A Guide to the M.F. Neal & Company, Inc., records, 1873–1998

Collection Number Mss3 N2455 a FA2
A Collection in the Virginia Historical Society

• Administrative Information
• Descriptive Summary
• Scope and Content Organization
• Organization
• Biographical/Historical Information
• Index Terms
• Contents

Contact Information:
Virginia Historical Society
P.O. Box 7311
Richmond, Virginia 23221-0311
USA
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Email: reference@vahistorical.org
URL: http://www.vahistorical.org

Processed by: Sarah Hainbach
c 2015 By Virginia Historical Society. All rights reserved

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

M.F. Neal & Company, Inc., Records, 1873–1998 (Mss3 N2455 a FA2), Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Julia (Neal) Rose and T. David Neal, Richmond, Va., 2013. Accessioned August 3, 2015.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: Virginia Historical Society.
Collection number: Mss3 N2455 a FA2
Title: M.F. Neal & Company, Inc., Records, 1873–1998
Size: 4 linear feet (242 folders).
Language: English
Abstract: Concern M.F. Neal & Company, Inc., Richmond, Virginia, dealers in spices and flavorings, and Thomas D. Neal IV, who served as the company's president from 1970-1984. Includes information on products purchased and produced, clients, and the spice and flavorings industry.

SCOPE AND CONTENT INFORMATION

There is limited material from the early days of the M.F. Neal & Company founded by Mills F. Neal. This includes a notebook containing milling instructions for various spices and some information about factory equipment. The majority of the material relates to the period 1970-1984, after the company was purchased by MacAndrews and Forbes Company, during which time Thomas D. Neal IV was president. These materials include information about clients, products, production, and travel by T.D. Neal to either obtain raw ingredients or secure clients and producers. Also included are materials related to T.D. Neal's later financial ventures as an employee of Old Mansion, Inc. and owner of Rivanna Farms, Ltd. Last, there is personal material of T.D. Neal chiefly during his final years..

ORGANIZATION

This collection is organized into four series with subdivisions as necessary. These include: Series 1. M.F. Mills & Company, Inc.; Series 2. M.F. Mills and MacAndrews and Forbes; Series 3. Thomas D. Neal pre- and post-M.F. Neal employment; and Series 4. Thomas D. Neal personal materials. With the exception of Series 2 materials are generally arranged alphabetically.

Series 2 is further subdivided into eleven subseries as follows: Series 2.1. Clients and suppliers; Series 2.2. Correspondence; Series 2.3. Equipment and facilities; Series 2.4. Financial materials; Series 2.5. MacAndrews and Forbes Company; Series 2.6. Personnel; Series 2.7. Products; Series 2.8. Publications; Series 2.9. Sales; Series 2.10. Travel; and Series 2.11. Miscellaneous.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL INFORMATION

M. F. Neal & Company was an integral piece of the tobacco and food industries in Richmond and in the greater South for much of the twentieth century. The company was founded by Mills F. Neal (1892-1971) in 1927, and was the continuation of an earlier concern, Neal and Binford (established by C.B. Neal and Mayo M. Binford sometime between 1910 and 1920), which in turn was the successor to J.D. Patton and Company. M. F. Neal & Company imported raw materials from around the world and processed them in its Richmond factory before selling them to the firms that produced cigarettes and food products. M. F. Neal & Company existed independently until 1970, when it was bought up by MacAndrews and Forbes Company, Inc. (or MaFCo). As part of the purchase agreement, Mills F. Neal retired and his nephew, Thomas D. Neal IV (or Jr.) became president. T. D. Neal continued to act as president of the M. F. Neal division of MacAndrews and Forbes until he retired in 1984. At this point, he started a new business, Rivanna Farms, Ltd., to continue similar work. The records conclude with Thomas D. Neal's death in 1998.

INDEX TERMS

Family-owned business enterprises - Virginia - Richmond - History - 20th century.
Flavoring essences industry -- History -- 20th century.
M.F. Neal & Company, Inc. (Richmond, Va.)
MacAndrews & Forbes Company (Camden, N.J.)
Neal, Mills F., 1892-1971.
Neal, Thomas David, 1917?-1998.
Neal and Binford (Richmond, Va.)
Old Mansion, Inc.
Rivanna Farms, Ltd.
Spice trade - History - 20th century.
Tobacco industry - United States - History - 20th century.
Tonka bean

CONTENTS LIST

Series 1. M.F. Neal & Company, Inc., materials, 1873–1896 (0.5 linear feet).

Company history materials include a sign for Neal and Binford (C.B. Neal and Mayo M. Binford), "Importers and Dealers in Tobacco Supplies," and successors to J.D. Patton & Co., n.d.; letter, 1927 April 11 [copy], Mills F. Neal to State Planters Bank and Trust Company and Brockenbrough Lamb, Administrators of Mayo M. Binford, deceased, offering to purchase the assets of Neal and Binford; newspaper article, 1927 April 23, announcing the establishment of the firm of M.F. Neal & Company, Inc.; and newspaper article, 1970 February 3, announcing the purchase of M.F. Neal & Company by MacAndrews & Forbes Company. Customers represented include A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company, C.F. Sauer Company, C.W. Antrim and Sons, Inc., Larus and Brother, Maclin Zimmer McGill, Philip Morris and Company, and Sutliff Tobacco Company.

Among the products produced and sold were St. John's-bread, now more commonly known as carob, a tree whose seeds are used to produce both a cocoa-like powder and the thickening agent locust bean gum, Deer Tongue leaf, a plant native to eastern North America, and Sweet gum, which produces a resin used in perfume, food, and tobacco flavoring. The Company also imported spices such as anise, angelica, cardamom, and mace to be milled according to customer specifications.

Miscellaneous historical materials include a broadside, 1873 August 1, "Tolls on Mayo's Bridge!"; letter, 1879 June 5, P. Whitlock, Model Cigar Factory, Richmond, to W.C. Agee & Co., Buckingham C.H., concerning a shipment of cigars; Adams Express Co. and Southern Express Co. receipts, 1915, issued to Thomas D. Neal (1848-1917), and newspaper article, 1969 September 21, on the centennial of the Danville, Va., tobacco market and mentioning Thomas D. Neal (1812-1884)as its unofficial founder.

Box 1

Series 2. M.F. Neal and MacAndrews & Forbes Company, 1968–1984 (2.5 linear feet).

This series concerns the M.F. Neal & Company after its purchase by MacAndrews & Forbes Company (MaFCo) in 1970 and traces the erosion of the relationship between Thomas D. Neal IV and the MaFCo management.

Series 2.1. Clients and Suppliers, 1970–1974.

These files includes scattered correspondence, notes, and orders to and from American and international companies. They reflect the companies for whom M.F. Neal was obtaining and processing products, as well as the companies from whom they obtained raw materials.

Series 2.2. Correspondence, 1971–1987.

The bulk of this series is correspondence between Thomas D. Neal, President of M.F. Neal & Company, and his bosses at MacAndrews & Forbes Company. They show the shift from enthusiasm for the possibilities of expanding M.F. Neal's influence to the gradual realization that, as a subsidiary, the company would never be first in line for investment and upgrade. Over the years Neal is pressured to cut staff and expand production but without necessary improvements to the factory and the equipment. He also has to contend with the loss of railroad siding which had allowed easy access to shipping. The correspondence concerning the company office furniture, specifically that located in T.D. Neal's office, is a rather amusing sidelight to the above. Mills F. Neal left the furniture to his sister, Grace Mills Neal, who verbally gifted it to T.D. Neal so that it could remain in the factory. Years later she either regretted and tried to renege, or outright forgot about the gift, and these exchanges reflect T.D. Neal's efforts to keep the furniture in his possession.

The folder containing phone message slips serves as a prime example of T.D. Neal's documentary efforts. He used any piece of paper handy to make notes during phone conversations, and though cryptic, they do, in fact, help understand the day-to-day operations of the company.

Series 2.3. Equipment and facilities, 1968–1987.

This is by no means a complete set of materials concerning the factory at in Richmond. There are, however, scattered blueline drawings of different parts of the building (for example, the electrical layout) in the Equipment and Facilities folder (Folder 79).

Series 2.4. Financial materials, 1969–1984.

This is a very scattered series, and may chiefly relate to T.D. Neal's efforts to prove the company was financially viable to his MaFCo supervisors. Another possibility is that these materials were collected as part of Neal's efforts to purchase the company back from MaFCo in 1980 and 1984.

Box 2

Series 2.5. MacAndrews & Forbes Company, Inc., materials, 1968–1984.

These include limited official corporate materials and appear to consist chiefly of T.D. Neal's notes or records on the relationship between M.F. Neal and MacAndrews & Forbes Company.

Series 2.6. Personnel, 1971–1984.

Among the material in this series is a folder documenting T.D. Neal's efforts to force the resignation of his secretary, Lolas Brown (Folder 112). This, in part, concerns his negotiation with his MaFCo bosses over his authority "on the ground." It appears Brown may have been talking to MaFCo behind Neal's back in order to curry favor.

Also in this series is a file on T.D. Neal's stepson, Dana Holladay Neal, the son of his second wife, Betty Ann (Holladay) Bellaire Neal and her first husband, Marc Bellaire. Dana worked at M.F. Neal during school breaks from the Virginia Military Institute, and upon his graduation in 1983 went to work full-time in sales (Folder 120).

Series 2.7. Products, 1969–1984.

These files contain information about and sometimes orders for different products, not all of which M.F. Neal handled. Of particular interest are Tonka beans, the fruit of a South American tree that contains coumarin, the compound that gives the beans a pleasant odor that has been compared to vanilla. Tonka beans are used in some regional cuisines, but their use in the United States is limited, as over-consumption can cause liver damage and hemorrhage. They are used primarily in flavoring tobacco.

Series 2.8. Publications, 1948–1984.

These were materials collected by T.D. Neal, or received as gifts. Most concern some aspect of the spice trade or of tobacco product manufacture.

Series 2.9. Sales materials, 1970–1984.

These materials are very scattered, but do include examples of orders received. Also, there are printed lists of M.F. Neal products. These "price lists" rarely list prices. More information may be obtained in the two folders of Weekly Market Reports, which list prices by commodity (folders 170-171).

Box 3

Series 2.10. Travel materials, 1972–1984.

T.D. Neal traveled regularly both to visit clients and to visit potential clients. Post-1982 trips reflect MaFCo's belief that Neal needed to "get out there" and drum up business. These files contain some or all of the following: itinerary, travel arrangements, business cards of persons met, correspondence, orders resulting from visits, and notes.

Series 2.11. Miscellaneous materials, 1971–1983.

Among the interesting things in this series is an internal report on the equipment used to mill cocoa and St. Johns-bread (carob), 1971, and discussion of the equipment upgrades needed to increase productivity (folder 201), and data generated by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service to identify foreign companies with needs that might be met by American producers (folder 205).

Series 3. T.D. Neal's pre- and post-MaFCo employment, 1940–1986 (0.5 linear feet).

This series traces Neal's non-F.M. Neal business activities both before he was employed by and after he retired from M.F. Neal. These include materials dating back to his work for Philip Morris USA, his connection with Old Mansion, Inc., and his establishment of Rivanna Farms. Both Old Mansion and Rivanna Farms were companies dealing in spices and flavorings.

The folders labeled "Rivanna Farms Notebook" reflect Neal's rather loose records-keeping style. Materials were filed alphabetically, but the reason for the choice of the letter under which they were filed is not always obvious. The materials include correspondence, orders, notes, phone message slips, etc.

Box 4

Series 4. T.D. Neal personal materials, ca. 1970–1998 (0.5 linear feet).

Included are articles on various topics of interest to Neal, including business advice and methods, strategies for maintaining health, achieving financial success, military history, and advice aimed at single persons interested in re-entering the dating scene; medical records; VMI Class of '38 alumni information; World War II military service materials; and a miscellaneous file that contains everything from name tags and business cards to Neal's application for membership into the Society of Colonial Wars.