There are several letters which concern Lukens' official position as Surveyor-general, but the bulk of the collection is the 12 small survey books (1760-1775, ca. 108 p.). There are surveys of Philadelphia, particularly near the State House, now Independence Square; for a vineyard plantation in the Northern Liberties (1769); and for lands in Lancaster and Berks Counties.

Correspondence from Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to Thomas Birch, and Nevil Maskelyne to Charles Mason, relating to the survey, and the transits of Venus (1761,1769).

Between 1764 and 1781, the Scots surveyor George Gauld was assigned by the British Admirality to chart the waters of the Gulf Coast off British West Florida, an area that extended from New Orleans to the modern-day Florida. In 1773, Gauld submitted some of his findings to the APS, probably in hopes of having them published in the Transactions, and although these were not published, they became one of the first mansucripts entered into the Society's collections. Contains occasional brief references to Native peoples of the areas described. The Gauld manuscript also includes an extract of a letter from John Lorimer to Gauld, 1772, and a sketch of the Middle and Yellow Rivers of West Florida by Thomas Hutchins. When it was received at the APS, it was endorsed: "This long uninteresting Paper can hardly obtain a Place in the Transactions of a Philosophical Society. It should however be preserved in the Files for the Use of Historians or map makers."

The first volume is minutes of the commissioners for determining the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, which was copied by George M. Justine in 1842 from an "authenticated" copy owned by Ferdinand R. Hassler. The second volume contains receipts (62 items) for money spent by the Penn family for the survey.

Reports on conferences and treaties with the Indians and miscellaneous Indian affairs in Pennsylvania, with emphasis upon the French and Indian War. Correspondents include: John Armstrong Thomas Barton Edward Braddock Daniel Claus George Croghan James Hamilton James Logan Hugh Mercer Andrew Montour Robert Hunter Morris Robert Orme Ferdinand J. Paris Thomas Penn Horatio Sharpe Joseph Shippen William Shirley John Stanwix Robert Stobo William Trent Conrad Weiser

James Burd (1726-1793) was well-known in colonial Pennsylvania through his role in the French and Indian War, as well as his connections to many of the colony's leading families (most notably the Shippen family). Initially starting out as a merchant in Philadelphia, Burd became increasingly involved with colonial affairs after moving to Lancaster County with his family in 1752. It would be on the frontier where Burd would make his mark first as a soldier, and later as a magistrate. The Burd-Shippen Papers consist mainly of letters and business documents sent to James Burd, with the bulk of the collection relating to the French and Indian War, 1754-1763, in which Burd served as an officer commanding troops at Fort Augusta and elsewhere. The collection reflects all aspects of Burd's life in Pennsylvania as a merchant, soldier, and magistrate; as well as his involvement with the Shippen family professionally and personally. Intermixed with items sent to Burd are receipts to his wife Sarah Shippen Burd, and correspondence between Edward Shippen and James Hamilton regarding land matters and Indian affairs in Lancaster.