Samuel Insull Papers, 1799-1970
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SAMUEL INSULL PAPERS Bulk 1799-1970 Primarily 1932-1935 100 Boxes or Scrapbooks 18 Volumes, 1 Oversize File Folder 8 Unboxed Items of Memorabilia Prepared by Valerie Gerrard Browne With Assistance from Arthur W. Lysiak Lorraine T. Ojeda Michael Zablotney Margaret T. McShane William Lum Brent P. Wold LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO ARCHIVES Cudahy Library, Room 219 6525 N. Sheridan Road Chicago, IL 60626 (312) 508-2661 SAMUEL INSULL PAPERS COLLECTION, 1799-1970, primarily, 1932-1935 100 Boxes or Scrapbooks, 18 Volumes, 1 Oversize File Folder, and 8 Unboxed Items of Memorabilia Accession Numbers 83-9 and 90-35 The Samuel Insull Papers were donated to Loyola University of Chicago in 1967 by Samuel Insull, Jr., an original member of the University's Lay Board of Trustees. In succeeding years small additions were received from Samuel Insull, Jr.; Audrey Miller; P. A. Linskey; Edith Malcolm; and Commonwealth Edison Company, through the courtesy of William H. Colwell, secretary of the Company, and George R. Jones, vice president and treasurer, retired, of Public Service Company of Northern Illinois. Prior to its donation to Loyola, Forrest McDonald used the collection in the preparation of Insull (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962), his biography of Samuel Insull. Dr. McDonald's papers relating to the preparation of this biography were also donated to the Archives. SELECTED BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON SAMUEL INSULL 1859, 11 November Born, London, England, second of five children to survive to adulthood, of Samuel and Emma Short [Ann Short, on marriage certificate] Insull. 1879 Becomes private secretary and bookkeeper for Col. George E. Gouraud, London agent for Thomas A. Edison. 1881 Emigrates to the United States to become private secretary to Thomas A. Edison over whose business affairs he has charge for many years, representing him in the establishment of Electric Tube Company, Edison Lamp Company, and Edison Machine Works. 1886 Placed in charge of establishing the Edison Machine Works at Schenectady, New York, where he remains as general manager. 1889 Becomes Second Vice President in charge of manufacturing and selling departments of Edison General Electric Company, which is formed by the consolidation of Edison manufacturing concerns and the Edison Electric Light Company. Insull pg.1 1892 Edison General Electric Company merges with its leading competitor, Thomson-Houston Electric Company, to form the General Electric Company of which Insull is made Second Vice President. Insull decides to leave the manufacturing side of the electric business to engage in central station operations. 1892, 1 July Moves to Chicago to become President of Chicago Edison Company. 1896 Becomes citizen of United States. 1898 Becomes President of Commonwealth Electric Company. 1899, 22 May Marries Margaret Anna Bird (stage name, Gladys Wallis), an actress. She was born 16 March 1873 and died in 1953. 1900, 12 April Only child, Samuel Insull, Jr., is born. He died 8 January 1983. 1903 Establishes the first all-steam-turbine generating station in the world, the Fisk Street Station in Chicago. 1907, September Becomes President of Commonwealth Edison Company which is formed by the combination of Chicago Edison Company and Commonwealth Electric Company, thus consolidating the entire electric supply of Chicago under one company. 1911 Establishes Public Service Company of Northern Illinois, consolidating into one corporation 39 small suburban utilities. 1912 Middle West Utilities Company is formed to acquire utilities companies in the Midwest. Samuel Insull is President. 1913 Becomes Chairman of the Board of Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company. 1917 Becomes Chairman, State Council of Defense of Illinois. 1919 Becomes President of the foundering Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company and rehabilitates it. 1923 Establishes Public Service Investment Company, which becomes Midland Utilities Company. Becomes Chairman, Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad Company. Insull pg.2 1924 Becomes Chairman, Chicago Rapid Transit Company. 1925, June Margaret A. [Gladys] Insull's performances of School for Scandal to benefit St. Luke's Hospital. 1928, December Insull Utility Investments, Inc., an investment company, is created. 1929, 5 October Corporation Securities Company of Chicago, an investment company, is formed with Samuel Insull as Chairman. 1929, October Insull securities survive the stock market crash. 1929, 4 November Civic Opera House, one of Samuel Insull's major philanthropies, opens. 1930, Spring Cyrus Eaton offers Samuel Insull the opportunity to purchase his large block of holdings in Insull companies before they are placed on the open market. Insull borrows heavily from New York banks to do so. 1931, September Insull securities drop precipitously and bankers refuse to renew Insull's notes. 1932, April Insull investment companies go into receivership, taking with them the personal fortunes of the Insull family and the savings of many small investors. 1932, June Goes to Europe and gives Samuel Insull, Jr., his power of attorney. 1932, 4 October Cook County Grand Jury returns indictment. 1932, October Moves to Greece, which refuses to extradite him to the United States. 1934, March-April Under pressure from the U.S. government he is asked to leave Greece, is arrested by Turkish government, and returned States in custody of U.S. State Department. 1934, Oct.-Nov. First federal trial (for mail fraud). Acquitted. 1935, March State trial (embezzlement). Acquitted. 1935, June Second federal trial (violation of federal bankruptcy laws). Acquitted. 1938, 16 July Dies in Paris, France. Insull pg.3 RELATED MATERIALS IN THE ARCHIVES Archival Materials Commonwealth Edison Company Financial Records, ca. 1920-1950. Insull - Indiana Utilities Scrapbook, 1926. Samuel Insull, Jr.'s oral comments, January 1975, on passages in the original manuscript of the book, Chicago & Illinois Midland Railroad, n.d. 1 cassette tape. E. Ogden Ketting Papers, 1894-1992 (primarily, 1928-1932), relating to his employment with Insull, Son & Co. of London, England. Forrest McDonald's papers relating to the writing of Insull, his biography of Samuel Insull. James J. O'Keefe's copy of Samuel Insull's "Memoirs." Transcribed, 1934. John F. O'Keefe Papers, relating to his employment with Samuel Insull and Insull-related companies. Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company. Insull-related Records, ca. 1889-1938. Samuel Insull, Rapid Transit Development for Chicago, booklet published by North-West Side Commercial Association as a supplement to March 1924 North-West Town Bulletin. Photocopy, courtesy of Chicago Historical Society. Address delivered before the Chicago and Cook County Bankers Association on 21 February 1924 at the Union League Club, Chicago, pledging elevated railroad extension as recommended in the "Deuther Real Rapid Transit Plan." Related Publications, Some Based in Part on Samuel Insull Papers "Action Time," Chicago Sun-Times, 27 July 1981. Bowman, Jim. "The Way We Were: Samuel Insull - The Rise and Fall of a Chicago Tycoon," Chicago Tribune Magazine, 13 Feb. 1983, p. 21. Bradley, George K. Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley Trolleys. Bulletin 122 of Central Electric Railfans Association, 1983. Brynes, Steve. "The Edison Papers." pp. 10-12 of unknown publication. Burke, Tom. "Insull's Architect: The Railroad Stations of Arthur Gerber," Locomotive & Railway Preservation. Issue 58: March/April 1996, pp. 41-51. Insull pg.4 Campbell, George V. Days of the North Shore Line. Delavan, WI: National Bus Trader, Inc., 1985. Carlson, Norman, ed. Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad: How the Medal Was Won. Bulletin 124 of Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1985. Carlson, Norman, and Peterson, Arthur, eds. Remember When - Trolley Wires Spanned the Country. Bulletin 119 of Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1980.Related Publications, Some Based in Part on Samuel Insull Papers (Continued) Commonwealth Edison Company. "A Bright Past, A Brilliant Future." 100th Anniversary video, 1987. (Placed in Libraries' Audio-Visual Department.) Commonwealth Edison Company. "Insull." [video] 1988. (Placed in Libraries' Audio-Visual Department.) "The Edison Papers: Discovering an American Genius." n.d. "Hail & Rail Mail from North Shore Readers," North Shore, September 1989. Henderson, Harold. "Commonwealth Edison Has a Deal for Your," Reader: Chicago's Free Weekly, (Vol. 16, No. 28) 10 April 1987. Hogan, John. A Spirit Capable: The Story of Commonwealth Edison. Chicago: Mobium Press, 1986. Hughes, Thomas P. American Genesis, A Century of Invention and Technological Enthusiasm, 1870-1970. New York, NY: Viking, 1989. Insull, Samuel, Jr. "Sound Off," [Chicago Tribune (?), 3 October 1976]. "Insull's Mission: Lighting the Prairie City," The Edison, (Vol. 9, No. 1) Spring 1987, pp. 6-11. McDonald, Forrest. Insull. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. McDonald, Forrest. "Samuel Insull," Dictionary of American Biography. Volume XXII, Supplement Two. New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1958. Reprint. McDonald, Forrest. "Samuel Insull and the Movement for State Utility Regulatory Commissions," Business History Review, (Vol. XXXII, No. 3) Autumn 1958. Plachno, Larry. Sunset Lines: The Story of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad, 1 - Trackage. Polo, IL: Transportation Trails, 1986. Plachno, Larry. The Longest Interurban Charter. Polo, IL: Transportation Trails, 1988. Insull pg.5 Platt, Harold L. "Samuel Insull and the Electric City," Chicago History Magazine, Spring 1986 (Vol. XV, No. 1). Robinson,