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Ford, Henry, 1863-1947. Statements series, 1918-1951 (bulk 1920-1946)

Title: Statements series, 1918-1951 (bulk 1920-1946)

The Statements series is made up of three subseries. Half of the Bank Statements, Expense Lists subseries, 1918-1920 (0.4 cubic ft.) Acc. 286, consists of fairly routine monthly and weekly statements for Henry's various bank accounts, including agricultural accounts. The other half of the subseries pertains to Stanley W. Finch, a former Department of Justice agent and one of several private detectives hired by Ernest G. Liebold to investigate supposed misdeeds of prominent Jews and liberal gentiles. Finch operated out of New York City from an agency called the General Welfare League and reported to Liebold. These records consist of Finch's expense reports and a few letters discussing plans for further communication by secret code. The Monthly Bank Statements subseries, 1919-1951 (6.8 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, consists primarily of bank statements from various banks nationwide at which Henry and Clara Ford held personal accounts, investment accounts, and business accounts for Henry's non-Ford concerns, including accounts at Georgia banks for the Richmond Hill Plantation. This portion of the subseries is organized by bank name. Also included are insurance policies for many of the Fords' possessions and interests, among them coverage for Clara's jewelry and furs and Henry's musical instrument collection, accident and liability coverage of the Indianapolis Race of 1924 (with a list of drivers), fire insurance on the Wayside Inn, as well as other fire, property, and compensation and liability policies. Additionally, there are a small number of records of employee investment accounts. (More employee investment account records can be found in the Henry and Clara Ford Financial records series, Acc. 254.) Finally, there is a small section of miscellaneous receipts and notes. The Financial Statements subseries, 1919-1947 (4.4 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, perhaps the most informative portion of the series in terms of its systematic organization and presentation, is made up of formal financial statements for Henry Ford's non-Ford interests, including the Botsford Inn, also called Botsford Tavern, 1939-1946; Dearborn Inn, 1939-1946; and Wayside Inn, 1930-1945; along with hotel management company Oakwood Hotel Company, 1933-1939; Dearborn Realty and Construction Company, 1930-1943; Edison Institute, 1937-1950; and Henry Ford Hospital, 1918-1946. Although an inventory for this series exists, its description of the collection is limited to subseries, voucher number, date, and some company names. Further access to or information about some of the statements may be facilitated by card indexes linked to these materials but residing in another collection, the Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records, Acc. 587.

ArchivalResource: 11.6 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/289024391 View

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947. Disbursing Vouchers and Remittances series, 1912-1952 (bulk 1919-1947)

Title: Disbursing Vouchers and Remittances series, 1912-1952 (bulk 1919-1947)

The Disbursing Vouchers and Remittances series, which was administered primarily by secretaries E. G. Liebold and L. J. Thompson, consists of six subseries. The National Bank of Commerce subseries, 1912-1919 (3.6 cubic ft.), Acc. 286; the Dearborn State Bank subseries, 1919-1947 (160 cubic ft.), Acc. 286; and the Miscellaneous Banks subseries, 1919-1947 (8.4 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, all consist of disbursing vouchers drawn from the banks named and various other banks. Vouchers within each subseries are arranged by voucher number (which is also generally chronological). The Dearborn State Bank became the Manufacturer's National Bank of Detroit in 1933. The three banks subseries consist of vouchers and related invoices and correspondence pertaining to Henry Ford's many activities and assets outside of Ford Motor Company. They provide a window into Henry Ford's avocations and by extension, the man himself, that though patchy and at times lacking in context is often surprisingly rich in detail. Vouchers are for a variety of expenditures relating primarily to Ford properties, including the Dearborn Country Club, Edison Institute Schools, Fair Lane Estate, Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Museum, Henry Ford Farms, Wayside Inn, and Richmond Hill Plantation, as well as the Botsford Inn, the Phoenix Mill, and the Fords' Fort Myers, Florida, residence. A brief sampling of concerns at those properties and others includes supplies and operating expenses for the Dearborn Country Club, in particular the stocking of food and beverage; insurance; salaries of personal employees; expense reports for office employees including Frank Campsall; reimbursement of Ray Dahlinger's working and living expenses; personal travel expenses for Henry Ford; purchase, maintenance, and repairs of personal vehicles; photographic art prints of the Ford factory; publishing fees for various booklets, including the antismoking pamphlet The Case Against the Little White Slaver; various publicity expenses, including sizeable newspaper advertising expenses from 1916 that coincide with Henry's anti-preparedness, antiwar campaign on the heels of his Peace Ship expedition; books, mainly reference and applied sciences; charitable contributions; season box seats at the Detroit Opera; Edison sheet music orders; hardware and tools; agricultural equipment and supplies such as feed and seeds; garden supplies; and sporting goods such as shotguns and shells. The level of description and justification for transactions varies, with most of it in the invoices accompanying the vouchers. The Payments Made to Ford Motor Company subseries, 1929-1947 (32 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, consists of vouchers and related materials such as reports, invoices, and a small amount of correspondence, arranged by voucher number (i.e. chronologically), documenting payments made by the Office of Henry Ford to Ford Motor Company in reimbursement for goods and services rendered or procured by the latter for the former. A sampling of these goods and services includes legal expenses; taxes; insurance policies; antiques purchases, including items for the "Antique Village" at Dearborn (later to become Greenfield Village), purchases of and repairs to locomotive and steam engines; architectural services, building and repairs at the Fords' residence, the Fair Lane Estate; orders for and maintenance on the Ford's personal vehicles; and interplant transfers of goods and labor (in particular to the Tecumseh Welfare Commission). Like the banks subseries, the records provide little organization, varying degrees of context, but a considerable amount of detail regarding Henry Ford's non-Ford Motor Company financial transactions, and by extension his interests and activities. The Payroll Vouchers, Georgia, subseries, 1937-1952 (5.2 cubic ft.), Acc. 286, consists primarily of payroll vouchers along with related invoices and correspondence and covers payroll activities at the Ford Farms at Ways Station, Georgia, later known as Richmond Hill Plantation in Richmond Hill, Georgia. Information in the vouchers includes name, race, hours, any applicable classification codes (although no key could be located), hourly rate, taxes, amount due, and sometimes indication of type or location of work. In addition to labor, some of the invoices deal with goods and outside services ordered for the plantation. Some of the vouchers in the preceding subseries are linked to card file indexes in another collection, Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records, Acc. 587. The Remittances, Henry Ford Office subseries, 1941-1946 (0.4 cubic ft.), Acc. 790, consists of one ledger containing remittance advices (i.e. documents accompanying payments listing the payee and the particular invoices being paid) for personal accounts of Henry Ford. Like the rest of the series, it covers a wide range of Henry Ford's avocational and non-Ford business activities. Materials vary widely in terms of detail and order. Although an inventory for most of this series exists, its description of the collection is limited to subseries, voucher number, and date.

ArchivalResource: 209.6 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/289019676 View

Ford Motor Company. Estate of Henry Ford. Office of Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records series, 1832-1955 (bulk 1918-1951)

Title: Office of Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records series, 1832-1955 (bulk 1918-1951)

The Office of Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records series, 1832-1955, Acc. 587, constitutes a history not only of the wrapping up of Henry and Clara Ford's estates after their deaths, but also of Henry and Clara's personal interests and business, including Henry Ford's numerous projects outside of Ford Motor Company. Consisting primarily of the records of property and other business transactions--tax returns, deeds, titles, abstracts, purchase records, property descriptions, rental agreements, and vouchers--to name just a few, the records series also includes files on some of the Fords' more personal interests, such as Henry's old-fashioned dances and Clara's purchases of books and clothing. The records, maintained during the dissolution of the estate after Clara's death, also include Henry Ford's personal correspondence, some Ford Motor Company documentation, materials on the Edison Institute schools, the Ford cemetery, and limited information on select people employed by Henry Ford. The Office of Henry Ford and Clara Ford Estate records series consists of three subseries: the Campsall and Waddell Office Files subseries; the Special Folders, Office of Henry Ford subseries; and the Estate of Henry Ford, Deceased subseries. The Campsall and Waddell Office Files subseries consists of various files kept by personal secretaries Frank Campsall and later H. R. Waddell on Henry and Clara's personal business; travel preparations for Henry and Clara and trips made on their behalf; general and topical files (including book collecting, cars donated, old-fashioned dance parties, the Ford Cemetery, and Henry and Clara's funeral services); state and federal tax documents; and clippings regarding Frank Campsall's death. The Special Folders, Office of Henry Ford subseries also contains files on trips undertaken by or for Henry and Clara Ford; workers; general interests and activities of Henry Ford, including purchase papers for one of his yachts; financial dealings; and real estate. The Chronological Income Cards subsubseries consist of lists of workers involved in Henry Ford's personal projects, primarily Wayside Inn and Georgia and Michigan properties. Significant within the Real Estate subsubseries is a card file of Dearborn Realty and Construction Company properties. The Estate of Henry Ford, Deceased subseries is made up of the files of personal secretary H. R. Waddell dealing with probate and estate liquidation; several subsubseries dealing with Georgia properties, primarily Richmond Hill; various financial subsubseries which include bank books, cancelled checks, vouchers, and account books, tax receipts and tax correspondence, and a very small sampling of the real estate records of Ford's agent, William T. Gregory. The Account Books subsubseries contains financial information for many of Henry Ford's interests and activities, including Dearborn Realty & Construction Company, D. P. Lapham Bank, Dearborn Water Works, and Quirk Farms. The Card Files subsubseries consists of various sets of index cards having to do with real estate, various purchases, and employee information, often directly referencing or providing a key to other files already found throughout the collection. The Lapham-Ford subsubseries concerns Ford and his agents' dealings with David P. and Samuel Lapham, two Dearborn bankers and businessmen whose bank and many other of their assets were transferred to Henry Ford as payment of debts owed, including properties forming the Molony subdivision (variously spelled Malony, Maloney, Molony, and Moloney), its predecessor the Military Reservation (the former Detroit Arsenal grounds), and what was to become the Dearborn Country Club.

ArchivalResource: 62.4 cubic ft., 4 oversize boxes, 27 card files, and 5 volumes.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/245540955 View

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947. Engineering Laboratory Office records subgroup, 1920-1952.

Title: Engineering Laboratory Office records subgroup, 1920-1952.

The Engineering Laboratory Office records subgroup is comprised of the following series: Business and Personal Correspondence series, 1920 (13.2 cubic ft.), Acc. 284; Business and Personal Correspondence Addendum series, 1920 (2.8 cubic ft.), Acc. 284; the In-House Subject and Name Filing System series, January-June, 1921 (7.6 cubic ft.), Acc. 285; Library Bureau Filing System series, July 1921-1929 (429.6 cubic ft. and 4 oversize boxes), Acc. 285; Amberg Filing System series, 1930-1949 (781.6 cubic ft.), Acc. 285; In-House Name File with Subjects Filing System series, 1950-1952 (14 cubic ft., 1 oversize box, and 1 oversize folder), Acc. 285. Basically, this subgroup contains an unbroken run of Henry Ford office correspondence from 1920 through 1952. During these years however, filing systems changed, which is reflected in the names of the series into which the subgroup has been broken. The finding aids for the collections contain detailed descriptions of the filing systems and how to access them. The Engineering Laboratory Office records subgroup is a remarkable collection of material that documents a period of more than thirty years of activity of one of the world's great industrialists and his company. The records are arranged by year and then alphabetically according to the filing system used during that year. Typically for each year files can be found for most domestic and foreign Ford Motor Company branches, including Highland Park and the Rouge plant, as well as most company departments such as accounting, advertising, auditing, disbursement, employment, chemical laboratory, chemical and metallurgical, engineering, medical, purchasing, sociological, service, the President's office, general sales, and traffic and for other ventures pursued by Henry Ford, especially those that were managed by his secretary E.G. Liebold, such as Henry Ford Hospital, Dearborn Publishing Company, Dearborn State Bank, Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad and Dearborn Realty and Construction Company. Additional subjects that have multiple folders through the years include antiques, Dearborn Water Works, Dearborn Inn, Dearborn Country Club, Berry Schools, Edison Institute, Boreham House Estate, Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Michigan Central Railroad Company, Michigan Public Utilities Commission, Henry Ford Flour Mill, Henry Ford and Son, Lincoln Motor Company, Lincoln and Lincoln-Mercury Divisions, Botsford Inn, Wayside Inn, Michigan Iron Land and Lumber Company, Hamilton and Rossville Hydraulic Company, Henry Ford's yacht Sialia, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and various Village Industries. Also included in the collection is material about the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, a corporation formed by Henry Ford and Firestone in 1927 to research sources of domestic rubber, based out of Thomas Edison's Fort Myers Laboratory. Accident reports and insurance information from the firms Lucking, Helfman, Lucking and Hanlon; Kelly, Halla, Peacock and Hughes and Johnson and Higgins are found in multiple years as well. Individuals with multiple folders include Henry, Edsel and Clara Ford, newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane, Jens Jensen, Herbert Hoover, Ford real estate agent William T. Gregory, John Burroughs, G.K. Chesterton, Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Edison, Sialia captain Perry T. Stakes, Harvey Firestone, Albert Kahn, and missionary Joseph Bailie. There is one letter from Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat-Sen inviting Henry Ford to expand automobile industry work in China. The records also include hundreds of thousands of letters from individuals asking Henry Ford for financial assistance, employment, donation of a vehicle, wanting to donate or sell something to him for his museum, providing opinions on Ford products, or opinions on projects and ventures Henry Ford was involved with or supporting; the letters offer insight into the social conditions of the period. While there is no way to access this particular material by subject, as it is filed by the last name of the correspondent, almost any box in the collection contains these types of letters. The records are worth checking if the name of an individual or subject is known as well as a general time period. Office staff and later archivists handling the collection have provided extensive cross-reference sheets in the boxes to aid in subject access.

ArchivalResource: 1,248.8 cubic ft., 5 oversize boxes, and 1 oversize folder.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/289024411 View

Ford Motor Company. Finance Division. Auditing Department records series, 1923-1948 (bulk 1934-1948)

Title: Auditing Department records series, 1923-1948 (bulk 1934-1948)

Although the Auditing Department records series begins prior to the company's 1946-1948 reorganization, when the old Auditing Department handled many general accounting duties, it consists solely of materials related to the department's auditing activities. The Auditing Department records series is made up of two subseries: the Gordon R. Cornwell records subseries, 1941-1948 (15.2 cubic ft.), Acc. 379, and the Wendell S. Miller records subseries, 1923-1947 (9.2 cubic ft.), Acc. 391. Both subseries consist of working papers and reports relating to various audits of the Ford Motor Company and related enterprises. In both the Gordon R. Cornwell records subseries and the Wendell S. Miller records subseries, most of the audit reports include brief histories or descriptions of the entity under audit. The Gordon R. Cornwell records subseries consists of the records maintained by Gordon R. Cornwell, General Auditor in the Auditing Department of the Finance Division. The subseries pertains to financial audits of operations of Ford Motor Company, the Lincoln-Mercury Division, and other domestic branch assembly plants, parts depots, manufacturing facilities, sales offices, and affiliated holdings of the company. The subseries is composed of audit working papers and includes financial data, correspondence, examinations of accounts payable and receivable, and inventories, confirmations and verifications. Material is arranged alphabetically by subject or branch location. Concerns covered include the Dearborn Parts Depot, executive staff accounting, Highland Park Manufacturing Operations, Highland Park Tractor Operations, Northern Michigan Operations, Seaboard Properties Company, and Rouge Automotive Manufacturing Operations. The Wendell S. Miller records subseries consists of files maintained by Wendell S. Miller in the Auditing Department of the Finance Division. Records contain the working papers of the auditor, including personnel data, accounts payable and receivable, and subsidiary and branch account statements. The subseries consists of two subsubseries: the Procedures File subsubseries (2.8 cubic ft.) and Working Papers subsubseries (6.4 cubic ft.). The collection pertains to audits of the financial operations of the Ford Motor Company and many of its subsidiaries. In general, the Procedures subsubseries addresses specific operating concerns, with the Auditing Department issuing memoranda with instructions for corrections or changes to procecures (such as billing and shipping) being carried out by the various operating units, while the Working Papers subsubseries is more comprehensive, being comprised of notes and drafts for audits of those operating units. However, there is considerable overlap between the two subsubseries in scope and type of material. Areas covered by the various audits include plant inventories, salary rate adjustments, audit instructions, government contracts, bank statements, and financial statements for foreign and domestic branches, subsidiaries, and associated companies, both foreign and domestic. Some of the specific topics dealt with include Camp Legion, Ford Foundation, Henry Ford Trade School, Oakwood Realty Company, Dearborn Engineering Laboratories, Edison Institute (the Henry Ford), Highland Park Plant, River Rouge Plant departments, UAW-CIO agreement and payrolls, Village Industries, and the Willow Run Bomber Plant. Within each subsubseries, material is arranged alphabetically by subject.

ArchivalResource: 24.4 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/159957462 View

Ford Motor Company. Plant Engineering Department. Plant Engineering Department (Ford Motor Company) records series, 1922-1950.

Title: Plant Engineering Department (Ford Motor Company) records series, 1922-1950.

The Plant Engineering Department (Ford Motor Company) records series consists of correspondence, floor plan drawings, work and tool analysis reports, and labor reports relating to production planning, plant layout, and plant construction prior to and during World War II. The series includes plant reconstruction; refurbishing programs; floor-space utilization analysis; equipment purchase orders; labor cost reports; and domestic plant inventories. Plants covered include most Ford Motor Company domestic plants including those located in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Overseas facilities include plants in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay. The series also includes legacy records relating to the design and construction of non-automotive facilities including the St. Paul, Minnesota hydroelectric power plant; Dearborn, Michigan properties including Camp Legion, George Washington Carver Laboratory, Ford Airport, Henry Ford Trade School, the Aircraft Factory Building, the Ford Rotunda, Dearborn Inn, Dearborn Country Club, Botsford Inn, Willow Run, and the Ford Village Industries as well as records related to construction projects at Edsel Ford's Gaukler Point residence, property plat maps in Dearborn and Detroit, and a 1927 design drawing for a proposed convention center in downtown Detroit.

ArchivalResource: 17.2 cubic ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/85892465 View

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947. Henry and Clara Ford Financial records series, 1912-1946 (bulk 1919-1942)

Title: Henry and Clara Ford Financial records series, 1912-1946 (bulk 1919-1942)

The Henry and Clara Ford Financial records series, 1912-1946 (33.2 cubic ft.), Acc. 254, is made up of various financial records documenting Henry and Clara's personal finances and Henry's non-Ford activities. Much of the Fords' financial dealings covered by these records were managed by the Fords' secretaries Ernest Liebold, Frank Campsall, H. R. Waddell, and Leslie J. Thompson. The records are organized primarily by type of material (bank statements, checks, etc.). Organization within these sections is generally either alphabetical by creditor name or chronological. A collection inventory lists material type and date, with sparse mention of specific creditors or account holders. The records consist mainly of bank statements, bank deposit books, and cancelled checks of Henry and Clara Ford; vouchers, checks, invoices, and credit memos for various Henry Ford accounts, including numerous special accounts, filed alphabetically, and contractors' agreements for construction on the Fair Lane Estate. The bank statements, bank books, and to some extent cancelled checks are routine in nature and do not provide in-depth information about Henry and Clara's financial affairs. The vouchers, invoices, and credit memos, though lacking in organization and context, offer a more detailed view of the Fords' interests and activities. There are also cancelled invoices and credit memos from 1919 to 1932. Included in the cancelled checks are payments to the Fords' agent at their Fort Myers, Florida, winter residence, 1922-1923, and to architect and construction manager W. H. Van Tine for work on the Fair Lane Estate and its service buildings, 1914. Best represented within the vouchers, invoices, and credit memos are construction and operating costs for Fair Lane Estate; expenditures on food and supplies for the Dearborn Country Club; and Henry and Clara Ford's personal living expenses. A small sampling of the other numerous concerns covered by the vouchers, invoices, and credit memos are labor and materials at various Henry Ford Farms, including Macon Farms and Snell Farm; Village Industries operating expenses, including those at Sharon Mills in Manchester, Michigan; Deaborn Water Works expenses; supplies, wages, and operating expenses for Valley Farm, Inc., a home for orphaned boys in Dearborn; maintenance expenses and slip fees for the yacht Sialia; antiques purchases and restoration, including travel expenses, labor, supplies, and materials; other expenses for purchases and work on Greenfield Village (then called the "Antique Village"), Henry Ford Museum, and the Wayside Inn; expense reports and correspondence with European purchasing agent Herbert Frederick Morton concerning his acquisition of Rose Cottage in Gloucestershire, England, on Henry's behalf (it later became the Cotswold Cottage at Greenfield Village); work on Ford Athletic Park (also called Ford Athletic Field); acquisition of dance music for Henry's old-fashioned dances; and touring expenses for the Ford Hawaiian Quintet, a ukulele band that performed for Ford Motor Company functions across the Midwest. Small amounts of correspondence are occasionally included with the invoices. Also included in the series are Ford Investment Plan records for Henry Ford employees (including accounts for farm manager Ray Dahlinger and dancing instructor Benjamin Lovett), 1920-1942, and Dearborn Country Club employees, circa 1926-1928. The employee investment plan records are split between this accession and another accession, Accession 286. Additionally, there is a check register for Henry Ford & Son tractor company, 1918-1920, and two oversize ledgers, one for accounts payable on Henry Ford Special Accounts, 1927, and the other a ledger of contractors' accounts for Hamilton & Rossville Hydraulic Company and Fair Lane estate service buildings, 1919-1925. Among the contractors are Dearborn Realty and Construction Company and Henry Ford Construction Department. The accounts include descriptions of construction work.

ArchivalResource: 33.2 cubic ft. and 27 microfilm reels.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/289024394 View