Special Collections Department

Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company Records

1799 - 1933 (bulk dates 1867 - 1918)

Manuscript Collection Number: 401 Accessioned: Gift of Mrs. Charles D. Carey, 1997 and 2000 and 2001 Extent: 1 linear ft. (76 items) Content: Letters, ledgers, minutes, financial and legal documents, deeds, ephemera, and photograph Access: The collection is open for research. Processed: Sally W. Donatello, January 2001; revised December 2001

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Special Collections, University of Delaware Library Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 (302) 831-2229

Table of Contents

Biographical Note Scope and Contents Note Contents List

Biographical Note

The Carey family was prominent in nineteenth-century Milton, Sussex County, Delaware. Merchant Robert Hood Carey (d. 1891; see 1892 deed in F43) is listed in the 1850 census with his wife Susan Davis Carey and their four sons: R. Davis, John F., Joseph Maull, and Theodore C. Two daughters, Sallie M. and Susan D., were born after 1850. John F. Carey became a doctor, and Joseph Maull Carey studied law at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Joseph M. Carey U.S. attorney in the territory of Wyoming, and he later served as the first U.S. senator from that state. He was elected governor of Wyoming in 1910 and his son Robert D. Carey also served as governor of Wyoming. All six of the Carey children of Milton followed the financial success of their father, and each of these siblings was involved in family business and real estate ventures, even if only as stockholders.

Brothers R. Davis and Theodore C. and their sister Susan D. Carey are the prominent members involved in the family business that is documented in this small collection. Lacking published sources to confirm the inception of the first Carey business, ephemera and other records found in this collection document partnerships and changes in the names of the company. Gopsill’s Philadelphia Business Directory records the existence in 1883 of Hollowbush & Carey (R. Davis Carey was a partner) who were booksellers, stationers and blank book manufacturers at 423 Market Street. Simultaneously the Carey Brothers manufactured wallpaper at the same location, which by 1885 had moved to its permanent location at 2228 N. 10th Street. Succeeding Hollowbush & Carey, brothers R. Davis and Theo. C. Carey went into business in 1881 with W. H. Grevemeyer under the name “Carey Bros. & Grevemeyer” at 817 Market Street. By 1891 the Carey brothers and Grevemeyer were also partners in “Carey Bros, a Branch of The National Wall Paper Co.,” which manufactured wallpaper in the factory located at Nos. 2228 to 2242 North 10th Street and 931 Market Street in Philadelphia (See F1). Minutes of the Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company verify its 1905 incorporation in Delaware.

The Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company was dissolved in 1918 after involvement with the debt-ridden Marley Mill Corporation, a paper mill located in Childs, Maryland, and the Beaver Dam Mill at Pomeroy, Pennsylvania. By 1933 the Carey name was part of the wallpaper company Brooks, Graffin & Carey, Inc., which was located at 125 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia.

Sources:

Gopsill, James. Gopsill’s Philadelphia Business Directory. Philadelphia: James Gopsill’s Sons, 1883, 1885, 1889, 1891.

Hancock, Harold and Russell McCabe. Milton’s First Century, 1807- 1907. Milton, Del. The Milton Historical Society, 1982.

Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. II, Brearly-Cushing. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1958. Note: Historical and biographical information obtained from the collection.

Scope and Content Note

The Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company Records, spanning the dates 1799 - 1933 (1867-1918), consists of one linear foot of ledgers, financial and legal documents, minutes, deeds, ephemera, letters, and a photograph. This small collection documents the existence and demise of a Philadelphia- based business of booksellers, stationers, and manufacturers of blank books and wallpaper. The collection provides valuable insight into a family business that flourished at the end of the nineteenth into the second decade of the twentieth century. The records outline a chronology that leads to the dissolution of the company through documents connected to the Carey family and its business acquisitions and operations.

The collection is arranged in two main parts: the bulk of the material (located in F1-F15) details aspects of the company’s history. The remainder of the collection consists of deeds and other legal documents, primarily related to Philadelphia properties (F16-F46).

The Carey Bros. Ledger, 1900-1907, (F5) includes business expenses, interest and dividends, inventory, rents, profit and loss, and accounts from R. Davis Carey and William H. Grevemeyer, as well as from the later partnership that formed a branch of the National Wall Paper Company. A "Bill of Sale", dated November 30, 1900, was an agreement to sell The National Wall Paper Company to R. Davis Carey (F4). This document recorded that the Company had the "Carey Brothers" and "Carey Brothers & Grevemeyer" branches. The notebook and “stockholders” ledger in F6 provides names of family members and associates who owned shares in Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company from its incorporation in 1905 to its dissolution in 1918. Included are notes about contracts, salaries, loans, and leases.

A Credit History compiled by the Commercial Credit Company of Baltimore around 1917 (F8) and the Marley Mill Corporation Minute Book, 1912-1916 (F10) are two key items that explain the demise of the Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company. The Credit History, in particular, provides a narrative of the Marley Mill Corporation (a paper mill in Childs, Maryland, and the Beaver Dam Mill in Pomeroy, Pennsylvania) and its use of the Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company to obtain credit, beginning in 1912 (See F11). By 1917 the Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Co. had endorsed large bonds and notes to help the Marley Mill Corporation remain solvent. The document cites financial obligations and relationships with Delaware Trust Company; Cosgrove & Company (a coal company); Market Street National Bank; National Security Bank; Marden, Orth, & Hastings, Co., Inc. (a soda ash company); Shenandoah Pulp and Paper Company; Pulp and Paper Trading Company; and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1917 unresolved credit problems were the impetus to begin liquidation of the Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Co. By spring 1918 the company was dissolved.

The second half of the collection concerns Carey family finances, estates, and property. The Carey Family Ledger housed in F14 includes miscellaneous entries dating from 1867 to 1907. Most entries are for Carey family members (some not cited in any other records), but there are names of non-family members as well. Sallie M. and Mary C. Carey are listed as having expenses associated with a Milton, Delaware, property from 1876 to 1892 (F14, pp. 180-183; see also a deed, F46, that cites sisters Sallie M. and Susan D. with residence in Milton). The Guardian’s Accounts (F15) records the guardianship of Theo. C. Carey, Jr., and J. M. Carey by their aunt, Susan D. Carey, after the death of their mother, Clara Waples Carey (1857 - 1894). Clara Waples Carey was married to Theodore C. Carey (1847 - 1895, Susan’s brother. The detailed accounts, 1894-1906, list expenses for maintenance of a number of properties owned by the Careys in Southern Delaware: Coston Farm, Factory Farm, Cool Spring Farm, and the Milton house. Other entries include produce sold, interest on bank stock, rent from lots, attorney fees, etc.

The thirty deeds (F16-46) that accompany this collection are from various Center City Philadelphia properties (1802-1892). Deeds, ground rents, and mortgages found in F16-F37, dating from 1832-1883, are for the same property, which R. Davis Carey purchased in 1883. The remaining deeds are Delaware and Pennsylvania real estate (commercial, farms, rentals, and residencies) that were owned by the Carey family as individuals or in partnership.

Related Collections:

Ms 402 Waples Family Papers

Contents List

Folder -- Contents

F1 Carey Bros. ephemera, 13 items Business ephemera: Twelve original items and one photocopy of a receipt provide company names and addresses

Tradecard of “Hollowbush & Carey, Booksellers, Stationers and Blank Book Manufacturers, 423 Market Street, Philadelphia”; on the verso is a caricature of six African- American children and a teacher. The answer to a riddle on the card is revealed after heat is applied.

Photograph of five men and three boys outside the factory of "Hollowbush & Carey" at 423 Market Street. Signs advertise wallpapers. "Business of R. Davis Carey" written on verso of card.

Notebook labeled "Purchasing Memorandum" for "Carey Bros. & Grevemeyer, successors to Hollowbush & Carey, Booksellers and Stationers, 817 Market Street, Philadelphia." Partners listed on the cover include R. Davis Carey, Theo. C. Carey, and W.H. Grevemeyer. The illustration on the verso of the cover depicts the block-long Carey Bros. wallpaper manufacturing factory, located at "Nos. 2228 to 2242 North Tenth Street." The owner used the notebook to record grocery purchases. At the bottom of each page are brief descriptions of products found in the company’s inventory. Receipt (photocopy of original laid in F11): “Bought of Carey Bros., Branch of The National Wall Paper Co., Manufacturers of Paper Hangings, Nos. 2228 to 2242 North 10th Street.” Partners listed on the receipt include R. Davis Carey, T.C. Carey, and W.H. Grevemeyer; the receipt is also marked “Philadelphia ______189_” and shows terms for payment.

Receipt: Carey Bros. & Grevemeyer, 10 February 1892, payment in full for bill 1-12, 1892, $5.95 from Hon. J.M. Carey, U.S. Senator.

Advertisement card: “Superior Playing Card Co., Carey Bros. & Grevemeyer,” lists designs on playing cards, number of series, description, cost per gross, plain or gilt edge.

Trade Card Blotters: Seven blotters with “Wall Papers that are different,” Brooks, Graffin & Carey, Inc., 125 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA.”; features image of Washington making Molly Pitcher a Lieutenant, January 1933 calendar.

F2 Legal documents, National Wall Paper Company, 1883 – 1907, 11 items Includes 1883 bill of sale between Carey Bros. And Thomas A. Young; title insurance from 1896; two trust receipts for stock shares in the National Wall Paper Company; and release from estate of William H. Grevemeyer to R. Davis Carey’s estate.

F3 The Farmers’ Bank, Susan D. Carey, 1899, 4 items Three of the items document the liquidation of stock

F4 Bill of Sale: National Wall Paper Company to R. Davis, 30 November 1900 F5 Carey Bros. -- Ledger, 1900 - 1907 1 vol. Wages, loans, interest, profits and losses recorded in entries for RDC and WHG (R. Davis Carey and Wm. H. Grevemeyer). Other entries include general expenses, raw materials, new samples, block room, line stock, merchandise manufactured stock, repair and renewals, additions and improvements, wages, profit & loss, rent, etc. Several entries show amounts transferred from the NWPCo. (National Wall Paper Company).

F6 Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Company -- Notebook, 1905 - 1908 1 vol. Notes on company’s directors, stockholders, shares, and assets. Additional entries include leases and salaries; a separate undated item is a list of stockholders and shares

F7 Minutes of the Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Co., 1905 - 1918 1 vol. The bulk of the entries date from the 1905 incorporation in Delaware; the company dissolved in 1918

F8 [Credit History, 1917] TS (carbon), 17 pp. Document describes Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Co.'s history with the Commercial Credit Company of Baltimore that started in 1914. Sections are titled "Commercial Credit Company," "Marley Mill Corporation," "Delaware Trust Company," "Carey Bros. Wall Paper Mfg. Company's Customers Notes Discounted at Delaware Trust Co.," "Cosgrove & Company," "Market Street National Bank," "National Security Bank," "Marden, Orth & Hastings, Co., Inc.," "Shenandoah Pulp and Paper Company," "Pulp and Paper Trading Company," and "Baltimore and Ohio Railroad."

F9 Carey Bros. - Finance and Trading Corporation, May 1917 2 items TL (carbon), May 25, 1917, to Horace W. Davis, Finance & Trading Corp., New York; 2 pp. TL (carbon), May 28, 1917, Finance and Trading Corporation to Susan D. Carey, Carey Brothers Wall Paper Mfg.. Co., Philadelphia; 4 pp. Correspondence regarding liquidation of Carey Bros. Wall Paper Manufacturing Co.

F10 Marley Mill Corporation -- Minute Book, 1912 -1916 1 vol.

F11 Marley Mills in account with Carey Brothers Wall Paper Manufacturing Company, May 17, 1917 Balance sheet, 3 pp. F12 Marley Mill Corporation. Special Meeting of Stockholders, July 10, 1917 TDs, 3 pp. F13 Marley Mill Corporation. Special Meeting of Directors, July 10, 1917 TDs, 5 pp.

F14 [Carey Family] Ledger, ca. 1867 - 1907 1 vol. Indexed accounts of various Carey family members, Carey businesses, and stockholders. Family members include Joseph M. Carey, Theodore C. Carey, John F. Carey, James M. Carey, Susan D. Carey, Mary C. Carey, Sallie M. Carey. Others (non- family) are listed in the ledger as well. Includes mortgages, investments in U.S. bonds, loans, taxes, notes (due and settled), and rents on properties in Philadelphia and Milton, Delaware.

F15 Guardian's Accounts, Theo. C. Carey, Jr. & Jos. M. Carey, 1894 - 1906 1 vol. Susan D. Carey, Guardian and Trustee [for] Theo. C. Carey, Jr. and J. M. Carey; Theodore C. Carey, executor of the estate of Clara Waples Carey. Business and farm accounts for properties in Sussex Co., Delaware, and for other Carey properties. Balance sheet begins with the value of 160 shares of Farmer’s Bank (New Castle, Delaware) stock less fee to executor of the estate.

Deeds: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

7th St & Habacker St. F16 1832 Jun 20 Fredrick A. Jennings to Robert A. Parrish F17 1836 Feb 29 Robert Parrish to George Cleaden F18 1836 Oct 19 George Cleaden to Ezra Hoopes F19 1840 Jan 11 Ezra Hoopes and Ann W., his wife, to Davis Hoopes

16th & Summer St. (formerly 7th St. & Habacker St.) F20 1854 Mar 24 John G. Williams and Susan N., his wife, to Walter Laing F21 1854 Nov 1 Walter Laing and Ann W., his wife, to Cornelius Forshee F22 1855 Dec 5 John G. Williams and Susan N., his wife, to David B. Cooper F23 1857 Mar 21 David B. Cooper to Charles Neil F24 1857 Jun 18 Charles Neil and Georgiana A., his wife, to Benjamin H. Pitfield F25 1858 Apr 5 Benjamin H. Pitfield to Perry R. McNeille F26 1858 Aug 3 Perry R. McNeille and Hannah, his wife, to John H. Coffin F27 1858 Oct 18 John H. Coffin and Elizabeth D., his wife, to Walter Laing F28 1862 Sep 13 Robert Ewing to Edward Laing F29 1862 Oct 13 Edward Laing and Fanny, his wife, to Arthur Maginnis F30 1864 July 4 Arthur Maginnis to Morris R. Stroud F31 1864 Sep 14 Frederick Myers and Ellenor, his wife, to Morris R. Stroud F32 1864 Sep 16 Joseph R. Taylor and Martha, his wife, to Morris R. Stroud (Ground Rent) F33 1871 Apr 5 Morris R. Stroud and M. Louise, his wife, and to Horace H. Duyckinck F34 1873 Nov 5 Horace H. Duyckinck and Emily L., his wife, to Mrs. Anna L. Haines, wife of William L. F35 1883 Jul 12 William L. Haines and Anna L., his wife, to Samuel H. Gilbert’s estate (Mortgage) F36 1883 Jul 30 William L. Haines and Anna L., his wife, to William Slatcher F37 1883 Sep 13 William Slatcher and Annie, his wife, to R. Davis Carey

8th St.& Northern Liberties F38 1802 Jan 25 Turner Camac and Sarah, his wife, to Anthony Gale F39 1802 Jul 7 Turner Camac and Sarah, his wife, to Anthony Gale F40 1818 Jun 20 William Lowber and Francenia, his wife, to C. Peter Meyer and Catharine, his wife

8th St. F41 1830 May 1 Henry Meyer to Lydia Emlen

School & Edward St. F42 1846 Apr 1 Ralph Bagnall Beech to Azor L. Gregory (Mortgage)

6th St. F43 1847 Dec 22 William Spink and Sarah A., his wife, to James S. Huber F44 1848 Oct 14 Sheriff, (for William Spink) to Thomas B. Taylor

Lien

F45 1903 May 13 R. Davis Carey to F. H. Harper and Son (Still Pond, Maryland)

Miscellaneous

F46 1883 Sep 5 Survey Summer St., Sixteenth St. and Winter St., copy of plan from Survey Dept. 1883 May 3 Receipt Office of Collector of Delinquent Taxes to H. H. Duyckinck; 1882 taxes for Summer Street property 1883 Jul/Sep Papers relating to mortgage search R. Davis Carey’s purchase of houses at 16th and Habacker Streets and 16th and Vine Streets; includes receipts from the Department for Supplying the City with Water; Department of Highways, Bridges, Sewers, and Street Cleaning; and, the Real Estate Title Insurance and Trust Company of Philadelphia 1883 Aug 7 Letter of Attorney “Samuel H. Gilbert to J. Thomas Audemeid to satisfy Wm. L. Haines, Mtge of $5000”

1892 Nov 7 Deed (Ground Rent) R. Davis Carey, John F. Carey and Anna S. (his wife), Joseph M. Carey and Louisa D. (his wife), Theodore C. Carey and Clara W. (his wife), to Sallie M. Carey and Susan D. Carey, both of Milton, Delaware, for properties in Philadelphia.