JANNEY, SEMPLE, HILL & CO.:

Janney, Semple, Hill and Company was founded in 1866 by Thomas B. Janney, his brother Edwin, and his brother-in-law, Samuel T. Moles. The first store, located on Washington Avenue between Nicollet and Minnetonka streets, was named Janney and Moles. In April 1875, a co-partnership was formed consisting of Thomas B. Janney, Samuel T. Moles, Frederick W. Brooks, and George H. Eastman. The company name was then changed to Janney, Moles, Brooks and Company.

In 1887 Samuel T. Moles withdrew from the Company, and the name was changed to Janney, Brooks, and Eastman.

In 1883 George H. Eastman's interests were purchased by Frederick Brooks and Thomas Janney. In Hovember of 1883, Brooks died and his interests were sold to Frank B. Semple. The firm name then became Janney, Semple and Company.

On January 22, 1891 the firm was incorporated. Thomas B. Janney was named president and treasurer, Frank B. Semple, vice president, and Horace M. Hill, secretary, the latter given the office because of long service to the company.

After 1886, the company expanded rapidly, due in part to the expansion of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads into the western territories. The company moved its headquarters in Minneapolis many times as increased business made larger quarters necessary.

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Included in the collection are miscellaneous correspondence and invoices (1866-1951); a typewritten copy of a speech (titled Capital and Labor: The Rights of the Public), author unknown, but probably delivered around 1905; typewritten copies of letters including Thomas B. Janney correspondence; five tables of expenses (1883-1889); two tables of sales (1881-1892); and the following volumes: price books (undated; circa 1886-1888); letterpress books (1888-1911); time books (1889-1902); Pricing Department memorandum books (1914-1937), and a geographical index of Janney, Semple, Hill & Co. business partners.

Price books give data on the prices of hardware goods sold by the company; time books lists the names of employees and the amount paid them each week; and pricing department memorandum books contain alphabetical lists of employees, their addresses and the reasons for their leaving the department.

The letterpress books largely concern the company's financial and purchasing dealings with bankers and with other firms. They give information on routine company business, the firm's financial dealings with James G. Cannon, vice president of the Fourth National Bank of New York, and James B. and David R. Forgan, of the First National Bank of Chicago. Letters to W. S. and S. A. Culbertson of New Albany, Indiana, give information on loans made by the Culbertsons to the company. W. S. Culbertson was Mrs. Frank B. Semple's father. Letters to Platt and Woodward of New York City and Goodman Sachs Company of New York and Chicago are also included.

The tables of expenses and sales are charts containing information on the monthly expenditures for labor, rent, interest, insurance, advertising, collections, exchange, charity, telephone, postage, light, fuel, stationery, agents, and freight; and also monthly records of sales made by the company in the city and country.

Also included are photographs taken by Ralph Laird who was employed by Janney, Semple, Hill to photograph some of its client stores throughout the central part of the United States.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Janney, Semple, Hill & Co. (Minneapolis, Minn.). Corporate Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 7453; 7517; 16,366; 16,534

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 990017190710104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Hardware -- Prices.

Hardware -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Labor -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Wages -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Persons:

Cannon, James Graham, 1858-1916.

Culbertson, S. A.

Culbertson, W. S.

Forgan, David Robertson, 1862-1931.

Forgan, James B. (James Berwick), 1852-1924.

Hill, Horace Mann, 1861-1948.

Janney, Thomas B., 1838-1924.

Laird, Ralph.

Moles, Samuel T., 1843-1916.

Semple, Frank B., 1850-1904.

Organizations:

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Platt and Woodward Company (New York, N.Y.).

Places:

Minneapolis (Minn.).

Document Types:

Photographs.

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