Fonds contains the personal and professional records of four generations of the Bigelow family of Nova Scotia. It includes correspondence, legal and financial documents, diaries and memoirs, and photographs that document primarily the family's shipbuilding activities as well as the genealogical interests of John Robert Bigelow.
Fonds consists of Marsh's account book with the barque Vibilia and her owners (1869-1882) as well as pilot and customs papers. Also included is a charter contract for the Ellerslie (1886).