing of sails, visiting ashore and on other vessels, passing and signaling other ships, achieving landmarks such as the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, storms and damage to the ships, and accounts of Captain William Goulds family on voyages. Each ship log is bound and is organized by ship (some ships have multiple volumes) and all volumes are in chronological order. The summaries of the following ships are included: Ship Charles Ward, 1854-1858; Bark Eva Fisk, 1878-1881; Ship Vigilant, 1882-1890; Ship Sachem, 1892-1893; Ship Mary L. Stone, 1893-1894; Ship Challenger, 1898-1890. One bound volume of summaries of each ship log has also been prepared.
