The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Hall, Charles Athon, 1859-1933.       

Title:               Real estate business records, 

Dates:             circa 1880-1930, bulk 1890-1900.

Call No.:         Col. 928

Acc. No.:        14x9

Quantity:        23 items

Location:        34 J 6

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Charles Athon Hall was a real estate broker and appraiser, living in Dorchester, Massachusetts, but with an office in Boston.  He was born in Indianapolis in 1859, the son of Sarah Grace Thompson and William Hall.  By 1880, Charles, his younger brother Sam (born in Wisconsin), and their mother were living in Medford, Mass.  In 1883, Charles married Mary Frances Vandervoort, and they had four children: sons Roswell (1885-1967) and Charles, Jr. (1890-1972), who worked with their father, and daughters Mary V. (1884-1940) and Rachel W. (1887-1940).  The senior Hall died in 1933 in Massachusetts. 

 

Mary Frances Vandervoort was the daughter of Mary Frances Gleason and William Vandervoort.  William Vandervoort was one of the founders of Tonawanda, New York; the Gleason family was from Dorchester, Mass.  Mrs. Hall evidently inherited property from both sides of her family. 

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Ledger book and other papers, mostly relating to real estate owned or managed by Charles A. Hall.  The ledger book contains a mix of records, some of which pertain to property owned by Hall or inherited by his wife, and some of which pertain to shares in companies.  Of particular interest are the records of rental houses on Washington St., Dorchester, including some of the construction expenses, as well as costs of repairs and insurance.

 

Some of the loose papers include information about property in Tonawanda, New York, which Mrs. Hall inherited from her parents.  One of these includes a rough sketch of the outline of the Vandervoort house, showing its location on its lot, with two wings and a shed.  Two letters relate to the Melville School Corporation, which did not have enough money to pay its debts.  Several letters are between Hall and Thomas W. Shackleford, a lawyer in West Superior, Wisconsin.  Also found are receipts for taxes paid in Douglas County, Wis., and a request to buy some of Hall’s property there.  A list of property in the name of Mary F. V. Hall was compiled in Nov. 1926; most was in Dorchester (although the list says “in Boston”), but one piece was in North Tonawanda, N.Y.

 

In 1930, Rachel Hall sent her father a postcard of Washington Square, New York City.  Undated items in the collection include envelopes which held documents; a sketch of a lot owned by E. A. Gleason [probably Edwardina Augusta Gleason, a cousin of Mrs. Hall] in Dorchester; a sketch of lots on Bloomfield Street in Dorchester, with the home of Thomas R. Hughes indicated; and a sketch of lots belonging to the estate of William Vandervoort.  Lastly, there is a summary of the charter of the Commercial Trust Co. of New York City.

 

           

ORGANIZATION

 

The items are mostly in chronological order.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Purchased from Dan Casavant Rare Books.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

            People:

                        Vandervoort family.

 

Topics:

            Commercial Trust Co. (New York, N.Y.)

            Melville School Corporation (Dorchester, Mass.)

            Dwellings - Maintenance and repair - Massachusetts - Dorchester.

            House construction - Massachusetts - Dorchester.

            Real estate management.

            Rental housing - Massachusetts - Dorchester.

            Real property - Massachusetts - Dorchester.

            Real property - New York (State) - Tonawanda.

            Real property tax - Wisconsin.

           

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 34 J 6

 

 

Folder 1:

 

.1         Ledger

 

            Inside front cover is a label for Thomas Groom & Co., Stationers, Boston; notes are written on the front paste-down,  Many of the pages in the volume are blank; pages 9-12, 25-28, 31-40, 45-46, 49-60, 69-72, 79-80. 83-108, 113-114, and pages 149 and after are missing.  Several pages are loose/

 

            The ledger opens with an index to its contents, under the headings Banks; Bonds; Insurance; Leaverett, G.V.; Mortgages; Real Estate; and Stocks. 

 

            p. 1-4, 20: expenses for houses at 424 and 420 Washington St., Dorchester, including taxes, repairs, and redecorating;

            p. 16: Wood lot, Quincy, Mass.: taxes;

            p. 18: two properties, with a sketch labeled “plan of estate 424 Washington St., Dorchester, dist. hereafter to be known as the “Homestead”;

            p. 19: expenses for “Homestead” House, bought in 1892;

            p. 20: expenses for 424 Nashua St. [see also p. 1-4]

            p. 22: House at Harwich, Mass., 1881;

            p. 24: sketch of lots, in names of R.V. Miller, M.F.V. Hall, and E.A. Gleason;

            p. 29: Gleason estate, stable lot 8, to M.F.V. Hall;

            p. 30: Day farm, Tonawanda, N.Y., with added sketch of property, and other information [piece of paper glued in];

            p. 42-44: Beach lot, wharf, and wood lot, West Harwich, 1891-1896;

            p. 75: Geo. V. Leaverett, trustee for Mary V. Hall, accounts;

            p. 110-140, passim: accounts of investments in stock of various companies;

            p. 145, 147: account of Henry Cowles Wadsworth, of Buffalo;

            p,. 148: accounts headed Samuel George Hall

             

                       

 

Folder 2:

 

.2         letter, Jas. Sweeny, Buffalo, July 12, 1891, to cousin Charley: hopes Charles has a successful trip to New York; about renting a brick house in the Vandervoort estate, and a charge for cleaning its privy vaults; it’s an old-fashioned house in need of repairs;

 

.3         letter, James Sweeny, Jr., Buffalo, Nov. 18, 1891, to cousin Charles: asking what Charles wants to do about the brick house in Tonawanda, which is in need of repairs;

                        On printed letterhead of Law Offices of Sprague, Morey, Sprague & Brownell

 

.4         accounts: the Vandervoort Estate in a/c with S.W. McKnight, Aug. 1891-July 1892: listing taxes, but with income from rents

 

.5         typed letter, Julius Pratt, for committee, Boston, July 12, 1893: stockholders of the Melville School Corporation placed its affairs in hands of Pratt and two others for liquidation; payment due on interest on mortgage in order to avoid foreclosure;

 

.6         expenses for 1891, 1892, 1893, including taxes and insurance, probably for the piece of property, a sketch of which is also found, with a building labeled Vanderwoort House

                        [page is torn]

 

.7         typed letter, Julius Pratt, for committee, Dorcehster, Nov. 25, 1893: notice of meeting of stockholders of the Melville School Corporation; with report of committee about disposal of property

 

.8         typed letter, Thos. W. Shackleford, West Superior, Wis., Feb. 7, 1896, to Chas A. Hall, Boston: his charges for the cost of a foreclosure; also can he assist in getting a mortgage on a flour mill;

                        On printed letterhead of Shackleford, attorney-at-law

 

.9         letter, C.A. Hall, Boston, Feb. 10, 1896, to Thos. Shackleford, Superior, Wis.: was drawn into trap by Mr. Van Derzee[?]; hopes to get even one day; commence foreclosure of Smith mortgage;

                        On printed letterhead of Charles Athon Hall, broker, real estate, insurance, mortgages

 

.10       notes about Frank Van Derzee[?] and Smith mortgage, 1890-1892; probably notes referred to in .9 above

 

.11       letter, C.A. Hall, Boston, Feb. 10, 1896, to Thos. Shackleford, Superior, Wis.: another copy of the letter .9 above

                        On printed letterhead of Charles Athon Hall, broker, real estate, insurance, mortgages

 

.12       letter, C.A. Hall, Boston, Feb. 10, 1896, to Thos. Shackleford, Superior, Wis.: may have some other mortgages which need to be foreclosed; please make sure taxes on paid on foreclosed properties;

                        On printed letterhead of Charles Athon Hall, broker, real estate, insurance, mortgages

 

.13a-d  tax receipts, from Superior, Douglas County, Wisconsin, to Charles A. Hall, Feb. 24, 1900: for property taxes;

                        Printed forms, fastened together

 

.14       business card of Manwaring & Cooke, West Superior, Wis., “examination of titles and real estate law a specialty” [for E. B. Manwaring and B. C. Cooke];

                        Printed card

 

.15       typed letter, from James H. Agen Co., West Superior, Wis., Jan. 13, 1902, to Chas. A. Hall, Dorchester: asks price of a piece of property;

                        Printed letterhead: real estate, loans, fire insurance

 

.16       typed list: “Real Estate standing in the name of Mary F. V. Hall as of this date… (all in Boston),” Nov. 17, 1926; includes addresses, price, mortgage, and assessed equity; lists twelve properties;

although the list says “all in Boston,” one property was in North Tonawanda, N.Y., and many, if not all, of the other properties were in Dorchester

 

.17       postcard, from Rachel, postmark New York, N.Y., Dec. 31, 1930, to Dad, Charles A. Hall, Dorchester: having a good time seeing the sights;

                        With color illustration of Washington Square, showing Arch, Fifth Avenue Hotel, and No. 1 Fifth Avenue Building

 

.18       envelope labeled: enclosed (8) Eight Documents to be delivered on payment attached dft., assignment in blank, from Frau Van Derzee[?],” with additional notes on back

 

.19       referencing Smith – Superior; on envelope printed with return address of George Howe Eddy, Boston, Mass.

 

.20       sketch with notes: “measurement of lot owned by E. A. Gleason next to Crown path on Claybourne Street in Dorchester…,” with estimated value;

                        [E. A. Gleason may be Edwardina Augusta Gleason, a cousin of Mrs. Hall]

 

.21       sketch of a lot, bordered by Tonowanda, Greenbrier, and Bloomfield Streets; showing sizes of three parcels of lands, locations of three dwellings (one labeled Hughes), and a tennis court; with some figures;

                        On letterhead stationery of Thomas R. Hughes, architect, Boston

 

.22       sketches of lots on Washington and Park Streets [in Dorchester] and a proposed street, with one lot labeled as property of William Vandervoort

 

.23       Charter, Commercial Trust Co., New York City, which was to provide a variety of services pertaining to estates, real estate, and insurance; the date Feb. 9, 1884 is mentioned, but might not refer to this company