Fred and George Kadane Papers circa 1940s

Materials in this collection are in English.

Fred and George Kadane were brothers born in Baskinta, Lebanon along with their sister and brother Charles (1889-1961). Fred A. Kadane (1883-1962) and Charles were taken by their widowed mother to the United States in 1892. George E. Kadane (1880-1945), the eldest son, followed later circa 1895, and their sister immigrated in the same year. In 1896, Fred left for Denison, Texas with his mother and sister, Charles stayed in New York due to a lack of funds, and George departed for New Orleans, Louisiana to peddle. Circa 1898, George reunited with his family in Denison, Texas.

George went on to become an architect, operating in North Texas and Oklahoma, constructing buildings, highways, and railroads. Fred became an egg and poultry merchant, eventually expanding into margarine, clothing manufacturing, and cold storage. Both found success in oil drilling, circa 1917, when they formed the Western Drilling Company in Wichita Falls, Texas. After the company was liquidated and closed in 1921, George returned to contracting work in Oklahoma and owned two movie threaters in Frederick and Altus, Oklahoma. Fred, meanwhile, lost his grocery store in Wichita Falls after being targeted by the Ku Klux Klan and went on to pioneer margarine manufacturing. Fred later sold out his product, "Blue Bonnett."

In 1935, George returned to Wichita Falls to drill for oil with Fred and his sons in the KMA oilfield. Fred created F. A. Kadane & Company, Drilling Contractors in 1944 and acquired Pure Ice & Cold Storage Co. in 1945. When George passed away in 1945, his two sons continued in the oil business. Fred passed away in 1962.

The Fred and George Kadane Papers contains bibliographic information provided by Fred Kadane, in 1945 and 1946, in addition to two written biographies from a third source.

This collection is arranged in the order it was received.

The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.

[Identification of item], Fred and George Kadane Papers, KC 0053, Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies Archive, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

Gifted to the Khayrallah Center by an undocumented source, 2021 September (Accession No. 2021.007).

Processed by Sarah Bernstein, 2023. Finding aid created by Sarah Bernstein, 2023 October.