MS 556
Ellis and Ellis, Inc.
Records, 1913-1949, n.d.

Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140

Descriptive summary

creator:

Ellis and Ellis, Inc.

title:

Records

dates:

1913-1949, n.d.

extent:

0.01 linear ft.  (1 oversize folder)

collection number:

MS 556

repository:

Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

 

Administrative information

access:

Open for research

publication rights:

Consult Head, Special Collections Department

preferred citation:

Ellis and Ellis, Inc., Records, MS 556, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

 

Historical note

The Charles City, Iowa, corporation of Ellis & Ellis, Inc. was formed 29 May 1917.  The new corporation took over the business and property of the copartnership of Ellis and Ellis, which had been in existence for  close to forty years.  The partners in this venture were brothers Adelbert E. Ellis (1848-1919) and Charles D. Ellis (1854-1933).  Upon the formation of the corporation, these two men continued to be the sole owners of the business and property of the corporation.  The first officers were Charles D. Ellis, president; Adelbert E. Ellis, vice president; Melvin W. Ellis, treasurer; and W. B. Johnson, secretary.

Ellis and Ellis, Inc., invested in stocks and bonds and in real estate in Charles City and elsewhere.  Melvin W. Ellis (1881-1946) served as the second president.  Following his death in 1946, the shareholders voted to dissolve the corporation.  Ellis and Ellis, Inc., was officially dissolved in 1949.  The officers at that time were Harlan "Hoot" M. Ellis, president; Raymond W. Ellis, vice president; and H. Elsie Calvert, secretary.

 

Collection Description


This collection contains correspondence, financial records, legal documents, tax files, and ledgers from Ellis and Ellis, Inc.  The records document the company's investments in stocks and in properties including the Ellis Hotel in Waterloo, the Woolworth building in Charles City, and the Sherman Nursery Company (also called the Charles City Nursery Company).  The 1949 dissolution of the company is well documented by the records.  The collection also includes documents relating to the Melvin W. Ellis family's personal finances and their Charles City home, known as Boulder Point.

 

Organization

 

The collection is organized in three series:

1. General Files, 1913-1949, n.d. (alphabetical)

2. Tax Records, 1914-1949, n.d. (chronological)

3. Ledgers, 1926-1947 (alphabetical)

 

 

 

 

Series 1

General Files

1913-1949, n.d.

extent:

1.03 linear feet (2 document boxes and 6 folders)

 

description:

Contains correspondence, financial records, and legal records of Ellis and Ellis, Inc.  Also included is a modest amount of legal and financial records of the Ellis family, including papers related to their home, Boulder Point.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Container list  

Box

Folder

Title

Dates

1

1

Balance Sheets

1916-1945, n.d.

1

2

Boulder Point Papers

1920-1928

1

3

Business and Bank Records (notebook): accounts and statements

1923-1943

1

4

Correspondence and Balance Sheets (includes company liquidation, Ellis and Ellis Block and other property)

1946-1949, n.d.

1

5

Correspondence and Legal Documents Relating to Melvin W. Ellis Estate and Company Dissolution

1944-1949, n.d.

1

6

Dissolution of Company

1946-1949

1

7

Financial Records (notebook): bank account registers, loans, stocks, bonds, and personal expenses and statements

1929-1946, n.d.

1

8

Financial Reports

1927

1

9

Financial Reports

1928-1929

2

1

Financial Reports

1930-1931

2

2

Financial Reports

1933, 1946

2

3

Financial Statements, Property Listing, and Correspondence Regarding Investments

1913-1921, n.d.

2

4

Fred C. Krueger Loan Papers

1916-1933, n.d.

2

5

Legal and Financial Records: balance sheets, materials regarding company dissolution, estates of Kate G. Ellis, Mina W. Ellis, and Melvin W. Ellis, and death certificate of Melvin W. Ellis

1930-1949, n.d.

2

6

Legal Matters (includes application for stock issuance and company dissolution)

1917-1949

2

7

Legal Matters (includes Mina Ellis estate and Carlisle Ellis and Prudence Kinsley withdrawal from company)

1937-1948

2

8

National Republic Bank Stock Certificates and Papers

1931-1946

2

9

National Republic Company and Central Republic Bank and Trust: legal and tax matters (includes Melvin W. Ellis statements of net worth)

1928-1933

2

10

National Republic Company and Central Republic Trust Company: correspondence, accounts, and agreements:

1929-1946

3

1

Notes, Loans, Insurance

1925-1946, n.d.

3

2

Personal Accounts (notebook): assets, liabilities, statements, and checks (1- 2.5"x5" b/w photograph)

1929-1945, n.d.

3

3

Property and Investments: deeds, contracts of sale, leases, mortgages, property improvements, stock, tax assessments

1940-1949, n.d.

3

4

Property and Loans

1927-1949

3

5

Property and Stock Valuation (includes Sherman Nursery Company and Ellis Hotel)

1946-1948, n.d.

3

6

Woolworth Building Specifications

1939, n.d.

 

 

 

 

Series 2

Tax Records

1914-1949, n.d.

extent:

10.03 linear feet (2 document boxes and 3 folders)

 

description:

Contains tax returns of Ellis and Ellis, Inc.,  and related documentation including correspondence and legal records.  Arranged chronologically.

Container list  

Box

Folder

Title

Dates

3

7

Income Tax and Legal Matters (includes financial statements and 1935 tax returns)

1914-1949, n.d.

3

8

Tax Returns and Correspondence

1915-1928, n.d.

3

9

Tax Returns and Correspondence

1917-1926, n.d.

4

1

Tax Returns, Correspondence, and Financial Statements (1 of 2)

1927-1938, n.d.

4

2

Tax Returns, Correspondence, and Financial Statements (2 of 2)

1927-1938, n.d.

4

3

Income Tax Study (includes 1936 tax returns) (1 of 2)

1935-1939, n.d.

4

4

Income Tax Study (includes 1936 tax returns) (2 of 2)

1935-1939, n.d.

4

5

1937 Income Tax, Federal and State (includes social security tax correspondence)

1937-1940, n.d.

4

6

1938 Income Tax, Federal and State

1938-1939

5

1

1939 Income Tax, Federal and State

1940-1944, n.d.

5

2

1940 Income Tax, Federal and State (includes tax correspondence regarding First Security Inc. of Charles City and Oliver Farm Equipment Company conditional rights certificates)

1941-1946, n.d.

5

3

1941 Income Tax, Federal and State (includes material regarding 1944 audit)

1942-1944

5

4

1942 Income Tax, Federal and State

1943, n.d.

5

5

1943 Income Tax, Federal and State

1944-1947, n.d.

5

6

1944 Income Tax, Federal and State

1945-1946, n.d.

5

7

1945 Income Tax, Federal and State

1946-1948, n.d.

5

8

1946 Income Tax, Federal and State

1947, n.d.

5

9

1947 Income Tax, Federal and State

1948, n.d.

5

10

1948 and 1949 Income Tax, Federal and State

1948-1949, n.d.

 

 

 

 

 

Series 3

Ledgers

1926-1947

extent:

2.1 linear feet (5 document boxes)

 

description:

Contains ledger pages recording accounts maintained by Ellis and Ellis, Inc., including rents and expenses from their farm and city properties.  These pages were originally in post bound ledgers and have been disbound.  Arranged alphabetically.

 

Container list  

 

Box

Folder

Title

Dates

6

1

Farm Accounts Ledger (1 of 10)

1926-1947

6

2

Farm Accounts Ledger (2 of 10)

1926-1947

6

3

Farm Accounts Ledger (3 of 10)

1926-1947

6

4

Farm Accounts Ledger (4 of 10)

1926-1947

6

5

Farm Accounts Ledger (5 of 10)

1926-1947

6

6

Farm Accounts Ledger (6 of 10)

1926-1947

7

1

Farm Accounts Ledger (7 of 10)

1926-1947

7

2

Farm Accounts Ledger (8 of 10)

1926-1947

7

3

Farm Accounts Ledger (9 of 10)

1926-1947

7

4

Farm Accounts Ledger (10 of 10)

1926-1947

7

5

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (1 of 11)

1926-1947

8

1

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (2 of 11)

1926-1947

8

2

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (3 of 11)

1926-1947

8

3

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (4 of 11)

1926-1947

8

4

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (5 of 11)

1926-1947

8

5

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (6 of 11)

1926-1947

8

6

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts(7 of 11)

1926-1947

9

1

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (8 of 11)

1926-1947

9

2

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (9 of 11)

1926-1947

9

3

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (10 of 11)

1926-1947

9

4

Transfer Binder: All Accounts except City Building Accounts and Analyses of Rents and Farm Accounts (11 of 11)

1926-1947

9

5

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (1 of 8)

1926-1947

9

6

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (2 of 8)

1926-1947

10

1

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (3 of 8)

1926-1947

10

2

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (4 of 8)

1926-1947

10

3

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (5 of 8)

1926-1947

10

4

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (6 of 8)

1926-1947

10

5

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (7 of 8)

1926-1947

10

6

Transfer Binder: Analyses of City and Farm Rents and City Building Accounts (8 of 8)

1926-1947

 

 


Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA 50011
Comments: tzanish@iastate.edu
URL: http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/manuscripts/MS556.html
Revised: 07 July 2008.