Secretary's Files
name: label: Collection Creator
content: United Telegraph Workers.
label: Collection Creator
content: Western Union Telegraph Company
setName: label: See more items in
content: Western Union Telegraph Company Records
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1844-1987
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0205, Series 7
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The series is divided into twelve subseries: 

1. Secretary's Office Notebook, 1953-[1987?] 

2. Articles of Association and Incorporation, 1851-1970 

3. File about Certificate of Incorporation, 1952 

4. Files about by-laws, 1914-1980 

5. Secretary's historical files, 1933-1977 

6. Files about the library, 1920-1967 

7. Files about subsidiary companies, 1913-1975 

8. Files about the dissolution of subsidaries, 1844-1959 

9. Files about the stock exchange offer, 1944-1953 

10. Miscellaneous file, 1944-1964 

11. Files about University Computing, 1968 

12. Files about Computer Sciences Corporation, 1968
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Eight individuals held the Office of Secretary. This series contains records of six secretaries: A.R. Brewer (1881-1908), A.F. Burleigh (1917-1930); Lewis McKisick (1931-1940); G.B. Satterlee (1941-1956); William G.H. Acheson (1957-1970); and R.C. Hostetler (1971-1980).

The Secretary's office notebook, 1953-[1987?] includes a brief history of Western Union and lists the names and dates of employment of all chairman of the board, vice chairmen of the board, presidents, vice presidents, treasurers, secretaries, executive committee members, and directors. Also included are the presidents, vice presidents, secretaries, assistant secretaries, treasurers, assistance treasurers, comptrollers, and directors of the Western Union Corporation.

The secretary's historical files, 1933-1977, were maintained by G.B. Saterlee and contain correspondence and other printed materials regarding restatements of certificate of incorporation, bylaws, New York Transportation Corporation Law, articles of association, charters, and extracts from minutes.

The certified copies of articles of association and incorporation, 1851-1970, were maintained and certified by William G. H. Acheson and are true and corrected copies together with all amendments. The majority of documents deal with certificates of incorporation, but some certificates of increase in capital stock and certificates of merger are present. An index accompanies the copies of articles of association.

Files about the bylaws, 1914-1980, contain correspondence and memoranda relating to the amendment of and revisions to the bylaws, adoption of resolutions, and marked-up copies for the printer. The files about subsidiary companies, 1913-1975, contain an array of materials regarding the dissolution of companies, memoranda, income tax due from leased companies, proxies, unclaimed deposits, agreements, and Board of Directors Minutes. Some of the materials deal with the Commercial Telegraph Company, Lynchburg & Abingdon Telegraph company, Washington & New Orleans Telegraph Company, and the Chicago & Milwaukee Telegraph Company. There is one file folder of memoranda from 1952 which contains revisions of the certificate of incorporation.

The file about the library, 1920-1967, includes correspondence--internal and external--reference requests, and reports regarding the establishment of the library in 1920 and its future role within the company. The correspondence and reports reflect statistical information about library use, staffing issues, and acquisition matters.

Files about the dissolution of subsidiary companies, 1920-1959, contain correspondence in connection with the dissolution of certain subsidiary companies of Western Union. There is also a chart of Western Union, 1844-1920, created by A.R. Brewer depicting constituent parts of Western Union as represented by its holdings or leases of other companies that operated as part of the Western Union system. See Series 2: Subsidiaries, 1848-1986, for additional documentation.

The miscellaneous file of the secretary dates from 1944 to 1964 and consists primarily of correspondence and printed materials regarding a variety of topics. Materials include information about the anniversary of the telegraph, observance of the centennial of the first transcontinental telegraph, Western Union's involvement in the 1964 World's Fair, and biographical sketches about company employees. The file also contains the negative and a reproduction of a half tone photo of Rosewell Hart Rochester.