Title: La Grandeur Mercantile Company Records
Inclusive Dates: 1884-1943

Creator:

• La Grandeur Mercantile Company (Somerset, Wis.)

Call Number: River Falls Mss M

Quantity: 6.8 c.f. (6 archives boxes and 12 separate volumes)

Repository:

Housed at the University Archives and Area Research Center, Chalmer Davee Library, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, ; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-River Falls, Chalmer Davee Library / River Falls Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Business records of a general merchandise and grocery firm in Somerset, Wisconsin, including daybooks, cashbooks, journals, ledgers, bills, receipts, and inventories.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-rf000m

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Sometime between 1852 and 1856 Edward La Grandeur and perhaps others from the same family settled in the French Canadian community of Somerset, Wisconsin. Some of the family members apparently changed their names to “Grant.” On September 24, 1881, three members of the Grant (La Grandeur) family (Edward, E.W., and Henry A.) purchased a general store from Samuel Harriman, Civil War hero and a leading citizen in Somerset. Apparently in 1887 several of these Grants (La Grandeurs) or other members of the family established the first cheese factory in St. Croix County. Records of the cheese factory, known as the Grant and Son Cheese Factory, are cataloged separately (call number River Falls Mss N). The general merchandise store, however, remained in the La Grandeur (Grant) family and as recently as 1956 was known as the “La Grandeur Red and White Store,” operated by Fred La Grandeur.

References to different members of the La Grandeur (Grant) family in town politics and community life, as well as a picture of the store dating about the time of purchase from Samuel Harriman, and related information are found on various pages of John T. Rivard's, Triple Centennial Jubilee Souvenir Book: Containing the History of [the] Village of Somerset, Somerset Township, and St. Anne's Church With Family Histories and Pictures and Occasional Descriptions Both Past and Present (n.p., 1956). A copy of this book is in the library of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin.

This is a collection of 50 volumes (daybooks, original entry daybooks, cash books, journals, and ledgers) and miscellaneous business records of the La Grandeur Mercantile Company which operated the general merchandise and grocery store in Somerset, Wisconsin.

The original entry daybooks in the collection are labeled as: “[La Grandeur?] Original Daybooks.” Beginning with the later volumes, the entries in the original daybooks were recopied into the permanent daybooks (see volumes 3 and 4). The numerals written in ink to the left of each entry on every page of the last volumes of the original daybooks refer to the folio entries recopied into volumes 3 and 4.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Alfred J. La Grandeur, Somerset, Wisconsin, 1956 and May 20, 1958; additions presented by Mrs. Fred La Grandeur, Somerset, Wisconsin, July 29, 1971. Accession Number: M71-209

Processing Information

Additions processed by Karen Baumann, January 25, 1972.

	Daybooks
Box   1 Volume   1	Merchandise Blotter “A,” 1884 October 28 - 1885 December 23
Volume   2	1885 December 26 - 1888 February 4
Volume   3	1890 January 2 - 1892 [March 22]
Volume   4	1892 March 24 - 1893 January 25
	[La Grandeur?] Original Daybooks
Box   1 Volume   5	1885 April 1 - June 30
Box   1 Volume   6	1885 December 7 - 1886 May [6]
Box   1 Volume   7	1886 May 6 - [July 16]
Box   1 Volume   8	1886 July 17 - August 14
Box   1 Volume   9	1886 August 16 - September 17
Box   1 Volume   10	1886 September 18 - November 4
Box   1 Volume   11	1887 June 6 - [July 19]
Box   1 Volume   12	1887 July 20 - [September 4]
Box   1 Volume   13	1888 February 22 - July 17
Box   2 Volume   14	1888 July 18 - October 28
Box   2 Volume   15	1888 October 29 - 1889 February 4
Box   2 Volume   16	1889 February 19 - May 29
Box   2 Volume   17	Daybook, “No. 2,” 1889 May 30 - [August 20]
Box   2 Volume   18	Daybook, “No. 3,” 1889 August 21 - November 2
Box   2 Volume   19	Daybook, “No. 4,” 1889 November 4 - 1890 January 22
Box   2 Volume   20	1890 January 23 - [May 9]
	Cash Books
Box   3 Volume   21	1884 September 24 - 1892 December 31
Box   3 Volume   22	1893 January 2 - 1898 October 31
Box   3 Volume   23	1898 November 1 - 1904 January 30
Volume   24	1904 February 1 - 1907 [December 19]
Box   3 Volume   25	1913 July 8 - 1917 June 25
Volume   26	1919 September 1 - 1921 July 9
Box   4 Volume   27	1921 July 11 - December 31
	Journals
Volume   28	, 1884 [October 28] - 1892 [December 31 (Indexed)
Volume   29	, 1885 March 21 - 1891 December 10 (Indexed)
Volume   30	“A,” 1893 January 2 - 1897 August 9
Volume   31	1897 August 12 - 1906 February [?]
	Ledgers
Volume   32	, 1893 January 1 - 1906 [January 30] (Indexed)
Volume   33	, [1924 October 23] - [1931 July 31] (Indexed)
	Inventories
Box   4 Volume   34	Store Inventory, [1911 July 1?]
Box   6 Volume   40	1919
Box   6 Volume   41	1921
Box   6 Volume   42	1922
Box   6 Volume   43	1923
Box   6 Volume   44	1925, Jan. 1
Box   6 Volume   45	1925, Dec. 31
Box   6 Volume   46	1928
Box   6 Volume   47	1929
Box   6 Volume   48	1930
	Account Books
Box   4 Volume   35	1884 September 24 - 1892 December [?] Note: This volume of accounts for the “Grant and Sons” store was transferred from the catalogued collections of the State Historical Society at Madison and incorporated into the La Grandeur Mercantile Company Records.
Box   6 Volume   38	1921
Box   5 Volume   39	1927 Feb. - 1928 April
	“Book of Records,” 1922-1927
Box   5 Volume   36	Cash Received, 1924, Nov. - 1925, Aug.
Box   5 Volume   36	Cash Paid Out, 1924, Dec. - 1925, Sept.
Box   5 Volume   36	Checks Drawn, 1924, Dec. - 1925, Sept.
Box   5 Volume   36	Clerk Sales Record, 1922, Jan. - 1927, Jan.
Box   5 Volume   36	Purchases (by department), 1922, Jan. - 1925, Sept. Note: To 1927, Jan. for the Meat Department.
	“Book of Statistics,” 1922-1925
Box   5 Volume   37	Balance Sheets, 1922, Feb. - June
Box   5 Volume   37	Profit and Loss Statements, 1922-1925
Box   5 Volume   37	Expenses for one year by month, undated
Box   5 Volume   37	Clerk and Department Sales Record, 1922
Box   5 Volume   37	Payroll, 1922-1923
Box   6 Volume   49	“Honor Book,” undated Note: A list of delinquent accounts.
Box   5 Volume   50	Price Book, 1939-1943