Mutual Assurance Company (Green Tree) records


Collection 2189

1784-1995
(455.0 Linear feet)
© The Historical Society of Pennsylvania1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Summary Information

Repository
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Creator
Mutual Assurance Company for Insuring Houses from Loss by Fire.
Title
Mutual Assurance Company (Green Tree) records
ID
2189
Date [inclusive]
1784-1995
Extent
455.0 Linear feet
Sponsor
The creation of the electronic guide for this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' "Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives" Project.
Language
English
Abstract
The Mutual Assurance Company for Insuring Houses from Loss by Fire was organized in Philadelphia in 1784, in order to make fire insurance available to those citizens who wished to have trees in front of their houses. A group of sixty-one men met on July 8, 1784 at the City (or London) Coffee House and agreed to create a new mutual fire insurance company. A deed of settlement was adopted and a green tree was selected as a symbol to appear on the company's policies and fire marks. The company archives of The Mutual Assurance Company, familiarly known as the Green Tree, consist of financial accounts and receipts, correspondence, histories, cancelled insurance surveys and policies, and miscellaneous material. The records date from the formation of the company in 1784 to 1995.

Preferred Citation note

[Description and date of item], Mutual Assurance Company (Green Tree) Records, 1785-1995 (Collection 2189), [Box/folder number], Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

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Biographical/Historical note

The Mutual Assurance Company for Insuring Houses from Loss by Fire was organized in Philadelphia in 1784, in order to make fire insurance available to those citizens who wished to have trees in front of their houses. Insurance for such risks was written by The Philadelphia Contributionship from the time of its formation in 1752 until 1781 when a by-law was enacted excluding houses with trees nearby from Contributionship protection. Having failed in their efforts to persuade The Contributionship to revoke the ban on trees, a group of sixty-one men met on July 8, 1784 at the City (or London) Coffee House and agreed to create a new mutual fire insurance company. A deed of settlement was adopted and a green tree was selected as a symbol to appear on the company's policies and fire marks.

At a second general meeting held on September 29, 1784, the organization of the new company was completed. A Board of Trustees of thirteen members was elected and a treasurer, a surveyor, and a clerk were named. Houses with nearby trees were expressly included as insurable but an additional premium was levied on them because of the additional risk trees were thought to represent.

The new company, organized at a time of general financial instability, issued sixty-four policies during its first year of operation. Thereafter the rate of new business was slow, the low point being reached in 1787 when only eleven new policies were written. Not until 1791 did the company show a surplus, a slender one of $86.

During its first seven years of operation The Green Tree suffered no fire losses. Having experienced a growth of underwriting beginning in the 1790s, the company entered into a long period of growing financial strength. By 1806 the surplus was $12,659; in 1819 it was $88,954; and in 1850 it had reached $414,542. In July 1850 The Green Tree was faced with the greatest fire losses in its history. A major conflagration burned over a section of Philadelphia's downtown area, the heart of Mutual's underwriting territory. Fifty-eight Green Tree policyholders presented claims totaling $95,000. These were paid off promptly, with no lasting effect on the growth of company funds. In fact, in 1912 the financial structure of the company was so sound that it (following the lead of The Contributionship) began to pay annual dividends on deposits.

The Green Tree's most important contribution to American insurance underwriting practices was the institution of the perpetual policy. Until 1801 Mutual's policies were written for a seven-year term, renewable without additional deposit provided the owner made application within a designated time period. In order to save administrative costs and especially to avoid payment of the stamp tax levied in 1799 during the turmoil of the quasi-war with France, The Green Tree began writing perpetual policies. Term insurance was phased out and perpetual insurance on preferred risks has been the Mutual Assurance Company's major field of insurance since that time.

Between 1784 and 1812, The Green Tree had no company offices; business was conducted out of the office of the clerk, and meetings of the board and policyholders were held at various inns and other public buildings. In September 1812, the company took the important step of purchasing a building at 54 Walnut Street to house its offices, accommodate the monthly meetings and dinners of the Board of Trustees, and serve as a residence for the treasurer and his family.

Mutual's offices remained at 54 Walnut until the spring of 1856 when the board, feeling that the area had become too congested and inconvenient, authorized the purchase of new quarters at 526 Walnut Street. In 1912, the company made another move. Its property at 526 Walnut was purchased by the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, and The Green Tree bought adjoining town houses at 238 and 240 South 4th Street.

Both buildings are historically and architecturally important, and they were restored and preserved as faithfully as possible by The Green Tree. The Shippen-Wistar house, as 238 South 4th is known, is the older of the two, having been built in the 1750s or 1760s by William Shippen, Sr. on land granted by the Penns to the Shippen family in 1744. Shippen was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress.

His son, Dr. William Shippen, Jr., probably the first occupant of the house, was director general of hospitals for the Continental Army. He later delivered the first anatomy lectures ever given in the United States, either in the Shippen-Wistar house or in an annex. Shippen was married to the former Alice Lee of Stratford Hall in Virginia, whose family became famous for its military and diplomatic leadership. Two of Alice Lee Shippen's brothers attended the Continental Congress and one was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. During the convention the Shippen household was a center of social activity, visited by George Washington and John Adams, among others.

Following family tragedies, the Shippens left the house in 1797, and in the following year it was purchased and occupied by Dr. Caspar Wistar, a member of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania and of the staff of the Pennsylvania Hospital. Wistar was a leading member of the American Philosophical Society, succeeding Thomas Jefferson as its president. His associates at the society often gathered at the Wistar home for informal parties. So popular were these gatherings that they continued even after Wistar's death and came to be known as "Wistar Parties." The Wisteria plant was named in Dr. Wistar's honor by botanist friends.

The Cadwalader House, 240 South 4th Street, was built by Joseph Parker Norris in 1826. Norris suffered financial reverses, and the house was sold at sheriff's sale. After passing through several hands, it was bought by Judge John Cadwalader in 1837. It remained in the possession of the Cadwaladers until it was purchased by The Green Tree in 1912.

By 1980 The Green Tree was outgrowing its offices. Temporary space was rented at 206 S. Fourth Street, and a property at 232 S. Third Street was purchased with the intent of moving some divisions of the company into it. Soon recognized to be impractical, the property was sold and The Green Tree purchased a group of properties, 400-414 Walnut Street and 206 S. Fourth Street, from General Accident Insurance Company in 1985. Major renovations were undertaken. Where original features of the building existed, notably in the lobby area and on the eleventh floor, they were restored as faithfully as possible. Departments moved in gradually until the move was completed in June 1988. 414 Walnut Street became the new official headquarters of The Green Tree. The Shippen-Wistar and Cadwalader houses were sold to the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

414 Walnut Street was built in 1924 by General Accident Insurance Company according to the plans of John Watson. The facade of the building bears the coats of arms of the various countries in which General Accident was doing business at that time. Adjoining it at 400 Walnut Street is an earlier building also built by General Accident, circa 1906. The Green Tree provided access to this building on several different floors. 206 S. Fourth Street is an earlier townhouse, built circa 1840 and converted to office use.

Throughout its long history, members of the Mutual's Board of Trustees were drawn from leaders of Philadelphia's business and professional circles. Two early members, Matthew Clarkson (trustee, 1784-1800) and Robert Wharton (trustee, 1792-1830) were mayors of the city. The names Cadwalader, Mitchell, Norris, Biddle, and Wister recur on the list of trustees. There have been fifteen treasurers since the company was organized, of whom five have been members of the Lewis family. From 1833, when Lawrence Lewis became treasurer until Clifford Lewis Jr. retired in 1946, the office was occupied continuously by Lewises.

In 1949 The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree was organized by The Mutual Assurance Company. A wholly owned subsidiary, it formed to write extended coverage on houses insured against loss by fire by the Mutual. Its records are a part of the archives of The Mutual Assurance Company. In 1986 The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree changed its name to The Green Tree Insurance Company; in 1988 this company began writing a term homeowners policy. A downstream holding company, The Green Tree Companies, Inc., formed in 1986; the companies which comprise this group are: American Loyalty Insurance Company, Old Dominion Insurance Company, The Green Tree Insurance Company and The Mutual Assurance Company.

In 1988 The Mutual Assurance Company purchased Valley Insurance Company, which was located in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Formerly Valley Mutual Insurance Company, Valley was the result of a merger of five small farm mutuals operating in Cumberland and Franklin counties: Franklin County Mutual Insurance Company, Friendship Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Franklin County, Lurgan Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Franklin County, Centennial Mutual Fire Insurance Company and Cumberland Valley Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company. The records of these companies, once a part of the archives of The Mutual Assurance Company, were given to the Cumberland County Historical Society but in 2013 were transferred to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania as a separate collection. Valley Insurance Company wrote homeowners, business owners, and farm owners insurance policies on a term basis. In 1990 The Mutual Assurance Company closed the office in Shippensburg and moved the insurance operations to the Philadelphia office. Valley merged into The Green Tree Insurance Company in 1992. This acquisition gave The Green Tree entree into the commercial insurance market. The company's business owners' policy (BOP) is written through Valley Insurance Company.

In 1989 The Mutual Assurance Company purchased American Loyalty Insurance Company from the Continental Corporation. American Loyalty, which was licensed in more than thirty states, principally sold homeowners insurance through mortgage lending companies as well as flood insurance. The company remained in Columbus, Ohio until 1990, when it moved to Gahanna outside of Columbus. In 1994 that office was closed and operations moved to Philadelphia.

Old Dominion Insurance Company was purchased by The Mutual Assurance Company in 1991. This company, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, writes homeowners, ocean marine, inland marine, and private passenger and commercial automobile insurance and commercial multi-peril packages.

In 1996 The Mutual Assurance Company and its various subsidiaries merged into National Grange Mutual Insurance Company (NGM), headquartered in Keene, New Hampshire. The Mutual Assurance Company's perpetual policies continued in force, having been assumed by National Grange. In 2005, the company was converted to a mutual holding company structure, with NGM Insurance Company as the flagship carrier of the Main Street America Group.

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Scope and Contents note

The company archives of The Mutual Assurance Company, familiarly known as The Green Tree, consist of financial accounts and receipts, correspondence, histories, cancelled insurance surveys and policies, and miscellaneous material. The papers date from the formation of the company in 1784 to 1995.

The archival records of The Green Tree are arranged in five major sections: A. Histories of the company, research notes, and eighteenth and nineteenth century general papers; B. Minutes of meetings and related records; C. Cancelled surveys and cancelled policies; D. General papers, including correspondence; E. Financial records and receipts. The company archives also include fifty-eight volumes of treasurer's accounts, cash books, street registers, etc. In addition there are 151 volumes of manuscript and typescript records, which include original and typescript copies of the minutes of meetings of the Board of Trustees, copies of the company's annual reports to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, ledgers, cash books, and other financial records.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania December 2013

1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Conditions Governing Access note

This collection is open for research use, except for Box D38a (Salaries, 1941-1947), which is closed to researchers until 2022.

Conditions Governing Use note

Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Gift of National Grange Mutual Insurance Company, 1996.

Processing Information note

This is a lightly edited version of the finding aid that was compiled in the late 1990s. The finding aid was entered into the Archivists' Toolkit by Garrett Boos and edited by Matthew Lyons, primarily for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and to eliminate redundancy. References to materials retained by the company or stored elsewhere have also been edited to indicate that they may no longer be current.

The creation of the electronic guide for this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' "Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives" Project.

Box D9 was not found during the most recent review of the collection.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Mutual Assurance Company for Insuring Houses from Loss by Fire.

Genre(s)

  • Audiovisual materials.
  • Business records.
  • Financial records.
  • Minutes.
  • Photographs.
  • Portraits.

Geographic Name(s)

  • Philadelphia (Pa.)

Subject(s)

  • Fire insurance
  • Insurance companies--United States.
  • Insurance policies

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Collection Inventory

History of the Company, Related Papers, and 18th and 19th Century Records 

Scope and Contents note

Because of The Green Tree's long unbroken record of providing property insurance in and around Philadelphia, the homogeneity and continuity of the membership of the Board of Trustees and staff over nearly two centuries, and the persistence of tradition in the company's management and routine, there has been considerable interest in the history of the company.

The Green Tree is the subject of two manuscript histories, copies of which are deposited in the company archives. These are "The Green Tree: Its Town and Times" by Owen Wister and "The Green Tree Grows in Philadelphia" by Clifford Lewis, Jr. These manuscripts, together with related correspondence, drafts, research notes, background material, etc., totaling six documents cases, comprise part of Section A of The Green Tree archives.

Owen Wister, 1860-1938, a well known author, was elected a trustee of The Green Tree in 1899 and chairman of the board in 1925. In Mr. Wister undertook the task of preparing a brief historical sketch of The Green Tree for publication and distribution in honor of the company's 150th anniversary. Once his research was underway, Mr. Wister enlarged his purpose, deciding to write a full scale history of the company set in perspective in relation to contemporary local and national events. This work was unfinished at the time of Wister's death in 1938. Wister's manuscript appears to have been completed or nearly completed in substance. It is apparent, however, that the author did not have an opportunity to revise or edit the draft.

A second attempt at writing a full scale history of The Green Tree was undertaken by Clifford Lewis, Jr. about a decade later. Lewis, treasurer of the Mutual from 1926-1946, was the fifth member of his family to hold that position. His ancestor, Lawrence Lewis, was named treasurer in 1933; and his grandfather, father, and brother preceded him in office. Moreover, several other ancestors served as members of the Board of Trustees, including the first board. Mr. Lewis was profoundly interested in the history of the company because of his own employment, his family's long association with it, and a temperamental bent toward historical research. Mr. Lewis spent a decade between his retirement in 1946 and his death in 1956 completing and perfecting his research, organizing and tabulating notes, and drafting chapters and parts of chapters in preparation for writing the history. He was aided in his research by Marjorie Robertson Maurer, his secretary and assistant. When Mr. Lewis died in 1956, Mrs. Maurer, at the request of the treasurer and a committee of the board, undertook to compile and draft a history of The Green Tree based for the most part on Mr. Lewis's research. Incorporating some additional research of her own, Mrs. Maurer completed her manuscript in May of 1957. The ribbon copy of the manuscript, entitled "The Green Tree Grows in Philadelphia," 230 pages typescript bound in leather loose leaf binders, was retained at the Green Tree's offices in Philadelphia. (N. B. Interleaved in these volumes were photocopies of some ninety-eight items gathered from Mutual's records and other sources for use as illustrations. The original documents have been placed in folders in Box A-2.1 in the archives. A list of these documents has been inserted in the front of the first volume of the manuscript.)

Mr. Lewis was a meticulous researcher with a preference for the accurate over the colorful. His history is based upon research in the minutes of the Board of Trustees, treasurer's reports, receipts, correspondence, and other archival records of the Mutual, oral tradition of the Lewis family and The Green Tree's Board of Directors, contemporary newspapers, and general histories of Philadelphia and the United States.

In celebration of the company's bicentennial Carol Wojtowicz wrote a third history of the company which was published in two parts, the first in 1984 and the second in 1985. They were mailed to policyholders in 1984 and 1985 with annual meeting materials. In 1984 the emphasis was placed upon the people who formed the Green Tree, governed, and staffed it over the years and the ways in which they influenced its growth. In 1985 Carol Wojtowicz examined the external influences on the company's development: economic, social and political.

The company also published two full-length books; The Architectural Surveys, in 1976 and the  Catalogue of The Green Tree Collection, as its contribution to the Bicentennial celebration of the United States. They retained Dr. Anthony N. B. Garvan to write the books.  The Architectural Surveys reproduced the first ten years of the company's extant surveys together with information on the early policyholders and the history of the policy. An extensive prologue placed the founding of the company in context, describing other insurance ventures, fire prevention efforts, the background of influential founders, and aspects of Philadelphia life. Garvan also provides a brief analysis of Philadelphia architecture as revealed through The Green Tree documents and a synopsis of early office procedures. The company initially planned to publish a second volume of surveys from 1794 to 1801, when the seven-year renewable surveys were discontinued. This was never accomplished although research on those policies and policyholders was done.

Boxes A15 and A16 contain sundry eighteenth and early nineteenth century papers. Except for cancelled policies and surveys, the minutes of meetings of the Board of Trustees (which are terse and devoid of extraneous information and detail), and early financial records, there is little pre-twentieth century material in the archives of The Green Tree. The several moves of the company's offices probably account in part for this. In addition, during its first century of operation the Mutual wrote insurance only on houses within very narrow geographic limits, and most of the company's business was consequently conducted in person.
Box

Owen Wister, "The Green Tree: Its Town and Times" (manuscript) and related correspondence, 1934-1939 

Scope and Contents note

Included are a ribbon copy and a positive photocopy of the typescript, plus two folders of related correspondence and other material. The typescript is 291 double-spaced pages plus twenty-nine additional pages that could not be fitted into the body of the typescript. There are two different versions of pages 9-16. Accompanying the manuscript is a six-page typed analysis entitled "Comments on Manuscript The Green Tree: Its Town and Times." These observations are dated July 12, 1939, and are unsigned, but references within the accompanying correspondence make clear that it is the work of Clifford Lewis, Jr. The first page of the "Comments" consists of a narrative evaluation of the manuscript as a whole. The remainder consists of specific criticisms referenced by letter to passages of the manuscript. These are indicated on the photocopy of the manuscript. In addition, there is one folder of correspondence (about forty items, 1934-1939) regarding the writing and possible publication of the book. Included are typed letters, carbon copies, and autograph letters by Owen Wister, Clifford Lewis, Jr., James D. Winsor, Richard Wood, Theodore W. Reath, and Owen J. Wister, son of the author and an executor of his estate. The posthumous correspondence concerns the possible revision, enlargement, and publication of the manuscript. For various reasons, this was not done.

 A1

Clifford Lewis, Jr., "Green Tree Grows in Philadelphia" (typescript) 

Scope and Contents note

The ribbon copy of the typescript, entitled 'The Green Tree Grows in Philadelphia," 230 pages bound in leather loose leaf binders, was retained at the Green Tree's offices in Philadelphia. (Interleaved in these volumes were photocopies of some ninety-eight items gathered from Mutual's records and other sources for use as illustrations. The original documents have been placed in folders. A list of these documents has been inserted in the front of the first volume of the manuscript.)

 A2.1

"The Green Tree Grows in Philadelphia" (carbon copy) 

Scope and Contents note

Includes a detailed table of contents, index, bibliography, list of trustees, and the ribbon copy of an earlier draft of 211 pages, plus a twenty-two page fragment. In addition there are two versions of a typescript pieced together from Mr. Lewis's notes, drafts, studies, and articles. These, compiled under Mr. Lewis's working title for his history "The Log of The Green Tree," contain much of the information which later was incorporated into "The Green Tree Grows in Philadelphia." However, it also contains some information which is not to be found in the later version.

 A2

Ernest Spofford's biographical sketches of trustees and treasurers 1931 

Scope and Contents note

Ernest Spofford of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania was commissioned by The Green Tree to prepare the biographies. The first folder of biographies contains an alphabetical list of trustees, 1784-1952, and a chronological list of trustees, presiding officers, and treasurers. Also included in Box A3 is a register of meetings of the trustees showing dates and places of meeting and attendance. There is a typescript and photocopy of studies by Mr. Lewis on the following topics: The Archives of The Green Tree; The Perpetual Policies of The Green Tree; Growth of Funds; Insurance in Force; Ages of Policies; Statistical Material, 1784-1934; and The Biography of Policy #2186.

 A3

Material compiled for Mr. Lewis's book by Clifford Lewis, Jr. and Mrs. Maurer, and some by Lewis's son, Clifford Lewis 3rd, on the following topics: 

Scope and Contents note

Offices and Meeting Places of The Green Tree; Yellow Fever; Currency, Banks, and Banking; Policies and Policyholders; Fires and Firefighting; Funds of The Green Tree; Donations and Contributions; the Shippen-Wistar and Cadwalader Houses; McCall House (insured by Mutual Assurance Company Policy #1); Dickinson House (home of a leading Revolutionary figure); Early Clerks and Superintendents. There are also three folders of extracts from newspapers of the 1780s; extracts from the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, 1784-1803; a resume of Minutes; and a folder regarding the Deed of Settlement, including various printed versions. Finally there are three folders of biographical material, two of which are arranged alphabetically and one that includes information regarding trustees.

 A4-A5

Raw research material arranged alphabetically by topic 

Scope and Contents note

Examples: the City Tavern, rewards for exertions at fires; news of Philadelphia. Much of this data has been incorporated in the manuscript histories of The Green Tree. There is, however, a large quantity of extraneous information in these files.

 A6

Carol Wojtowicz's histories, outlines, drafts, correspondence files, and background research notes 

 A7

Carol Wojowicz's background information on the company, primary and secondary sources and notes 

 A8

Rough drafts and page proofs for the first volume of company surveys 

 A9

Research notes, correspondence, and book review files for the first volume of company surveys 

 A10

Research notes and copies of materials prepared for publication for the second volume of company surveys 

 A11

Camera copies of surveys and rough drafts for the second volume of company surveys 

 A12

Catalogue of the Green Tree Collection (company book): correspondence, book reviews, and drafts 

 A13

Catalogue of the Green Tree Collection (company book): additional chapter drafts, printer mock-ups, and blue-lines 

 A14

Sundry eighteenth and early nineteenth century papers 

Scope and Contents note

A letter book containing copies of The Mutual Assurance Company's outgoing correspondence dated August 24, 1835 - November 14, 1862. There are fifty-eight letters by Lawrence Lewis and David Lewis regarding policies, mortgages, taxes, and Mutual's operating practices; a folder of approximately twenty-five letters from the fire marshall and volunteer fire and hose companies, 1812-1862; a folder of appeals for charitable and patriotic contributions (six items) 1845-1864; a folder of correspondence, etc., regarding office routine, 1793-1876; a folder of committee reports, 1805-1854; a folder of letters of members of the Board of Trustees, 1820-1845; a folder of letters regarding waiver of penalties, 1807-1841; a folder of correspondence concerning the McMurtrie Mortgage, 1785-1835; a folder of correspondence regarding mortgages and loans, 1809-1905; a letter of Matthew Clarkson dated May 6, 1794; a marine insurance policy of Robert Wharton; a folder of miscellaneous correspondence, 1806-1957; a folder of election records; a receipt book of John Clement Stocker; correspondence of Lawrence Lewis (1833-1856), of David Lewis (1856-1881), and of Clifford Lewis (1881-1919). Much of this material has been repaired and restored and many of the letters are mounted in folders. However, there are very fragile items among the material in Boxes A 15 and A 16, and they should be handled with care.

 A15-A16

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Minutes of Meetings and Related Records 

Scope and Contents note

Minutes and other records relating to the meetings of the board of The Mutual Assurance Company and The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree, and of the committees of these boards, comprise Section B of The Mutual Assurance Company's archives. Included are thirty-two document cases of correspondence, notes, minutes, reports, and miscellaneous related material.
Box

Board of Directors minutes (typescripts) 1784-1917 

Scope and Contents note

There are generally two sets of each minute book. The originals of these minutes are stored with other bound volumes in the archives.

 B1-B3.1

Files relating to Board of Directors meetings 1920-1973 

Scope and Contents note

Contents are varied during the early years, becoming more routine in later years. The following types of materials are irregularly present for the monthly meetings of the board; notes for minutes, drafts of minutes, financial and business activities reports, memoranda, committee reports, and correspondence relating to the meetings (mostly letters announcing meetings and responses). Similar records concern the annual meetings of policyholders and special meetings of the board. Records for more recent meetings were retained by the company. The correspondence is mostly that of the treasurer, chairman of the board, and other active members. It concerns almost exclusively Mutual Assurance Company business, with a very few personal notes and comments. There are approximately 5-20 letters by Owen Wister in this material. These records are filed chronologically by year only, as is much of Section B.

 B4-B18

Finance Committee 1925-1970 

Scope and Contents note

This is mostly routine material consisting of correspondence of the treasurer, committee members and Mutual's brokers regarding transactions, meetings, and investment practice and philosophy. In addition there are notes and memoranda regarding the meetings, a smattering of printed business surveys and reports, and records of security transactions (irregularly present) and other financial reports. These records are filed chronologically by year only. There are two folders of memoranda, correspondence, confirmations, etc., regarding security transactions, 1961-1966, filed separately at the end of the Finance Committee chronological material in Box B22.

 B19-B22

Committee on Charitable Contributions 1950-1969 

Scope and Contents note

This consist of correspondence, reports, memoranda, minutes, etc. regarding Mutual's charitable contributions. There are interesting letters soliciting gifts, reflecting corporate philosophy and individual opinion about philanthropy, and concerning tax benefits. There are also lists showing the record of Mutual's charitable contributions throughout its history. Later listings of charitable contributions made can be found in the Board minutes generally made at the December meeting.

 B23

Insurance Committee 1920-1970 

Scope and Contents note

This is largely correspondence with a lesser amount of memoranda and miscellaneous material. Early material is irregular and is general in subject matter. Material from the late 1930s and 1940s is more substantive, regarding the scope of The Green Tree's operations, relations with the Insurance Department of Pennsylvania, the payment of commissions to brokers, wording of policies, interpretation of the charter and deed of settlement, and other legal and policy matters. An important part of the correspondence is that of the legal counsel, Theodore W. Reath.

 B24-B25

Meetings of the Board of Directors and committees of The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree 1949-1970 

Scope and Contents note

Boxes B26-B30 concern the meetings of the board and include memoranda, agenda, minutes, a slight amount of correspondence, and reports of the financial status and security transactions of the Stock Company. The remainder of the Stock Company material in boxes B31 and B32 consists of a box and a half of records of the Finance Committee, 1949-1970, which is almost entirely summaries of security holdings; and a folder of memoranda, 1959-1965, concerning the Insurance Committee.

 B26-B32

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Cancelled Surveys and Policies 

Scope and Contents note

A highly important component of The Mutual Assurance Company's archives is the 205 document case collection of cancelled surveys and policies. These represent a continuous, and surprisingly complete, record of the company's early term (1784-1801) and perpetual insurance business from the time of its inception until the present.

Prepared by surveyors employed by the company, the surveys provide descriptive information regarding the insured property in varying detail. Typically the descriptions include dimensions, type of construction, and architectural features. This may be amplified by sketches of floor plans information about the use the structure, descriptions of auxiliary buildings, etc. Later surveys also include photographs. Information regarding fire protection and unusual risks attendant upon the structure is usually included. In numerous cases, resurveys have been made to update earlier appraisals. Many of the surveys have been annotated to indicate alterations to the structure or modification in the nature of the risk.

Approximately 50% of the surveys for policies issued before 1801 (when the perpetual policy was adopted) survive. A partial list of missing surveys is included in Box C1. This was compiled from notes interfiled with the surveys, probably indicating that the staff or an outside researcher at some time had a need for the surveys cited.

A few interesting surveys and policies were removed from the archives for display in exhibits throughout the company's offices at 414 Walnut Street or as illustrative material for Mr. Lewis' history.

Many of the earlier surveys and policies are in very fragile condition and should be handled with care.

An index to the cancelled surveys and policies, done in the 1930s and kept current through the mid-1970s, is interfiled in HSP's PC 4c card catalog. There are frequent notations to "Map no." or "Sanbourn, p." Some of the company's twentieth century surveyors marked insured properties on the Sanbourn maps. Those maps form a part of the archives. (For Oak Lane policies -64th Street -78th Street check the North 32nd-73rd street files.)

There are also rolls of microfilm of surveys of the Mutual Assurance Company done by the National Park Service in 1956.

The following surveys are missing: Policy Nos. 5433, 7104, and 7963.

Policy No. 3663 is now Policy No. 9024. Similarly Policy No. 4486 is now 8465; No. 4569 is 6748; No. 4805 is 8420; No. 4812 is 6157; No. 4985 is 8893; No. 6892 is 6839; No. 7104 is 8372; and No. 7864 is 2237.

Policy No. 2074 has been renubered from 926. Similarly No. 2254 from 689-690; No. 2255 from 845-848; No. 2271 from 1094.

Some surveys have been reinsured under different numbers. Policy No. 2031 was originally Nos. 882 and 883; No. 2166 was originally 1545; No. 2264 was originally Nos. 815 and 816; and No. 2273 was originally 1073.

Surveys 2036, see earlier surveys for term policies 209-210.
Box

Cancelled surveys 

Scope and Contents note

Surveys are filed numerically by policy number. (Some of the early surveys have survey numbers which are at variance with their policy numbers. These have been disregarded for the purposes of filing since the great majority of surveys have been assigned the policy number.) There is one box containing surveys of what appear to be properties that were never insured. There are also some miscellaneous papers pertaining to surveys. These surveys need to be unfolded, foldered and indexed.

 C1-C67

Cancelled policies 

Scope and Contents note

Surveys are filed numerically. A rough count of policies up to Policy Number 2267 (the oldest active policy) indicates that approximately 10% are missing. Policies include the address of the property, the date of coverage, the amount of insurance and the rate of premium. They may or may not provide a brief description of the property. Many are annotated (some very extensively) indicating transfer of ownership or alterations of the risk. The date of cancellation, and occasionally the reason, is noted.

 C67-C171

Cancelled policies of The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree 

Scope and Contents note

These policies were all issued after 1949 when the company was formed. The early policies provided extended coverage and additional extended coverage on properties covered by Mutual fire insurance policies. The later polices are the first perpetual homeowners policies first written through the Stock Insurance Company.

 C172-C205

Microfilms of surveys 

Scope and Contents note

These microfilms were created by the National Park Service in 1956. In 1984 the company converted its collection of survey negatives to a microfilm and microfiche format, as the early film which was on nitrate and acetate bases was starting to deteriorate. Images are filmed by policy number; both a positive and negative format exist for easy reference and reproduction. Full-size photographs can be printed by sending the negative image of the microfiche to a high quality photographic lab. The master copy of this microfiche is at Arca Data Security Inc.

 C206-C240

Return to Table of Contents »

General Papers 

Scope and Contents note

The general papers of The Mutual Assurance Company consist of sixty-eight document cases of correspondence, memoranda and notes, circulars, and other records filed topically. Although there are occasional exceptions, by the far largest part of this material derives from the years between 1906 and 1946. Most of the papers surviving from the years before 1906 have been filed in Section A; general correspondence beginning with 1946 has not yet been brought into the archives. The bulk of the correspondence is made up of letters addressed to the treasurer and of carbon copies of his letters. Much of the material is Section D is routine, reflecting the day-to-day operations of the company. These records are generally filed alphabetically by topic.

Boxes D1.1 through D1.12 contain papers filed under the general heading "Acquisitions and Real Estate." This material is highly important in documenting the provenance of much of Mutual's furniture, china, glassware, silver, art and museum pieces as well as providing information about the acquisition and renovation of its offices. This material, in variance from the remainder of Section D, contains numerous bills, receipts and research notes deriving from Mr. Lewis's and Mrs. Maurer's study of the history of the company.
Box

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Contains material on the Shippen-Wistar and Cadwalader Houses including deeds, contracts, etc.; a 1973 architectural study of the Shippen-Wistar house by Winterthur scholar Wendy Wicks; correspondence and notes regarding the history of the houses and their early residents; bills, correspondence, etc. concerning the company offices at 526 Walnut Street and the move from there to the present offices; correspondence and other material pertaining to the organization of the Colonial Dames, tenants in the Shippen-Wistar and the Cadwalader houses before and for a brief time after the properties were acquired by Mutual; and papers relating to 404-406 Locust Street.

 D1.1

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Includes plans, bills, correspondence, etc., pertaining to the renovation and decoration of the Shippen-Wistar and Cadwalader Houses in 1926 and alterations made in 1947 and 1957.

 D1.2

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Includes further information regarding buildings and grounds, notably correspondence pertaining to the redevelopment of the Society Hill and Independence Hall areas and scattered committee reports of the Real Estate and Furniture Committee.

 D1.3

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Includes files on the heating system, the vault, and the protective system, and committee reports, bills, plans, and correspondence regarding the gardens including quite a bit of material about the landscaping of Mutual's grounds in 1936. There is also a folder of material relating to the Historical Plaques affixed to the Shippen-Wistar House (including blueprints) and other plaques honoring individuals connected with the Mutual.

 D1.4

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Contains 1934 and 1940 appraisals of Mutual's property by the Keystone Appraisal Corporation; a folder of correspondence on museum acquisitions and offerings, and another on the disposal of outdated and surplus furniture. There is a large lot of bills, letters, etc., regarding the purchase of Erskine-Danforth reproductions in the 1920s and a folder of material pertaining to the efforts of The Green Tree to purchase antique iron balconies. There are folders on the following specific topics: the Arms of England fireback, the Duncan Phyfe antique table in the board dining room, the John Wood clock, and the Canal Panels in the garden wall.

 D1.5

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Contains inventories of furniture, glassware, etc., copies of bills, and research notes regarding the furnishing of the present and earlier offices of The Green Tree. It also contains correspondence of the Bicentennial Committee.

 D1.6

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Contains correspondence of the Real Estate Committee from the 1970s, photographs of 240 S. Fourth St. and material pertaining to the 1983 renovations.

 D1.7

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Contains material pertaining to the purchase of the Bishop Stevens House at 232 S. Third Street.

 D1.8

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Contains materials pertaining to the sale of 240 S. Fourth Street in 1988.

 D1.9

Acquisitions and Real Estate [RETAINED BY THE COMPANY] 

Scope and Contents note

Contains material pertaining to the purchase of 414 Walnut Street including the National Register Nomination form, correspondence and drawings from Cynthia Drayton, and correspondence pertaining to The Green Tree sign. A supplemental volume contains information on the financing, renovations and acquisitions. An additional volume contains contractors' specifications for renovations. This box was retained by NGM.

 D1.10

Acquisitions and Real Estate 

Scope and Contents note

Contains deeds and properties of title for 400-414 Walnut Street as well as some of The Mutual's earlier offices. (Deeds for 400 - 414 Walnut Street were retained by NGM.)

 D1.11

Acquisitions and Real Estate [RETAINED BY THE COMPANY] 

Scope and Contents note

Contains the materials pertaining to the Agreement of Sale for Old Dominion Insurance Company in 1989. (This box was retained by NGM.)

 D1.12

Acquisitions - American Loyalty Insurance Company 1989 

Scope and Contents note

Internal Green Tree memos pertaining to the acquisition of American Loyalty in 1989 in addition to some advertising materials showing their affiliation as a Green Tree company

 D1.13

Advertising 

Scope and Contents note

Contains correspondence, samples, memoranda, etc. (including a 1908 booklet issued by The Green Tree), as well as "A Comparative Study of the TV Commercials of Green Tree and the National Associations of Health and Life Insurance Companies" prepared for Dechert Price & Rhoads as part of the trademark suit (Box D2.1). Box D2.4 contains articles from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s from other publications referring to The Green Tree.

 D2.1-2.5

Art 

Scope and Contents note

(General information, including 1967 correspondence with Winterthur about the photography of Mutual holdings for their collection of photographs of American Art before 1900; for material regarding Mutual's collection of portraits, see Box D36); Audits (audit reports are filed in Section E); Banks; and Bonds.

 D3

Brokers 

Scope and Contents note

Including insurance brokers (there is a folder of material regarding the payment of commissions to brokers, a controversial subject at the Mutual) and securities brokers; the offer of insurance on the James Buchanan house in Lancaster, PA, the subject of some correspondence in 1944; buildings and grounds (covering real estate owned by The Green Tree other than its office buildings); and solicitations of business (mostly dating from the 1950s).

 D4

Charter and deed of settlement including interpretations and numerous printed versions of both 

 D5

Incorporation of The Mutual Assurance Company and The Stock Insurance Company, trademark certificates. (RETAINED BY NGM) 

 D6

Christmas cards printed and circulated by the company to policyholders, vendors and friends from 1973 to 1995 [MISSING] 

 D7

Circular Letters (received and sent out by The Mutual) and Contributions 

Scope and Contents note

Solicitations, summaries of contributions, etc.; see also papers regarding the Committee on Charitable Contributions in Section B.

 D8

Committee on Accounts - reports 

Scope and Contents note

Late nineteenth century reviews of the treasurers' accounts, eighteenth and nineteenth century parchment deeds on property other than Green Tree offices.

 D10

Dinners and other events 

Scope and Contents note

Guest lists, receipts for food, beverages, etc. letters of acceptance and regret in response to Green Tree invitations, menus, etc., pertaining to Mutual's monthly trustees' dinners and annual policyholders' luncheons and outside dinners.

 D11.1-11.2

Dinner menus filed chronologically 

 D12

Dividends and the payment of Mutual's annual dividends to policyholders 

 D13-D19

Elections of the Board of Trustees; fire companies' requests for financial aid 

Scope and Contents note

See also Boxes D30 and D31 for early lists of Voters.

 D20

F files 

Scope and Contents note

Finances (including work sheets, statistics, and Clifford Lewis, Jr.'s Forecast of Growth of Funds); fire departments; the Fire Insurance Patrol; and fire marks (including important material about the acquisition of fire marks by The Mutual and the distribution of reproductions of early fire marks).

 D21

Guide books 

Scope and Contents note

Guide books, clippings, circulars, etc. on Philadelphia and particularly the Society Hill and Independence Hall areas. Guidebooks listing the Mutual offices are included.

 D22

G-H files 

Scope and Contents note

Garden parties; general meetings and proxies (see also proxies in Boxes D36 and D37); and history (mostly letters requesting and providing information about the history of the company and related subjects).

 D23

Insurance-related correspondence, much of it concerning Mutual's policies and services to its policyholders 

 D24-D25

Insurance Commissioner - reports by Mutual Assurance Company 1873-1906 

 D26

Insurance Department of Pennsylvania - audits of the Green Tree 

 D27

Insurance-related correspondence; Insurance Department of Pennsylvania correspondence 

 D28

Preliminary surveys made on properties which were rejected for Green Tree Insurance 

 D29

Legal opinions by Mutual's legal counsel 

Scope and Contents note

See also files on trustees who served as counsel such as John Cadwalader, Theodore Reath, and George Munson, and Lists of Voters in Nineteenth Century elections of the Board of Trustees.

 D30

L-M files 

Scope and Contents note

Lists of voters; lightning clause; maps and correspondence about maps; miscellaneous correspondence; and inquiries about The Mutual Assurance Company (mostly generated by a 1950s newspaper advertising campaign; also included are inquiries about houses covered by early Green Tree surveys including Franklin's house and the "President's House").

 D31

M-O files 

Scope and Contents note

Mutual Assurance Company inquiries; Mutual Insurance Institute; office maintenance; the old companies; and open house.

 D32

Open houses; organizations (such as the Insurance Federation, the Chamber of Commerce, etc.) 

 D33

Guest books for various events 

 D33a

Pension Trust Plans (including rejected plans); and personnel records 

Scope and Contents note

Includes personnel files pertaining to Marie Remi and George Klein, two employees who were assisted during their retirement years by The Green Tree although they retired before any formal pension plan had been adopted. There are also personnel-related items: employee handbooks, and newsletters.

 D34-D34a

Philadelphia Contributionship; Philadelphia on Parade 

Scope and Contents note

Philadelphia Contributionship (pamphlets, letters, and historical material); Philadelphia on Parade, a 1936 exposition of Philadelphia businesses (circulars, correspondence, etc.).

 D35

P files   

Scope and Contents note

Includes policies (including a history of Policy Number 1743, which lay dormant for many years then surfaced with a twentieth century loss, a claim which was paid by Mutual); portraits (requests for information about, loan and sale of Mutual portraits; appraisals; correspondence about insurance, storage, and restoration); proxies (including negative responses on the 1950 question of the contribution of company funds to the Community Chest, the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the YWCA).

 D36

P-R files 

Scope and Contents note

Proxies; publications (mostly questionnaires form business publications and a few publications with articles about The Green Tree); resolutions; and riders.

 D37

S files 

Scope and Contents note

Salaries (1925-1933); state regulations; statements (1914-1918); audit reports and statements to the Insurance Commission, (1907-1911).

 D38

Salaries 1941-1947 

Conditions Governing Access note

This box is closed to researchers until 2022.

 D38a

Statistical reports 

Scope and Contents note

Includes reports on: non-lineal transfers; 1947 report to the trustees; policies assigned as collateral; unprotected policies; risks (listed by class); cancellable and noncancellable policies; losses, 1926-1951; losses, 1944-1956; and deposits and dividends.

 D39

S-T files 

Scope and Contents note

Statistical reports on Losses, 1954, and Cancellations, 1944- 1953; taxes, mostly regarding federal income taxes.

 D40

Underwriting analysis 

 D40a-D40b

Taxes - federal, state, and local taxes and tax appeals 

 D41-D42

T files 

Scope and Contents note

Taxes; transfers; treasurers (with folders of correspondence, speeches, etc. of Treasurers David Lewis, Clifford Lewis, Jr., and J. Morgan Denison); trustees-general correspondence, obituaries and memorials (see also files of individuals trustees); and trustees' powers, including the authority to invest the funds of the company.

 D43

Trustees' fees - correspondence, statistics, etc. 

 D44-D45

Trustees - correspondence and other matter relating to individual Trustees, filed alphabetically 

Scope and Contents note

Recent trustee files have been retained by NGM.

 D45-D48

Trustees - certificates of election 

 D49

200th Anniversary 

 D49.1

Washington, George 

Scope and Contents note

Research notes, reminiscences, correspondence, etc. regarding the toast to the memory of George Washington which traditionally ends the Trustees' monthly dinners, Washington's visit to the Shippen-Wister House, and other material regarding Washington.

 D50

Wines 

 D50.1

General papers of The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree filed alphabetically by topic 

 D51-D52

Return to Table of Contents »

Financial Records 

Scope and Contents note

The financial records of The Mutual Assurance Company Archives consist of ninety-seven document cases of receipts, reports, accounts, etc. These are supplemented by bound financial records stored in the company archives (see attached inventory). It should be particularly noted that certain bills and receipts, especially those pertaining to acquisitions of furnishings, decorative pieces, and museum items, have been removed from the financial records and are filed with the general papers, mostly under heading "acquisitions", but a few may be found under particular topics such as "portraits." Check also the individual object files in the file cabinet in the outer office.

The various routine receipts from company files have not been consolidated and filed in strictly chronological order. Therefore it may be necessary to consult folders in several boxes in order to see all of the receipts from a given period.

Boxes E46-E95 contain bills and receipts of various types. Most of these are for routine costs and business expenses.
Box

Treasurer's Accounts 1785-1912 

Scope and Contents note

The earliest of the treasurer's accounts have been restored and rebound in a folder along with other financial records of the eighteenth century. (Treasurer's accounts 1912-1934 and 1960-1971 constitute volumes 110-112 in this collection.)

 E1-E19

Records of fire losses 1793-1836 

 E20-E25

Audits of The Mutual Assurance Company records by outside accountants 1926-1971 

 E26-E27

Audits of The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree 1947-1971 

 E28

Annual reports and other miscellaneous financial records 

Scope and Contents note

Four of these (E30-E33) contain balance sheets, reports of accounts, stock accounts, and property records from the years 1831 through 1869. E34 consists of stock accounts from the years 1870-1904; E35 contains balance sheets, 1870-1910; and E36 includes schedules of property (biannual lists of mortgages held by the company), 1878-1909; Box E37 contains statements of insurance business, 1870-1910; and lists of fire losses, 1870-1910. Box E38 includes condensed statements of receipts and payments from the years 1905-1910; lists of assets 1872-1910; lists of mortgages, 1872-1, and stock accounts, 1905-1910. Box E39 contains mortgages, titled searches, and powers of attorney, 1805-1904. Box E40 includes bonds, leases, etc., 1828- 1858; and sundry blueprints, titles, and specifications, 1829-1873. Box E41 contains records of deposits for insurance, 1792-1796; insurance withdrawals and refunds, 1811-1815; receipted checks, 1838-1839; and receipted payments, 1816-1919. Box E42 includes contractors' bills, 1830-1862, and receipted payments, April 1833-September 1834. Boxes E43 and E44 contain records of contributions to Volunteer Fire Companies, and Box 45 includes Annual reports 1870-1919 and a few receipted bills.

 E29-E44

Receipt books - 29 volumes, numbered 10 though 38 1882-1947 

Scope and Contents note

These contain authorizations for payment signed by members of the Board of Trustees. Bills for miscellaneous operating expenses, purchases of supplies, furnishings, fire losses, etc. are tipped in.

 E45-E75.1

Scrapbook with receipts glued in 1868-1876 

 E75a
Oversize

Receipts - one unboxed volume 1916-1921 

 Volume 180
Box

Routine receipted bills 1888-1915 

 E76-E80

Receipted payments 1820-1826 

 E81-E83

Routine expenses 1834-1907 

 E84-E87

Bills and expenses 1814-1883 

 E88-E92

Petty cash receipts 1934-1962 

Scope and Contents note

These cover only about one month of expenses from each year. They were retained as examples of petty cash expenditures; the remainder of the petty cash vouchers from these years were destroyed as part of the scheduled destruction program of office records.

 E93-E95

Printed annual reports of The Mutual Assurance Company 

 E96--E98

Early bank books of The Mutual Assurance Company 

 E99

Return to Table of Contents »

Bound Volumes 

Scope and Contents note

All minutes of The Mutual Assurance Company and The Stock Insurance Company of The Green Tree, including both board and committee minutes from 1973 through 1995, were retained by NGM.
Volume

Minutes and minute journals 1784 September 29-1802 January 13 

 1

Minutes and minute journals 1795 July 1-1805 September 25 

 2

Minutes and minute journals 1805 October 7-1809 December 13 

 3

Minutes and minute journals 1809 December 14-1813 December 10 

 4

Minutes and minute journals 1813 December 13-1821 September 25 

 5

Minutes and minute journals 1821 September-1832 December 

 6

Minutes and minute journals 1833 January-1849 February 

 7

Minutes and minute journals 1849 March-1863 October 

 8

Minutes and minute journals 1814 January-1829 September 

 9

Minutes and minute journals 1829 October-1849 December 

 10

Minutes and minute journals 1850 January-1873 May 

 11

Minutes and minute journals 1873 June-1894 September 

 12

Minutes and minute journals 1849 September-1912 March 

 13

Minutes and minute journals 1912 April-1917 April 

 14

Minutes and minute journals 1917 May-1921 September 

 15

Minutes and minute journals 1921 October-1928 August 

 16

Minutes and minute journals 1928 September-1938 January 

 17

Minutes and minute journals 1938 February-1947 December 

 18

Minutes and minute journals 1948 January-1953 December 

 19

Minutes and minute journals 1954 January-1958 December 

 20

Minutes and minute journals 1959 January-1963 December 

 21

Minutes and minute journals 1964 January-1968 December 

 22

Minutes and minute journals 1969 January-1972 December 

 23

Minutes of the Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree 1949 January-1953 December 

 24

Minutes of the Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree 1954 January-1959 December 

 25

Minutes of the Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree 1960 January-1964 December 

 26

Minutes of the Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree 1965 January-1968 December 

 27

Minutes of the Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree 1969 January-1972 December 

 28

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1833 January-1843 May 

 29

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1843 June-1851 January 

 30

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1851 January-1860 November 

 31

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1860 December-1871 September 

 32

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1871 September-1883 April 

 33

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1883 April-1895 February 

 34

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1895 February-1917 May 

 35

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1917 June-1919 April 

 36

Receipt book of deposits withdrawn 1919 Arpil-1924 April 

 37

Receipt book 1825-1871 

 38

Receipt book 1833-1841 

 39

Receipt book 1841-1848 

 40

Receipt book 1848-1855 

 41

Receipt book 1855-1860 

 42

Receipt book 1860-1865 

 43

Receipt book 1865-1870 

 44

Receipt book 1870-1874 

 45

Receipt book 1874-1878 

 46

Receipt book 1878-1882 

 47

Income book 1856-1868 

 48

Income book 1868-1884 

 49

Income book 1885-1901 

 50

Income book 1902-1922 

 51

Income book 1922-1943 

 52

Report book 1829 May-1857 October 

 53

Report book 1857 October-1888 June 

 54

Report book 1888 June-1900 July 

 55

Report book 1900 August-1913 February 

 56

Report book 1913 February-1922 December 

 57

Report book 1922 December-1926 October 

 58

Report book 1926 October-129 December 

 59

Report book 1930 January-1935 June 

 60

Report book 1935 September-1939 September 

 61

Report book 1939 September-1944 June 

 62

Report book 1944 July-1947 August 

 63

Report book 1847 August-1950 December 

 64

Report book 1951 January-1954 March 

 65

Report book 1954 April-1956 March 

 66

Report book 1956 March-1959 September 

 67

Report book 1959 October-1964 February 

 68

Report book 1964 February-1967 December 

 69

Report book 1968 January-1973 June 

 70

Report book 1973 July-1976 October 

 71

Cash book/Treasurer's accounts 1815 April-1924 October 

 72

Cash book/Treasurer's accounts 1828 November-1849 July 

 73

Cash book 1849 September-1868 December 

 74

Cash book 1869 January-1880 June 

 75

Cash book 1880 July-1890 September 

 76

Cash book 1898 December-1914 June 

 77

Cash book 1914 July-1926 September 

 78

Cash book 1926 October-1928 September 

 79

Cash book 1928 October-1934 July 

 80

Cash book 1934 July-1940 May 

 81

Cash book 1940 May-1945 April 

 82

Cash book 1945 May-1950 January 

 83

Cash book 1950 February-1953 December 

 84

Cash book 1954 January-1958 December 

 85

Cash book 1954 January-1958 December 

 86

Cash book 1964-1969 

 87

Cash book 1970 January-1975 December 

 88

General expense accounts 1934 July-1944 December 

 89

General expense accounts 1945 January-1963 December 

 90

General expense accounts 1964 January-1975 December 

 91

Expenses 1911-1912 

 92

Petty cash book 1869 December-1897 September 

 93

Petty cash book 1897 September-1922 November 

 94

Petty cash book 1922 November-1931 December 

 95

Petty cash book 1932 January-1934 December 

 96

Petty cash book 1935 January-1954 December 

 97

Petty cash book 1955 January-1980 September 

 98

Journal 1863 November-1887 September 

 99

Journal 1887 October-1910 September 

 100

Journal 1910 September-1922 June 

 101

Journal 1922-1944 

 102

Journal 1945 January-1975 December 

 103

Ledger 1795-1809 

 104

Ledger 1810-1823 

 105

Ledger 1823-1860 

 106

Ledger 1868-1953 

 107

Ledger 1954-1960 

 108

Ledger 1964-1975 

 109

Treasurer's accounts 1912 September-1924 April 

 110

Treasurer's accounts 1924 April-1934 July 

 111

Treasurer's accounts 1960 January-1971 April 

 112

Dividend payments and records, Pennsylvania Company 1915-1927 

 113

Dividend payments and records, Pennsylvania Company 1916-1927 

 114

Dividend payments and records, Pennsylvania Company 1929-1957 

 115

Dividend payments and records, Corn Exchange 1942-1951 

 116

Income tax deprecation ledger 1927-1938 

 117

Stock and bind register – Mutual Assurance, Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree circa 1940-circa 1970 

 118

Stock and bind register – Mutual Assurance, Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree circa 1940-circa 1970 

 119

Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree cash book 1949-1953 

 120

Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree cash book 1954-1959 

 121

Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree cash book 1960-1967 

 122

Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree cash book 1968-1975 

 123

Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree ledger 1955-1964 

 124

Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree ledger 1964-1975 

 125

Stock Insurance Company of the Green Tree journal 1949-1975 

 126

Seven Year Policy index #1 1785-1804 

 127

Seven Year Policy index #2 1802-1815 

 128

Seven Year Policy index #3 1799-1810 

 129

Seven Year Policy index #4 1785-1803 

 130

Seven Year Policy index #5 circa 1800 

 131

Register and index to registers, Mutual Assurance undated 

 132

Register and index to registers, Mutual Assurance undated 

 133

Register and index to registers, Mutual Assurance undated 

 134

Register and index to registers, Mutual Assurance undated 

 135

Register (fire policies 1168-8221) 1801-1878 

 136

Register (fire policies 8222-10197) 1818-1926 

 137

Register (fire policies 10198-11200) 1926-1936 

 138

Register (fire policies 11201-12197) 1936-1944 

 139

Register (fire policies 12198-13199) 1944-1949 

 140

Register (fire policies 13200-14230) 1949-1954 

 141

Register (fire policies 14231-15235) 1954-1956 

 142

Register (fire policies 15236-16240) 1956-1960 

 143

Register (fire policies 16241-17255) 1960-1967 

 144

Register (fire policies 17256-17961) 1967-1975 

 145

Transfer register, Mutual Assurance 1801-1864 

 146

Index undated 

 147

Index undated 

 148

Index undated 

 149

Index undated 

 150

Alphabetical mortgage index undated 

 151

Street register undated 

 152

Street register undated 

 153

Store occupancy register 1873 

 154

Permission of alterations and repairs 1849-1877 

 155

Permission of alterations and repairs circa 1880-circa 1912 

 156

Report on cancelled policies 1924-1932 

 157

Report on cancelled policies 1934-1942 

 158

Report on cancelled policies 1942-1949 

 159

Report on cancelled policies 1949-1952 

 160

Reports on cancellations 1949-1952 

 161

Reports on cancellations 1952-1957 

 162

Reports on cancellations 1958-1962 

 163

Reports on cancellations 1962-1966 

 164

Reports on cancellations 1967-1969 

 165

Reports on cancellations 1970-1972 

 166

Reports on cancellations 1973-1976 

 167

Record of loss by fire 1899-1945 

 168

Record of loss by fire 1945-1947 

 169

Loss record 1947-1978 

 170

Surveyor's ledger undated 

 171

Stock Insurance Company loss record 1949-1962 

 172

Stock Insurance Company loss record 1963-1978 

 173

Stock Insurance Company policy register 1949-1955 

 174

Stock Insurance Company policy register 1955-1976 

 175

Monthly report on new business 1922-1924 

 176

Monthly report on new business 1925-1951 

 177

Investments – closed out transfer binder undated 

 178

Agency underwriting guide (not located) 1982 

 179

Return to Table of Contents »

Graphics & Audio 

Scope and Contents note

In this section are included oral history tapes and transcripts as well as company related videotapes, tapes of radio advertisements and photographs of company buildings and employees.
Box

Oral History 

Scope and Contents note

Transcripts and notes of: Clifford Lewis III, J. Ray McLane (past president of American Loyalty Insurance Company), Conrad Choynacky (Green Tree surveyor), and Anthony Mackiewicz (Green Tree controller).

 H1

Oral History Audio Tapes 

 H2

Radio Spots Cassette Tapes 

 H3

Video Cassettes Company Related 

 H4

Slides of Employees 

 H5
Box Folder

Company Trustees: Portraits of: Unidentified man 

 H6 1

Company Trustees: Portraits of: D. Murray Cheston 

 H6 2

Company Trustees: Portraits of: John Lambert 

 H6 3

Company Trustees: Portraits of: Clifford T. Lewis, Jr 

 H6 4

Company Trustees: Portraits of: David Lewis 

 H6 5

Company Trustees: Portraits of: George W. Norris, M.D 

 H6 6

Company Trustees: Portraits of: William Fisher Norris, M.D 

 H6 7

Company Trustees: Portraits of: J. Dickson Sergeant 

 H6 8

Company Trustees: Portraits of: E.L. Stewardson, Esq 

 H6 9

Company Trustees: Portraits of: George E. Wagner 

 H6 10

Company Trustees: Portraits of: James D. Winsor, Jr 

 H6 11

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs January 14, 1931 

 H6 12

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs 1950 

 H6 13

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs 1959 

 H6 14

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs April 9, 1969 

 H6 15

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs December 8, 1971 

 H6 16

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs May 14, 1975 

 H6 17

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs December 15, 1976 

 H6 18

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs December 21, 1979 

 H6 19

Board of Trustees-Group Photographs November 11, 1981 

 H6 20

Company Trustees & Employees: Year End Celebration at the Downtown Club undated 

 H7 1

Company Trustees & Employees: Halloween 1992, undated 

 H7 2

Company Trustees & Employees: Conrad Choynacky Retirement (Last "in-house" Company Surveyor) undated 

 H7 3

Company Trustees & Employees: Picnic at Brandywine Park 1991 

 H7 5

Company Trustees & Employees: Trustees Dinner undated 

 H7 6

Company Trustees & Employees: Trustees Dinner undated 

 H7 7

Company Trustees & Employees: Last Annual Meeting at 240 S. 4th St 1988 

 H7 8

Company Trustees & Employees: United Way Drive 1991 

 H7 9

Company Trustees & Employees: Holiday Party and Halloween 1990 

 H7 10

Company Trustees & Employees: Brundaye (?) Retirement Dinner undated 

 H7 11

Company Trustees & Employees: Rose Garden Picnic 1990 

 H7 12

Company Trustees & Employees: Personnel, Officers & Trustees undated 

 H7 13

Company Trustees & Employees: Slides for Employee Orientation Video 1991 

 H7 14

Company Trustees & Employees: Office Staff circa 1915 

 H7 15
Box

"Framing the Board" Exhibit: Board Room Photographs used in the exhibit "Framing the Board" 

 H8
Box Folder

Fire Related Photographs: Demonstration of the American Federation of Insurance Agents 1932 

 H9 1

Fire Related Photographs: Linden T. Harris Collection of Fire Marks and the Wanamaker's Fire undated 

 H9 2

Fire Related Photographs: Display during Fire Prevention Week October 8, 1944 

 H9 3

Fire Related Photographs: Philadelphia Fire Department Demonstrations undated 

 H9 4

Fire Related Photographs: Sharpless pastel of Clarkson's "The Great Conflagaration, July 9, 1850" undated 

 H9 5

Fire Related Photographs: "The Great Explosion in New York" February 4, 1850 

 H9 6

Fire Related Photographs: "View of the Great Fire at Oswego" July 30, 1850 

 H9 7

Fire Related Photographs: "The Great Fire of the City of New York" December 16, 1853 

 H9 8

Fire Related Photographs: Fire Mark No. 1 of The Mutual Assurance Company undated 

 H9 9
Box

238 & 240 S. 4th Street: Interior and exterior views of the dwellings before and after renovations 

 H10
Box Folder

238 & 240 S. 4th Street: Interior and exterior views of the dwellings before and after renovations undated 

 H11 1

Photographs appearing in volume one of The Architectural Survey 1784-1794 

 H11 2

Supporting photographic evidence for trademark litigation undated 

 H11 3

Deed of Settlement undated 

 H11 4

Advertisement for the Insurance Society's Career Opportunity program undated 

 H11 5

Unidentified street scenes undated 

 H11 6

Photograph of Rembrandt Peale's portrait of George Washington undated 

 H11 7

Unidentified man undated 

 H11 8

Unidentified man undated 

 H11 9

Interior and exterior views of The Mutual Company offices at 414 Walnut Street undated 

 H11 10

Exterior views of The Mutual Company office at 526 Walnut Street undated 

 H11 11

Interior views of The Mutual Company offices circa 1930 

 H11 12

Oversized Prints & Photos: Clifford Lewis undated 

 H12 1

Oversized Prints & Photos: David Lewis undated 

 H12 2

Oversized Prints & Photos: J. Sergeant undated 

 H12 3

Oversized Prints & Photos: William D. Winsor undated 

 H12 4

Oversized Prints & Photos: Unidentified man undated 

 H12 5

Oversized Prints & Photos: Charcoal sketch of an unidentified man undated 

 H12 6

Oversized Prints & Photos: Board of Trustees January 14, 1931 

 H12 7

Oversized Prints & Photos: Unidentified group of men undated 

 H12 8

Oversized Prints & Photos: Two Green Tree advertisements with company employees undated 

 H12 9

Oversized Prints & Photos: Three Green Tree print advertisements undated 

 H12 10

Oversized Prints & Photos: Watercolor of the Second Bank of the U.S. - Acknowledgements from the Framing the Board show undated 

 H12 11

Oversized Prints & Photos: Photographs of various Henry B. McIntire drawings undated 

 H12 12

Oversized Prints & Photos: McCarrick drawings undated 

 H12 13

Oversized Prints & Photos: Archibald McCall mansion by Frank H. Taylor undated 

 H12 14

Oversized Prints & Photos: Reproductions of prints "The Cross Roads: Philadelphia A.D. 1784" and "The Risque attending Trees." Philadelphia A.D. 1784 undated 

 H12 15

Oversized Photographs: Archibald McCall Mansion undated 

 H13 1

Oversized Photographs: 232-234 S. Third St undated 

 H13 2

Oversized Photographs: 232-234 S. Third St undated 

 H13 3

Oversized Photographs: Front Door of 240 S. Fourth St undated 

 H13 4

Oversized Photographs: American Philosophical Society, Policy #7616 undated 

 H13 5

Oversized Photographs: Carpenter's Hall, Policy #9207 undated 

 H13 6

Oversized Photographs: Chew House, Policy #12621 undated 

 H13 7

Oversized Photographs: Christ Church, Policy #8950 undated 

 H13 8

Oversized Photographs: Free Quaker Meetinghouse undated 

 H13 9

Oversized Photographs: Friend's Meetinghouse, Policy #7843 undated 

 H13 10

Oversized Photographs: Morris House (225-227 S. Eighth St.), Policy #9316 undated 

 H13 11

Oversized Photographs: Morris House (5442 Germantown Ave.). Policy # 7329 undated 

 H13 12

Oversized Photographs: Morris House (5442 Germantown Ave.). Policy # 7329 undated 

 H13 13

Oversized Photographs: Pennsylvania Hospital, Policy #4213 undated 

 H13 14

Oversized Photographs: St. Peter's Church undated 

 H13 15

Oversized Photographs: St. Peter's Church undated 

 H13 16

Oversized Photographs: Stansfield Playground undated 

 H13 17

Oversized Photographs: Wakefield undated 

 H13 18

Oversized Photographs: Wentworth, Policy #9001 undated 

 H13 19

Oversized Photographs: Wistar House (Grumblethorpe) undated 

 H13 20

Oversized Photographs: Wyck House, Policy #12911 undated 

 H13 21

Oversized Miscellaneous: Maps of Girard and Camac/Markoe properties in North Philadelphia undated 

 H14 1

Oversized Miscellaneous: Photocopies of a letter from C.W. Peale to J. Muir January 27, 1804. 

 H14 2

Oversized Miscellaneous: Copies of maps of Philadelphia, 1796 and Hartsfield Tract and Gahanna, Ohio 1796 and undated 

 H14 3

Miscellaneous 

Scope and Contents note

This section contains samples of miscellaneous advertising materials, policy holders Christmas card communication material, Law & Charter information, Sanborn maps, recently cancelled policies and surveys (1983-1996), oversized graphics and newspapers.

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Additional material 

Scope and Contents note

These papers and volumes were omitted from the original finding aid but were later appended.

Printed annual reports of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Pennsylvania [74 volumes] 1874-1969 

Printed annual reports of the Fire Insurance Patrol [14 volumes] 1874-1912 

Journal of Sarah Logan Wister 1862-1878 

Cyclopedia of Insurance [4 volumes] 

Atlases 

Inventory

All these atlases can be found in HSP's Discover online catalog and most can be paged as part of this collection. Call numbers for some volumes that were listed but not linked to the Mutual Assurance collection are included. Atlases with an asterisk (*) were annotaed by the company.

*Property Atlas: Main Line Pennsylvania Railroad from Overbrook to Paoli, Bromley 1926.

Property Atlas, Main Line, Pennsylvania Railroad from Overbrook to Paoli, A. H. Mueller, 1908.

Fire Zone Maps, corrected to 1932. (annotated, but no policy numbers)

*North Penn Atlas ( Montgomery County) A. H. Mueller, 1916.

Property Atlas of Cheltenham, Abington, Springfield... A. H. Mueller, 1909. (call number 0 .672)

Map of Delaware County; Franklin Survey Company.

Atlas of Cheltenham, Abington & Springfield Townships, Montgomery County, A. H. Mueller, 1897.

Map of Philadelphia & Camden, C. S. Wertsner, 1931.

Atlas of Philadelphia & Its Environs, 1877, Hopkins. (call number O .725)

City Atlas of Philadelphia, 23rd Ward, v. 3, 1876, Hopkins.

Atlas of 22nd Ward, Philadelphia, Hopkins, 1885.

City Atlas of Philadelphia, Hopkins, volume 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. c. 1875-1876.

Atlas of West Philadelphia, G. M. Hopkins.

Atlas of Delaware County, G. M. Hopkins, 1870. (call number O. 64 FOLIO)

Atlas of Montgomery County, G. M. Hopkins, 1871.

Atlas of Properties along Pennsylvania RailRoad from City Line to Malvern, Hopkins, 1881.

*Atlas of Chester County, vol. 1, Franklin Survey Company, 1933.

Property Atlas, Main Line from Overbrook to Paoli, A. H. Mueller, 1920.

Atlas of Properties along the Pennsylvania RaIl Road from Overbrook to Malvern, J. L. Smith, 1887.

Main Line Atlas, Franklin Survey Co, 1937. (call number O .63592)

*Atlas of Delaware County, v. 1, Frank H. Klinge, 1929.

*Atlas of Montgomery County, vol. D, Franklin Survey Company, 1938.

*Atlas of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, vol. 2E, Sanborn, 1922.

*Property Atlas of Montgomery County, Franklin Survey Company, 1949.

*Insurance Maps of Delaware County, v. 3, Sanborn, 1925. (call number S PADE3)

Atlas of Chester County, A.R. Witmer, 1873.

Baist's Atlas of Properties along North Pennsylvania, Bound Brook and Pennsylvania RailRoad, 1891. (call number O .63595)

Revision of Street Names; Baist's Property Atlas of City and County of Philadelphia; 1895.

Atlas of Properties on Main Line Pennsylvania RailRoad; Overbrook to Paoli, Mueller, 1913.
Box Box Box Box

Unprocessed archival materials 

 A04 A09 A05 A14

Assorted cancelled policies and survey photographs 

Cancelled policy and survey files 

Locater cards for policies, alphabetical listing of 20th century policy holders, policy history index, index of historical events 

Restrictions

Access to alphabetical listing of 20th century policy holders is restricted.

Newspapers 

Inventory

The Independent Gazetteer -- August 21, 1784

New York Evening Post -- March 18, 1803

General Advertiser -- March 1, 1794; October 4, 1794

American Messenger -- August 16, 1837

The Philadelphia Inquirer -- October 27, 1862

United States Gazette -- October 6, 1815

Poulson's American Daily Advertiser -- April 18, 1801; October 3, 1801; October 7, 1801; March 20, 1801; September 29, 1804; January 8, 1806

Aurora -- April, 1804

The Pennsylvania Packet -- September 16, 1785; September 26, 1785; September 28, 1785; October 3, 1787; October 1, 1788; November 15, 1785; March 3, 1786; April 11, 1786; September 24, 1788

Philadelphia Mercantile Advertiser -- November 28, 182_

Pennsylvania Journal -- March 5, 1785

Atkinson's Saturday Evening Post -- September 24, 1831

The Philadelphia Inquirer, special report on Our Founding Fathers -- October 16, 1967; October 24, 1967

The Wall Street Journal -- December 22, 1967, article on The Green Tree and The Philadelphia Contributionship

Life -- June 24, 1886; June 26, 1892; May 26, 1892; October, 1893 calendar; March 9, 1893; March 25, 1897

Harper's Weekly -- August 17, 1861

Every Saturday -- October 1, 1871; June 24, 1871

The Country Gentleman -- July 1, 1880; April 22, 1880; April 29, 1880

Miscellaneous clippings

Miscellaneous newspapers, c. 1929 used as padding found when unframing prints

Oversized papers, prints, and miscellaneous items 
Oversize

Certificate of recognition for Henry M. Watts Jr. (handpainted) 

 1

Miscellaneous colored prints by W. Howard 

 2

Society Hill layout 

 3

Ink drawing of Shippen and Cadwalader houses 

 4

Lobby elevations - 414 Walnut St.; Basement plan of Shippen and Cadwalader houses 

 5

Georgina Yeatman, 1936 Garden Plans - 240 S. Fourth St. 

 6

Block Plans Market - Chestnut, Third to Fourth 

 7

Lobby and 10th floor plans for 414 Walnut St.; Amenta drawings for 1970s renovations of 240 S. Fourth St. 

 8

Neagle Portrait of Daniel Smith - poor condition, much paint loss 

 9

Policy Analysis 1930s and 1940s 

 10

Early Stock Company policy information 

 11
Oversize Oversize

Photostats of newspaper articles used by Clifford Lewis in research 

 12b 12a
Oversize

Original TV script for commercial 

 13

Mechanicals for Coloring Book 

 14

Art work for Fire mark #1 

 15

Saxon art work for Green Tree ad 

 16

Tissue artwork for stationery designs 

 17

"Framing the Board" posters 

 18

Mechanical boards for 1st volume of surveys 

 19

4th Liberty Loan banner 

 20

Miscellaneous promotional pieces 

 21
Oversize Oversize

Two views of proposed lobby alterations – 414 Walnut Street before original brass doors were found 

 22 23
Oversize

Large photograph of an unidentified man 

 24

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