Using Business Records for Family & Local History

Kiara King

Archivist, Ballast Trust

13 October 2010

Overview

• Business records for family/local history

• Issues and advantages

• Why business records are kept

• Types of records

• How to find business records

Advantages and Issues

Issues:

• Locating the records

• Using records for a purpose for which they were not designed

• A fraction of companies records exist

• Vary in detail and scope

• Access restrictions

Advantages:

• Can pre-date statutory records

• Fill out official records

• More frequent

• Wealth of information

• Life patterns rather than an event

Context and background

• What was life like?

• What did a job entail?

• What did people earn?

• What was the community like?

• Photographs

• Film (Scottish Screen)

Why do businesses keep records?

• Evidence

• Proof

• Legal requirements

• A work tool

• Managing work and people

Types of business

• Sole Trader

• Partnership / Co-partnery

• Limited liability company (Ltd)

• Public Limited Company (PLC)

Corporate records

• Memoranda and Articles of Association

• Minute books

• Share registers

• Letter books

These records are more common

BUT

Un-indexed, difficult to use and letter books can be difficult to read

Stirling Guildry minutes 1799 - 1812

Showing entry relating to a women trading in Stirling very unusual (PD6/1/8 Stirling Council Archives)

Stirling Incorporation of Baxters minutes 1797 - 1927

Showing admission of man on successful production of veal pie 1816. (PD7/5/1 Stirling Council Archives)

Financial records

• Annual reports and accounts

• Balance sheets

• Account books

• Ledgers

• Private ledger

• Property Records • Tied housing for senior management and essential staff,

• Rent books

• Plans

These records have little personal detail and are difficult to use.

BUT

They can surprise!

List of children whose school books were paid for by the Marshall trust and supplied by the Holytown Shop.

Holytown Shop and Hamilton Family records (U171, North Lanarkshire Archives)

School books payments

Staff files

• Tend not to survive

• Depends on position in company

• Basic information may be retained

• Different types of records:• Salary payments

• Reports, log books

• Photographs

• Staff Magazines

• Accident books

• Societies and Trade Unions

Scotts Shipbuilding (Glasgow University)

Salaries book

Govan Colliery Company pay book

Colliery pay book

Contains:NamePositionPay amountDates

William Dixon and Co. Ltd

(UGD 001, Glasgow University)

Managers & Assistants Letterbooks

Mr Strachan’s letterbook

Reports a tiger attack

James Finlay & Co Archive (UGD 91/1/6/3/1

Glasgow University)

Robert Macilwain’s apprenticeship record 1900-1905

Contains:• Name• Dates• Terms• Yearly pay rate

Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, Riveter Apprentice Book(Glasgow University)

Apprenticeship Records

Apprenticeship agreement

Accident books

• Details of accident

• Witnesses

• Time off

• Un-indexed

Information may

also appear in

newspapers.

Ayr Place, Catrine Village RegisterJames Finlay (UGD 091 Glasgow University)

Industrial Paternalism

Recreation

• Sports clubs

• Societies

• Staff magazines

Provide:

Records

Objects Trophies Photographs

Kincaids Magazine

Staff photographs

Other Associations

• Burgess records

• Guilds and Associations

– Trades House

– Merchants House

• Friendly Societies

– Masonic lodges

• Trade Unions

– University of Warwick (www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc)

– NLS / GUAS / NAS / Glasgow Caledonian

Passenger lists

Maritime History Archive

Memorial University

of Newfoundland

www.mun.ca/mha/

Funeral ledger, Wylie & Lockhead, 1884 (House of Fraser, Glasgow University)

Funeral Records

Funeral Order Book 1887, Wylie & Lockhead, 1884 (House of Fraser, Glasgow University)

Funeral Records

Solicitors Records

They will hold the papers of individuals, organisations and businesses who were their clients:

• family and estate papers

• title deeds

• business records of clients

• copies of wills

Banking

Details of expenditure and income can give personal insights

Charles L Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll's accounts show: Sums that he spent on printing his pamphlets Paying his washerwoman The price of his ticket for the 1860 "Darwin" debate Donations to charities, inc the RSPCA

Lewis Carroll's Bank Account

House of Fraser

Identifying possible sources

• Find out as much as you can

– Census, BDM records tells you occupations

– Family stories

• Post Office directories

– Sometimes tell you employers

• Newspapers

• Geography and maps

Access and DPA

• More recent record may have access restrictions

• Business can close their records to protect their products - there is no legal requirement for businesses to provide access to their archives

• Data Protection Act will apply to protect the privacy of individuals – cannot make available personal information less than 75 years old to researchers.

Locating business records

Please see the handout for these links

• www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra

• www.nas.gov.uk/nras

• www.scan.org.uk

• www.archiveshub.ac.uk

• www.a2a.org.uk (England & Wales)

• ssa.nls.uk (no www)

• www.rcahms.ac.uk

Finding archives - NRA Search

NRA Search result

NRA Search Links

NRA Search Organisations

Questions

Kiara King

Archivist

kiara.king@glasgow.ac.uk

www.ballasttrust.org.uk