Early in the nineteenth century, Worcester County, Massachusetts, became on the of the first regions in the state to experience rapid industrialization, and the small town of Spencer become a center for the manufacture of wire, boots, and shoes. The development of the shoe and boot industry began as a cottage industry in 1809 when the inauspicious Charles Watson produced a few dozen pairs for which he never received payment. In nearby Leicester, however, Josiah Green (1792-1876) and his brother Nathaniel found greater success when they began making shoes and boots in about 1811. Working from the garret of their mother’s house, 19 year-old Josiah began producing boots at $1.25 per pair. The scant profits he made from the sale of his boots in Boston encouraged him to continue, and the start of the War in 1812 added further impetus. In 1812, the brothers turned to Albany to market their goods, selling to military contractors at a profitable $2.25 per pair.

After dissolving his partnership with his brother at the end of the war, Josiah relocated to Spencer in 1816 or 1817, where he became the first of several large-scale manufacturers of shoes and boots. Early in his career, Green began to use pegging to attach heels and soles, producing a harder wearing product while driving down cost and increasing the rate of production. Widely known for the quality of his work, Green’s trade to the wholesale market grew rapidly, and by 1834, he erected a four story factory on the Boston Post Road, over which sat a sign reading “Josiah Green’s boot manufactory, established 1812.” Although Green was the largest of Spencer’s six major shoe- and boot-manufacturers in 1850, by the eve of the Civil War his firm had begun to lose market share to local competitors such Isaac Prouty, C. and G. Watson, and A.T. and E. Jones.

Green was married twice, first in 1816 to Tamer Watson (d.1820) and then to Sybil Underwood in 1821. In addition to two children by his first marriage, Josiah had eight children with Sybil. He continued in the boot trade until retiring in 1867, when his sons assumed control of the company. Green died on Dec. 28, 1876, and the company continued in operation into the twentieth century.

The records of Josiah Green and Co. document the growth and peak years of operation of one of the pioneers in high-volume manufacturers of boots in central Massachusetts. Although the account books and ledgers extend back into the 1820s, the bulk of the correspondence dates from 1889-1894, when Josiah’s sons operated the firm. Despite being sporadic and incomplete, the correspondence offers a glimpse into the manner in which Green’s business was conducted during a period when the firm sold to a wide network of wholesalers and jobbers in the northeast and Midwest. Most of the correspondence concerns placement or fulfillment of orders and issues over prices and payment. The four press copybooks in the collection contain outgoing letters for the years 1889-1892 and 1904-1905.

Series 2. Executive	1900-1941, 1951
Series 2 is comprised of annual reports, legal and property records, official documents, legal papers, correspondence, real estate transfers, foreclosures, blueprints, and insurance forms. Notable in this series are the drawings and diagrams of dandy rolls and property blueprints.

Series 3. Labor	1936-1960
Arrangement: Chronologically arranged. Scope and content: Divided into Master Labor files chronologically arranged and Labor Subject files, Series 3 comprises newspaper clippings, correspondence, labor agreements, contracts, and grievances. Material related to labor relations, union negotiation, and collective bargaining is notable in this series.

Series 4. Publications and Photographs	1919-1938
Pamphlets, publications, sales catalogs, and a postage stamp comprise Series 4. Of note are the “Eagle A” pamphlets that contain names, photographs, company history, and social events, and black and white photographs of paper mills and machinery.

Series 2. Executive	1900-1941, 1951
Annual report	1900-1941, 1951		Box 7:57-64
Legal and Property:
Agreement with George LaMonte	1909		Box 8:65
Application for NYSE List	n.d.		Box 8:66
Appraisal	1917-1940		Box 8:67-70
Authority of Transact Business, Ohio & Michigan	1899		Box 8:71-72
Bondholders	1923		Box 8:73
Certificate of Decrease in Capital Stock	1908		Box 8:74
Certificate of Reduction of Capital	1933-1934		Box 8:75
Closed Mills	1943-1949		Box 8:76
Crocker Mfg. Co.	1885-1895		Box 8:77-78
Crocker-McElwain	1907		Box 8:79
Deed Transfer-AWP Divisions	1899		Box 8:80-87
Deposit Agreement	1918		Box 8:88
Division Assessments	1909		Box 8:89
Division Descriptions	n.d.		Box 8:90-94
Foreclosure	1926		Box 8:95
Goodnow v. AWP	1905		Box 8:96
Incorporation Correspondence	1899-1903		Box 8:97
Increase of Capital Stock	1922		Box 8:98
Insurance	1899		Box 8:99
International Paper Co.	1898		Box 8:100
Issuance of Securities	1899		Box 8:101
Linden Dandy rolls	1951-1952		Box 9:102
McCorkindale Co.	1930-1952		Box 9:103
Mortgage	1899-1936		Box 9:104-107
Mortgage Bonds	1899		Box 9:108
Parson’s Paper Co.	1851-1929		Box 9:109
Plan of Capital Rearrangement	1903		Box 9:110
Plan of Capital Reduction	1904		Box 9:111
Plan of Reorganization	1936		Box 9:112
Real Estate-Divisions	1859-1953		Box 9:113-117
Real Estate-Divisions	1859-1953		Box 10:118-121
Receivership Indenture	1927		Box 10:122
Reorganization Agreement	1927		Box 10:123
Reorganization Report	1934		Box 10:124
Salaried Employees	1913		Box 10:125
Sales of Machinery	1950-1951		Box 10:126
Supplemented Mortgage	1930		Box 10:127
Trial Balance	1911-1915		Box 10:128-129
Trust Indenture	1927		Box 10:130
Voting Trust Agreement	1927		Box 10:131

Series 3. Labor	1936-1960
Arrangement: Chronologically arranged.
Master Labor Files	1937-1939		Box 11:132-139
Master Labor Files	1939-1941		Box 12:140-146
Master Labor Files	1942-1944		Box 13:147-152
Master Labor Files	1945-1948		Box 14:153-159
Master Labor Files	1949-1954		Box 15:160-167
Master Labor Files	1955-1960		Box 16:168-171
CIO Petition	1941		Box 17:172
CIO Raid	1951		Box 17:173
Conditions of Work	1920-1921		Box 17:174
Grievances	1939-1940		Box 17:175-76
Labor Laws	1939-1946		Box 17:177
Labor Relations Group formation	1939		Box 17:178
Overtime	1948-1958		Box 17:179
State Minimum Wage Law	1939-1948		Box 17:180
Wage and Hour Investigation	1944-1945		Box 18:181
Wage and Hour Law, Exemptions	1945-1956		Box 18:182
Wage and Hour Legislation	1938-1953		Box 18:183-89
Agreements	1938-1956		Box 19:190-200
Agreements	1957-1963		Box 20:201-205
Agreements Analysis	1940-1942		Box 20:206-207

Series 4. Publications and Photographs	1919-1938
Eagle A. Outing	1919-1920		Box 21:208
Eagle A. Unity	1918-1921		Box 21:209-210
Holyoke Postage Stamp	1938		Box 21:211
How Paper is Made	1935		Box 21:212
Paper Facts	n.d.		Box 21:213
Paper Mill Locations in Mass.	1938		Box 21:214
Parson’s Mercantile Record	n.d.		Box 21:215
Progressive Papers	1911		Box 21:216
Sales Catalogs	1919		Box 21:217
Trade Customs	1928		Box 21:218
Union Watermarked Papers	n.d.		Box 21:219
Photos	n.d.		Box 21:220