| | Manuscript Collection | Save | | 41 | Title: | Boddie Recording Company Records
| | | | Creator: | Boddie Recording Company | | | | Dates: | 1952-1991 | | | | Abstract: | The Boddie Recording Company (1958-1993) was the first recording studio in Cleveland, Ohio, owned by African-Americans. Thomas Boddie (d. 2006) created all his recording equipment by hand rather than purchasing pre-made machines, and he pressed his own vinyl records. This allowed him to hold down costs, thus attracting a wide range of clientele in need of demonstration records and small runs of 45 rpm records. His clientele included musicians of various styles, including gospel, country, bluegrass, rock, soul, and rhythm and blues, earning the studio the nickname of "Little Nashville". Records were made for national distribution as well as for independent groups and artists who only wished to have their music recorded for personal use or local distribution, such as recordings of sermons for church groups, with Boddie creating small, independent record labels for the purpose. Thomas Boddie began his interest in sound systems and recordings as a teenager in his home on Kinsman Ave. in Cleveland in the 1940s. Though talented and educated in the fields of sound and electrical engineering, he had difficulty finding work due to his race. He first found employment as an organ repairman, then at Wright-Patterson Air Base. After serving in the army during World War II, Boddie returned to Cleveland and began building the pieces of what would eventually become a full-fledged recording studio, designing and modifying equipment while working as a repairman. The studio survived through small business loans, Thomas's ability to save money through hard work and perseverance, and the consistent assistance of his wife Louise. He and his wife laid the concrete themselves for an addition to their house to form a record pressing plant, and he built an 8-track recording machine for about 15% of the cost of a new one. The Boddies traveled to various locations with their equipment to record groups and individuals on-site, quickly making multiple cassette recordings to sell after the event. When he discovered true potential talent, he would send recordings to Motown, where the artist had a better chance of becoming known, as the Boddie Recording Company did not have the sponsorship of large advertisers that Motown had. Thomas Boddie died in 2006. In 2009, the Numero Group purchased the large number of recordings made at the Boddie Recording Company, with many of the recordings scheduled to be released in late 2011. The collection consists of advertisements, booklets, business cards, contracts, correspondence, flyers, legal documents, miscellaneous notes, newspaper clippings, programs, receipts, sample 45rpm record designs, schematics, and transparencies. | | | | Call #: | MS 5090 | | | | Extent: | 2.00 linear feet (2 containers) | | | | Subjects: | Boddie, Thomas, d. 2006 | Boddie, Louise | Boddie Recording Co. (Cleveland, Ohio) | Sound recording industry -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Sound studios -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Business enterprises -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African American business enterprises -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Music. | Soul music -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Rhythm and blues music -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Gospel music -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Rock music -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Country music -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Bluegrass music -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
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| Manuscript Collection | Save | | 42 | Title: | McGorray Brothers Funeral Home Records, Series II
| | | | Creator: | McGorray Brothers Funeral Home | | | | Dates: | 1935-1936 | | | | Abstract: | The McGorray Brothers Funeral Home was founded by Mark McGorray in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1873, as the McGorray Funeral Home. The name was changed to McGorray Brothers Funeral Home after the death of Mark McGorray in 1891, when two of his sons, James W. McGorray and Joseph McGorray, took over the business. Mark McGorray was an Irish immigrant, coming to the United States in 1844. He and his family settled in Cleveland in 1864. McGorray Brothers Funeral Home became a prominent Irish Catholic funeral home, and was located first on the west side of Cleveland, and by 1922, in Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland. James W. McGorray II took over the business ca. 1919. His son, James W. McGorray III, assumed leadership of the business on the death of his father in 1968. He served as President until his death in 1994, when he was succeeded by his daughter and current president, Mary Susan McGorray. The collection consists of a funeral account record book. | | | | Call #: | MS 5128 | | | | Extent: | 0.40 linear feet (1 container) | | | | Subjects: | McGorray Brothers Funeral Home. | Funeral homes -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Funeral homes -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Undertakers and undertaking -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Undertakers and undertaking -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Genealogy. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Lakewood -- Genealogy. | Registers of births, etc. -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Registers of births, etc. -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Business enterprises -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Business enterprises -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Genealogy. | Lakewood (Ohio) -- Genealogy.
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| Manuscript Collection | Save | | 43 | Title: | Western Reserve Manuscripts (Western Reserve Historical Society Manuscript Vertical File)
| | | | Creator: | Various | | | | Dates: | 1636-1991 | | | | Abstract: | The Western Reserve Manuscripts is a collection of small manuscript accessions that have been donated to the Western Reserve Historical Society since its founding in 1867. These manuscripts often consist of one document but can include multiple items contained in one folder. This collection of material documents numerous subjects and themes in the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and the region of northeast Ohio known as the Western Reserve. The collection consists of advertisements, agreements, applications, articles, autobiographies, autograph books and autographs, biographical sketches, certificates, correspondence, deeds, diaries, drawings, envelopes, genealogies, histories, indentures, invoices, letters, lists, manuscripts, memoranda, newspaper clippings, notes, papers, photographs, poems, receipts, reports, scripts, speech transcripts, telegrams, and other material. Western Reserve Historical Society library staff began to describe these manuscripts in this finding aid in 2015. This is an ongoing project that will be updated for public access as the project progresses in real time. | | | | Call #: | MS 5362 | | | | Extent: | 27.80 linear feet (29 containers) | | | | Subjects: | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- History. | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- Surveys. | Pioneers -- Ohio -- Western Reserve. | Real property -- Ohio -- Western Reserve. | Surveyors -- Ohio -- Western Reserve. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- History. | Connecticut Land Company. | Jews -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Genealogy. | Women -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- History. | Business enterprises -- Ohio -- Cleveland | United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources. | Slavery -- United States -- History -- Sources. | United States -- History -- 19th century. | United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- 19th century. | Temperance -- Ohio -- Societies, etc. | Antislavery movements -- Ohio.
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| Manuscript Collection | Save | | 44 | Title: | McGorray Brothers Funeral Home Records
| | | | Creator: | McGorray Brothers Funeral Home | | | | Dates: | 1876-1935 | | | | Abstract: | The McGorray Brothers Funeral Home was founded by Mark McGorray in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1873, as the McGorray Funeral Home. The name was changed to McGorray Brothers Funeral Home after the death of Mark McGorray in 1891, when two of his sons, James W. McGorray and Joseph McGorray, took over the business. Mark McGorray was an Irish immigrant, coming to the United States in 1844. He and his family settled in Cleveland in 1864. McGorray Brothers Funeral Home became a prominent Irish Catholic funeral home, and was located first on the west side of Cleveland, and by 1922, in Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland. James W. McGorray II took over the business ca. 1919. His son, James W. McGorray III, assumed leadership of the business on the death of his father in 1968. He served as President until his death in 1994, when he was succeeded by his daughter and current president, Mary Susan McGorray. The collection consists of funeral account ledgers, funeral record books, inventory records, carriage and coach ledgers, correspondence, death certificates, burial permits, and other receipts. This collection provides the genealogical researcher with much information, particularly those interested in Irish Catholic family history of Cleveland, Ohio. The funeral account ledgers provide the name of the deceased, name the account is being billed to, date of death, and date and location of burial. The majority of these ledgers contain an alphabetized index of names. The funeral record books include the name of the deceased, date of death, age, sex, cause of death, residence of the deceased, place of burial, name the account is being billed to (often next of kin), that person's address, and the attending physician and his address. Also contained in these volumes are receipts, burial permits, and death certificates for individuals. The collection also contains business records, including carriage, coach, and inventory volumes, detailing the funeral home business of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. click here to view the searchable index to the burial records contained in this collection | | | | Call #: | MS 4805 | | | | Extent: | 5.40 linear feet (14 containers) | | | | Subjects: | McGorray, Mark, 1829-1891. | McGorray, James W., d. 1919. | McGorray, Joseph, d. 1910. | McGorray, James W. II, 1892-1968. | McGorray, James W. III, 1923-1994. | McGorray, Mary Susan, 1957- | McGorray Brothers Funeral Home. | Funeral homes -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Funeral homes -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Undertakers and undertaking -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Undertakers and undertaking -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Genealogy. | Irish Americans -- Ohio -- Lakewood -- Genealogy. | Registers of births, etc. -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Registers of births, etc. -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Lakewood (Ohio) -- Genealogy. | Business enterprises -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Business enterprises -- Ohio -- Lakewood. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Genealogy.
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