F. Neely and Sons Garage was originally a livery business located at 123 4th St. in downtown Moscow. The livery later had horse drawn carriages, providing the first cab service in town. As automobiles became more numerous and popular, Frank Neely and his sons (Malcolm and Albert) established a Studebaker dealership. The garage was built in the late 1920s at the old livery site.
Frank Neely retired in the early 1940s and passed away in 1947. His son Malcolm became the sole owner of the garage. Malcolm continued the Studebaker dealership until 1966, and then sold Chrysler/Plymouths until 1968. He continued to sell Studebaker parts out of his home after his retirement. Malcolm died in 1987. His brother, Albert Neely, left the garage business when his father Frank retired, starting Neely's Travel Agency, which is still a family-owned business today. Albert died in 1980.
The records of F. Neely and Sons Garage span the years 1931 to 1984, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1931 to 1968.
Included in the records are financial statements, lists of accounts, payroll and social security records, Studebaker accounting manuals, and inventory stock records.
The business records for F. Neely and Sons Garage are mainly in ledger form with the exception of employee social security records that were removed from a notebook and placed into an acid-free folder. Two series, financial and employees were established in order to separate the record group for research purposes. Bank statements and cancelled checks were discarded from the collection. This reduced the records by .5 cubic feet.
Portions restricted until 2018.
Malcolm Neely donated the records of F. Neely and Sons Garage to the University of Idaho Library in April 1994.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Access restricted until 2018.