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Series XVIII. Shaw Coal Company, 1890-1925
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Historical Background
The Shaw Coal Company originated on July 2, 1900 as one of Henry Clay Frick’s many coal companies he helped to establish. Shaw Coal Company’s purpose was to mine, prepare, and sell coal located in the southwestern Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny and Washington. The company is believed to be named after George E. Shaw, who was on the board of the Midway & Oakdale Railway, and purchased the company’s property which was located on the same railroad line. Shaw was also one of the first five men that held two shares each in the coal company. However, after only two years, Frick took possession of the majority of the shares and the original five stockholders were replaced with Frick’s close business associates.
Frick’s initial role in the company was as the purveyor of land from which the coal would be drawn. It was John F. Atcheson who actually purchased the surface and coal lands, known as the “Pittsburgh Vein,” from local residents but then turned over the deeds to Frick. According to accounts payable receipts, both Frick and Atcheson financially benefited from this company practice. It is revealed that their stock dividend payments well exceeded those of any other stockholders. In 1910, the company’s capital stock was sold to the Pittsburgh Coal Company, but Frick and his associates remained stockholders and members of the board. For unknown reasons, the company dissolved on November 19, 1925.
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Scope and Content Notes: This series contains the administrative, financial, and legal documents of the Shaw Coal Company. Some of the materials include meeting minutes, accounts payable receipts, correspondence, and mortgages. This series is further broken down into five subseries: Administrative Records, Financial Material, Legal Material, Correspondence, and Record Books.
The administrative records are documented through the by-laws and meeting minutes which provide a list of board members and stockholders of the Shaw Coal Company. The receipts and mortgages in the Financial Material subseries document the origins of the company and some daily activities. The Shaw Coal Company ledger and journal in the record book subseries provide some financial information as to the daily business activities, including accounts payable, profit/loss, and Union Trust Company of Pittsburgh. What is lacking in this series are materials relating to the actual mining of coal, such as how much coal was mined, where the coal was sold, its selling price, and the number of employees. There are some maps of Shaw mines in Series XXVIII Maps and Architectural Drawings. The majority of the materials in the Shaw Coal Company Series are from 1900 to 1925, the dates in which the company was in operation.
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Subseries 1. Administrative Records, 1900-1925
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Scope and Content Notes: The administrative records of the Shaw Coal Company include the minutes for Annual, Board of Directors, and Stockholders meetings for 1901 to 1924. In each of these meetings, the election of judges, officers, and directors is the primary activity. In this case, judges were elected for the purpose of monitoring the election of officers at the meetings. The researcher should note that the Annual Meetings did not begin until 1905. A volume located at the end of this subseries contains the handwritten minutes for each meeting. Material in this subseries dates from 1900 to 1925.
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Box 567
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By-laws and Articles of Association, 1900
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Meeting Minutes, 1900
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Meeting Minutes, 1901
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Meeting Minutes, 1902
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5 |
Meeting Minutes, 1903
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6 |
Meeting Minutes, 1904
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7 |
Meeting Minutes, 1905
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8 |
Meeting Minutes, 1906
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9 |
Meeting Minutes, 1907
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10 |
Meeting Minutes, 1908
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11 |
Meeting Minutes, 1909
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12 |
Meeting Minutes, 1910
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13 |
Meeting Minutes, 1911
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14 |
Meeting Minutes, 1912
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15 |
Meeting Minutes, 1913
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16 |
Meeting Minutes, 1914
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17 |
Meeting Minutes, 1915
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Meeting Minutes, 1916
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19 |
Meeting Minutes, 1917
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20 |
Meeting Minutes, 1918
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21 |
Meeting Minutes, 1919
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22 |
Meeting Minutes, 1920
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23 |
Meeting Minutes, 1921
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24 |
Meeting Minutes, 1922
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25 |
Meeting Minutes, 1923
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26 |
Meeting Minutes, 1924
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27 |
Meeting Minutes, 1925
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28 |
Meeting Minutes, Pittsburgh Coal Company, 1902
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29 |
Meeting Minutes, Midway & Oakdale Railway Company, 1900-1901
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Meeting Minutes, Pennsylvania Mining Company, January 3, 1902
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Meeting Minutes, Shaw Coal Company, June 8, 1900, October 21, 1925
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Subseries 2. Financial Material, 1900-1926
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Scope and Content Notes: Included in the Financial Material Subseries are tax returns for the years 1909 to 1926. These records primarily consist of the tax returns with little or no additional information regarding the company’s financial matters. Tax returns are arranged in chronological order. Additional materials contained within this subseries include annual net income for manufacturing corporations, federal capital stock, accounts payable receipts, and corresponding outgoing checks. The accounts payable and outgoing check receipts were used in routine daily business activities, such as employee salaries, purchase of materials, and dividend payments. Receipt #92 stands out because it provides a complete list of employees, position, days worked, hours, daily salary, and total for April 1901. Receipts are arranged numerically following the Shaw Coal Company’s original numbering system.
Cancelled checks from the Shaw Coal Company are also found within this subseries. The majority of the checks correspond to an accounts payable receipt. However, the checks are intermittent for the period between 1918 and 1925. Additional financial materials can be found in the Subseries 5. Record Books which contains bound volumes of stock certificates, financial ledgers, and journals. Material in this subseries dates from 1900 to 1926.
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Box 568
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By-laws and Articles of Association, 1909
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Tax Returns, 1910
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Tax Returns, 1911
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Tax Returns, 1912
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Tax Returns, 1913
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Tax Returns, 1914
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Tax Returns, 1915
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Tax Returns, 1916
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Tax Returns, 1917
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Tax Returns, 1918
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Tax Returns, 1919
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12 |
Tax Returns, 1920
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Tax Returns, 1921
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Tax Returns, 1922
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Tax Returns, 1923
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Tax Returns, 1924
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Tax Returns, 1925
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Tax Returns, 1926
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Capital Stock and Loan Reports, 1900-1925
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Employer’s Report (blank), 1901
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Dividend Payment Report (blank), 1923
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Income Tax, October 29, 1909, February 28, 1910
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Box 569
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Pittsburgh Coal Company, 1909-1910
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Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis Railway Company, 1901
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Equipment Inventory, December 31, 1901
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Insurance Policies, 1902 and 1904
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Registration, 1902-1910
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Dissolution of Company, September 30, 1925-January 5, 1926
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Accounts Payable, 1-50, January 10-March 22, 1901
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Accounts Payable, 51-100, March 23-May 8, 1901
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Box 570
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Accounts Payable, 101-150, May 8-July 13, 1901
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Accounts Payable, 151-200, July 13-August 23, 1901
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Accounts Payable, 201-250, August 23-October 28, 1901
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Accounts Payable, 251-300, October 28-December 14, 1901
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Box 571
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Accounts Payable, 301-350, December 14, 1901-January 30, 1902
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Accounts Payable, 351-400, January 30-October 3, 1902
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Accounts Payable, 401-450, October 3, 1902-July 15, 1903
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Accounts Payable, 451-500, July 20, 1903-May 26, 1904
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Accounts Payable, 501-550, May 26, 1904-February 28, 1905
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Box 572
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Accounts Payable, 551-600, February 28, 1905-February 8, 1906
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Accounts Payable, 601-650, February 23, 1906-January 16, 1907
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Accounts Payable, 651-700, January 16-December 23, 1907
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Accounts Payable, 701-750, December 23, 1907-December 23, 1908
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Accounts Payable, 751-800, December 23, 1908-December 24, 1909
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Accounts Payable, 801-850, December 24, 1909-August 4, 1917
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Box 573
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Accounts Payable, 851-880, October 16, 1917-December 31, 1925
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Cancelled Checks, January 31-May 24, 1901
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Cancelled Checks, May 25-September 24, 1901
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Cancelled Checks, September 27, 1901-January 30, 1902
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Cancelled Checks, January 30, 1902- March 31, 1903
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Cancelled Checks, April 17, 1903-October 18, 1904
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Box 574
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Cancelled Checks, October 18, 1904-August 9, 1906
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Cancelled Checks, August 31, 1906-January 19, 1909
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Cancelled Checks, January 30, 1909-March 8, 1918, August 4-December 31, 1925
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Cancelled Checks, Check Book, and Account Book from Union Trust Account, 1900-1901
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Production Statements, July 15, 1902-August 17, 1908
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Trial Balances, (intermittent) 1901-1913
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Box 575
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Receipts, June 23, 1900-July 2, 1901
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Tax receipts, 1901, 1903-1909
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Assessed Property Valuation, 1904-1907
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Shaw Coal Co. and Midway & Oakdale Railway Co. Expenses, January-February, 1901
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Midway and Oakdale Railway Co., October 24, 1900-December 13, 1901
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Assets and Liabilities, 1901-1902
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Pittsburgh Coal Co./Shaw Coal Co. Purchase Booklet, January 1, 1910
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Misc. Financial Notes, 1901-1910, undated
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Subseries 3. Legal Material, 1894-1916
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Scope and Content Notes: Material in this subseries includes the mortgages for coal and surface land purchased for the Shaw Coal Company. Blueprints are included for a number of the mortgage files. The first mortgage was known to have belonged to John Kelso, who owned sixty acres of coal land, but there is no material in this series that corresponds to this mortgage. There are also documents that pertain to the purchase of Shaw Coal Company property by the Pittsburgh Coal Company for $1,500,000. Material in this subseries dates from 1894 to 1916.
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Mortgage, J.H. Wallace, 1900
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Mortgage, M.A. Fisher, 1900-1901
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Mortgage, Adam Lotz, 1900
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Mortgage, Mevay heirs, 1900
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Mortgage, Ella J. Hutchison, 1900
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Mortgage, Henry and Sadie Crooks, 1900
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Mortgage, Mark Kelso, 1900
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Mortgage, William E. Ross, 1900
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Mortgage, Alexander S. Dunbar, 1900
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Mortgage, Gregg heirs, 1896-1900
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Mortgage, William D. McCrory, 1900
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Mortgage, James Meloney, 1900
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Mortgage, James Meloney, 1900
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Box 576
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Mortgage, James A. McNall, 1897-1900
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Mortgage, E. Boyles McKee, 1900
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Mortgage, Mary M. Cook, 1900
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Mortgage, William F. Woods, 1900
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Mortgage, William H. Wilson, 1900
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Mortgage, Edward McDonald, 1900
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Mortgage, Estella S. McElhany, 1900-1916
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Mortgage, Fife Heirs, 1900-1901
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Mortgage, James R. Kelso and Trustee, 1900
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Mortgage, Gabriel Walker, 1900
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Mortgage, Joseph S. Bailey, 1900
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Mortgage, Richard Crooks, 1900-1901
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Mortgage, Samuel J. McAdams, 1901
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Mortgage, William Bamford, 1900
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Mortgage, Cyrus Ferguson, 1894-1901
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Mortgage, Robert Stevenson, 1900
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Mortgage, Andrew D. and Harvey H. Work, 1900
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Mortgage, Sarah A. Smith, 1900
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Mortgage, Thomas Donaldson, 1900
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Mortgage, Evan C. Donaldson, 1900
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Mortgage, Robert Bamford, 1900
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Mortgage, Richard Donaldson, 1900
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Mortgages Documentation, 1900-1904
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John F. Atcheson Mortgage Agreement, June 18, 1900 and April 26, 1910
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Box 577
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Mortgage on $1,500,000, January 1, 1910
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Certificate of the Union Trust Company of Pittsburgh, May 18, 1910
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Subseries 4. Correspondence, 1901-1918
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Scope and Content Notes: The letters in this subseries directly relate to the business activities of the Shaw Coal Company. Included are the letters documenting the deeding of property to Shaw Coal Company from landowners in Allegheny and Washington counties. These letters are written by John F. Atcheson, board member and stockholder in the company, and signed by the property sellers. Additional letters include topics such as quality of Shaw coal, administrative concerns, and the resignations of the original members of the Shaw Coal Company in 1902. The majority of the correspondence is incoming.
The letterpress copybook contains the outgoing correspondence from 1901 to 1918 and relates to the daily business activities of the company. An index provides an alphabetical listing of individuals and businesses that corresponded with the Shaw Coal Company. The copybook includes financial statements that can also be found elsewhere in this subseries.
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Correspondence, January 4, 1890-December 31, 1909
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Correspondence, February 11, 1910-August 13, 1919 and undated
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Letterpress Copybook, 1901-1918
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Subseries 5. Record Books, 1900-1925
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Scope and Content Notes: This subseries contains bound volumes relating to the Shaw Coal Company’s administrative and financial activities. Included are a minute book, stock certificates, and ledgers. The voucher index directly corresponds to the accounts payable receipts that can be found in the Administrative and Financial Subseries. The Bills Payable volume includes a listing of the mortgages and the mortgage rate. Also included is the statement that each mortgage was “paid in full” and “satisfied.” The Transfer Book directly relates to the stock held by each person in the Shaw Coal Company. The Ledger from 1901-1925 is a financial record book containing the following headings: Union Trust Company of Pittsburgh, accounts payable, capital, interest and discount, and profit and loss. This volume allows for further examination of the financial aspects of the company. The volumes date from 1900 to 1925
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Box 578
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Voucher Index, undated
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Bills Payable, 1900-1901
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Stock Certificates, 1900-1910
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Stock Ledger, 1900-1911
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Transfer Book, 1901-1924
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Journal, January 10, 1901-February 18, 1925
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Shaw Coal Company Ledger, 1901-1925
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