The E.J. Lander & Co. Records contain company loan files, client files, and real estate files, 1902-1953. The bulk are from 1916 to 1942. The files document the economic and agricultural climate primarily of northern North Dakota, except for Sheridan and Towner counties, and northern Montana west to Glacier and Lewis and Clark counties, except for Blaine, Dawson, and Garfield counties. The records include correspondence, land and property descriptions, inventories, legal documents, and records for bondholders. The records describe land values, crop conditions, and income from harvests, besides income derived from New Deal programs designed to aid farmers. These also contain personal, often poignant statements. For example, detailing why a farmer was unable to make a mortgage payment or why an interest payment was vital to an investor.
Processing included surface cleaning of many of the records, which were stored in a bank vault or in metal file cabinets in the company's basement. The files were removed according to directions from the company's long-time secretary. Original order was maintained, which was intellectually analyzed and described on worksheets and control logs. The latter provided the basis for the searchable database that accompanies the finding aid. The database contains 1534 searchable loan records and 2039 client records. The company provided land investments to approximately 650 clients, some of whom had multiple investments with the company and were associated with many loans. Of all clients, 28% were from North Dakota, 16% from Minnesota, and 28% from the states of Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin.
The database is searchable here: http://library.und.edu/special-collections/databases/lander/
Database of over 1,500 loan records and 2,000 client records from E.J. Lander & Co.: http://library.und.edu/special-collections/databases/lander/