MS 404 - Edward A. DeAngelo Collection

MLA Citation

“MS 404 - Edward A. DeAngelo Collection.” Finding Aids. BGSU University Libraries, 20 Mar. 2014, lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/893. Accessed 21 May 2025.

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Title MS 404 - Edward A. DeAngelo Collection
Introduction

The Edward A. DeAngelo Collection dates from 1931 to 1977. The collection documents his terms as City Council member and Safety Director, Toledo, Ohio. Included in the collection are scrapbooks, police files, photographs, personal correspondence, and a few personal items.

This collection was donated to the Center for Archival Collections in October 1986 with the cooperation of Mr. DeAngelo's daughter, Mrs. Delores Schultz. No restrictions exist on the research use of this collection, and duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and scholarly research. The collection was processed and register drafted by Lisa Priolisi in April 1989.

Biographical Sketch

Edward A. DeAngelo was born in Toledo, Ohio on May 18, 1895. Mr. DeAngelo worked as a fireman on the Hocking Valley Railroad, and then enrolled as a summer student at the Chicago Museum of Fine Arts. In 1917 he joined the Thomas Cusack Company where he worked as an outdoor advertiser and commercial artist. He started the DeAngelo sign Company in 1927, and operated it until 1959. He married Carrie Walton in 1917. They had two sons who both died at birth, and one daughter.

Edward DeAngelo was first elected to City Council, from the 9th Ward, in 1933. While in office he was instrumental in establishing the city manager form of government. He left the City Council in 1939 when he was appointed Safety Director, and immediately worked to eliminate major gambling rings from Toledo. He resigned in 1945, was reappointed in 1947, and resigned again in 1952.

An avid sportsman, Mr. DeAngelo was a member of the Rockwell Springs Trout Club, and a former member of several others. He was the governor of The Quiet Birdmen Aviation Club, and also enjoyed sailing and racing horses. His love of sport prompted him to promote legislation to establish wildlife preserves. He died April 8, 1979.

Scope and Content

The main focus of the Edward A. DeAngelo Collection concerns the investigation into racketeering and gambling by organized crime in Toledo. Newspaper clippings and scrapbooks covering the investigations during his two terms as Safety Director from 1939-1945 and 1947-1952 make up the bulk of the collection.

Also included in the collection are scrapbook covering his political campaigns, the Toledo fire department, police and inspection division information, and Toledo labor problems.

The collection also includes family photographs, personal items, and many photographs of the DeAngelo Sign Company, of which he operated for 32 years.

Series Description

SCRAPBOOKS/NEWSCLIPPINGS

SCRAPBOOKS.
1933-1954.
Arranged chronologically
Some scrapbooks are oversized, and are located at the end of the collection. Includes personal information, Fire Department and Inspection Division materials, national defense, city labor problems, campaign and election materials for both the city council seat and Safety Director, and information about police cases with an emphasis on gambling and racketeering.

NEWSCLIPPINGS
1931-1977; scattered after 1952, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Includes personal information, City Council terms, Safety Director terms, City of Toledo labor problems and politics, and gambling and racketeering arrests and confiscations.

SUBJECT FILES

PERSONAL FILES
1942-1979, scattered.
Arranged chronologically
Includes correspondence, campaign bills, Resolution by the Ohio Senate, and Condolence letters and obituary material. A Good Fellowship Award is located with the oversized material at the end of the collection.

POLITICAL FILES.
1931-1977, scattered after 1952.
Arranged chronologically
Includes reports on city finances, Division of Purchase, Department of Public welfare, Division of Health, Department of Law, and the Civil Service Commission.

PRINTED MATERIAL

BROCHURE
n.d.
DeAngelo Sign Company advertisement.

MAGAZINE ARTICLES.
1936-1948.
Arranged chronologically
Includes articles on the City of Toledo and the police department.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHS.
1922-1968, n.d., scattered.
Includes family, sporting, awards, Toledo Police and Detective departments, and miscellaneous small photographs.

DEANGELO SIGN COMPANY
n.d.
Includes photographs of trucks, buildings, billboards, and manufacturing.

Inventory

Box 1

Folders

  1. Scrapbook (personal information, fire department and inspection division information), 1933, 1939-1944
  2. Scrapbook (national defense information, police cases), 1939-1944

Box 2

Folders

  1. Scrapbook (information on gambling and racketeers), 1939-1943, 1951
  2. Scrapbook (information on police cases), 1939-1944

Box 3

Folders

  1. Scrapbook (campaign and election material), 1931-1935
  2. Scrapbook (position as Safety Director, police cases), 1939-1946

Box 4

Folders

  1. Newsclippings, n.d.
  2. Newsclippings, 1931-1965
  3. Newsclippings, 1933-1938, 1977
  4. Newsclippings, 1935-1947
  5. Newsclippings, 1935
  6. Newsclippings, 1947

Box 5

Folders

  1. Newsclippings, 1948
  2. Newsclippings, 1949
  3. Newsclippings, 1952

Box 6

Folders

  1. Correspondence, 1931, 1935-1938
  2. Correspondence, Dec. 1946-Dec. 1947
  3. Correspondence, Jan.-Dec. 1948
  4. Correspondence, 1951-1977, scattered n.d.
  5. Campaign and election file, 1931-1937
  6. Committee against the Guitteau Amendment file, 1946
  7. Laguna Beach property file, 1952
  8. Death of Edward DeAngelo - letters, resolution, obituary, 1979
  9. Quiet Birdmen file, n.d.
  10. "Labor and the Present City Government" (radio talk by DeAngelo-City Manager League) Sept. 7, 1937
  11. "What's Going On In Toledo" - Chamber of Commerce, April 6, 1943
  12. Citizens' survey committee reports -Finances; Division of Purchases; Department of Public Welfare; Division of Health; Department of Law; Civil Service Commission, Jan. 1936
  13. Brochure - DeAngelo Sign Company, n.d.
  14. Business Week - "Toledo Clean Up Mar. 14, 1936
  15. The Toledo City Journal - "War Within A War", Jan 31, 1942
  16. The Saturday Evening Post - "Toledo", Jan. 10, 1948
  17. Fraternal Order of Police - Toledo Lodge #4 Convention Program, 1941

Box 7

(Photographs)
Folders
  1. Edward and Carrie DeAngelo, n.d.
  2. Jacob Benjamin Gundy, n.d.
  3. Delores Schultz family, n.d.
  4. DeAngelo - hunting, fishing, sailing, racing and flying, 1940, 1950, 1962, 1968, n.d.
  5. Good Fellowship Award banquet, 1942
  6. Billy Conn, DeAngelo, O'Connor, Poss.. photograph for boxing show for relief fund - signed by Joe Gallon, n.d.
  7. 1922 photography of Toledo Detective Department - identified and given to DeAngelo in 1944
  8. Toledo Police Department - American Legion Post #512, 1941
  9. Rocky Marciano and DeAngelo, 1960
  10. Thomas Cusack Sign Company, n.d.
  11. DeAngelo Sign Company, n.d.
  12. DeAngelo Sign Company (may include Cusack Sign Company), n.d.
  13. DeAngelo Sign Company (may include Cusack Sign Company), n.d.
  14. Toledo Police Department Vice arrests, c. 1950

Oversized Volumes

  1. Scrapbook, 1939-1941
  2. Scrapbook, 1939-1948
  3. Scrapbook, 1942-1954
  4. Scrapbook, 1948-1951
  5. Scrapbook, 1936-1940
  6. Scrapbook, 1940-1942
  7. Scrapbook, 1945-1949
  8. Scrapbook, 1949-1960
  9. Scrapbook, 1951-1963
  10. Good Fellowship Award, 1942