Financial records, 1910, 1934-1986, undated

Consisting of correspondence, bank statements, account books and journals, appraisals, insurance policies, and legal agreements, among other material, this series documents approximately 50 years of the financial management of McIlhenny's assets, and to a lesser extent that of his sister, Bernice Wintersteen. McIlhenny's fine and decorative art collection, like that of his father's, was his most valuable and enduring investment. Appraisals and inventories of both collections, and insurance placed on these objects can be found in the "Appraisals and insurance" subseries. Material regarding the disposition of both collections is located in the "Estate administration" subseries. McIlhenny's income, and that of his sister's, was generated almost exclusively by trust fund accounts set up by his parents at the Girard, First Pennsylvania and Fidelity Bank. Files related to these accounts are numerous, and occupy the "Banking and investments," "Bookkeeping," and "Estate administration" subseries. McIlhenny was a continuous contributor to cultural and charitable organizations. Material documenting tax-deductible gifts of money, publications and art objects is located in the "Tax files" subseries. Household expenditures, including wages for his staffs in Philadelphia and in Ireland, can be found in the "Bookkeeping" subseries along with his personal records of investment activity.

Correspondents most heavily represented in this series are the corporate entities of Girard Bank, First Pennsylvania Bank, the law firm of Ballard, Spahr, Ingersoll and Andrews, which handled McIlhenny's tax filings and estate administration, and Cooke and Bieler, Inc., McIlhenny's investment advisers.

In each subseries the financial records of Bernice Wintersteen are filed last. Because matters of estate were so intimately shared between the siblings, material regarding the estates of their parents in the fourth subseries, "Estate administration" applies to them both.