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

ArchivalResource

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

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

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

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.

209.6 cubic ft.

The Henry Ford, Benson Ford Research Center