Hey, I need some help
Kimetic Peoples
10-09-2007, 06:57
Hello, I found a share thing from a company call jones woodruff oil company inc in a box i found with a bunch of old papers. The date on it is 1936 and says it is from the state of deleware. I cant find anything online about it and i cant really afford to fly over to deleware and research it as i am in seattle. I was wondering if any of you guys could help me out with this. any information would be helpfull.
thank you
;)
Kimetic Peoples
10-09-2007, 06:58
sorry about any bad spelling or grammar but its kind of late :P
Dododecapod
10-09-2007, 08:42
Contact the Delaware Chamber of Commerce. They should either have records of the company, or be able to tell you where to look.
Don't get your hopes up, though. There were a LOT of startup oil companies in the 1920s and '30s, and most of them collapsed. The best you can hope for is that one of the other companies bought them out, and might be willing to redeem against their own stock.
Caldarnia
10-09-2007, 08:56
If it got bought out, then the stocks would have automatically transferred into the new company. It's quite possible that the stock has split and divided over the years. If the company that bought the company that bought that company is still around, you might have just found yourself a nice little fortune. Get on this right away... and share any loot you get with me ;)
Edit: Actually, I think Woodruff Oil is still around, though I think it goes by "Woodruff Energy" now and has been relocated to New Jersey.
Kimetic Peoples
11-09-2007, 00:33
thank you for yalls help, i called the woodruff energy company and they said i have to speak to bob woodruff himself tomorrow. should be interesting.
How many shares were there?
Caldarnia
11-09-2007, 07:28
...they said i have to speak to bob woodruff himself tomorrow. should be interesting.
Yeah, you'd definitely better post an update after you talk to him.
Good Lifes
11-09-2007, 07:48
Most states have a "lost money" section. If people forget bank accounts, etc. the state takes care of the money until they find the owner. Contact the Attorney General's office. I think that's where most states put it.
Also, if the paper is pretty there are collectors that buy these things even if they are "worthless". It depends on how ornate it is.
Thumbless Pete Crabbe
11-09-2007, 11:33
Most states have a "lost money" section. If people forget bank accounts, etc. the state takes care of the money until they find the owner. Contact the Attorney General's office. I think that's where most states put it.
Also, if the paper is pretty there are collectors that buy these things even if they are "worthless". It depends on how ornate it is.
Eh. In California, at least, the state simply pockets the money after three years if it's "forgotten about," even if the owner is alive and on vacation. It's a bit of a scandal, but no one cares enough to stop it.
Good luck though, and let us know the outcome! :)
Caldarnia
12-09-2007, 02:58
Most states have a "lost money" section. If people forget bank accounts, etc. the state takes care of the money until they find the owner. Contact the Attorney General's office. I think that's where most states put it.
Eh. In California, at least, the state simply pockets the money after three years if it's "forgotten about," even if the owner is alive and on vacation. It's a bit of a scandal, but no one cares enough to stop it.
The difference is that this is a stock certificate. Stocks are considered "goods" not "money." Sure, you have to pay taxes on the increase in value if they go up, and you sell them. The thing though, is that states don't appropriate "forgotten" goods. If you own stock, it's owned until to sell it or give it away. Unless there's some legal loophole or something, that stock certificate should still be good.
Jeruselem
12-09-2007, 03:05
Well if it works out, you have some nice oil shares! :D
Good investment.
Travaria
12-09-2007, 06:44
In 1936 they may have done it differently, but in modern times a stock certificate usually wouldn't do you much good unless it was issued to you or signed over to you.
Caldarnia
13-09-2007, 04:36
I'm betting it was in something he inherited. If that's the case, then legally, it was transferred to him.
If it was contained in something that was given to him, then it was legally transferred to him.
If it was in something he bought, then it was still legally transferred to him.