William & Dudley S. Humphrey Collection

Collection

Identifier: MG-437

Staff Only

This collection is comprised of several ledgers and papers that belonged to and were created by William G. Humphrey and Dudley S. Humphrey, brothers who were in business together in Ohio during the mid-1800s. The material in the collection are primarily related to their business dealings, including that of a horological nature. The Humphrey brothers seemed to have primarily been in the lumber business, which is reflected in these ledgers, but they also note sales of clocks. The material in this collection seem to indicate the Humphrey brothers did some business with Connecticut clockmakers, like Chauncey Jerome.

The ledgers are a record of their accounts from the mid-1830s through the mid-1850s, though there are a number of years in the 1840s that are unaccounted for and it can be assumed those may have been recorded in another ledger that was separated from the others at some point in history. The ledgers appear to be accounts of various aspects of the Humphrey brothers' business dealings, including lumber and clocks. The loose papers in the collection appear to be correspondences of a more specific horological nature.

Dates

1836 - 1863

Creator

Humphrey Family (Family)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Use

These records are open to researchers for personal or scholarly research. Most of the records in the collection are available for photocopy, depending on the preservation needs of the material as well as other variables not specified here. Researchers, however, are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use materials and documents. These records are part of the permanent collection in the archives of the Library & Research Center of the National Watch and Clock Museum and researchers are required to comply with the Archive Rules when using the collection.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

William G. Humphrey and Dudley S. Humphrey were brothers who were in business together in Ohio during the mid-1800s. They seemed to have primarily dealt with lumber, but also had dealings in other areas of business, including clocks. Their business dealings were done out of Parma, Ohio and Townsend, Ohio.

Separated Materials

There is a write-up of the ledgers and the associated material in the Winter/Spring 1997 edition of The Timepiece Journal (Vol.6, No. 1). In this write-up there are mentions of a number of newspaper clippings from circa 1925-1930 relating to the history of clocks in the Parma, Ohio region. At an unknown point, these newspaper clippings were separated from the rest of the material. It is unknown if this separation occured before or after it was donated to the FMM Library & Research Center.

Processing Information

The three ledgers in the collection and the loose papers had been separated and housed in different areas of the library, and have since been brought back together. The three ledgers were housed with the Maker & Repair Records Collection, while the loose papers were stored in the vertical file for "Humphrey, Wm. & D.S." It was determined that it would be in the best interest of the material to bring them back together as one collection. There is mention of newspaper clippings from circa 1925-1930 about the horological history of the Parma, Ohio region (see Separated Materials), however it is unknown where these newspaper clipping may currently be, or even if they were donated to the FMM Library & Research Center with the ledgers and loose papers.