This series comprises Manuscript Boxes 1 through 4 and Oversize Boxes 1 and 2, and consists of business papers, personal papers, and books. Business papers pertain to Michael Shellens's careers in seafaring and real estate, and personal papers pertain to the private affairs of the Shellens family. The books are from the personal collections of members of the Shellens family.
Business papers include discharge documents received at destination ports, business and financial records, accounts and service agreements, calculation and log books, bills, and correspondence compiled during Shellens's many sailing trips. There are also newspaper clippings on the sea race between the Agenor and the Lucille and the accident between the Agenor and the Giovanni in the Mediterranean Sea. Materials pertaining to Shellens's careers in real estate and surveying include inventories of properties of interest to Shellens, professional certifications, survey reports, and correspondence from colleagues and tenants. Financial records include bank accounts, ledger books, and real estate transactions.
Personal papers consist mainly of correspondence, most of which pertains chiefly to Michael Shellens, though there are also letters concerning other members of his immediate family and members of the Shellens family in Antwerp. The correspondence includes letters between Shellens and his daughter Ruth from her childhood to womanhood, and letters from Shellens's mentor and friend Captain George Wilson, as well as letters between Shellens and other colleagues and friends. Other correspondence pertains to Shellens's brother, M. Henry Shellens, and his cousins in Antwerp. These letters refer to the well-being of family members, requests for funds, Shellens's mother's death, and Shellens's own ill health in the 1940s. Correspondence of Shellens's wife, Ella (Collamore) Shellens, including a letter of condolence from Captain Wilson's wife after the death of the Shellens' first child, Marie, is also present here. Other personal papers include materials related to the wedding of Michael and Ella Shellens, birth records for Ruth Shellens, obituaries of family members, employment letters, certificates, property ownership papers, professional and social affiliation materials, and materials relating to Michael and Ella Shellens's marriage and deaths, such as a wedding announcement, funeral memoirs, wills, bank balances, real estate holdings, and certificates. Included with wedding announcement are geneological notes about the geneology of Ella Mabel Shellens (nee Collamore).
The last portion of this series consists of books on seafaring and religion. While most books are from Michael Shellens's personal collection, there is also one book that formerly belonged to Ella Shellens, and a Masonic Lodge Bible that belonged to Marshall Shellens.