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Moran Brothers Company records, 1889-1900

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Moran Brothers Company (Seattle, Wash.)
Title
Moran Brothers Company records
Dates
1889-1900 (inclusive)
Quantity
6 cubic feet
Collection Number
4827 (Accession No. 4827-001)
Summary
Records of a Seattle shipbuilding firm.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

The papers are open to all users.

The papers are stored offsite; advance notice is required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

Robert Moran was born on January 26, 1857 in New York City to Edward and Jean Dear (Boyack) Moran. He left school at the age of fourteen to acquire training as a machinist. In 1875, he migrated to the Pacific Coast, going first to San Francisco. He moved to Seattle in November of that year and was employed as a steamboat engineer in the regions of Puget Sound, British Columbia, and Alaska.

Other members of the family followed Moran to Seattle, and in 1882 he and his brothers, Peter and William, opened a small machine shop on Yesler Wharf with an initial capital of $1,500. When business expanded, the firm moved into new quarters at Western Avenue. This factory was worth about $40,000 when the Seattle fire of June 6, 1889 swept it away. A temporary plant reopened for business on Charles Street on June 16, 1889.

The Moran Brothers Company was organized on December 19, 1889 with capital stock of $250,000. Its officers included Robert Moran as president, secretary and treasurer, while Peter Moran acted as vice-president. William had retired previous to the reorganization.

Soon after moving the shops to the Charles Street factory, Moran Brothers Company opened a salesroom at their old location under the new name of Moran Brothers & Durie. When Durie dropped out of the firm a few years later, it became the Moran Supply Company, dealing in machinists' and engineering supplies.

The Morans were large stockholders in the Seattle Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company, a shipyard and marine railway which adjoined the Moran Brothers foundry and machine shops. Robert Moran served as vice-president and manager of the Seattle Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company. By 1890-1891, the company had completed a well equipped dry dock, enabling it to bid on and receive federal contracts later.

In March of 1906, Moran Brothers Company was sold. The new owners reorganized the business under the name of the Moran Company; in 1912 it became the Seattle Construction & Dry Dock Company.

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Content Description

Correspondence, invoices, advertisements, and specifications of this Seattle shipbuilding firm, 1889-1900.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in three series:

  • Incoming correspondence
  • Outgoing correspondence
  • Other materials

Acquisition Information

Gift of Betty Burns, Robert Moran's granddaughter, July 1993.

Processing Note

The collection is partially processed.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Businessmen--Washington (State)--Seattle--Archives
  • Marine engineering--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Shipbuilding industry--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Shipbuilding--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Shipyards--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Moran, Robert, 1857-1943

Corporate Names

  • Moran Brothers Company (Seattle, Wash.)--Archives
  • Schwabacher Bros. & Company (Seattle, Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • advertisements
  • correspondence
  • ephemera
  • invoices
  • specifications

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)


2007 (Last modified: 4/17/2018)

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