Syndicate records of the Morgan financial firms, 1882–1933

This digital resource provides access to a series of fifteen record books that document every syndicate that Drexel, Morgan & Co. and its successor firm J. P. Morgan & Co. formed or participated in from 1882 to 1933. These ledger books are an important primary source record of American economic history from the late nineteenth century to the interwar period. They contain detailed financial information related to such key developments as the consolidation of the American railroad industry, the creation of firms such as the Edison Electric Light Company and the United States Steel Corporation, and the 1915 Anglo-French loan to the Western Allies.

The Morgan firms
J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) was a founding partner of several firms, the earliest of which were J. Pierpont Morgan & Co. (established with James Goodwin in September 1862; dissolved 15 November 1864 and bearing no relationship to the later firm J.P. Morgan & Co.) and Dabney, Morgan & Co. (established with Charles Henry Dabney on 15 November 1864; dissolved July 1871). On 1 July 1871, J. Pierpont Morgan and Anthony Drexel (1826–1893) founded Drexel, Morgan & Co. in New York. In 1895, two years after Drexel’s death, the firm was reorganized as J.P. Morgan & Co. In 1935, several senior partners of J.P. Morgan & Co. formed the firm Morgan Stanley & Co. after the Banking Act of 1933 (the Glass-Steagall Act) required the separation of commercial and investment banking. J.P. Morgan & Co. remained an independent firm until 2000, when it merged with the Chase Manhattan Corporation, creating what is now JPMorgan Chase & Co.

How to use this resource
The identifiers ARC 105–119 are the accession numbers assigned to the syndicate record books. The first three volumes (ARC 105–108) document the deals of Drexel, Morgan & Co. and the remaining twelve volumes (ARC 109–118) document those of J.P. Morgan & Co.

Each ledger book begins with a handwritten index followed by numbered blank pages that were filled in by hand over time by bankers and clerks at the financial firms. Supplemental items such as correspondence, stock certificates, prospectuses, agreements, and bond listings were inserted between the handwritten pages. The entries within the books accessioned as ARC 108–117 are indexed and can be viewed here or searched for company names, dates, or other topics of interest. Entries within ARC 105–107 and 118–119 have not yet been indexed, but digital images of those volumes are available below.

Credits
Introduction by Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, with contributions by Virginia Pastor of JPMorgan Chase, 2021.

Drexel, Morgan & Co.

ARC 105: Drexel, Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 1, 1882–88
pp. 1–144 (100.6 MB)	pp. 145–250 (91.5 MB)	pp. 251–303 (39.1 MB)
ARC 106: : Drexel, Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 2, 1888–90
pp. 1–88 (124.4 MB)	pp. 89–206 (122.4 MB)	pp. 207–303 (131.8 MB)
ARC 107: Drexel, Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 3, 1890–92
pp. 1–136 (96.2 MB)	pp. 137–248 (94.2 MB)	pp. 249–311 (48.9 MB)

J. P. Morgan & Co.

ARC 108: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 1, 1895–99
pp. 1–86 (123 MB)	pp. 87–178 (120 MB)	pp. 179–286 (120 MB)	pp. 287–301 (17.9 MB)
ARC 109: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 2, 1898–1901
pp. 1–50 (133 MB)	pp. 51–128 (126 MB)	pp. 129–188 (127 MB)	pp. 189–257 (155 MB)
ARC 110: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 3, 1900–04
pp. 1–48 (92.6 MB)	pp. 49–108 (105 MB)	pp. 109–180 (105.5 MB)	pp. 181–265 (86 MB)
ARC 111: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 4, 1906–07
pp. 1–72 (140 MB)	pp. 73–140 (132 MB)	pp. 141–188 (139 MB)	pp. 189–227 (72 MB)
ARC 112: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 5, 1907–10
pp. 1–62 (140 MB)	pp. 63–114 (132 MB)	pp. 115–168 (139 MB)	pp. 169–201 (72 MB)
ARC 113: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 6, 1910–11
pp. 1–50 (138.7 MB)	pp. 51–132 (132 MB)	pp. 133–190 (134.5 MB)	pp. 191–198 (19.5 MB)
ARC 114: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 7, 1911–14
pp. 1–54 (89.7 MB)	pp. 55–120 (91.5 MB)	pp. 121–176 (81.8 MB)	pp. 177–202 (41.8 MB)
ARC 115: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 8, 1914–17
pp. 1–56 (135.7 MB)	pp. 57–116 (138.6 MB)	pp. 117–182 (127.6 MB)	pp. 183–226 (73 MB)
ARC 116: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 9, 1917–20
pp. 1–64 (111 MB)	pp. 65–136 (126 MB)	pp. 137–188 (130.6 MB)	pp. 189–226 (78 MB)
ARC 117: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 10, 1916–25
pp. 1–70 (92 MB)	pp. 71–148 (104 MB)	pp. 149–218 (110 MB)	pp. 219–226 (9 MB)
ARC 118: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 11, 1924–29
pp. 1–74 (127.5 MB)	pp. 75–174 (130.5 MB)	pp. 175–226 (41.5 MB)
ARC 119: J. P. Morgan & Co., Syndicate records, vol. 12, 1930–35
pp. 1–80 (119 MB)	pp. 81–201 (107 MB)