EXTENT: 11.3 linear ft. (7 containers, plus 24 unboxed volumes)

ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGMENT: Six series: I. Ledgers, 1906-1910; II. Cancelled checks and check stubs, 1917-1924; III. Receipts, 1917-1924; IV. Accounts, 1904-1919; V. Registers, 1910-1926; VI. Hotel supply lists, 10/26-11/17, [no year given].

history:  The Colonial Inn, on Monument Street in Concord, Massachusetts, was first operated as a restaurant and lodging in the late 19^th century.  The oldest part of the building housing the present Inn was built prior to 1716 as a dwelling, and later used as a store.  From 1906 to 1911, but was run under the auspices of William Rollins Abrams, under the name “The Colonial Inn.”  Following this, from 1912 to 1916, the Inn was owned by Frederick Sutter, and was operated by Thomas L. Sanborn from 1917 until 1945.  Since the second World War, the establishment has had a number of proprietors.


Scope and Content: Records pertaining to the management of the Colonial Inn, Concord, Mass., from 1904 to 1926, under the proprietorships of William Rollins Abrams, Frederick Sutter, and Thomas L. Sanborn.  Included are ledgers, cancelled checks and check stubs, business receipts, hotel accounts including a clerk’s guide containing later business receipts glued on top of earlier entries, registers of guests’ signatures, and hotel supply lists.

SOURCE OF ACQUISITION: Gift of Colonial Inn management, 1994.

PROCESSED BY: Susannah Price; finding aid prepared by 12/97.  Prepared for the Internet by Peter K. Steinberg, 01/22/06.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:

Series I: ledgers, 1906-1910:  Showing cash received and disbursed by William Rollins Abrams.  Arranged chronologically.

Series II: cancelled checks and check stubs, 1917-1924:  Payments made during the proprietorship of Thomas L. Sanborn to various businesses and individuals.  Arranged chronologically, cancelled checks from 1917 to 1924, and check stubs from 1920 to 1923.

Series III: receipts, 1917-1924:  2 volumes.  Relates to hotel business expenditures during the proprietorship of Thomas L. Sanborn.  Series includes chronological files of single receipts and alphabetical files of receipts reflecting multiple business transactions with individuals, businesses, etc.  Receipts include significant files documenting the Inn’s transactions with various Concord and area businesses and individuals, among them: Allen-Hurd Co., L. Anderson and Co., B.C. & W. Club, J. Bartolomeo, Boston and Maine Railroad, Edith Buck, Concord Ice Co., W.D. Cross and Co., N.A. Davis Co., John M. Keyes, Austin MacRae, Macone Bros. Garage, Inc., John W. Mara, Mark Mara, Mason Ice Co., Middlesex Insurance Partnership, Minute-Man Press, Punkatasset Farm, Richardson Drug Co., Wm. A. Stevens, Town of Concord Municipal Light, Taxes, Waterworks, E.J. Tuttle, A Vanderhoof Hardware Co., Whitney Coal & Grain Co., and Wilson Lumber Co.

Series IV: Accounts, 1904-1919:  One, 1918-1919, with index, shows running accounts of longer term guests. The second volume contains guests running accounts, 1904-1919.  Later business receipts, 1917-1919, are glued on the correct alphabetical pages, with newer receipts glued on top of old.  Additionally, it contains sample Colonial Inn advertisements and loose newspaper clippings from the Boston Herald, 1910.  Entries made alphabetically by name of guest.

Series V: registers of guest signatures:  Includes home city, state, and country. Used under the proprietorships of William Rollins Abrams, Frederick Sutter, and Thomas L. Sanborn.  Arranged chronologically.

Series VI: hotel supplies list, 10/16-11/17 [no year given]:  Kept sometime during the 1906-1911 proprietorship of William Rollins Abrams.  Includes provisions and supplies used in the dining room and kitchen, and by the baker, bellboy, horseman, chambermaid, and dishwater.  Each category of supplies used is listed on a separate page. 

CONTAINER LIST

Series I: ledgers, 1906-1910:
Box 1:
Ledgers, 1906-1910.

Series II: cancelled checks and check stubs, 1917-1924: 
Cancelled Checks, 1917-1920:
Box 2, Folder 1: 1917 (November-December)
Box 2, Folder 2: 1918 (January-February)
Box 2, Folder 3: 1918 (March-April)
Box 2, Folder 4: 1918 (May-June)
Box 2, Folder 5: 1918 (July)
Box 2, Folder 6: 1918 (August-September)
Box 2, Folder 7: 1918 (October-November)
Box 2, Folder 8: 1918 (December)
Box 2, Folder 9: 1919 (January)
Box 2, Folder 10: 1919 (February)
Box 2, Folder 11: 1919 (March)
Box 2, Folder 12: 1919 (April)
Box 2, Folder 13: 1919 (May)
Box 2, Folder 14: 1919 (June)
Box 2, Folder 15: 1919 (July)
Box 2, Folder 16: 1919 (August)
Box 2, Folder 17: 1919 (September)
Box 2, Folder 18: 1919 (October)
Box 2, Folder 19: 1919 (November)
Box 2, Folder 20: 1919 (December)
Box 2, Folder 21: 1920 (January-February)
Box 2, Folder 22: 1920 (March)
Box 2, Folder 23: 1920 (April)
Box 2, Folder 24: 1920 (May)
Box 2, Folder 25: 1920 (June)
Box 2, Folder 26: 1920 (July)
Box 2, Folder 27: 1920 (August)
Box 2, Folder 28: 1920 (September)
Box 2, Folder 29: 1920 (October)
Box 2, Folder 30: 1920 (November-December)

Cancelled Checks, 1921-1922:
Box 3, Folder 1: 1921 (January)
Box 3, Folder 2: 1921 (February)
Box 3, Folder 3: 1921 (March)
Box 3, Folder 4: 1921 (April)
Box 3, Folder 5: 1921 (May)
Box 3, Folder 6: 1921 (June)
Box 3, Folder 7: 1921 (July)
Box 3, Folder 8: 1921 (August)
Box 3, Folder 9: 1921 (September)
Box 3, Folder 10: 1921 (October)
Box 3, Folder 11: 1921 (November)
Box 3, Folder 12: 1921 (December)
Box 3, Folder 13: 1922 (January)
Box 3, Folder 14: 1922 (February)
Box 3, Folder 15: 1922 (March)
Box 3, Folder 16: 1922 (April)
Box 3, Folder 17: 1922 (May)
Box 3, Folder 18: 1922 (June)
Box 3, Folder 19: 1922 (July)
Box 3, Folder 20: 1922 (August)
Box 3, Folder 21: 1922 (September)
Box 3, Folder 22: 1922 (October)
Box 3, Folder 23: 1922 (November)
Box 3, Folder 24: 1922 (December)

Cancelled Checks, 1923-1924:
Box 4, Folder 1: 1923 (January)
Box 4, Folder 2: 1923 (February)
Box 4, Folder 3: 1923 (March)
Box 4, Folder 4: 1923 (April)
Box 4, Folder 5: 1923 (May)
Box 4, Folder 6: 1923 (June)
Box 4, Folder 7: 1923 (July)
Box 4, Folder 8: 1923 (August)
Box 4, Folder 9: 1923 (September)
Box 4, Folder 10: 1923 (October)
Box 4, Folder 11: 1923 (November)
Box 4, Folder 12: 1923 (December)
Box 4, Folder 13: 1924 (January)
Box 4, Folder 14: 1924 (February)
Box 4, Folder 15: 1924 (March)
Box 4, Folder 16: 1924 (April)
Box 4, Folder 17: 1924 (May)
Box 4, Folder 18: 1924 (June)
Box 4, Folder 19: 1924 (July)
Box 4, Folder 20: 1924 (August)
Box 4, Folder 21: 1924 (September)
Box 4, Folder 22: 1924 (October)
Box 4, Folder 23: 1924 (November)
Box 4, Folder 24: 1924 (December)

Check stubs, 1920-1923, (with gaps):
Box 5, Volume 1: 03/13/20-10/08/20, #1800-2291
Box 5, Volume 2: 05/05/21-11/17/21, #2800-3289
Box 5, Volume 3: 11/17/21-06/01/22, #3299-3793
Box 5, Volume 4: 06/01/22-11/23/22, #3800-4290
Box 5, Volume 5: 11/25/22-05/24/23, #4259-4789
Box 5, Volume 6: 05/24/23-11/01/23, #4790-5278

Series III: receipts, 1917-1924: 
Box 6, Folder 1: Assorted single receipts, 1917-1924
Box 6, Folder 2: Assorted receipts, 2-4 of each, A-C, 1917-1924
Box 6, Folder 3: Assorted receipts, 2-4 of each, D-Z, 1917-1924

Significant files of receipts (5 or more of each, arranged alphabetically):
Box 6, Folder 4: Allen-Hurd Co., 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 5: Anderson, L., and son, 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 6: Automotive , [various], 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 7: B.C. & W. Club, 1919-1921
Box 6, Folder 8: Bartolomeo, J., 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 9: Batchelder & Snyder Co., 1919
Box 6, Folder 10: Batchelder & Snyder Co., 1920
Box 6, Folder 11: Batchelder & Snyder Co., 1922
Box 6, Folder 12: Batchelder & Snyder Co., 1923
Box 6, Folder 13: Boston Chamber of Commerce, 1923
Box 6, Folder 14: Boston and Maine Railroad, 1919-1920
Box 6, Folder 15: Buck, Edith, 1922-1923
Box 6, Folder 16: Candies [no company name], 1922
Box 6, Folder 17: Concord Ice, 1922-1923
Box 6, Folder 18: Cross, W.D. and Co., 1922-1923
Box 6, Folder 19: Cudahy Packing Co., 1922-1923
Box 6, Folder 20: Currier, Wm. M. and Co., 1918-1920
Box 6, Folder 21: Dallman, H.I. Co., 1919, 1923
Box 6, Folder 22: Damon of Boston, 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 23: Davis, N.A. & Son, Inc., 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 24: Davis Ice Cream Co., 1919
Box 6, Folder 25: Dorr, Arthur E. & Co., 1919-1920
Box 6, Folder 26: Eldridge, Baker Co., 1918-1920
Box 6, Folder 27: Eldridge, Baker Co., 1922-1923
Box 6, Folder 28: Enterprise Co., 1919-1920
Box 6, Folder 29: Estabrook and Eaton, 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 30: Federal Income Tax, 1920
Box 6, Folder 31: Foley, M.A. Co., 1919
Box 6, Folder 32: Frank, Daniel, & Co., 1919
Box 6, Folder 33: Hennessey, Wm., 1923
Box 6, Folder 34: Hood, H.P. & Sons, 1920
Box 6, Folder 35: Hotel Red Book & Directory Co., 1919-1923
Box 6, Folder 36: Jordan March Co., 1922-1923
Box 6, Folder 37: Keyes, John M., 1919-1920
Box 7, Folder 1: Lewandos Cleansing Co., 1923
Box 7, Folder 2: MacRae, Austin, 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 3: Macone Bros. Garage Inc., 1922-1923
Box 7, Folder 4: Mara, John W., 1919-1920
Box 7, Folder 5: Mara, Mark, 1920-1923
Box 7, Folder 6: Mason Ice Co., 1919-1920
Box 7, Folder 7: Maynards, 1923
Box 7, Folder 8: Mercantile Reference & Bond Assoc., 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 9: Middlesex Family Laundry, 1919, 1920, [and undated]
Box 7, Folder 10: Middlesex Insurance Partnership, 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 11: Minute-Man Press, 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 12: Mitchell, Woodbury Co., 1920-1923
Box 7, Folder 13: New England Telephone & Telegraph, 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 14: Newspapers, 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 15: Parker Coffee Co., 1922-1923
Box 7, Folder 16: Pierce, S.S. & Co., 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 17: Punkatasset Farm, 1920-1923
Box 7, Folder 18: Richardson Drug Co., 1920-1923
Box 7, Folder 19: Sign of the Kettle Candies, 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 20: State Mutual Life Assurance Co., 1920-1923
Box 7, Folder 21: Stevens, Wm. A., 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 22: Taylor, Solatia M., Co., 1923
Box 7, Folder 23: Telegram Publishing Co., 1923
Box 7, Folder 24: Town of Concord, Municipal Light, Taxes, Waterworks, 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 25: Tucker, Charles O., & Son, 1920-1923
Box 7, Folder 26: Tuttle, E.J., 1920-1923
Box 7, Folder 27: Uniform Express, 1919-1920, [and undated]
Box 7, Folder 28: Vanderhoof, A., Hardware Co., 1922-1923
Box 7, Folder 29: Walcott, Henry J., Jr., 1917-1920
Box 7, Folder 30: Wards Stationary, 1923
Box 7, Folder 31: West Disinfecting Co., 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 32: Whitcomb, Joseph & Co., 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 33: White, R.H. & Co., 1919-1920
Box 7, Folder 34: Whitney Coal & Grain Co., Inc., 1919-1923
Box 7, Folder 35: Wilson Lumber, 1920-1923

Series IV: Accounts, 1904-1919 (shelved unboxed):
Volume 1: Guest accounts by person, 1904-1919. (Also pasted in: business receipts, Colonial Inn advertisements, Boston Herald newspaper clippings.)

Volume 2: Guest accounts by person, 1917-1919

Series V: registers of guest signatures, 1910-1926 [with gaps] (shelved unboxed):
Volume,          Date range,          Proprietor
Volume 1: 06/01/10-06/25/11, William Rollins Abrams
Volume 2: 06/26/11-03/21/12, William Rollins Abrams
Volume 3: 08/22/12-03/23/13, Frederick Sutter
Volume 4: 03/23/13-08/13/13, Frederick Sutter
Volume 5: 08/14/13-03/22/14, Frederick Sutter
Volume 6: 03/23/14-09/07/14, Frederick Sutter
Volume 7: 09/08/14-05/11/15, Frederick Sutter
Volume 8: 05/12/15-09/04/15, Frederick Sutter
Volume 9: 09/05/15-05/20/16, Frederick Sutter
Volume 10: 05/21/16-09/23/16, Frederick Sutter
Volume 11: 09/24/16-05/19/17, Frederick Sutter
Volume 12: 05/20/17-09/27/17, Frederick Sutter
Volume 13: 09/28/17-12/24/17, Frederick Sutter
Volume 14: 06/01/18; 04/19/19-05/05/19, Transient register
Volume 15: 05/05/19-11/24/19, Thomas L. Sanborn
Volume 16: 08/31/20-06/22/21, Thomas L. Sanborn
Volume 17: 06/23/21-10/29/21, Thomas L. Sanborn
Volume 18: 10/30/21-7/29/22, Thomas L. Sanborn
Volume 19: 06/17/23-01/19/24, Thomas L. Sanborn
Volume 20: 01/20/24-09/30/34, Thomas L. Sanborn
Volume 21: 09/07/25-03/31/26, Thomas L. Sanborn

Series VI: hotel supplies list, 10/16-11/17 [no year given]:
Volume 1: Supplies list, 10/26-11/17, [no year given]
 

c2006 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.

Mounted 28th January 2006. rcwh.