Records Moved to Engineering Laboratory in 1919 series, 1911-1928 (bulk 1914-1919)

ArchivalResource

Ford, Henry, 1863-1947. Records Moved to Engineering Laboratory in 1919 series, 1911-1928 (bulk 1914-1919)

Records Moved to Engineering Laboratory in 1919 series, 1911-1928 (bulk 1914-1919)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/289024429

The Records Moved to Engineering Laboratory in 1919 series consists of correspondence from the Office of Henry Ford primarily concerning items of personal interest to Henry Ford rather than the Ford Motor Company. The series consists of two subseries: the Subject and Name File (wooden cabinet) subseries, 1911-1928 (30 cubic ft.), and the Subject and Name File subseries, 1914-1921 (15.6 cubic ft.). The naming of the subseries and to some extent the series reflects the original physical location and the original filing system, there being great similarity in type of material. Overall, the material in the Subject and Name File subseries dates from a slightly later period. Both subseries consist of correspondence arranged alphabetically by name or subject and then by rough chronological order. The Subject and Name File subseries is divided into two sections, one for 1914 to 1919 and the other for 1919 to 1921, though in reality there is considerable overlap in dates. Within each section, correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent or topic. Within the series, the diverse interests and activities of Henry Ford are represented by the correspondence conducted between his secretaries and Ford's agents, associates, branch managers, creditors, and others. Most of the correspondence in the series was generated or maintained by assistant secretary G. S. Anderson and secretaries Ernest G. Liebold and Frank Campsall, with additional material by and about Gaston Plantiff, a branch manager and agent in charge of Peace Ship arrangements. The Chicago Tribune trial files include clippings and legal correspondence. Branch correspondence largely concerns personnel matters, as well as sales and marketing, distribution of Ford-sponsored publications such as the Dearborn Independent and Henry's antismoking pamphlets, and personal communications with branch managers. Branches are listed by city or country and may refer to Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford and Son, or to Village Industries. Manchester branch correspondence includes communications with Sir Percival Perry. Mexico files concern language instruction, technical training, and employment of Mexican workers for Henry Ford and Son. San Francisco correspondence includes arrangements for Henry and Edsel's visits to the 1915 World's Fair Exposition. Ford Motor Company of Canada correspondence is also present. Henry Ford Hospital files include safety, health, and other reports. Numerous Henry Ford Estate files, 1913-1918, cover construction, landscaping, decorating, and maintenance of Fair Lane and its outbuildings and also acquisition of the Fort Myers, Fla., residence "The Mangoes." Shipbuilding proposals and Shipyard investigations files are made up of prospectuses of sites from companies and municipalities across the nation seeking Ford to build his submarine chasers there and Ford's investigations and ratings of various shipbuilding companies in terms of labor issues and efficiency, particularly on the West Coast. In addition, throughout the collection are found numerous files having to do with the development of the "Eagle Boat" naval patrol boat or submarine chaser, including a small number of blueprints. Similar proposals also exist for other (automotive) factory sites, including abandoned sites, undeveloped land, and timber properties. Senate files, relating to Henry Ford's 1918 senatorial campaign, are made up of campaign correspondence, campaign literature, and reports including a private investigation of the Senate election. Files for the boys' orphanage, Valley Farm, Inc., consist of financial correspondence, 1911-1917, and corporate records and reports. Hamilton and Rossville Hydraulic Company files pertain mainly to construction of the Hamilton and Rossville Hydraulic Company and include plans and specifications. Water Power files pertain to sites under consideration for establishment of hydroelectric power plants, organized alphabetically by city, state, or country (Canada). Other Water Power files are more general in nature, concerning water power and its efficacy. Also present are separate files on individual Village Industries sites such as Nankin Mill and Tecumseh, Mich. Henry Ford and Son files include dealer correspondence, tractor insurance and financing, shipping information, and tax information. Henry Ford and Son and Henry Ford and Son, Ltd., of Cork, Ireland files are also present. Topics centering on World War I can be found throughout the collection and pertain to the Liberty Loan program, the War Trade Board, Liberty engines, tanks, Naval Patrol boats, and miscellaneous war reports. The file War letters, 1917-1918, is made up of letters written in support of Henry Ford's involvement in the war effort, mostly from Ford Motor Company employees enlisted in the military, including a letter from African-American sergeant Robert Greer with a photograph of him and members of his company stationed in France. Additionally, there are files labeled as Ford Family and various personal files for Henry, Edsel, and Clara Ford. However, most of these files do not pertain to private matters, but rather some aspect of their business lives--primarily Henry Ford and Son and Fordson tractors for Henry and Edsel, as well as some Ford Motor Company business for Edsel. Clara Ford personal files touch somewhat more directly on her personal life, dealing with gowns and other items purchased on her behalf. Also included are a miscellany of genealogical information, Fordson Village incorporation documents, and various pieces of personal and business correspondence. Other topics or correspondents include materials relating to the renaming of the locality of Springwells as Fordson; ukulele band the Ford Hawaiian Quintet and its leader Henry Kailimai; the commission of a statue of John Burroughs to sculptor C. S. Pietro; the Sialia and Sialia II yachts, including personnel, payroll, and expenses, as well as an original blueprint for the outboard profile of the Sialia; Dearborn Water Works, including its acquisition and improvements made, and the filtration plant; Peace Ship, with a named file and other scattered references, including negotiations with Ford agents and other companies and individuals involved in planning the expedition; Oughtrighton Hall, a home for Belgian refugees owned by Ford; real estate, including maps and a listing of properties owned by Henry Ford, 1917-1919; Dearborn Realty & Construction Company files, views on liquor, Prohibition, and problems of alcoholism among workers, 1914-1915; and the landmark Profit-sharing plan, 1914-1915. Scattered throughout the collection under various headings include donations requested and made to charitable organizations, club memberships and solicitations and memberships, legal counsel, insurance, banking, including the Lucking, Helfman, Lucking and Hanlon files, which deal with the change of residence by the Fords from Detroit to Dearborn; Ford Motor Company business, including foreign branch operations, dealers, finance, personal, and the Sociological Department; and various reports on safety, personnel, production, and welfare investigations other Henry Ford business concerns. More general alphabetical correspondence consists primarily of complaints, praise, invitations to events, unsolicited patents or inventions, requests (charitable contributions, speaking engagements, etc.), and gifts. A set of files marked "J" in the 1919 section of the Subject and Name Files subseries but dating from 1920 to 1921 consists mainly of correspondence from Ford dealers and the public regarding Ford's and Liebold's views on Jews, including both support and criticism of their anti-Semitism, as well as correspondence with Ford dealers regarding the publication and distribution of the Dearborn Independent. A small number of photographs depict Henry Ford, Edsel Ford, Henry Ford Hospital building and staff, other buildings, and Liberty engines.

45.6 cubic ft.

The Henry Ford, Benson Ford Research Center