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German-American Lumber Company Records, 1887-1927, bulk 1906-1920

 

Summary

Abstract:
The collection includes correspondence, deeds, accounting records, bills and debt letters, contracts, invoices, shipping records, and various ledgers. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence, 1890-1920, concerning orders of lumber to be shipped, shipping status, and payments. A large portion of the collection is comprised of shipping records, 1904-1919, contained in 12 boxes.  It also contains 115 bound volumes including various ledgers, letter books, cash books, sales records, log books, shipping records, cash reports, and accounting journals.
Extent:
163.36 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

German-American Lumber Company Records, Special Collections, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. https://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/MSS-1986-27

Background

Scope and content:

The German-American Lumber Company Records cover the years 1887-1922, and consist of correspondence, accounting records, ledgers, journals, cash books, time books, contracts and deeds, and other company records. In 1898, Henry Bovis and his partners built the St. Andrews Lumber Company sawmill on the St. Andrews Bay in Florida. He sold the mill in 1901 to a German organization which renamed the business the German-American Lumber Company. Following a period during World War I in which the mill was seized and held by the federal government, Minor C. Keith and Walter C. Sherman bought the company and renamed it the St. Andrews Bay Lumber Company. This organization operated until 1930 when it was forced to close because of timber depletion in the forests. The company records are organized into the following series: Correspondence; Financial Records; Legal Records; and Personnel Records.

Biographical / historical:

In 1898, Henry Bovis, a French Canadian with ties to Bagdad, Florida, discovered the vast forests surrounding St. Andrews Bay and realized that the area would be the perfect port for a lumber operation. Bovis and his business partners built the St. Andrews Lumber Company sawmill on the east side of the bayou.

Acquisition information:
According to a letter (February 28, 1957) from V.L. Bedsole, Head of Louisiana State University's Department of Archives and Manuscripts, to Florida State University (recipient unknown), the German-American Lumber Company Records were acquired by the National Archives in Washington, D.C. by transfer to that agency from the Office of the Alien Property Custodian. That transfer was made prior to 1942. In a letter from Wayne C. Grover (December 28, 1955), Archivist of the United States, to Dr. M.M. Vance, Director of the Southern Business History Center at FSU, the German-American Lumber Company Records for 1890-1921 were offered for deposit with the Center. Grover noted in this letter that the Office of Alien Property Custodian did not regard these records as federal records, and therefore had no objection to their release to a public institution. Norman L. Kilpatrick, Director of Libraries at FSU and Secretary of the Southern Business History Center, acknowledged in a letter (January 11, 1956) to Wayne C. Grover that the Center would gladly accept this collection. The Collection was subsequently given to the FSU Libraries, although the date of this transfer has not been determined.
Processing information:

The German-American Lumber Company Records were transferred to the National Archives by the Office of the United States Alien Property Custodian prior to 1942 - possibly in the late 1930s or early 1940s. Assistant Archivist Robert Lando, an archival employee of the then Justice Division of the National Archives, processed the records. Lando prepared summary descriptive slips for each record series. V.L. Bedsole, Associate Archivist of the Archives' Justice Division at that time, reviewed the slips. Bedsole revised and annotated the slips and prepared rough record series entries. Completion of the work was prevented by the close of World War II and the reassignment of some members of the National Archives staff to new work assignments after the war. In 1956, the Collection was transferred to Florida State University's Southern Business History Center. In 1957, Mr. Bedsole, who was now Head of Louisiana State University's Department of Archives and Manuscripts, noted in his letter (February 28, 1957) to Florida State University (recipient unknown), that if many of the rough inventory slips were not transferred to Florida State University (FSU) in 1956 as part of the files of the German-American Lumber Company, they may have been retained by the National Archives. The Collection was later given to the FSU Libraries. Processing resumed in 1986, when Special Collections staff rehoused the materials in archival folders and boxes and created a temporary box list. Since that time, additional German-American Lumber Company materials were identified and processed.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open to all researchers.

This collection is in an offsite storage location. Please contact lib-specialcollections@fsu.edu with requests for access or for more information.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been transferred to the Florida State University Libraries.

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

German-American Lumber Company Records, Special Collections, Florida State University Libraries, Tallahassee, Florida. https://purl.lib.fsu.edu/fa/MSS-1986-27

Location of this collection:
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee
FL
32306-2047
USA