D. L. Murray to Charles W. Chesnutt, 1 October 1921
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THE JAMES AND MANCHESTER CO.
INSURANCE
LEADER—NEWS BUILDING
CLEVELAND1
October 1st, 1921.
Charles W.Chestnutt
1105 Williamson Bldg.,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Sir:
We are enclosing renewal of insurance covering $5000 on dwelling at 9719 Lamont Ave.,2 for three years from October 20, 1921 to October, 20th, 1924.3
We trust you will find this in accordance with your wishes. If any change is desired at this time, or in the future, kindly advise us so that proper correction may be made.
Assuring you of our appreciation of your patronage, we remain,
Very truly yours, THE JAMES & MANCHESTER CO. By D. L. Murray North-2328676As this policy is made payable in case of loss to The Union Trust Co., we are delivering it to them as usual.4 You will find a carbon copy of the description of the property as it appears on the policy attached to the bill herewith enclosed.
THE JAMES & MANCHESTER CO.Correspondent: David Lester Murray (1888–1977) was a White insurance agent in charge of the fire insurance department at the James and Manchester Company, a general insurance company based in Cleveland, founded in 1907 by Walter J. James (1869–1948) and Harry R. Manchester (1866–1953) and from two separate Cleveland companies.
1. For readability, the remainder of the letterhead is not transcribed at the top of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. The letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: "MEMBER FIRE INSURANCE CLUB OF CLEVELAND WALTER J. JAMES H. R. MANCHESTER C. O. RANSOM WILL J. BEGGS FIRE DEPARTMENT D. L. MURRAY, MANAGER ENGINEERING AND RATING J. B. NICHOLSON, MANAGER CASUALTY DEPARTMENT O. G. STRONG, MANAGER AUTOMOBILE DEPARTMENT R. M. ROBERTS, MANAGER." [back]
2. After relocating to Cleveland in 1884, Chesnutt's family lived in a series of rental houses (on Wilcutt Avenue, Ashland Avenue, and Florence Street), and then built a home to Chesnutt's plans at 64 Brenton Street, where they lived from May 1889 until May 1904. At that time, he purchased the house at 9719 Lamont Avenue, which continued to be owned by the Chesnutt family after his death in 1932 (see Helen Chesnutt, Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Pioneer of the Color Line [Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1952], 37–39, 48 and 184–185). [back]
3. See also the letter from Arthur E. Lloyd on behalf of the Albert Rees Davis Company from September 28, 1921, regarding the insurance of the furniture at Chesnutt's 9719 Lamont Street home. Combined homeowners' insurance policies that covered both the exterior of the building and its furnishings, and a range of risks, did not exist until the 1950s. [back]
4. The Union Trust Company was the third-largest Cleveland bank trust, by 1920 a large nationwide bank following several mergers. In 1924, Chesnutt's company began renting offices in the brand-new Union Trust Building that housed the bank's headquarters. Many of his investments were also with Union Trust. After the stock market collapse in 1929, he had to service a $18,500 loan for which the collateral had been stock market shares that were now worthless; the company also held the mortgage for his home at 9719 Lamont St. and for at least one rental property he owned (11900–02 Superior Ave.). Union Trust survived the early years of the Depression, but was not allowed to reopen after another collapse of the Cleveland banks in February 1933. [back]
