Much of the content of this notebook, written and printed, pertains to death, whether in the form of general observations thereon, or in the form of obituaries and commentary on the deaths of acquaintances and of local and national figures. There is much on Henry Clay (d. 29 June 1852) and on Daniel Webster (d. 24 October 1852).

The diary contains brief entries for all but one day of 1854. Among the events commented on at some length are: the loss of the steamship Arctic; the apprehension of the fugitive slave Anthony Burns in Boston; political successes of the Know Nothings; and a sensational local double-murder case, perpetrated by a man named Hewitt. Most of the clippings probably derive from the Boston Journal.

Unlike the daily calendars Shepherd used for the diaries of 1854 and 1855 (which were printed with three dates per page) this calendar was printed with a single date per page, allowing for longer entries. There is a good deal of commentary (and a number of clippings) on the trial and execution of John Brown.