Brown Land Company records (Ms.2007.016)

Series 2. Meeting records
Information on official minutes of the company is located in the two cloth-bound volumes in this series. Volume I - “Cash Record Ledger”, purchased from Akerman Co., 5 Washington Row, Providence, begins on page 101 with typewritten entries of the Articles of Association, Incorporators, Certificate of Secretary of State of Rhode Island, and General Treasurer’s receipt as well as by-laws and minutes of all official meetings of the company from its organizational meeting in June 1903 through January 1939. Entries are signed by the secretaries in ink: Frank W. R. Matteson (1903-1911), Fletcher S. Mason (1911-1929), Norman S. Taber (1929-1932) and Charles A. Horton (1932- 1943). Also included in this volume are proxy statements and a copy of the 1938 resolution to terminate W. S. & H. 0K. Gilman as agents to be replaced by Byron Reed Company, Inc. Volume II, purchased from The Ackerman-Standard Co., 56 Pine Street, Providence begins on page 1 with the minutes of the Annual Meeting, January 19, 1939, and ends on page 33 with the minutes of a special meeting of the Board of Directors, November 20, 1947. Entries are typewritten with the signature of the secretary, Charles A. Horton (1932-1943), Kent F. Matteson (1943-1944) and Robert G. MacLaughlin (1944-1947) in ink. Included in Volume II is a plan of liquidation of the Brown Land Company as well as proxy statements. Arranged chronologically by volume.

Series 3. Legal records
This series contains articles, certificates, minutes, laws, notices, legal opinions, proxies, powers of attorney, releases, appointments, annual reports, deeds, bill of sale, depositions, loans, permits, permits, appraisals, leases, plats, photographs, summons, indentures, contracts, easements and survey for properties owned in Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa. Also included are copies of original Articles of Association, Certificate of Incorporation and minutes of first stockholders and directors’ meetings. Of special interest is the leather-bound Land Register—this volume traces the ownership of property until final sale. Correspondents include the land agents employed by Brown Land Company over the years, as well as legal counsel. Ownership of numerous properties can be traced in this series through deeds, leases, purchase contracts and mortgages; property values and improvements are included in these records. Documents were tri-folded, stored in envelopes and placed in drawers separate from central office file at 50 South Main Street. In many cases, front of original envelope is photocopied onto archival bond and placed at beginning of folder. The series is arranged chronologically by subject.

Series 4. Financial records
All official financial transactions for the Brown Land Company are included in this collection (8 volumes). There are four sub-series representing different formats: cash record ledger/cash books, financial records kept in office files, a stock certificate book and tax returns/receipts. These records provide an accurate picture of authorized capital stock, capital expenditures and investments, profit and loss, assets, property sales, rental income, taxes and other financial transactions that occurred during the life of the company.

Sub-Series A: Vertical Files
Documents in this sub-series were stored in a centrally located filing cabinet at 50 South Main Street and include reports, notes, passbook, signature cards, statements, itemized bills and receipts, canceled checks, worksheets and letters sent/received. Byron Reed and Company were agents for Brown Company from 1939 until the dissolution of the company in 1947; receipted bills and statements give detailed information about their responsibilities and management practices. Series is filed chronologically by subject.

Sub-Series B: Cash Record Ledger/Cash Books
These six volumes contain the financial transactions of the Brown Land Company. The Cash Record Ledger, purchased from Akerman Co., 5 Washington Row, Providence, contains handwritten entries of daily cash transaction on pages 1-99. The cash entries begin July 29, 1903, with the purchase of stock by the Estate of John Carter Brown in the amount of $300,000 and run through October 31, 1908. Ledger accounts for the years 1903-1908 are located on pages 181-206. The transaction headings are Capital Stock, Gain and Loss, Iowa Lands, Nebraska Lands, Newspaper Row, Saint Paul Lots, Sioux City Lots, Des Moines Lots, Leases of Western Lands, Deferred Income from Western Lands, Income, Gilman Estate, Reeve Estate, Loring Estate, VanStrum Estate, Horst Estate, Mortgages, Fund for rebuilding Gilman Block, Land Sales Securities, Estate of John Carter Brown, Charges, George Heyser, Deferred Income of Reeve Estate, D.T. and W. S. Gilman, Agts, Loans on Call, Contract for Sale of Reeve Estate, Securities, Bills Receivable and Contract for Sale of Horst Estate. Several of the ledger entries reference a new ledger that covers 1903-1947. This Ledger references the same headings previously listed as well as transactions related to the Turk’s Head Estate. The second Cash volume, also purchased from Akerman Co., contains income and expenses from November 1, 1908-December 31, 1917. Cash 3, purchased from Akerman Co., 56 Pine Street, Providence, covers January 1, 1918 - September 30, 1926. Cash 4 contains financial transactions from October 1, 1926-December 31, 1938, and Cash 5 dates from January 1, 1939- December 1947. Both leather-bound volumes were purchased from The Akerman-Standard Co., 56 Pine Street, Providence. Arranged chronologically by volume.

Sub-Series C: Trial Balance
These two cloth- and leather-bound volumes contain monthly credits and debits of the Brown Land Company with ledger headings as follows: Capital Stock, Gain & Loss, Iowa Lands, Nebraska Lands, Income, Mortgages, Land Securities, W. S. Gilman Agent, Securities, Turks Head Estate, Premiums, Reserve for Depreciation, Charges, Dividends, Bills Receivable, Newspaper Row, Cash, Improvements for Turks Head Estate, John Nicholas Brown and Bills Payable. The first volume dates October 31, 1927-June 30, 1939 and the second begins July 31, 1939 and ends December 31, 1944. Arranged chronologically by volume.

Sub-Series D: Stock Certificate/Transfer Book
This volume contains stock certificates and stock certificate stubs providing information about stockholders and the apportionment of stocks during the life of the company. In June 1903, the Trustees of the Estate of John Carter Brown were issued Certificate No. 1 in the amount of 3,000 shares. With the death of one of the trustees in 1907 (Moses B. I. Goddard), the 3,000 shares were issued to the new set of Trustees of the Estate of John Carter Brown. After the death of Sophia August Brown in 1909, widow of John Carter Brown, one-half of the shares passed into the hands of her daughter, Sophia Augusta Sherman, and Certificate No. 3 was issued to William Watts Sherman, Robert H. I. Goddard and Frank W. Matteson as her trustees. The other 1,500 shares were inherited by her grandson, John Nicholas Brown II, and Certificate No. 4 reflects this action. Certificate No. 5 is issued to Sophia Augusta Sherman in her own name following the death of her husband, William Watts Sherman, in 1912. That same year Mrs. Sherman created a trust to manage her many financial interests and Certificate No. 6 was issued in the amount of 1,500 shares to her trustees. Certificate No. 9 and No. 10 for Mrs. Sherman reflected changes in her trustees. When the stockholders chose to recapitalize in 1917, the two principals gained new shares: Certificate No. 7 for 8500 shares to Mrs. Sherman, Certificate No. 8 to John Nicholas Brown for the same amount. In 1923, Mrs. Sherman gave her daughters, Mildred Camoys and Irene Gillespie, 5,000 shares apiece via Certificate No. 11 and No. 12. Certificate No. 13 shows John Nicholas Brown changed his trustees in 1924 and that same year, Mrs. Sherman’s new trustees were issued 10,000 shares by Certificate No. 15. Her trustees changed in 1928 and she was issued Certificate No. 16 and also in 1931 when she received Certificate No. 17. They changed again in 1934 for Certificate No. 18. After January 30, 1946, the par value of each share dropped from $100 to $10. Also include in the stock certificate book are stock transfer entries for Certificates No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17. Series arranged chronologically within volume.

Sub-Series E: Tax Returns/Receipts
This sub-series includes federal, state and local state income tax returns, receipts and related paper work for Brown Land Company and for properties owned in Rhode Island, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota from incorporation until the dissolution of the company in 1947. These documents were tri-folded, placed in envelopes and filed with legal papers separate from the office central files. Photocopy of front of original envelope is included at front of material in folder. Also included in this are local real estate tax receipts and corporation annual reports. In 1909 and 1910, federal income tax returns contained a form letter protesting payment of said taxes and declaring the whole matter unconstitutional. Arranged chronologically by record type.

Series 5. Turks Head Building
This series consists of all legal and financial records for the Turks Head Building, 7-17 Weybosset Street, Providence, Rhode Island, stored separately from central office files at 50 South Main Street. Constructed by the Brown Land Company in 1913, this sixteen-story building remained in the possession of the company until its sale in 1944 to Arnold W. Jones & Company. Series is divided into two sub-series: legal and financial records. The Turks Head Building was sold in 1944 to Arnold Jones & Company for $627,000. (See 50 South Main Street Records for correspondence relating to Turks Head Building.)

Sub-series A: Legal Records
Legal records consist mainly of documents pertaining to construction and maintenance of Turks Head Building. Arranged in chronological order.

Sub-series B: Financial Records
Financial documents include contains payroll records from 1930s which includes name, position, days/hours worked and total salary plus signed receipts for all employees at Turks Head Building; the 1944 payroll sheets state name, position, hours worked, rate of pay, gross pay, payroll deductions and net pay. Weekly rent statements from 1930-1944 show date, room number, name of tenant, rental amount, additional fees for light, water, ice or miscellaneous and total rental fee; itemized list of building maintenance disbursements appears on reverse and included are vendor, nature of expense and amount paid. Original rent statements were bound in notebooks.

Also included with financial records are six leather-bound volumes containing all monthly cash transactions pertaining to rental of commercial space in the Turks Head Building, Providence, from its opening day until its sale in 1944. Information on the room number, name of tenant, duration of rental fee, amount paid and services included are given on a monthly basis. Itemized disbursements for 1913-1944 include payroll, utilities, janitorial supplies as well as all building maintenance and improvements from 1913-1944. Purchased from Akerman Co., 56 Pine Street Providence, Cash No. 1 (1913-1917) and Cash No. 2 (1918-1924). Purchased from The J. C. Hall Company, Junction of Union, Sabin, and West Exchange, Providence: Cash 3 (1925-1929). Purchased from Ackerman-Standard, 56 Pine Street, Providence: Cash 4 (1930-1934), Cash 5 (1935-1939) and Cash 6 (1940-1944). Arranged chronologically within record type.

Series 6. Appraisals
In 1938, Brown Land Company hired Robert W. Harbor of Byron Reed Company Inc., Omaha, Nebraska to appraise all farm property owned by the company in Nebraska and Iowa. The appraisals consist of 4-5 typewritten pages noting legal description of property, acreage, location, description of land, improvements and ownership thereof, assessed valuation, rental income, valuation and a recommendation by Byron Reed Company to sell on the present market. Some appraisals include 3 x 4 black and white photographs mounted on paper illustrating property improvements such as houses and outbuildings. Also included in this series are summary sheets noting contemporary value of properties by county. Appraisals commissioned during the 1940s to determine fair market value of property transferred to Brown Land Company at its formation in 1903 as well as the 1913 valuation of the Turks Head Building were required to determine capital gain or loss at the sale of these assets. Tract numbers refer to a property numbering system used at 50 South Main Street; the 1941 appraisal of the Elliot-Waite farm was commissioned due to an error in a previous legal description. Series arranged alphabetically by state and county.