James N. Gamble (1836-1932), was the oldest surviving son of the founder of P&G, James Gamble. He is likely best known for his role as Vice-President and chemist at his family firm Procter & Gamble and his invention of Ivory soap. A longtime Westwood resident Gamble advanced the causes of many charitable organizations, both locally and nationally, and was a community leader in Westwood. He served as a village council member and was instrumental in getting Westwood Town Hall built to function as a community center and home to village offices, police and fire departments and a jail, she said. Gamble served as the last mayor of the Village of Westwood and negotiated terms with Cincinnati when the city annexed Westwood in 1896. He also ran a brick company in the neighborhood, donated money to build Westwood United Methodist Church and was a real estate developer who built homes on much of the land he owned in Westwood. Most of these ledgers cover the dates of 1897-1928. These ledgers are leather bound folios (16 x 11 inches) and one is bound in heavy card stock. There are numerous loose pages included in these ledgers that were not originally part of the books. Gamble owned and lists real estate from the following areas: Buckeye Orange Grove, Boise City real estate; Odessa City real estate; Pueblo city real estate; Orange City real estate; Put-In-Bay real estate; Spruce Creek real estate. He lists the following stock and bonds from the following companies, organizations and governments: Addyston Pipe Steel Co.; Akron, Ohio Street Improvement; Arrowhead Reservoir Co.; Westwood Real Estate Development; Bowling Green, Ohio Bonds; Buckeye Cotton Oil Co.; Balanced Locomotive & Engineering Co.; Central Trust Co.; Cincinnati Nat. Bank; Cincinnati Rolling Mill Co.; Cincinnati Westwood R.R.; City of Cincinnati Bonds; Cincinnati Stock R.R. Co.; Cincinnati Street Railway Co.; Cincinnati Union Stock Yards; Cincinnati Missionary Training School; Cincinnati Desiccating Co.; Cincinnati Suburban Telegraph Co.; Cincinnati Sinking Fund; Cincinnati Schools; Cincinnati Water Works; Cincinnati Hospital; Cincinnati Sewer; Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College; Citizens Nat. Bank; Christ Hospital; Cincinnati Plantation Co.; Chillicothe, Ohio School District; Columbus, Ohio Schools; Continental Nat. Bank; Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Schools; Clydesdale Motor Truck Co.; Detroit Refunding Bonds; East Liverpool, Ohio; Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home; Federal Sand Bank Bonds; Freedman’s Aid Society; Fourth Nat. Bank; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.; Globe Insurance Co.; Globe-Wernicke Co.; Halifax River Br. R.R. Co.; Hawaiian Bonds; Home of Self Supporting Women; Harris Savings Bank & Trust; Houston, Stanwood & Gamble; Huntington, W.V. General Improvement bonds; Italian Mission; Italian Newspaper Publishing Ass.; Iroquois Iron Co.; Little Miami R.R.; Market Fulton Nat. Bank; Mahoning Co., Ohio Road bonds; Miami Valley Conservancy District; Mingo Coal & Coke Co.; National Clay Machinery Ass.; N.Y. Central R.R.; National LaFayette Bank; National Insurance Co.; Open Church Publishing Co.; Oxford News Co.; of course Proctor & Gamble, both common & preferred; Porto Rico Bonds; Port Orange Bridge Co.; Queen City Club; Radford Pipe Foundry Co.; John Shillito Co.; Seattle, Wash. Municipal Bonds; The Business Men’s Club; Third Nat. Bank; Tucson, Arizona; Typographs & Justifying Machines; Union Co., Ohio Bonds; U.S. 1st Liberty Loan; Virginia Iron, Coke & Coal Co.; Waterhouse, Gamble Co.; Westwood Buick Co.; Westwood Brick Co.; Westwood M.E. Church; Westwood Homestead Co. Gamble lists and details much of his personal expenses including for yacht; stable; greenhouse; household furniture; boat shed & boat; gymnasium; tennis court; Automobile; under which he lists touring car & Limousine. Lists his capital as $13,376,621.00 on July 30, 1898 which would be around $345 million dollars in today’s money. During the same year he lists 16 different homes that he owned including one on Montclair Ave.; Werk Rd.; Daytona Ave.; Glenview; Cheviot and others. Some of the family members & others mentioned in these ledgers include: Maud Gamble Nippert; Olivia P. Gamble; Lillian F. Gamble; A.K. Nippert; Margaret P. Gamble; Mary E. Gamble; Ben. Hodapp; Elizabeth Cox Runyan; Pamela A. Swartze; Laurence H. Thompson; Percy Murray Sease. This is only a sampling of the names, there are hundreds more in these ledgers. These ledgers detail the expenses and lifestyle of one of Cincinnati’s most important industrialist.

Spines on two larger volumes are split, else Fine.