Title: Vernon Lawrence Gough papers

Dates: 1921-1987

Collection Number: MS 529

Creator/Collector: Gough, Vernon Lawrence

Extent: 2 boxes + 1 oversize box

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: This material documents Vernon L. Gough's involvement with the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes (renamed in 1967 to Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes [Employees]), as a member, organizer, and General Chairman. The collection also includes material related to Mr. Gough's career with the Railway Express Agency (REA) and some of his personal financial records. The collection includes: membership cards, special organizer's credentials, railroad travel passes, ledgers for dues, expenses, meeting attendance, and financial reports for retirement funds. There is also correspondence and minutes from a meeting of the South Pacific District Board of Adjustment, taken during his tenure as Chairman in 1968.

Language of Material: English

This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives staff to arrange for access.

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Vernon Lawrence Gough papers. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Lawrence Gough and Sharon Small, 2000

Vernon Lawrence Gough was born in Illinois on March 7, 1902. He passed away in Orange County on Aug. 29, 1992. His career as a railway clerk included employment as a clerk-adjuster for the Railway Express Agency and member (ca. 1940-1980s), organizer (1940-1944), and General Chairman (ca. 1940-1968) of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes, South Pacific District Board of Adjustment No. 514, and a member of the Railway Clerks Political League. He married his wife, Evelyn in 1922. • The Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes began as the Order of Railway Clerks, organized in December 1899, in Sedalia, Missouri. By 1919 it had expanded to include several classes of workers and it was renamed Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes. Airline clerks were added in 1945, although the word "airline" did not appear in the official union name until 1967. •The American Railway Express Company was created when the U.S. government took control of the railroads and all express movements in the United States. The government merged the Great Northern Express Company, Northern Express Company and Western Express Company, Adams Express Company, American Express Company, Wells Fargo, Inc. and Southern Express Company to form the American Railway Express Company. •In 1929, 69 railroads organized the Railway Express Agency and bought American Railway Express on March 1, 1929. REA was profitable into the 1970s, when the loss of airline contracts led to a declaration of bankruptcy in 1975. [V.S. Roseman, RAILWAY EXPRESS: AN OVERVIEW, 1992.]

This material documents Vernon L. Gough's involvement with the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes (renamed in 1967 to Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes [Employees]), as a member, organizer, and General Chairman. The collection also includes material related to Mr. Gough's career with the Railway Express Agency (REA) and some of his personal financial records. The collection includes: membership cards, special organizer's credentials, railroad travel passes, ledgers for dues, expenses, meeting attendance, and financial reports for retirement funds. There is also correspondence and minutes from a meeting of the South Pacific District Board of Adjustment, taken during his tenure as Chairman in 1968. The collection is organized into the following categories: 1. Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes Documents 2. Railway Express Agency Documents 3. Personal Documents 4. Business and Membership Cards and Railroad Travel Passes