The Enoch Silsby Papers consist of four boxes containing 1839 pieces of which 1310 relate to his business operations and 529 to his personal or household expenses.

The papers pertaining to the construction of the brig CASPIAN in Newburyport, Massachusetts, by Elisha Briggs in 1816, present a rather complete account of the various expenditures involved in the building of such a vessel at this time. The same may be said for the papers relating to the construction of the ship PARTHION in 1819 at the same place by the same man.

Among the significant individual items relating to the PARTHION are agreements, January 5, 1819, with Arthur Caswell and Michael Gaffney to caulk the vessel; April 16, 1819, with Benjamin Choate to do the joiner work; with Benjamin Pearson and Isaac Johnson to paint the vessel; October 19, 1819, with Joseph Barton to serve as master; and letters of instruction, October 19, 1819, to Barton and October, 1820, to Harvey 0. Mackay. Also included are memorandums on the "Diameter of copper and iron bolts and spikes for a ship of 300 tons" and "of cordage for Enoch Silsby's new Ship," the latter by William McClennan, Jr., rigger.