Robert College records, 1858-2018

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Series X: Financial Records

This series spans the years from the 1860s to the 1940s. A sizable portion of the early records concern the expenses of constructing buildings on the Bebek campus. There are financial statements for the 1870s prepared by George Washburn in his capacity as treasurer and an 1899 list of securities held by the trustees on behalf of the College. In many instances there is correspondence that refers to financial matters.

As the College grew the records became more elaborate, encompassing such subjects as beneficiary funds, procedures for aiding needy students and financing operations under the stringencies imposed by World Wars I and II. There is an incomplete series of minutes of the finance committee of the trustees for the early 1930s and early 1940s.

Relations between the College and the Turkish government became strained during the 1930s with the enactment of the Minimum Profits Tax. This law treated colleges as though they were commercial enterprises and thus was a source of concern to RC administrators. There are extensive reports of conferences with tax officials over the application of the tax to educational institutions. Much of the correspondence in this series relates to the availability of supplies and the cost of transporting them to Turkey from the United States.

There are several printed pamphlets and broadsides designed for fundraising that describe the College, provide some historical background and discuss the institution's financial needs in order fulfill its mission. These materials range in date from 1873 to 1919.



Box 45 Folder 1-4 Financial statements and invoices, 1860s-1890s


Box 45 Folder 5 Financial, miscellaneous, [undated]


Box 45 Folder 6 Washburn bank book, 1869-1876


Box 45 Folder 7-8 Financial statements prepared by Washburn, treasurer, 1871-1872


Box 45 Folder 9 Edward Ede to Washburn, itemized account, 1874-1877


Box 45 Folder 10 Financial statements and correspondence re Washburn, 1886-1889


Box 45 Folder 11 Financial statements of the president and trustees, 1897-1898


Box 45 Folder 12 Securities held by the trustees, 1899


Box 45 Folder 13-14 Financial documents, miscellaneous, 1800s


Box 45 Folder 15-16 Construction of buildings, financial statements, 1904-1907


Box 45 Folder 17 Correspondence to Gates from A.D.Hamlin re construction of buildings,, 1910



Box 46 Folder 18-20 Finance Committee Minutes, 1932-1942


Box 46 Folder 21-23 Correspondence pertaining to Beneficiary Funds, 1880-1933


Box 46 Folder 24 Correspondence to Wright re investments, sale of property, 1939-1942

(includes letters from Schieffelin)


Box 46 Folder 25 Correspondence from Wright to Trustees re financial situation of the college,, 1939-1943


Box 46 Folder 26 Correspondence re buildings and Minimum Profits Tax, 1931-1936


Box 46 Folder 27-28 Correspondence re the Minimum Profits Tax, 1935-1944


Box 46 Folder 29 War claims and shipments during World War I, 1914-1921


Box 46 Folder 30 Report on construction at RC for 1913-1914 and Report of the Boarding Department, 1914, 1913-1914, 1914


Box 46 Folder 31 Report of the Boarding Department Memo re gifts tax, 1930



Box 47 Folder 32 Treasurer's Reports, Samuel Anderson, 1913-1914


Box 47 Folder 33 Correspondence Washburn/Anderson, 1913-1914


Box 47 Folder 34 Correspondence to Anderson from A.T. Schauffler, 1915


Box 47 Folder 35 Correspondence to Schauffler from Anderson, 1915


Box 47 Folder 36 Correspondence to Anderson from Staub, 1919


Box 47 Folder 37 Correspondence to Anderson from Gates, 1920


Box 47 Folder 38 Correspondence to Gates from Anderson, 1920


Box 47 Folder 39 Correspondence to Anderson from Staub, 1920-1921


Box 47 Folder 40 Budget from Finance Committee, 1920


Box 47 Folder 41-43 Correspondence Anderson/Cleveland Dodge, 1914-1919


Box 47 Folder 44 Dodge, financial statements, 1917-1919


Box 47 Folder 45-46 Annual Reports of the Bursar, 1918-1941


Box 47 Folder 47 Correspondence to Staub from Herman Kreider, 1943


Box 47 Folder 48 Correspondence Black/Kreider, 1946-1948


Box 47 Folder 49-51 Correspondence from Kreider to the NY Office, 1942-1948