Scranton Coal Co. - Pair signed by William E. Dodge, Sr. on both - Autograph

A pair of Stock transfers signed on both by Wm. E. Dodge, Sr. and transferred to Moses Taylor.

William Earl Dodge Sr. (September 4, 1805 – February 9, 1883) was a New York businessman, referred to as one of the "Merchant Princes" of Wall Street in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Dodge saw slavery as an evil to be peaceably removed, but not to be interfered with where it existed. He was a Native American rights activist and served as the president of the National Temperance Society from 1865 to 1883. Dodge represented New York's 8th congressional district in the United States Congress for a portion of the 39th United States Congress in 1866-1867 and was a founding member of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).

He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the second son of David Low Dodge, founder of the New York Peace Society, and his wife Sarah Cleveland, the daughter of minister Aaron Cleveland. He married Melissa Phelps (1809–1903), a daughter of Anson Green Phelps and Olivia Egleston. The couple had seven sons. In 1833, Dodge and his father-in-law founded the trading firm Phelps, Dodge and Company. In 1908 they became one of Americas largest mining companies Phelps Dodge Corporation. Dodge is the namesake of Dodge County, Georgia.]A consortium of businessmen led by Dodge purchased large tracts of timberland in this area following the Civil War. The Dodge Land Company laid claim to over 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) of land through questionable land deeds. The consortium's ownership of these lands led to land wars which resulted in nearly fifty years of court cases. Dodge and his associates built the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, connecting Macon to what was then a remote area of the state. Dodge County was formed in 1870 and Eastman, the county seat, was established at the railroad's Station Number 13. Dodge visited the area only once, to dedicate a two-story courthouse that he donated to the county. Dodge's sons later administered the timber businesses in this area. Dodge was active in the post-Civil War Indian reform movement. He joined Peter Cooper in organizing the privately funded United States Indian Commission in 1868 and helped institute Ulysses S. Grant's Peace Policy toward the Indians. In 1869, Dodge toured Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) and Kansas as a member of the government-sponsored Board of Indian Commissioners. He met and discussed U.S. Indian policy with representatives of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Kiowa. Dodge lobbied for the prosecution of the U.S. cavalry commanders responsible for the 1870 Marias Massacre in Montana, which left 173 Blackfeet dead. Dodge unsuccessfully campaigned to establish a cabinet-level department for Indian Affairs. He also used his influence in Washington on behalf of Indian educational programs and the General Allotment Act of 1887. A monument to William E. Dodge stands on the North side of Bryant Park. Dodge was a founding member of the Board of Trustees for the Syrian Protestant College, later renamed the American University of Beirut. As Treasurer, he laid the cornerstone of College Hall, the first building on the present campus in Ras Beirut, on December 7, 1871. His eldest son, William Earl Dodge Jr., assumed control of the Phelps Dodge company after his death.

Moses Taylor (1806-1882) Taylor was a 19th century N. Y. merchant and banker and one of the wealthiest men of that century. At his death, his estate was reported to be worth $70 million, or about $1.7 billion in 2006 dollars. His parents were Jacob B. Taylor and Martha (Brant) Taylor. His father was a close associate of John Jacob Astor and acted as his agent by purchasing New York real estate while concealing Astor's interest. Astor's relationship with the Taylor family provided Moses with an early advantage. Moses began his career at age 15 at J. D. Brown shippers, but soon moved to a clerk's position in the firm of G. G. & S. Howland Company of New York. By 1832, Moses had sufficient wealth to marry, leave the Howland company, and start his own business as a sugar broker. Taylor soon discovered that loans and investments provided returns as good or better than the sugar business, and by the 1840s his income was largely from interest and investments. By 1847, Moses Taylor was listed as one of New York City's 25 millionaries. In the 1850s Moses invested in iron and coal, and began purchasing interest in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad. When the Panic of 1857 brought the railroad to the brink of bankruptcy, Moses obtained control by purchasing its outstanding shares for $5 a share. Within seven years the shares became worth $240, and the D. L. & W was one of the premier railroads of the country. By 1865 Moses held 20,000 shares worth almost $50 million. Moses also held an interest in the N.Y., Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company that Cyrus West Field had founded in 1854. Although its attempts to lay a cable across the Atlantic were initially unsuccessful, it eventually succeeded and in 1866 became the first transatlantic telegraph company. After the Civil War, during which he assisted the Union with financing the war debt, he continued to invest in iron, railroads, and real estate. His real estate holdings in N. Y. brought him into close association with Boss Tweed of New York's Tammany Hall, and in 1871, Moses sat on a committee made up of New York's most influential and successful businessmen and signed his name to a report that commended Tweed's controller for his honesty and integrity, a report that was a notorious whitewash. In 1882, Moses Taylor donated $250,000 to build a hospital in Scranton, Penn. to benefit his iron and coal workers, and workers of the D. L. & W railroad. The Moses Taylor hospital continues in operation today.

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