Here are a couple of threads that may help:
Oldest Mutual Funds Still in Existence (2019 thread)
Second Oldest Stock Fund Is As Nimble As A Teenager (2014 thread)
As to the merger of Quarterly Income Shares into American Business Shares in 1944, you can find the NYTimes story reporting it here. This was a case of the minnow ($5M company) swallowing the whale ($21M).
According to a 1942 NYTimes article, American Business Shares was sponsored by Lord, Abbett Co., Inc.
According to the SEC, American Business Shares changed its name on April 4, 1976 to Lord Abbett Income Fund, Inc., and from that to Lord Abbett US Government Securities Fund, Inc. on January 27, 1986.
Again according to the SEC, that first change involved a "change from Delaware to Maryland corporation accompanied by change in name, fundamental investment objective and institution of policy requiring automatic redemption of small accounts"
In 1997, the SEC announced the fund's impending demise:

A notice has been issued giving interested persons until May 13 [1997] to request a hearing on an application filed by Lord Abbett U. S. Government Securities Fund, Inc. (formerly American Business Shares, Inc.) for an order under Section 8(f) of the Investment Company Act declaring that applicant has ceased to be an investment company.

https://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1997/dig042297.pdf
As to Affiliated Fund, Inc. that's easy. Do a search on the name, you'll come up with Lord Abbett Affiliated Fund. That fund's webpage gives its inception date as 5/14/34, noting that the fund changed its investment strategy on 1/1/50.
https://www.lordabbett.com/en/strategies/mutual-funds/affiliated-fund.class-a.html

@Observant1, yes, and the trade confirmation also indicated that (YTM +0.362%).

Thanks, Yogi!

I know we're closer to the bottom that we were at the start of the year. Other than that, it depends on whether things are really broken or in only in need of a major tune up. I am currently doing a little tax loss trading and dribbling a few new dollars into stocks. But, not too many. The stock % in my portfolio is about what it was at the start of the year due to non-stock losses that have accompanied stock losses. This quote describes some of reasons for the current market uncertainties....

“The disinflationary forces of the last quarter-century have been replaced, at least temporarily, by a whole different set of forces,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said during Senate testimony on Wednesday. “The real question is: How long will this new set of forces be sustained? We can’t know that. But in the meantime, our job is to find maximum employment and price stability in this new economy."

Hard to say
Very close bottom but it bounces past 4 days
Maybe another leg down to sp500 3540 or lowered before everything finished ...next cycle could be next wk.
Good that inflation easing/natural gas down /UST also slowly easing/ oil demand likely ceased w recession and USA travel hopefully slow after july....maybe good for stocks because lessen demands
Feds force us to buy stocks and shy away from energy UST/ commodities. Oil rsi and sp500 rsi almost equal. Look like sp500 bullheads held above Bonifacio level last 8 hrs/lots support
Maybe good to nibble..we don't now if 15% from bottom or more but prices so cheap, we been nibbling, prob hold rest of 24 36 months
Amazon, tsla, fedex, lcid, sp500 qqq - are the vehicles we bought earlier this wk...
We will see next few wks
-19% portfolio down now compared 28% 3 wks ago
On side note we were suppose down 600 800 points Tues after uncle Powell give speech but only down little, could be bottom formation. Few more rate raise and stocks keep uptrends in 4 8 wks we think it maybe bottom...lots speculations.
****nobody knows nothing*** Buffett

Vanguard Wellington is reputed to be one of the oldest surviving funds, with an inception date of 7/1/1929 .

But those are the easy cases: Wellington and Mass Investors Trust, still around, still the same name, performance record from the beginning on Morningstar. But what happened to American Business Shares, or Affiliated funds, or any of the other once large funds no longer apparently operating under the same name, and perhaps "disappeared" by new management to obscure poor long term returns?
That's where I struggle.

Vanguard Wellington is reputed to be one of the oldest surviving funds, with an inception date of 7/1/1929 .

Sorry for a naive question. I never bought Treasury bonds, and I missed this auction. Does it make sense to buy the same TIPS now at Fidelity without auction, or their price will be significantly higher?

Next 5-yr TIPS auction will be on 10/20/22.
You can buy TIPS at Fido in the secondary market. Commissions are low and note the YTM on "ask" (retail customers buy at "ask" and sell at "bid").
https://www.fidelity.com/trading/commissions-margin-rates

A missing piece is the rate environment and here is a chart from FRED for 10-yr Treasury yields since 1/2/1962. The P/Es are related to interest rates but there is no precise formula.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=QUFr

Some interesting ideas from one of my advisors
20% declines not caused by electronic trading (1987) or Pandemic ( 2020)
1970 down 35% Recovered 20 months later
1973 down 48% rec 2114 days later !!!
1982 down 26% rec 68 days
2001 down 42% rec 1842
2008 down 56% rec 1435 days
1970 Recession driven with high inflation
1973 high inflation but "misguided fiscal policies" prolonged decline
1980s inflation surge ppt bear market Fed hiked rates
2001 Tech bubble little inflation
2008 housing bubble little inflation
So if 1970 and 1982 are most applicable comparisons, we might be close to bottom, based on the decline, but neither started at 2022 valuations
1/1/2022 23
PE 16 at 1/1/1969 at start of the decline in 70s ( 30% cheaper to start than now)
and 7 to 9 1/1/1981 to 1/1/1982

Hello: newbie here. I know this topic of "oldest funds" has been covered before; it was an internet search for it that first led me to Mutual Fund Observer. Feel free to answer with a simple link to posts that pre-date my joining.
Typical Internet search hits for this topic (e.g., investopedia) focus on the oldest funds "still active today." That's not very helpful for my purposes.[survivorship bias etc.] I have the 1939 SEC report (Part 2) which shows all the largest mutual funds in existence as of 1936 *under their names at the time.* And older copies of the Wiesenberger yearbook can sometimes track what happened to items on the SEC fund list (e.g., Quarterly Income Shares, 4th largest as of 1936, was merged into American Business Shares, a Calvin Bullock fund).
But it is hit and miss. Just by chance did my eyes fall on a note that "Incorporated Investors" (2nd largest) became Putnam Investors in 1966.
I'm still trying to track down the current name of "State Street Investment." (3rd largest, under that name through 1965).
That's one specific query. Anyone have some tips? A database (in my dreams) that tracks defunct mutual fund names, or would surface the fact that Putnam Investors used to be called Incorporated Investors"?

Update:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1545440/000158064222003209/leftbrain497e.htm

@Observant1, yes, and the trade confirmation also indicated that (YTM +0.362%).

This M* article explains more on commodity strategy funds. TIPS are often used as collateral for investing in future contracts (derivatives).

Strategy design heavily influences performance, too. Most commodity strategies aim to closely track a specific index--usually the Bloomberg Commodity Index--and add value by making small tactical tilts or actively managing the collateral that backs the futures contracts.

https://morningstar.com/articles/1083759/why-are-so-many-commodity-funds-underperforming
Beware that commodity funds are volatile and they can swing both directions quickly, particularly in today's market condition.

Sometime doing ok is good enough for me in this environment. This year many international funds are down 20+ % and VWILX is down over 30%. The 2008's drawdown has taught me that it is much easier to stay invested in conservative funds and they tend to recover in shorter time. YTD VWICX is slightly ahead of VTIAX (its benchmark), -15.7% vs -18.9%, respectively. VGWAX is the least volatile of the funds discussed here. Having 35% bond exposure is not a bad way to reduce risk.
Same approach also works for emerging market funds.

Pardon me if this was mentioned previously.
I attempted to access the old M* mutual fund performance charts using the URL below (tried several tickers).
http://performance.morningstar.com/fund/performance-return.action?t=VDIGX&region=usa&culture=en-US
Received following message: The report is no longer supported
I often used this tool to compare various mutual funds.
Guess I'll have to find a different tool now!
Please feel free to share any suggestions you may have.

Hello! I ran into the same thing HERE, trying to link to the "quote" page at Morningstar for a fund or ETF. I forget which it was. I guess it doesn't matter, which... Anyhow, when I went DIRECTLY to Morningstar, I was able to see what I was looking for. The New & Improved junk is JUNK. Just more complicated, where it doesn't need to be that way. Doink-brains in charge.

@Observant1
Same with the below link.......was in place a few days ago. I used this "legacy" link to view the "old style" risk graphics, that I preferred.
https://performance.morningstar.com/fund/ratings-risk.action?t=fbalx&region=usa&culture=en-US

I was about to post the same thing. This was happening sporadically yesterday. Today the "transition" is complete. Legacy pages have apparently, to borrow from Monty Python, ceased to be! Are expired and gone to meet their maker!

Don't like to jump around, but losing my confidence in Int'l fund managers. Hold VWILX and MGGPX. Thinking of reducing positions and adding to VTSAX, a smoother ride. These guys did weather 2020 pretty well, but are getting beat up now. Stay the course? Thoughts needed!! Thanks!

I've owned VWILX for several years.
The fund has experienced significant losses YTD (-31.11%) and over the trailing 12 months (-34.31%).
I don't have any plans to sell VWILX in the short-term.
Guess I'm a glutton for punishment!

When volume is so low, you can literally see your trade go by on CNBC ticker display. One has to be very careful and must use limit orders. A market buy or sell order of even 1,000 can lead to bad fill.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TOTR/history?p=TOTR

.......Oh, I get it, now. I appreciate the response, @yogibearbull.

5-yr, 0.125% coupon TIPS auction today, 6/23/22, was at real YTM of +0.362%. In the secondary market, the real yield yesterday, 6/22/22, was +0.48%.
https://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2022/R_20220623_3.pdf