Lester Laws papers

6 cartons, 3 oversize folders (10.5 linear feet)

(1816 – 1994)

bulk 1920-1959

Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury, University, Salisbury, Maryland

Identifier	1995.033
Creator(s)	Laws, Lester
Acquisition	The Lester Laws papers were donated to the Nabb Research Center by Barbara Pomar in 1995.
Language(s)	English
Use	Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use."
Preferred Citation	"Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland."
Attribution	Finding aid written by Kenneth Forest, March 2018.
Related Materials	Albert Laws papers (1795 – 1997)
Separated Materials	Oversized materials have been housed in the Nabb Research Center’s flat file system.

Abstract

The Lester Laws papers consist of the records of Laws Construction Company and of the personal papers of Lester Laws and of his family from 1816 to 1994. The collection contains advertising, photographs, financial ledgers, correspondence, receipts and blueprints offering insight into the development of the infrastructure of the Delmarva Peninsula between 1920 and 1959. The company records include dozens of advertisements for construction equipment, tools and building materials and photographs of construction projects in progress. The collection also includes Lester Laws’ genealogy notes, and the personal papers of his daughter, Helen Laws Pomar. Pomar attended Salisbury State Teachers College, now Salisbury University, and served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. Her college score reports, military manuals, and copies of a post-newspaper from Camp White, Oregon, provide a glimpse into the educational and military experience of women in the 1930s and 1940s.

Biographical History

Lester Laws was born on March 19, 1891, in Wango, Maryland. He was the son of Levi Lee Laws and Helen Vesta Bethard Laws. He married Helen Barr Harrell, and had two daughters, Virginia Laws Hotton and Helen Laws Pomar. Between 1920 and 1959, Laws owned and operated Laws Construction Company in partnership with his brother, Alvin Laws. Based in Salisbury, Maryland, it specialized in brick and concrete work, bridge building and pile driving on the Delmarva Peninsula. Laws Construction Company’s projects included the construction of a railroad bridge and a reservoir in Salisbury and of road bridges in Chestertown and Millington, Maryland. Laws died in Salisbury on November 9, 1988.

Scope and Content Note

The collection documents the business of Laws Construction Company and the personal life and family genealogy of Lester Laws.

Series I. Laws Construction Company records, contains the business records of Laws Construction Company from 1920 to 1959. Subseries A. Advertising consists of flyers, brochures and catalogs promoting services, construction equipment, tools and building materials. It contains two catalogs, one of Harrington Hoist Products, circa 1930, and one of steam bucket excavators of the Blaw-Knox Company, 1932, with color prints and detailed black and white photographs. Subseries B. Photographs consists of black and white photographs of construction projects in progress. It contains four photographs of the Salisbury Reservoir under construction in 1925, and two photographs of steam hoists in operation in 1930. Subseries C. Financial records consists of financial ledgers, correspondence, receipts, and contracts. It contains 34 financial ledgers from 1920 to 1959, and contracts for petroleum products from the Texas Company, now Texaco, from 1936 to 1942. Subseries D. Blueprints consists of blueprints of construction projects in progress. It includes blueprints for repairs to the fender system of the New York, Pennsylvania and Norfolk Railroad Bridge over the Pocomoke River in 1934.

Series II. Laws Family papers, contains the personal papers of Lester Laws and of his family from 1816 to 1994. Subseries A. Correspondence and Receipts consists of the correspondence and receipts of Lester Laws and of his daughter, Helen Laws Pomar. It includes Laws’ receipts from the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore in 1941 and Pomar’s college score reports from Salisbury State Teachers College in 1939. Subseries B. Genealogy consists of birth and death records, genealogy notes, photographs and ephemera related to the Laws, Bethard, Harrell, Moyer and Barr families. It includes a graduation photograph, of the Class of 1907 of the Business School of Eastern Shore College. Subseries C. Published Materials contains newspapers, magazines, government publications and ephemera. It includes a copy of The Baltimore Sun, featuring an article on the lynching of Matthew Williams in 1931, and two copies of the Camp White Grenade from Camp White, Oregon, in 1944.

Arrangement Statement

The collection has been arranged in two Series. Series I contains Subseries A-D. In Subseries A, the records are arranged by product: Services; Excavators; Wheelbarrows and Scales; Compressors, Pumps and Pile Drivers; Concrete; Hoists; Bricks; Tools; Forms and Joints; Roofing; Windows and Doors; Plumbing; Flooring; and Plaster. In Subseries Band D, the records are arranged chronologically. In Subseries C, the records are arranged by subject: Financial Ledgers and Correspondence and Receipts. Series II contains Subseries A-C. In Subseries A, the papers are arranged by subject: Lester Laws and Helen Laws Pomar. In Subseries B and C, the papers are arranged chronologically.

Folders are listed by their location in the box; any given subject may be dispersed throughout the entirety of the collection.

Subject Terms

Topical Terms
- Business
- Construction
- Genealogy
- Laws Family
- World War, 1939-1945
- Military History
Corporate Names
- Laws Construction Company
- United States Army
Personal Names
- Laws, Alvin (1895-1972)
- Laws, Lester (1891-1988)
- Pomar, Helen Laws ( )
Location Terms
- Salisbury (Md.)

Inventory List

The inventory list for this item is hidden due to its length. Click the button below to view it.

Box 1

Series I: Laws Construction Company records

Subseries A: Advertising

1. Business Card, Laws Construction Company, 1929

2. Exhibitor’s Ticket, Better Homes and Building Exposition, 1929

3. Postcard, Coal and Concrete, Nock Coal Company, 1939

4. Postcard, Petroleum Products, Pocahontas, Inc., 1951

5. Catalog, Steam Bucket Excavators, Blaw-Knox Company, 1932

6. Flyer, Wire Rope, American Cable Company, Inc., circa 1930

7. Catalog and Sample, Barnett Canvas Goods & Bag Company, Inc., 1945

8. Brochures, Aggregate Weighing Scale, Best Scale Company, circa 1930

9. Brochure, Wheelbarrow Scales, The Wheelbarrow Scale Company, circa 1930

10. Brochure, Wheelbarrow Scale, Butler Bin Company, 1931

11. Flyers, Wheelbarrow Scale, Winslow Government Standard Scale Works, circa 1935

12. Brochures, Weigh Batchers and Wheelbarrow Scales, The C.S. Johnson Company, 1930-1932

13. Brochure, Batchmeter, National Equipment Corporation, 1930

14. Catalogs and Flyers, Air Compressors, Schramm Inc., 1934-1936

15. Brochure, Pump Units, Domestic Engine & Pump Company, 1931

16. Brochure, Water Pump, Pennsylvania Pump & Compressor Company, 1924

17. Flyer, Sump Pump, Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company, 1933

18. Brochure, Pile Driver, Ingersoll-Rand, 1929

19. Brochure, Steel Piling, L.B. Foster Company, 1932

20. Catalog, Stone Spreaders, Burch Corporation, 1932

21. Flyer, Cement Mixers, T.L. Smith Company, 1934

22. Catalog, Concrete Chuting and Placing Equipment, The Jaeger Machine Company, circa 1935

23. Brochure and Flyer, Concrete Heaters, Littleford Brothers, circa 1930

24. Brochure, Concrete Heaters, Hauck Manufacturing Company, 1931

25. Catalog, Harrington Hoist Products, circa 1930

26. Catalog and Flyer, Hoist Units, Domestic Engine & Pump Company, 1931

27. Catalog, Gasoline-Electric Hoisting Engines, Orr & Sembower, Inc., circa 1935

28. Flyer, Hoists and Derricks, Clyde Iron Works, 1937

29. Flyers, Locher & Company, Inc., Brickmakers, 1941

30. Brochures, Glazed Tile, National Fireproofing Corporation, 1940

31. Catalogs, Brick and Cement Waterproofing, Samuel Cabot, Inc., 1935

32. Brochures and Flyers, Machine Tools, Clipper Manufacturing Company, 1945-1946

33. Brochure and Catalog, Machine Tools, Eisler Engineering Company, 1945

34. Brochures, Drill Bits, Job T. Pugh, Inc., 1908

35. Brochure, Drill Bits, The Timken Roller Bearing Service & Sales Company, 1933

36. Catalog, Drill Bits, Ingersoll-Rand, circa 1935

37. Flyer, Clamps and Forms, Bosco, circa 1935

38. Brochure, Expansion Joints, Johns-Manville Products, 1932

39. Brochures, Expansion Joints, The Philip Carey Company, 1932

40. Brochure, Roofing Shingles, Barrett Roofing, 1930

41. Brochure, Roofing Shingles, Edgewood Roofing and Sidewalls, 1930

42. Brochure, Galvanized Roofing, United States Steel Products Company, 1938

43. Flyer, Galvanized Roofing, National Pressed Steel Company, circa 1940

44. Brochure, Steel Windows, Detroit Steel Products Company, circa 1930

45. Flyers, Rolling Doors, Cornell Iron Works, Inc., circa 1940

46. Catalog, Cubicle, Toilet and Shower Units, The Mills Company, 1946

47. Flyer, Tile Flooring, The Sparta Ceramic Company, circa 1935

48. Time Book for Plasterers, Certain-teed Corporation, 1942

49. Brochure, Simplicity Boat Hoist Company, circa 1940

Subseries B: Photographs

50. Photographs, Reservoir and Water Station Being Built by Laws Construction Company, Salisbury, Maryland, 1925

51. Photograph, Home Built by Laws Construction Company, 1926

52. Photographs, Bridge Built by Laws Construction Company, Millington, Maryland, 1928

53. Photograph, Railroad Bridge Being Built by Laws Construction Company, Salisbury, Maryland, 1929-1930

54. Photographs, Steam Hoists, circa 1930

Subseries C: Financial Records

55. Financial Ledger, 1920-1921

56. Financial Ledger, 1922

57. Financial Ledger, 1923

58. Financial Ledger, 1924

59. Financial Ledger, 1925

60. Financial Ledger, 1926

61. Financial Ledger, 1927

62. Financial Ledger, 1928

63. Financial Ledger, 1929

64. Financial Ledger, 1930

Box 2

1. Financial Ledger, 1931

2. Financial Ledger, 1932

3. Financial Ledger, 1933

4. Financial Ledger, 1934

5. Financial Ledger, 1935

6. Financial Ledger, 1936

7. Financial Ledger, 1937

8. Financial Ledger, 1938

9. Financial Ledger, 1939

10. Financial Ledger, 1943

11. Financial Ledger, 1944

12. Financial Ledger, 1945

13. Financial Ledger, 1946

14. Financial Ledger, 1947

Box 3

1. Financial Ledger, 1948

2. Financial Ledger, 1949

3. Financial Ledger, 1950

4. Financial Ledger, 1951

5. Financial Ledger, 1952

6. Financial Ledger, 1953

7. Financial Ledger, 1955

8. Financial Ledger, 1956

9. Financial Ledger, 1958

10. Financial Ledger, 1959

11. Correspondence and Receipts, 1924-1929

12. Correspondence and Receipts, 1924-1929

13. Correspondence and Receipts, 1924-1929

14. Correspondence and Receipts, 1930

15. Correspondence and Receipts, 1930

Box 4

1. Correspondence and Receipts, 1930

2. Correspondence and Receipts, 1930

3. Correspondence and Receipts, 1931-1933

4. Correspondence and Receipts, 1931-1933

5. Correspondence and Receipts, 1931-1933

6. Correspondence and Receipts, 1931-1933

7. Correspondence and Receipts, 1931-1933

8. Correspondence and Receipts, 1934-1939

9. Correspondence and Receipts, 1934-1939

10. Correspondence and Receipts, 1934-1939

11. Correspondence and Receipts, 1934-1939

12. Correspondence and Receipts, 1940-1945

Box 5

1. Correspondence and Receipts, 1940-1945

2. Correspondence and Receipts, 1940-1945

3. Correspondence and Receipts, 1940-1945

4. Correspondence and Receipts, 1946

5. Correspondence and Receipts, 1946

6. Correspondence and Receipts, 1946

7. Manual, State of Maryland Board of Boiler Rules, 1925-1931

8. Bills and Receipts, Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company, 1929-1947

9. Contract, Petroleum Products, Standard Oil Company, 1931

10. Contracts, Petroleum Products, The Texas Company, 1936-1942

11. Worker’s Compensation Claims, 1930-1939

12. Deposit Receipts, Farmer’s & Merchant’s Bank, 1931-1933

13. Tax Receipts, City of Salisbury and Wicomico County, Maryland, 1930-1946

Subseries D: Blueprints

14. Reinforcing Details, Steel Cross Beams, unsigned, undated

15. Alteration of Skip Shaft on Tiller, The T.L. Smith Company, 1928

16. Supporting Steel, Road Bridge, Chestertown, Maryland, Dietrich Brothers, 1929

17. Steel Rebar for Concrete Slab, Coca Cola Building, Salisbury, Maryland, Dietrich Brothers, 1930

18. Supporting Steel, Road Bridge, Dividing Creek, Maryland, Dietrich Brothers, 1934

19. Repairs to Fender System, Railroad Bridge, New York, Pennsylvania and Norfolk Railroad, Pocomoke River, Maryland, 1934

Series II: Laws Family papers

Subseries A: Correspondence and Receipts

20. Correspondence, Lester Laws, 1911-1981

21. Receipts, Lester Laws, 1930-1982

22. Receipts, Lester Laws, 1930-1982

23. Receipts, Lester Laws, Farmers & Merchants Bank, 1940-1961

24. Receipts, Lester Laws, Emerson Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland, 1941

25. Correspondence and Report Cards, Helen Laws Pomar, Salisbury State Teachers College, 1938-1939

26. Correspondence and Report Cards, Helen Laws Pomar, St. Mary’s Female Seminary, St. Mary’s Maryland, 1939-1941

27. Correspondence, Helen Laws Pomar, 1954-1955

28. Receipts, Irene Harrell, Beacom College, Wilmington, Delaware, 1930

Box 6

Subseries B: Genealogy

1. Birth and Death Records, Moyer, Furey and Barr Families, 1816-1860

2. Photocopies of Birth and Death Records, Harrell, Barr and Laws Families, 1816-1921

3. Genealogy Notes, 1947-1978

4. Photograph, Eastern Shore College, Business School, Class of 1907

5. Photograph, unidentified couple, 1920

6. Obituaries, Levi Lee Laws, 1956

7. Newspaper Clippings, Helen Laws Pomar, 1938-1966

8. Newspaper Clipping, Margaret Laws Engle, circa 1980

9. Newspaper Clipping, Victor Laws, 1982

Subseries C: Published Materials

10. Newspaper clippings, Salisbury Bicentennial, 1932

11. Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1937

12. Driver’s Manual, U.S. Army, 1942

13. Motor Transport Manual, U.S. War Department, 1942

14. Personnel Manual, U.S. Army, 1942

15. Correspondence Manual, U.S. Army, 1943

16. Ordnance Manual, U.S. War Department, 1943

17. Magazines, Better Homes and Gardens, 1949-1951

18. Magazines, Woman’s Day, 1950-1951

19. Magazine, The American Home, 1950

20. Brochure, Federal Income Tax Digest and Manual, Loyola Federal Savings & Loan Association, 1954

21. Graduation Announcements, Wicomico High School, Salisbury, Maryland, 1994

Oversize

1. Chart, Tabulation of Bids for Construction of Bridge, Maryland State Roads Commission, 1928

2. Chart, Labor Payroll, Maryland Bureau of Public Roads, 1930

3. Supporting Steel, Edge Moor Iron Company, 1931

4. Reinforcing Details, Road Bridge, Dover, Delaware, Dietrich Brothers, 1933

5. Newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, December 20, 1931

6. Newspaper, The Baltimore American, August 7, 1932

7. Newspaper, Camp White Grenade, Camp White, Oregon, April 20, 1944

8. Newspaper, Camp White Grenade, Camp White, Oregon, April 27, 1944

9. Newspaper Extra, “Everybody’s Weekly,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 17, 1944

10. Newspaper Fragment, The Salisbury Times, June 18, 1949

11. Newspaper Fragment, The Salisbury Advertiser, March 22, 1951

12. Newspaper Fragment, The Salisbury Times, December 31, 1953

13. Newspaper Fragment, The Salisbury Times, February 27, 1959

14. Newspaper Extra, “The Eastern Shore During the Civil War,” The Salisbury Times, July 24, 1961

15. Newspaper Fragment, The Salisbury Times, July 18, 1963

16. Newspaper Fragment, The Sunday Times, March 2, 1969

17. Newspaper Fragment, The Sunday Times, February 27, 1972

18. Newspaper Fragment, The Sunday Times, April 8, 1973

19. Newspaper Fragment, The Sunday Times, January 13, 1974

20. Newspaper Fragment, The Daily Times, March 18, 1978

21. Newspaper Fragment, The Daily Times, June 26, 1983

Artifacts

See Nabb Center Staff

Attachments

None

Permalink: https://libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-archives/local-history-archives/1995.033