Harry Byers Fisheries records

The heart of the collection lies in the financial documents of Harry Byers Fisheries of Port Clinton, Ohio. These documents cover the years 1937-1941 and include business ledgers, bills for fishing supplies and equipment, and invoices for fish delivered. These documents provide an excellent source to the researcher interested in the financial status of the company, the profitability of such a company during this era, as well as the types and availability of fish in Lake Erie. Also significant in the collection are reports and legal documents concerning the company. These include, primarily, monthly reports for April and May of 1940 and 1941 of the number and kinds of fish caught by the company. The legal documents include fishing licenses, trailer registration cards, a sheet detailing the rules and regulations of fishing in Lake Erie, assignment authority, and a sheriff's deed. These documents are significant for the information they provide concerning the legal requirements of fishing in the region, the success of fishing in the region, and the restrictions regulating the fishing industry during this period.

Also included in the collection is a minimal amount of correspondence, a member list of a battalion of the Army Signal Corps. during World War I, and a book on the history of Scottish Rite. The most important of these, the correspondence, includes letters and telegrams from Harry Byers Fisheries to T.W. Mitchell Company, Inc. concerning shipments and sales of fish.