Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Scott, Thomas Alexander, 1823-1881
| title | Pennsylvania Railroad Company Letterbook, 1875-1880. | repository | Hagley Museum and Library |
| description | In: Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Records, The record consists of a 478 pp. letterpress copybook of Gardner's outbound correspondence from 1875 to 1880. Gardner considered this his personal private correspondence, as he took it with him after leaving the PRR. It consists of letters that were not treated as part of his ordinary railroad correspondence. While some of the letters deal with ordinary railroad operations, the bulk of them contain information that Gardner wished to remain confidential. The majority of them were written to his superior, General Manager Frank Thomson, and to his immediate subordinates, the division superintendents. Many of the letters deal with matters of employee discipline, handling accusations against employees, the disregard of orders and employee theft, including the use of Pinkerton under-cover detectives to investigate the honesty of conductors. There are also discussions of inadequate salary levels for middle and lower managers during the depression of the late 1870s, on occasions of political patronage in hiring, and on promotion policy. A very long letter written in 1878 contains an evaluation of the potential of all of the junior officers under Gardner's jurisdiction, including the Roadway and Motive Power Departments, which gives some indication of how the PRR judged job performance and promotion potential. The letterbook also contains transcripts of the petitions of the engineers and firemen for a rollback of the pay cut that precipitated the 1877 strike, along with copies of President Scott's reply. There is some other information on the strike, including early warnings of discontent and an account of the opening of the line from Altoona to Pittsburgh, written to correct errors in the press. However, there is no day-to-day coverage, which must have been kept in Gardner's regular company letterbooks. There are also letters to Benjamin Franklin, the head of the Pinkerton agency in Philadelphia, ordering the removal of most under-cover operatives from the PRR in 1878. The letters also mention Gardner's efforts to reduce the sales of liquor in Altoona, the shortcomings of the types of mutual insurance schemes available to employees prior to the formation of the Voluntary Relief Dept. in 1886, and the assignment of Charles E. Pugh, Gardner's eventual successor, to take charge of all work related to handling traffic to the 1876 Centennial. The letters written after leaving the PRR describe Gardner's work on the Hoosac Tunnel and the Troy & Greenfield, including a copy of the contract leasing its operation to the Fitchburg Railroad. Gardner also wrote to his old PRR associates to exchange technical information and general railroad news. He was particularly interested in the possibility of connecting the PRR with the Hoosac Tunnel route, giving it improved access to New England, and describes the maneuvering of the New York Central and Erie roads to control access to the tunnel from the west. Bio/History: The Pennsylvania Railroad Grand Division was created upon adoption of the Grand Divisional organization on March 1, 1873. Under this plan, the lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company proper, consisting of a main line between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and several branches, became the Pennsylvania Railroad Grand Division. The lines of the United New Jersey & Canal Company between Philadelphia and New York became the United Railroads of New Jersey Grand Division, and the lines between Sunbury and Erie, Pa., became the Philadelphia & Erie Grand Division. The Pennsylvania Railroad Grand Division was abolished on April 1, 1907, and divided into the Eastern Pennsylvania and Western Pennsylvania Grand Divisions. |
| extent | 1 v. |
| formats | Letterbook |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://69.63.217.11/H92010Staff/OPAC/index.asp |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available at the repository. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:47 |
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| title | William Maxwell Evarts papers, 1667-1918 (bulk 1877-1891). | repository | Library of Congress |
| description | Correspondence, memoranda, diary, journal, minute book, account books, printed material, and other papers concerning New York state, national, and international politics from the Civil War to the 1890s. Topics include Evarts’ early law practice, cases in which he represented the U.S. during the Civil War, trial of Jefferson Davis, impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Geneva Arbitration Tribunal (1871-1872), Samuel J. Tilden election case of 1876, appointment of ambassadors, Chinese immigration, international monetary conference in Paris (1878), presidential campaign of 1880, Peabody Education Fund, Statue of Liberty, patronage, pensions, suffrage, and tariffs. Correspondents include James Burrill Angell, John Jacob Astor, Edward Bates, James Gillespie Blaine, Joseph Hodges Choate, Cyrus W. Field, James A. Garfield, John Hay, Ebenezer R. Hoar, Levi P. Morton, Edward John Phelps, William Henry Seward, William Henry Trescott, Julia Gardiner Tyler, and Robert C. Winthrop. Biographical/Historical Data: Lawyer, U.S. senator from New York, and U.S. secretary of state and attorney general. Notes: MSS20032 CALL NUMBER: 0319T Request in: Manuscript Reading Room (Madison, LM101) |
| extent | 12.6 linear feet. |
| formats | Correspondence Ephemera Financial Records Printed Materials |
| access | Open to research. |
| record link | http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms010116 |
| record source | http://lccn.loc.gov/mm78020032 |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division and on Internet. |
| acquisition information | Deposit, Effingham Evarts, 1939-1942. Deposit converted to gift, 1943. Purchase, 1965-1986. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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| title | Papers of Samuel L. M. Barlow, 1776-1905 (bulk 1885-1889) | repository | The Huntington Library |
| description | Personal and professional papers of Samuel L. M. Barlow. The collection contains letters (including 53 tissue copy letter books), documents, records, and manuscripts and documents Barlow's legal, business, and political career, and his cultural and social pursuits. Barlow's legal and business papers constitute the bulk of the collection and cover 1855-1889. This portion of the collection deals with financing, building and management of railroads -- both Eastern and Western divisions of the Ohio and Mississippi, the Atlantic & Great Western, the Atlantic, Missisippi & Ohio, the Little Miami, the Columbus and Xenia, the Erie, and the New York, Erie & Western; Barlow's lobbying on behalf of Texas and Pacific Railroad Company and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company; his involvement the affairs of the Tehuantepec railroad route in Mexico, mining promotions and operations, including the notorious Arizona diamond hoax; land speculation (farm lands in Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio and urban properties in St. Louis, Mo.); his patronage of the New York subway and telephone enterprises, and his part ownership of the New York World. Political and military correspondence and manuscripts cover Barlow's involvement in Democratic politics at both national and state levels, that started in 1856 and continued until his death. The papers deal with Barlow's role in the nomination of James Buchanan for President (1856) and his administration; Democratic National Convention at Charleston (1860); George McClellan's presidential bid, the National Union Club, congressional elections, Tilden, Hancock, and Cleveland campaigns (1876-1886). This portion of the collection also contains reports from the Eastern theatre of the Civil War that Barlow received from his agents in the field. Among the correspondents are William T. Sherman, and T.J. Barnett, a minor official at the Department of the Interior and the Washington correspondent of the New York Journal of commerce, who provided an insight into Lincoln's White House. Also included are items reflecting Barlow's role in social and cultural life of New York -- his friendship with William Cullen Bryant and Bret Harte, patronage of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Academy of Music, and the New York Historical Society, his collections of colonial Americana and rare books, etc Correspondents include William Henry Aspinwall, Henry Douglas Bacon, T.J. Barnett, James Asheton Bayard, Jr., August Belmont, Judah Philip Benjamin, Montgomery Blair, William Montague Browne, Benjamin Franklin Butler, Roscoe Conkling, George Ticknor Curtis, John Henry Dillon, William Maxwell Evarts, Henry Harrisse, Ben Holladay, Hugh Judge Jewett, Clarence King, George Brinton McClellan, James McHenry, Manton Malon Marble, Thomas Alexander Scott, Horatio Seymour, William Davis Shipman, John Slidell, Richard Taylor, William Henry Trescott, Morrison Remnick Waite, Samuel Ward. Biog. note Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow, prominent corporation lawyer and backstage Democrat. Co-founder of the law firm of Bowdoin, Larocque, and Barlow in 1852, he specialized in corporate law and management, particularly in railroads, mining, land, and utilities, and was a part owner of the New York World. Barlow represented the English Shareholders Association in a successful attack on the corrupt management of the Erie Railroad in 1872 and was directly responsible for the ouster of Jay Gould from the board of directors of that company. A lifelong Democrat despite his increasing disaffection after 1870, Barlow played a pivotal role in the nomination and presidential campaign of James Buchanan, served as advisor to Buchanan's administration, worked unsuccessfully to restore party's unity at the Charleston Convention of 1860, and engineered the 1864 presidential candidacy of General George McClellan, a close personal friend. A notable collector of early Americana and early printed editions of European Renaissance literature, Barlow also played an active role in the social and cultural life of New York. He entertained lavishly at his Madison Avenue home and his Long Island estate, and was co-founder of the Manhattan Club and patron of museums and historical societies Location: Manuscripts Call #mssBW Boxes 1-202 |
| extent | 211 boxes |
| formats | Personal Papers Business Papers Correspondence Financial Records Legal Papers |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| bibliography | Albert V. House, "The Samuel Latham Mitchill Barlow papers in the Huntington Library," Huntington Library quarterly, 28, no. 4 (August, 1965): 341-352 |
| record source | http://catalog.huntington.org/ |
| finding aid | The unpublished finding aid is available in the library. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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| title | Papers of Thomas Lord Kimball, 1859-1901. | repository | The Huntington Library |
| description | The collection consists chiefly of letters, but there are also documents, manuscripts (including 53 volumes of diaries kept by Kimball and his wife, Mary Porter Rogers Kimball), newspaper clippings and other printed ephemera. Subject matter represented in the collection include: the railroad business and related industries; Kimball's wife and family; the expansion of the Union Pacific into northern Utah and Idaho; mining in Idaho and Montana; railroad competition; political intrigue involving railroads on both local and national levels; and the prevalent evils of the free-pass system. Significant persons represented in the collection include Sidney Dillon, Jay Gould, and Thomas Alexander Scott. Biog. note Thomas Lord Kimball, railroad executive, moved to Cincinnati, OH, in 1859 to take a public relations job with the Pennsylvania Railway Co. He was appointed assistant general passenger agent in 1863 and, moving to the Chicago headquarters, general western passenger agent in 1868. Kimball transferred to the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 1871 to take charge of the General Passenger and Ticket Agency in Omaha, NE, and remained with that company until his retirement in 1897, having risen to the positions of general manager and third vice-president. |
| extent | 10 boxes. |
| formats | Correspondence Clippings Ephemera |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| bibliography | Guide to American historical manuscripts in the Huntington Library (San Marino, Calif. : H. E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, 1979). |
| record source | http://catalog.huntington.org/ |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available in repository. An electronic version is available on the Web site of Online Archives of California (OAC). Click on the link in this record to view the finding aid. |
| acquisition information | Jack Kimball, Purchase, 3/8/1948. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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| title | Letter to the Western and Pacific Railroad Companies, 1871. | repository | University of Pennsylvania |
| description | Scott, writing as a representative of the Pennsylvania Railroad, asks the other railroads to accommodate the private car of "Mr. Tyler of Philadelphia." Contained in: Philip H. Ward Collection of Autographs and Memorabilia. Folder 130 Location: Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts Call Number: Ms. Coll. 585 |
| extent | 1 item (1 leaf). |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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| title | Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Office of Secretary.Board files, 1843-1950 [microform]. | repository | Hagley Museum and Library |
| description | The records consist of microfilm copies of the board files made as a precaution during World War II and the Korean War. No attempt was made to correct misfiles or provide target cards during the microfilming. Consequently, the documents within individual files are not in strict chronological order, and some documents are misfiled. The post-1950 board file exists only in hard copy at the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. The "BF" series board file was apparently created in the late 1850s, subsuming elements of a previous filing system, the bulk of which has been lost. The files, numbered from BF-1 through BF-325, follow a subject-numeric system and are arranged in four subseries. Files BF-1 through BF-37 deal with "railroads" (1843-1896), both within and outside the PRR System. The files are arranged alphabetically. For example, file BF-1 is for companies beginning with "A", 1866-1880, file BF-2 is "A", 1880-1896, and so on. Files BF-38 through BF-61 are for "non-railroad" companies (1850-1896), with a similar internal arrangement. Files BF-62 through BF-97 are subject files (1850-1895) and files BF-98 through BF-325 are subject files (1896-1906). The subject files are numbered simply in the order in which they were created. After 1896, most of the sorts of data that were previously filed by "railroad" and "non-railroad" companies were placed in the subject files. The majority of the files in the BF series deal with corporate matters: leases, mergers and acquisitions, financial performance, deeds and the like. These were types of documents that were presented to the board for ratification. They permit tracing the evolution of the PRR System and its relations with other railroads in the broadest sense. However, the board file is the one cache of the 19th century correspondence that survives intact, and it does contain much valuable information. The "railroad" file includes a number of important documents, including: an 1875 report on competition with the B&O; documents relating to Thomson's and Scott's involvement in the Texas & Pacific; notes on an advisory council set up by J. P. Morgan to eliminate competition between the PRR and New York Central in the 1890s; a report by T. Haskins DuPuy on the condition of the state-owned Main Line of Public Works at the time of its purchase by the PRR in 1857; a prospectus of the Wilmington & Western Railroad; and notes on the PRR's interest in the Southern Railway Security Company and the Richmond & Danville. Files BF-16 and BF-17 deal with the PRR proper, and include papers relating to promotional meetings and subscription lists prior to the formal organization of the company; notes of block committees organized to solicit subscriptions in Philadelphia; samples of waybills, schedules and broadsides from 1840s and early 1850s; a list of financial donations to the Civil War effort; a commendation to employees who remained loyal during the Strike of 1877, with an accounting for losses and liabilities for strike damage; notes on the loss of suburban business to trolley companies (1895); a progress report on original construction (1848); notes on damage caused by the Johnstown Flood; and papers related to the company's 50th anniversary celebration. Files on the United New Jersey Railroad & Canal Company include a report on the Harsimus Cove terminal property in Jersey City, notes on the negotiations for the PRR lease in 1871, on dissident stockholders' attempts to overturn the lease, and on Andrew Carnegie's role in secretly buying them out. The "non-railroad" file contains information on non-railroad subsidiaries of the PRR and its relations with a wide variety of outside firms, including banks, insurance companies, coal companies, warehouse and lighterage companies, steamship lines, city governments, trade and professional associations, and the press. Among the more interesting pieces are letters from the American Railway Literary Union, an organization devoted to banning "indecent" literature from being sold by news-butchers on trains or at station newsstands; from the International Sabbath Association against Sunday trains; from the Gatling Gun Company offering its product for company use during the Strike of 1877; and from Leopold Lorenz, who operated the company's Emigrant Agency in Europe in the 1850s. The last include reports on promoting the PRR in Europe and Erie Railroad broadsides in German promoting emigration. Among other important papers are files on the acquisition of the Empire Line after its disastrous fight with Standard Oil; on the 1893 Columbian Exposition; a report by Charles B. Dudley on underground cables; and reports on suburban service on the Main Line at Philadelphia. The "subject" files are actually arranged both by subject and by the titles of various company officers and committees. They include manuscript annual reports (1848-1851). The bulk of the files describes the physical growth of the system between the 1860s and 1890s, both by lease and new construction, with notes on the necessary financing. Some of the more important subjects covered in depth are: the development of the suburb of Bryn Mawr, Pa., by company officers; the company's participation in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition; reports on the coal properties of the Susquehanna Coal Company; the genesis and organization of the Voluntary Relief Dept., the Pension Dept. and the Employees Savings Fund; the organization of the American Steamship Company; William B. Wilson's 1896 company history; the North River Bridge Company project at New York City; the installation of Hollerith machines in the Accounting Dept.; and the early phases of the Penn Station project. There are also annual reports on the operation of the Secretary's Dept., on changes in bylaws and organization, and on appointments to offices. The board file was reorganized in 1906, when it was divided into a BFA series for the parent company and a BFB series that covered all of the subsidiaries. The BFB files have been arranged with the other corporate records of each subsidiary. Microfilm masters and copies of most of the BFB file from 1906 to 1950 are available at the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Scope & Content: The BFA series is arranged on a numeric-chronological system. Files were numbered in the order in which they were created. Generally, the lower numbers were used for certain types of recurring documents, such as proofs of election of directors. Beyond that, each transaction was usually given its own number, so that nearly 22,000 separate files had been created by 1950. The bulk of the files deal almost exclusively with changes to property and physical plant, including the purchase and sale of real estate, leases, purchases of equipment, and the construction and abandonment of track and structures. Many of the files consist of AFE (Authority for Expenditure) forms, which state the need for a proposed improvement or abandonment in a condensed form for board approval, usually including small maps or drawings. The board files are accessed through the index to the Board of Managers' minutes, which also acts as an index to the board file. If a board file document exists on a particular subject or transaction, the appropriate BF or BFA citation will appear next to the citation for the minute book page. A partial subject index to the 325 files of the BF series has been prepared and is included in the finding aid to improve access to the most significant material. History: The Office of the Secretary was created upon the organization of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1847. In addition to keeping the minutes of the Board of Managers, the Secretary acted as custodian of the so called "board file", consisting of all papers presented during deliberations of the board. Linking Entry Note: Forms Series IX and X of Record group I, Subgroup A, Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Office of Secretary. Corporate Records. |
| extent | 94 reels. |
| formats | Microfilm Business Papers |
| access | Use of this collection is subject to some restrictions. Please contact an archivist. |
| record source | http://69.63.217.11/H92010Staff/OPAC/index.asp |
| finding aid | Indexes: Unpublished finding aid available at the repository. |
| acquisition information | Originals and microfilm masters at: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, P.O. Box 1026, Harrisburg, Pa. 17108-1026. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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| title | North Pennsylvania Railroad Company Records, 1836-1982. | repository | Hagley Museum and Library |
| description | The records of the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company consist of basic corporate records such as minute books, annual reports, account books and statements. They give a good overview of the company's planning, construction and operation down to the Reading lease of 1879, the dull middle period when the firm was a passive lessor (1879-1971), and the complex negotiations connected with the bankruptcy and conveyance to Conrail (1971-1981). Among the more interesting series are the board papers, which consist of inbound letters and reports directed to the president and board. They include notes on earnings and finances, committee reports, reports of surveys and construction, lists of officers and petitions from patrons. There are many letters from Tom Scott and A.J. Cassatt of the Pennsylvania Railroad regarding arrangements for direct service to the Centennial and use of the New Line. A circular includes a map of the Centennial grounds showing the temporary tracks used to deliver exhibits and construction materials. The reorganization papers document the company's attempts to find a solvent merger partner, the plan for a Middle Atlantic Rail Corp. (MARC), disputes with SEPTA over the commuter service and subsidy, and the valuation of property conveyed to Conrail. There are center-line maps of the entire railroad, and track and property maps of most important points. There are also profiles of all the bridges over the Delaware River between Easton and Taylorsville (1875) and of the company's own bridge at Yardley. Records of other companies include a copy of the charter of the Kensington and Oxford Turnpike Road Company 1836) and records of the associated East Trenton and Delaware & Bound Brook Railroad companies. The latter includes a small selection of president's inbound letters and notices (1878) and a short history of the 1875 Hopewell, N.J., "Frog War" between the forces of the D&BB and Pennsylvania Railroad. Historical Notes: The Philadelphia, Easton and Water-Gap Railroad Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on April 6, 1852, and renamed the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company on October 3, 1853. The company's object was to link Philadelphia with northeastern Pennsylvania and central and western New York, but it was only able to construct a line as far as Bethlehem (1853-1857) with a branch to Doylestown (1856), relying on connections with the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Bethlehem. As it occupied a minor traffic corridor, the North Penn was a relatively weak road until 1874, when it built a branch from Jenkintown to the Delaware River at Yardley which became a link in a second route between New York and Philadelphia. The so-called "New Line" opened on May 1, 1876, in time for traffic to the Centennial. The New Line made the North Penn a more attractive property. The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company negotiated a long term lease on May 14, 1879, and the road was thereafter operated as part of the Reading system. This situtation lasted until the Reading entered bankruptcy in 1971. After several failed attempts to reorganize, the viable portions of the Reading lines were conveyed to Conrail on April 1, 1976. The North Penn then began selling off its remaining real estate and was finally liquidated between 1982 and 1990. Related materials in: Hagley Museum and Library, Reading Company Records, Accession 1520. Hagley Museum and Library, Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad Company Records, Accession 1776. |
| extent | 14 linear ft. |
| formats | Business Papers Correspondence Administrative Records Ephemera |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://69.63.217.11/H92010Staff/OPAC/index.asp |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available at the repository. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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| title | ALS : Philadelphia, Pa., to William A. Stokes, Atlantic City, N.J., 1874 July 7. | repository | Hagley Museum and Library |
| description | Thomas A. Scott, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, writes to Stokes, chairman of the stockholders' special investigating committee, in relation to the mortgage of July 1, 1873, and expresses the willingness of himself and all other department heads to meet with the committee. Location: 1 SODA HOUSE Call Number: 0840 (No. 4) |
| extent | 1 item. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | No restrictions on use. Library use only. |
| record source | http://69.63.217.11/H92010Staff/OPAC/index.asp |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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| title | ALS : Philadelphia, Pa., to Hon. W. A. Stokes, 1874 Aug. 17. | repository | Hagley Museum and Library |
| description | Pennsylvania Railroad Company president Scott writes to Stokes, chairman of the stockholders' investigating committee, regarding accepting new legislation, presumably the new, more restrictive state constitution, and hopes it will not be necessary to call in outside lawyers. Location: 1 SODA HOUSE Call Number: 0840 (No. 4) |
| extent | 1 item. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | No restrictions on use. Library use only. |
| record source | http://69.63.217.11/H92010Staff/OPAC/index.asp |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:13 |
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