Contains the entire collection of the Hancock Family Papers housed at the Massachusetts Historical Society and consists of letters and correspondence of the family, including John, first signer of the Declaration of Independence. The collection deliberately omits items containing only a signature. All items are arranged chronologically, except the letterbooks (Thomas Hancock, 1745-50; John Hancock, 1780-82), Receipt Book (Thomas Hancock, 1747-55) and Reports to the Continental Congress (Ebenezer Hancock, 1776-79), which are contained as four separate categories on Reel 1. Accompanied by a printed guide, Catalogue Guide to the Hancock Papers, 1728 -1815: A Microfilm Edition. In a few cases there are subject headings, but there are no cross-reference cards in the guide. "The main corpus ... consists of the Society's collection of John Hancock papers."
