Services

Corporate History

Heritage has researched and written company histories documenting such topics as corporate structure, dates and locations of operations, patents and manufacturing processes, relationships with government regulators, contributions to war industrial mobilization efforts, and corporate succession.  Succession history tracks changes in company name or owners as well as transformations through mergers and acquisitions.  This information has assisted clients in assessing liability for environmental damages, identifying insurance coverage, segregating operations of different ownership groups and recognizing the special contributions of individual owners and managers.

Recently, Heritage has been at the forefront of research concerning connections between historical banking institutions and slavery. Local ordinances passed in the past few years have required entities conducting business with certain major cities to disclose any corporate predecessor ties to slavery. This research involves a comprehensive review of company records, property-related materials and personal papers. Ordinance requirements demand thorough research, accurate description of findings and verification of sources reviewed.

Case Study:

Bank of America Predecessor Histories, 2005

Bank of America Corporation (BOA) engaged Heritage to research and document any circumstances whereby any of its predecessor institutions might have owned slaves, financed the slave trade or otherwise profited from a relationship to the slave trade. BOA identified numerous predecessors whose operations dated to the pre-Civil War period. They had dozens of others for which BOA needed dates of establishment and relations to possible other predecessors.

Heritage conducted review of bank records, property-related documents and personal papers of bank officers for institutions located in nine states and the District of Columbia. We prepared a detailed report, which we presented to the City of Chicago, who accepted our findings as have several other municipalities since.

An abstract database, with document images available via hyperlink, was created to assist in the preparation of reports, identify early data gaps and aid understanding of the chronology of BOA's evolution through numerous entities.

Report on Bank of America Predecessor Institutions Research Regarding Slavery and the Slave Trade