Farrel Company Records

Series I: Administrative Files (undated, 1844-1982) is composed of nine subseries: Company Statements, Legal Records, Master Agreement Files, Minutes, Notebooks, Personnel, Reports and Surveys, Subject Files and Stock Records. The bulk of the series contains Master Agreement Files and Subject Files. Master Agreement Files (1893-1962), are general subject records maintained by the company for legal purposes or kept as a control record. Included are deeds and contracts, licenses and patents, policies and procedures and other files related to the Banbury Mixer, Consolidated Machine Tool Corp. and Atwood and Watson-Stillaman divisions. Subject Files (1863-1979) cover a variety of subjects, including proposed mergers, salary adjustment, mining activities, Buffalo operations, World War II contributions, USM Corp., Emhart Corp., and sugar mills. The extensive group of Notebooks (1844-1926), covers subjects relating to business and personal matters. The majority of notebooks were kept by Farrelrsname> family members. Stock Records (1851-1968) included dividend accounts, notes and certificates and records of stock transactions (Series IX, Audio Visual Records, contains reel to reel tapes of annual stockholders' meetings, 1957-1968). Major gaps appear in twentieth century records. Legal Records (1849-1968) include contracts and agreements, deeds, corporate documents, licenses and patents, indentures and copyrights. The bulk of these records are nineteenth century documents. Reports and Surveys (1904-1972), were undertaken by the company to appraise policies and procedures or to examine developments affecting the industry. Reports were prepared in-house or by consultants, such as McKinsey and Company and Norris & Elliott. Personnel files (1906-1972) include wage and employee statistics, training manuals and labor relations materials. Contained in Company Statements (1850-1982) are annual reports, 1945-1982; annual statements, 1856-1913; balance sheets; profit and loss statements. Minutes (1910-1968) is a very small subseries containing minutes of directors' meetings, 1958-1968; executive board meetings, 1913-1917; and miscellaneous committee meetings.

Series II: Correspondence (1840-1966) consists of general correspondence, 1840-1966; outgoing correspondence, 1878-1897; in the form of letter press copy books; and convertible notes file, 1938-1944. The bulk of general correspondence is dated 1845-1920. Indexed letter press copy books primarily contain correspondence from Franklin Farrel.

Series III: Sales and Marketing Records (1869-1956) contains three subseries: scrapbooks, catalogs, and sales. The bulk of the series of composed of Scrapbooks (1901-1956), related to Farrel Company or industry activities. The scrapbooks include newsclippings, product catalogs and advertisements. Newsclippings referring to Ansonia and Derby are sprinkled throughout the scrapbooks. Scrapbooks are arranged alphabetically by subject and within each subject are filed chronologically. Illustrated Catalogs showcase Farrel products and include Buffalo production lines. Sales include order books (1869-1928) which are partially indexed. Order books and other sales records usually include customers' name, product, price and occasionally specialk production specifications or instructions.

Series IV: General Accounts (1848-1961) is composed of daybooks, journals, ledgers, cash books, accounts received and paid, bills and receipts and a few miscellaneous account records. The daybooks, 1848-1880, include volumes from Farrel Johnson and Company and Farrel Foundry. Cash books are arranged in three subgroups: cash, 1853-1934; cash received, 1935-1961; cash disbursed, 1926-1929, 1935-1960. Ledgers, 1849-1961 are arranged by type: ledgers, general ledgers, transfer ledgers, general ledger transfers, current ledgers and sales ledgers. Journals, 1953-1957, are arranged in sets and each set is in chronological order. Accounts received and paid, 1927-1961, record office and travel expenditures. Bills and receipts are primarily nineteenth century records.

Series V: Production Records (1874, 1933) contains inventory books, expense records, gear lists and nomenclature, specifications, circulars and miscellaneous production records. Annual inventory books, 1904-1909, document total production output. An inventory of rolls, 1874, is included. Expense records, 1915-1933, verify expenditures and production costs of various departments such as the drawing room, machine shop and blacksmith shop. One volume is a record of the Derby plant's expenses. Gear lists of the company, 1893, 1897, 1918, are incomplete. Circulars received by the company are primarily nineteenth century advertisements. Production records are extremely spotty with major gaps evident throughout the series.

Series VI: Labor Records (1858-1956) contains payroll records, manhour statistics and employee accounts. Time book and payroll volumes, 1867-1877, 1898-1901, 1918-1920, are weekly records of work done and wages received by employees. Workman's monthly time book, 1858-1859, includes employees' wages and attendance. Payroll and Office volumes, 1903-1956, include wages and deductions. “Black Book” salary records, ca. 1940s, include employees' name and age, department worked, dates of employment and reason for departure.

Series VII: Birmingham Iron Foundry (1858-1927) is composed of records of that company preceding its merger with Farrel Foundry and Machine Company in 1927. The series is arranged in four subseries: administrative records, production, sales and general accounts. Administrative Records (1858-1927) consist of general subject files, legal records and stock records. Appraisals, cost accounts and inventories are also included. Production Records (1899-1927) contain gear lists and specifications. Sales Records (1863-1891) include an extensive array of illustrated product catalogs (no dates) and various order books. General Accounts (1864-1927) include ledgers, journals, a cash book, balance sheets and bills and receipts.

Series VIII: Newsclippings and Publications (1909-1978) is arranged by subject. Three subjects comprise the bulk of this series: company activities, company buildings and land, town activities. Other subjects are employee articles including works by Franklin Farrel III. J. R. Bowen's newsclipping files encompass Farrel Company, industry and town activities. Personnel contains articles and obituaries about employees from all plants, including Buffalo. In-hours publications include Farrel-Birmingham Newsletter, 1942-1942, and Farrel-Birmingham Notes, 1940-1943.

Series IX: Audio Visual Records (1850-1968) contains photographs, reel to reel tapes, plans and blueprints, and memorabilia. Eight scrapbooks, ca. 1930-1955, contain photographs of company products with emphasis on sugar mills built by the company in Louisiana. Other photographs are arranged by subject, although the majority are unidentified. Subject headings include events, facilities, personnel, products and machinery, and World War II activities. Tapes contain proceedings of stockholder annual meetings, 1957-1968, and includes a special 1968 stockholders' meeting, as well as a conversation between Fernley Banbury and Arthur Strahan concerning the Banbury mixer. Plans and blueprints are arranged in three sections: Buffalo operations, facilities and projects, and equipment. Though few in number, the drawings and blueprints are in good condition. Photocopies of blueprints are included. Memorabilia includes ephemera and special record items received or generated by the company. Included in this category are commemorative service pins and tietacks, anniversary seals, company embossers, awards and certificates, letterhead samples, and business cards.

Series X: Historical Papers (1847-1984) is arranged in three subseries: Farrel Company, Family Papers, and Reference. Farrel Company includes historical information on the company, its stock, and the town of Ansonia; as well as correspondence and notes of Franklin Farrel Sr., Franklin Farrel Jr., and Franklin Farrel III. Family Papers includes biographical notes, death notices, genealogy and legal records; as well as personal correspondence. Reference contains books relating to the Farrel Company library, these books were used primarily for in-house purposes.

Series XI: Publications (1940-1988) contains various printed materials of relevance to the Farrel Company, and includes information on world markets, products, and equipment, as well as annual reports, journals, newsletters, and reports and addresses.

Series XII: Addendum (1800-1898) contains materials added to the collection after its initial processing. The records have been arranged by subject and includes records on machinery, patents, production, stock transactions, cost control and pricing, and legal matters. Information on the 1989 Emhart/Black & Decker merger is included here, as well as information on the 1987 Emhart/Farrel lawsuit. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series XIII: Ledgers and Journals (1866-1942