Thomas Wentworth Peirce, Jr.: An Inventory of His Papers at the Benson Latin American Collection

Thomas Wentworth Peirce, Jr.:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Benson Latin American Collection


Descriptive Summary
	Creator:	Peirce, Thomas Wentworth, d. 1923.
	Title:	Thomas Wentworth Peirce, Jr. Papers
	Dates:	1900-1923

	Abstract:	Correspondence and documents regarding three mining companies, of which Peirce was a director, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
	OCLC Record No.:	30605864
	Extent:	11 inches
	Language	English
	Repository:	Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin

Biographical Note

Thomas Wentworth Peirce, Jr., son of developer of Texas railroads, Thomas Wentworth Peirce, was a member of the board of directors of the Corralitos Company from 1903 until his death in 1923. He also served as a director of the Candelaria Mining Company and the León Mining Company, which were associated with the Corralitos Company. The companies operated mining and ranching interests in the northern part of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.


Chronology
	1880	“Corralitos Company's property... in Mexico was acquired by the present owners about the year 1880, from the Mexican owners.” (Houghton, 30 Apr 1919, to the Nat. Assoc. for the Protection of American Rights in Mexico)
	1883	Francis Holbrook ingeniero en jefe de las minas de Cía. Corralitos
	1895	E.C. Houghton first employed [on ranch]
	1900	Edwin D. Morgan first became responsible for ranch
	1902 February 18	Compañía Ramos Sociedad Anónima organized in Mexico City; to consolidate title to properties belonging to Corralitos in the Prohibited Zone; entire capital stock of Ramos owned by Corralitos.
	1902 February 18	Compañía de San Pedro Sociedad Anónima organized in Mexico City; to consolidate title to properties belonging to Candelaria Mining Company in the Prohibited Zone; entire capital stock of San Pedro owned by Candelaria.
	1903 December 4	E.D. Morgan is president of Candelaria; C.I. Reeves is Sec/Treas; Britton Davis is General Manager, El Paso
	circa 1904	“About the year 1904 the Corralitos Company undertook extensive improvements...” (Houghton, 30 Apr 1919)
	1904 April 12	T. W. Peirce notified of election on 10 Apr as director on boards of both Corralitos (Colorado) and Candelaria; (on 26 he acknowledged this as re-election)
	1905 April 11	TWP elected director of Candelaria and Corralitos
	1905 April 11	Candelaria officers: Morgan, pres; Reeves, sec; E. [Edmund] DeGoncer, Resident Director, El Paso; N. C. Thompson, Manager, El Paso.
	1905 April 11	Corralitos officers: Morgan, pres; Reeves, sec/treas; E. DeGoncer, Resident Director; E.C. Houghton, Manager.
	1907 April 9	TWP elected director Corralitos and Candelaria
	1908 March 30	León Mining Company organized [in New York]; mentioned on Candelaria letterhead
	1908 July	Thompson resigned
	1908 July 30	TWP director of León Co.
	1909 January 11	TWP sent check for $12,000 to León Mining Co. as loan
	1909 Febrary 18	Candelaria NJ to purchase Candelaria, Colorado
	1909 May 13	TWP purchased stock in León Co.; Reeves said it would be Candelaria stock, but the León Co. could endorse the check.
	1911 January 17	resolution to dissolve León Co. to be voted on January 23
	1911 February 11	Reeves to Peirce: “We will shortly call in the León Mining shares and issue Candelaria Mining Co. in its place.”
	1911 May	Walter P. Bliss became president of Corralitos
	1911 April 9	TWP elected director Corralitos
	1913 April	Reeves lost place on board to E. H. Wright? (letter of Apr 11)
	1914 June 4	TWP elected director Corralitos
	1915 October 10	p.3 refers to Candelaria: drugs left at mines; must have been closed already
	1916 June 4	Raynal Bolling president Corralitos
	1916 October 27	“Going to lose Bolling; Oct 27 Shearson mentioned.
	1917	“In 1917 the Punitive Expedition... was withdrawn, and with [it] all of the American and foreign settlers from the northwestern part of Chihuahua abandoned their properties. This was the case with the Corralitos Company.” (Houghton, 30 Apr 1919)
	1917 January 20	Shearson to become president of Company (doesn't say which); Morgan to retire form active management but remain on board of directors
	1917 April 10	TWP elected director Corralitos
	1917 June 18	Candelaria adjudged insolvent by Court of Chancery of the State of New Jersey; Charles I. Reeves appointed Receiver.
	1920 May 9	León Co. still alive: “holds the Candelaria stock in its treasury”
	1921	Edward Shearson is president of Corralitos
	1923 April 10	TWP elected director of Corralitos Company (April 12).
	1923 October 30	E. Townsend Irvin is president, The Corralitos Company
	1927	La Candelaria Mining Co. se vió obligada suspender sus actividades en la época revolucionaria y hasta ahora no las ha reanudado (Boletín Minero)
	1927 May	The National Agrarian Commission obtained a writ expropriating Corralitos lands [Corralitos Cattle Company] for ejidos. Ignored writ of injunction and were to take over property on July 31, 1927.

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, minutes, reports, financial documents, legal documents, and miscellanea pertaining primarily to the Corralitos Company, the Candelaria Mining Company, and the León Mining Company. The main body of correspondence relates to the general business of the three companies. Principal correspondents are officers of the companies Edwin D. Morgan, Arthur S. Dwight, Charles I. Reeves, Edward Shearson, and Peirce. Letters from E. C. Houghton, manager of the Corralitos ranch, describe ranch business and activites, while those from George A. Laird, manager of Candelaria and León Mining Companies, detail mining operations; both men described events related to the Mexican Revolution and the effects upon their operations. Some items reflect the companies' dealings with the Ferrocarril Noroeste de México. Subseries of correspondence relate to the Corralitos Company Voting Trust and to the activities of Ben P. Converse as agent in Texas for the Thomas Wentworth Peirce Estate. A series concerning the Corralitos Company's contract with E.D. Morgan as general agent contains correspondence and legal documents.

Also present in the papers are minutes of the boards of directors of the Corralitos Company and the León Mining Company; financial documents, including treasurer's and operating reports; reports by Morgan to the directors of the Corralitos Company; and a few legal documents, notes, clippings, and maps.


Arrangement
	Organized into seven series: I. Correspondence. II. Contract between Corralitos Company and E. D. Morgan. III. Minutes. IV. Reports. V. Financial documents. VI. Legal documents. VII. Miscellanea.
	Further divided into subseries and arranged chronologically within folders.


Index Terms

	Subjects
		Peirce, Thomas Wentworth, d. 1923--Archives.
		Candelaria Mining Company.
		Corralitos Company.
		Leon Mining Company.
		Mexico Northwestern Railway Company.
		Chihuahua (Mexico : State)--History--Sources.
		Mexico--History--Revolution, 1910-1920--Sources.
		Mines and mineral resources--Mexico--20th century--History--Sources.
		Ranches--Mexico--20th century--History--Sources.
	Correspondents
		Bliss, Walter P.
		Bolling, Raynal
		Converse, Ben P.
		Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897.
		Davis, Britton, 1860-
		De Goncer, Edmund
		Dwight, Arthur S.
		Houghton, E. C.
		Laird, George A.
		Morgan, Edwin D. (Edwin Denison), 1854-1933.
		Reeves, Charles I.
		Shearson, Edward.
		Thompson, N. C.
		Warner, James Harold
		Candelaria Mining Company.
		Corralitos Company.
		Leon Mining Company.

Series



I. Correspondence
		1. Subseries, General correspondence, 1903-1923
box	folder
1	1		General correspondence, 1903
	2		General correspondence, 1904
	3		General correspondence, 1905
	4		General correspondence, 1906
	5		General correspondence, 1907
	6		General correspondence, 1908
	7		General correspondence, 1909
	8		General correspondence, 1910
	9		General correspondence, 1911 Janary 3-1922 February 19
	10		General correspondence, 1911 February 20-March 25
	11		General correspondence, 1911 April 12-November 13
	12		General correspondence, 1912
	13		General correspondence, 1913
	14		General correspondence, 1914
	15		General correspondence, 1915
	16		General correspondence, 1916
	17		General correspondence, 1917
			[unittitle added: see error report]
box	folder
1	18		General correspondence, 1918 February 6-July 31
	19		General correspondence, 1918 August 20-November 29
	20		General correspondence, 1919 January 27-July 10
	21		General correspondence, 1919 September 23-December 22
	22		General correspondence, 1920
	23		General correspondence, 1921
box	folder
2	1		General correspondence, 1922
	2		General correspondence, 1923
		2. Subseries, "Laird's letters," 1909 January 30-1910 March 5, 1910 December 26-28
			Laird correspondence after 1910 is integrated with the subseries, "General correspondence".
box	folder
2	3		"Laird's letters," 1909 January-February
	4		"Laird's letters," 1909 March
	5		"Laird's letters," 1909 April
	6		" Laird's letters," 1909 May
	7		"Laird's letters," 1909 June
	8		"Laird's letters," 1909 June
	9		"Laird's letters," 1909 August
	10		"Laird's letters," 1909 September-December
	11		"Laird's letters," 1910 January
	12		"Laird's letters," 1910 February
	13		"Laird's letters," March 1910; 1910 October 26; 1910 December 26-28
	14	3. Subseries, Voting Trust, Corralitos Co., 1916 January 28-1923 January 13
		4. Subseries, Ben P. Converse
box	folder
2	15		i. Corralitos stock owned by Zimpleman, 1907-1908
	16		ii. Land holdings in Texas, 1914 June 6-1922 October 20
	17		iii. Land holdings in Coryell County, Texas, 1918 May 22-1919 April 29

II. Contracts between Corralitos Co. and E. D. Morgan, 1910 June 20-1916 October 7

1. Subseries, Correspondence

2. Subseries, Legal documents

box

folder

Contract between Corralitos Company and E.D. Morgan, 1910 June 20-1911 April 29

Contract between Corralitos Company and E.D. Morgan, 1912 August 30-1916 October 7

3. Subseries, Clipping, 1913 July 23
Oversized.

III. Minutes of the board of directors

box

folder

1. Subseries, Corralitos Co., 1909, 1920-1923

2. Subseries, León Mining Co., 1909, 1911

IV. Reports

box

folder

1. Subseries, Reports of E. D. Morgan to the president and stockholders of the Corralitos Co., 1910 December 6-1921 March 2

2. Subseries, Report on the property of the Candelaria Mining Co., undated



V. Financial documents
box	folder
2	24	1. Subseries, Treasurer's reports of receipts and disbursements, Corralitos Co., 1911-1913
	25	2. Subseries, Monthly reports of operation, Corralitos Co., 1917 May-1919 December
	26	3. Subseries, Analyses of interest, taxes, and rents, 1917 August-December
	27	4. Subseries, Corralitos - miscellaneous financial, 1900-1917
	28	5. Subseries, Candelaria and León - miscellaneous financial, 1908-1909

VI. Legal documents

box

folder

Legal documents, 1909, 1911



VII. Miscellanea. Notes, clippings, and a sketch map of New Mexico
box	folder
2	30	Notes
	31	Clippings
	32	Sketch map of New Mexico