Processed by
Robert W. Smith
Paul Brockman, Supervisor
20 February 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
8 boxes, 28 bound volumes, 1 photograph |
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COLLECTION |
1890–1955 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Mr. and Mrs. John T. Gibson, Washington, D.C, 2 June 1983 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
Cornelius O’Brien Papers (M 0597) |
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ACCESSION |
1983.0632 |
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NOTES: |
August D. Cook was born near Bremen, Germany, on 18 November 1847 and immigrated to the United States with his family who settled in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Indiana. He founded the A. D. Cook Company in 1881 to manufacture tube well supplies and steam pumps. The company began in a small foundry and changed locations three times, each time moving to a larger facility. At the time of the third move in 1901, the company became the largest factory in the world devoted exclusively to the manufacture of deep-well pumps of the plunger type. A. D. Cook was also associated with his brother, H. F. Cook, who was president of The Cook Well Company in St. Louis, Missouri.
The A. D. Cook Company was incorporated on 14 March 1921. Two weeks later, A. D. Cook died and his son-in-law, Cornelius O’Brien (1883–1953) who had been with the operation since 1909, became the company’s president. His wife, Anna Cook O’Brien, served as the company’s secretary. O’Brien later became president of the People’s National Bank in Indianapolis.
The company conducted actual well-drilling activities under the title of the A. D. Cook Water Development Division until it was discontinued in 1945. The A. D. Cook Company also manufactured a diverse line of deep-well steam-driven pumps, plunger pumps and turbine motor-driven pumps, shallow-well pumps, well supplies, and compression-type fire hydrants and pumps used in domestic water supply systems and power installations.
The A. D. Cook Company was sold on 2 September 1947 to All American Industries, Inc. of New York.
Sources:
Information in collection.
The collection is divided into three series. The first series consists of the O’Brien family’s personal account books, 1914–55. Among the twenty-six bound volumes in this section are cash journal and ledgers of Cornelius O’Brien and his daughters, Anna Belle O’Brien and Mary Gibson O’Brien. There are also stock registers which lists accounts of preferred stocks and bonds held by Anna Belle and Cornelius O’Brien.
Series two comprises audit reports, catalogs, and pamphlets of the A. D. Cook Company. The audit reports cover the years 1929–38 and were prepared by Rice, Stanley, and Company of Cincinnati. The catalogs cover the years 1890–1940 and document the products manufactured by the company; they include pictures, dimensions, and prices for tube well supplies and steam, belt, and motor-driven well pumps. Also included are eight pamphlets, mostly from A. D. Cook, relating to water wells and pumps.
The third series contains correspondence, operational, and financial papers from the A. D. Cook Company, 1891–1948. Correspondence ranges from employee reports and letters from accountants to a set of letters discussing the company’s sale. Company inventories include estimated profit and loss sheets, balance sheets, indebtedness sheets, and profit/loss statements. Production-related records include charts of equipment tests and executive interdepartmental orders. There are also files on salesmen and engineers for the company.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Anna Belle O’Brien, Cash Journal # 1, Jan. 1940–Sept. 1948 |
BV 2048 |
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Anna Belle O’Brien, Cash Journal # 2, Oct. 1948–Sept. 1954 |
BV 2049 |
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Anna Belle O’Brien, Stock Register, Dec. 1922–Nov. 1941 |
BV 2050 |
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Anna Belle O’Brien, Stock Register, Feb. 1939–Sept. 1943 |
BV 2051 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 1, July 1914–Feb. 1916 |
BV 2052 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 2, Feb. 1916–Dec. 1917 |
BV 2053 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 3, Dec. 1917–Dec. 1917–Dec. 1922 |
BV 2054 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 4, Dec. 1922–Dec. 1929 |
BV 2055 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 5, Jan. 1930–Dec. 1935 |
BV 2056 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 6, Jan. 1936–Dec. 1940 |
BV 2057 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 7, Jan. 1941–Dec. 1943 |
BV 2058 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 8, Jan. 1944–Dec. 1950 |
BV 2059 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Cash Journal # 9, Jan. 1951–July 1953 |
BV 2060 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Stock Register, Jan. 1921–Jan. 1944 |
BV 2061 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Appraisal 13 June 1942 |
BV 2062a |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Appraisal 9 June 1942 |
BV 2062b |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Check Receipts and Deposits, Aug. 1929 |
BV 2063 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Farm Ledger # 1, 1938–44 |
BV 2064 |
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Cornelius O’Brien, Livestock Inventory, 1938–48 |
BV 2065 |
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Mary Gibson O’Brien, Cash Journal # 1, Jan. 1940–Dec. 1948 |
BV 2066 |
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Mary Gibson O’Brien, Cash Journal # 2, Jan. 1949–June 1955 |
BV 2067 |
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O’Brien Family Ledger # 1, 1914–17 |
BV 2068 |
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O’Brien Family Ledger # 2, 1918–21 |
BV 2069 |
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O’Brien Family Ledger # 3, 1922 |
BV 2070 |
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O’Brien Family Ledger # 4, 1923–30 |
BV 2071 |
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O’Brien Family Ledger # 5, 1930–39 |
BV 2072 |
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O’Brien Family Ledger # 6, 1940–43 |
BV 2073 |
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Family Photograph, Horse-Drawn Carriage in Winter, ca. 1910s |
Visual Collections: Photographs, Folder 1 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Ledger, 1922 |
BV 2075 |
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Audit Reports, 1930–31 |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Audit Reports, 1932–34 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Audit Reports, 1935–38 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Catalogs (5), n.d. |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Catalogs, 1890, 1898–1904 |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Catalogs, 1895–1900 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Catalogs, 1902–06 |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Catalog, 1909 |
Box 2, Folder 1 |
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Catalogs, Numbers 11 and 14, n.d. |
Box 2, Folder 2 |
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Catalogs, Numbers 15, n.d.; and July 1921 [?] |
Box 2, Folder 3 |
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Catalog Number 16, n.d.; Bulletins 30 and 30A |
Box 2, Folder 4 |
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Catalog Number 17, 1925; Bulletin 34; Professional Correspondence; Blueprint of Well, 1911 |
Box 2, Folder 5 |
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Catalogs, 1935, 1937–39; Johnson Well Screens Catalog Number 534, 1936 |
Box 2, Folder 6 |
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Catalog Number 340, 1936; Bulletin 31A, 1934 |
Box 2, Folder 7 |
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Catalog “S,” 1934 with Supplements and Correspondence (1 of 2) |
Box 3, Folder 1 |
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Catalog “S,” 1934 with Supplements and Correspondence (2 of 2) |
Box 3, Folder 2 |
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Catalog “S,” 1938; Johnson Well Screens Catalog Number 538, 1938 |
Box 3, Folder 3 |
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Catalog “S,” 1939; Bulleting 36, 1939 |
Box 3, Folder 4 |
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Catalog 340-A, 1939; Bulletin 34 EJ, 1940 |
Box 3, Folder 5 |
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“Outfitters For Wells,” n.d.; “Driller,” 1949; Bulletins Numbers 448, 448-W, 449, 1148; “25 Years of Water for Industry,” n.d. |
Box 3, Folder 6 |
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Pump and Water System Catalogs, 1935, 1948 and n.d.; Indianapolis Railways Annual Report, 1947 |
Box 3, Folder 7 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Correspondence, 1921, 1947–50; Capital Stock Issued, 1944–45; Lists of Employees, 1923–28 |
Box 4, Folder 1 |
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Correspondence, 1943 and 9 May 1947; Resignation Letters, 1945 |
Box 4, Folder 2 |
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Comparison of Payroll, 1937–38; Labor Costs/Wages, 1932–35 |
Box 4, Folder 3 |
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Summary of Sales, Jan. 1891–Dec. 1922; Deep Well Pumps Figures, 1940; Rice-Stanley Correspondence, 1930s |
Box 4, Folder 4 |
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Profit-Loss Statements, 1938–40; Inventory, General File, 1914–40 |
Box 4, Folder 5 |
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Inventory, 1929–33; Profit-Loss Statements, 1932–33 |
Box 4, Folder 6 |
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Inventory and Profit-Loss Statements, 1934–36 |
Box 4, Folder 7 |
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Inventory,1937–37; Rice-Stanley Correspondence, 1936–37; Cook Company Debts, Sept. 1937–38 |
Box 5, Folder 1 |
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Inventory and Tax Statements, Dec. 1938–Sept. 1943 |
Box 5, Folder 2 |
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Inventory and Tax Statements, 1937–44; Balance Sheet, 1937 |
Box 5, Folder 3 |
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Balance Sheet and Profit-Loss Statements, 1946–47; Correspondence, 1946 |
Box 5, Folder 4 |
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Inventory (Profit-Loss Statements), 1946–47 (A) |
Box 5, Folder 5 |
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Inventory (Profit-Loss Statements), 1947–48 (B) |
Box 5, Folder 6 |
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Cornelius O’Brien Papers on Departmentalization, Sept. 1945 |
Box 5, Folder 7 |
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Labor Elections, 8 Oct. 1945; Strike 9 Oct.–9 Nov. 1945 |
Box 5, Folder 8 |
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Sale Expense Sheets, n.d.; Tax Information, 1942; Financial Statements, 1930s |
Box 5, Folder 9 |
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History of A. D. Cook Company and Newspaper Accounts |
Box 6, Folder 1 |
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Financial Statements, 1922–38 |
Box 6, Folder 2 |
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Profit-Loss Information, 1936–44 |
Box 6, Folder 3 |
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Chase Brass and Cooper Correspondence, 1927; General Correspondence, 1928; Johnson and Cook Comparison, 1938 |
Box 6, Folder 4 |
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Experimental Dee Well Pump Tests; Type W. W. Strainer and Winding Wire Drawings |
Box 6, Folder 5 |
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Type W. W. Strainer; Correspondence/Orders, 1932 |
Box 6, Folder 6 |
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Type W. W. Strainer, 1 July 1927 (Drawing); Memoranda/Orders March 1930–April 1932 |
Box 6, Folder 7 |
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W. W. Strainer Memoranda/Orders, Feb. 1932–May 1933 |
Box 7, Folder 1 |
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W. W. Strainer Memoranda/Orders, 1933–34 |
Box 7, Folder 2 |
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W. W. Strainer Memoranda/Orders, 1934–36 |
Box 7, Folder 3 |
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W. W. Strainer Memoranda/Orders, 1936–38 |
Box 7, Folder 4 |
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Deep Well Pump Diagram; Patent Petition, Correspondence, 1894 |
Box 7, Folder 5 |
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Charts for Yield for Stratum and Sand Capacity of Strainers, n.d. |
Box 7, Folder 6 |
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Turbine Pump Tests, 1939; Correspondence, Memoranda, 1939 |
Box 7, Folder 7 |
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Correspondence Regarding R. E. Sykes, 1940 and Robert Bird, 1939 |
Box 7, Folder 8 |
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Correspondence Regarding Robert E. Slee, 1945 |
Box 7, Folder 9 |
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Dunbar and Dunbar Correspondence, 1948 |
Box 8, Folder 1 |
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Rockwell Manufacturing and Edward Valves Correspondence, 1946 |
Box 8, Folder 2 |
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Company Papers: Thomas Simmons and A. R. Shinn Correspondence, 1947 |
Box 8, Folder 3 |
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Company Papers: Credit Information and Correspondence, 1946–47 |
Box 8, Folder 4 |
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Company Papers: Legal Papers and Correspondence, 1946–47 |
Box 8, Folder 5 |
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Company Papers: Credit Information and Correspondence, 1946–47 |
Box 8, Folder 6 |
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Company Papers: Trip to New York, 1946 |
Box 8, Folder 7 |
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Business Papers, 1931, 1950 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0393).
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