Gross, Kelly & Company, Inc.
Gross, Blackwell and Company storefront in Las Vegas, New Mexico.Part of Pictorial Collection, PICT 000-096-0001-0014 (Box 1, Folder 1).
Gross, Kelly & Company, with its predecessor firms of Otero, Sellar & Company, and Gross, Blackwell and Company, was one of the pioneer wholesale and retail mercantile companies in the Southwest. Otero, Sellar &Co. actually began operations in New Mexico before the railroads reached the area, making freight hauls by wagon from the end of the Kansas Pacific and Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe, as they were built west through Kansas. When the Santa Fe Railroad reached Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1879, Otero, Sellar &Co. established Las Vegas as its permanent headquarters and base of operations. Otero, Sellar and its successor companies, while keeping the main office at Las Vegas, established a number of branches in other New Mexico towns and cities and even one in Trinidad, Colorado. A table showing the locations and dates of operations of these branches, along with a list of subsidiary companies, follows this history.
The three main companies were: Otero, Sellar &Co., 1867-1882; Gross, Blackwell &Co., 1882-1902; and Gross, Kelly &Co., 1902-1954. In addition, both Gross, Blackwell and Gross, Kelly eventually operated a number of more-or-less directly controlled subsidiary companies. Because of their roles as providers of credit for individuals and partnerships engaged in small ranching and lumbering operations, the parent companies often acquired control of such small operations in settlement of debts. A latter-day example on a rather large scale was Gross, Kelly &Co.'s acquistion of Con W. Jackson's, Jackson Cattle Company in 1935.
Besides wholesale and retail groceries which the parent companies dealt in from the beginning, Gross, Kelly &Co. was heavily involved in hides and pelts, wool, sheep and lambs, and cattle--all of which it bought from local producers and shipped and to consumers in the East and Midwest. Gross, Kelly &Co., financially supported by Eastern banks, provided credit for local ranchers and merchants. It also bought and sold railroad ties and finished lumber.
Although Gross, Kelly &Co. was still operating from five New Mexico locations in the post-World War II period (Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Gallup and Roswell), the company's stockholders voted in 1954 to sell out to the Kimbell Products Company of Fort Worth, Texas. Shortly after this decision, Daniel T. Kelly donated the firms records to Special Collections at the University of New Mexico.
- COMPANIES RELATED TO GROSS, BLACKWELL &CO.
- Arnot Wool Company, Las Vegas, New Mexico
- Becker-Blackwell Company, Magdalena, New Mexico
- Carr-McGraw Scale Company, St. Louis, Missouri
- Chihuahua Telephone Company, Chihuahua, Mexico
- Durango Telephone Company, Durango, Mexico
- Floersheim Mercantile Company, Springer, New Mexico
- Gross, Blackwell and Kelly Company, St. Louis, Missouri
- Lawrence Mercantile Company, Catskill and Clayton, New Mexico
- Maxwell Timber Company, Cimarron, New Mexico
Some of these holdings in which Gross, Blackwell &Co. held a substantial managerial and financial interest between 1882 and 1902, were transferred to A. M. Blackwell as part of his price when he sold out to the partners of Gross, Kelly. Others were sold to various partners, and a few continued in business under subsequent owners until the early 1930s when depressed economic conditions forced their liquidation.
- COMPANIES RELATED TO GROSS, KELLY &CO.
- Arnot Wool Company, Las Vegas, New Mexico
- Gross, Richards and Co.,Tucumcari and Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Range land in Wyoming.
- The Jackson Cattle Company, Las Vegas, New Mexico
- Kelly and Kitch, Rocky Ford, Colorado
- Kelly and Peterson, Colorado
- Kemper, Kelly and Kitch Feeding Company, Denver Stockyards, Denver, Colorado
Individual partners of the firm held stock in various companies, which may have been owned for the benefit of Gross, Kelly and Co., but those listed above are shown by the records to have been financially controlled by Gross, Kelly &Co. at some time between 1902 and 1954.
- GROSS, KELLY BRANCH HOUSES AND DATES OF OPERATION
- Las Vegas, 1881- Sold 1954
- Albuquerque, 1887- Sold 1954
- Pecos, 1901-1925
- Tucumcari, 1902-1913
- Mora (Timber), 1903-1908
- Trinidad, 1905-1922
- Logan, 1905-1907
- Epris, 1906-1906
- Corona, 1910-1913
- Rowe, 1910-1947
- Santa Fe, 1913-Sold 1954
- Mountainair (Timber), 1920-1931
- Gallup, 1929-Sold 1954
- Roswell, 1945-Sold 1954
From the guide to the Gross, Kelly & Company Records, 1863-1996, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)
Gross, Kelly & Company, with its predecessor firms of Otero, Sellar & Company, and Gross, Blackwell and Company, was one of the pioneer wholesale and retail mercantile companies in the Southwest. Otero, Sellar & Co. actually began operations in New Mexico before the railroads reached the area, making freight hauls by wagon from the end of the Kansas Pacific and Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe, as they were built west through Kansas. When the Santa Fe Railroad reached Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1879, Otero, Sellar & Co. established Las Vegas as its permanent headquarters and base of operations. Otero, Sellar and its successor companies, while keeping the main office at Las Vegas, established a number of branches in other New Mexico towns and cities and even one in Trinidad, Colorado. A table showing the locations and dates of operations of these branches, along with a list of subsidiary companies, follows this history.
The three main companies were: Otero, Sellar & Co., 1867-1882; Gross, Blackwell & Co., 1882-1902; and Gross, Kelly & Co., 1902-1954. In addition, both Gross, Blackwell and Gross, Kelly eventually operated a number of more-or-less directly controlled subsidiary companies. Because of their roles as providers of credit for individuals and partnerships engaged in small ranching and lumbering operations, the parent companies often acquired control of such small operations in settlement of debts. A latter-day example on a rather large scale was Gross, Kelly & Co.'s acquistion of Con W. Jackson's, Jackson Cattle Company in 1935.
Besides wholesale and retail groceries which the parent companies dealt in from the beginning, Gross, Kelly & Co. was heavily involved in hides and pelts, wool, sheep and lambs, and cattle--all of which it bought from local producers and shipped and to consumers in the East and Midwest. Gross, Kelly & Co., financially supported by Eastern banks, provided credit for local ranchers and merchants. It also bought and sold railroad ties and finished lumber.
Although Gross, Kelly & Co. was still operating from five New Mexico locations in the post-World War II period (Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Gallup and Roswell), the company's stockholders voted in 1954 to sell out to the Kimbell Products Company of Fort Worth, Texas. Shortly after this decision, Daniel T. Kelly donated the firms records to Special Collections at the University of New Mexico.
From the guide to the Gross, Kelly and Company pictorial collection, 1880-1970, (Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico.)
Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
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creatorOf | Gross, Kelly & Company Records, 1863-1996 | The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch | |
creatorOf | Brunswick, Marcus. New Mexico business records collection, 1868-1939. | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | |
creatorOf | Gross, Kelly and Company pictorial collection, 1880-1970 | The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch |
Role | Title | Holding Repository |
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Filters:
Relation | Name | |
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associatedWith | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Gross, Balckwell & Company | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Hermanos Penitentes | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Kelly, Caroline L. | person |
associatedWith | Kelly, Daniel T., 1886- | person |
associatedWith | Kelly, Ellis T. | person |
associatedWith | Kelly family | family |
associatedWith | Kelly, Henry T. | person |
associatedWith | Kelly, Margaret Gross | person |
associatedWith | Laboratory of Anthropology (Museum of New Mexico) | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Morris, Earl Halstead, 1889-1956 | person |
associatedWith | Moulin, Gabriel | person |
associatedWith | Nussbaum, Jesse L. (Jesse Logan) | person |
associatedWith | Otero, Sellar & Company | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Santa Fe Fiesta | corporateBody |
Place Name | Admin Code | Country | |
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Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Ariz.) | |||
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument (N.M.) | |||
New Mexico | |||
Chama Region (N.M.) | |||
Conejos County (Colo.) | |||
Colorado |
Subject |
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Archaeologists |
Business enterprises |
Commercial buildings |
Governors |
Hides and skins industry |
Hopi Indians |
Lumber trade |
Navajo Indians |
Santa Fe Fiesta |
Sheep industry |
Sheep industry |
Wool |
Occupation |
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Activity |
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Corporate Body
Active 1868
Active 1939