Descriptive Summary
Peirce, Thomas Wentworth, d. 1923.
Thomas Wentworth Peirce, Jr. Papers
1900-1923
11 inches
30605864
Benson Latin American Collection,
General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin
Correspondence and documents regarding three mining companies, of which Peirce was a director, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
English.
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
18 Feb 1902
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.
18 Feb 1902
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.
4 Dec 1903
E.D. Morgan is president of Candelaria; C.I. Reeves is Sec/Treas; Britton Davis is General Manager, El Paso
c. 1904
“About the year 1904 the Corralitos Company undertook extensive improvements...” (Houghton, 30 Apr 1919)
12 Apr 1904
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)
11 Apr 1905
TWP elected director of Candelaria and Corralitos
11 Apr 1905
Candelaria officers: Morgan, pres; Reeves, sec; E. [Edmund] DeGoncer, Resident Director, El Paso; N. C. Thompson, Manager, El Paso.
11 Apr 1905
Corralitos officers: Morgan, pres; Reeves, sec/treas; E. DeGoncer, Resident Director; E.C. Houghton, Manager.
9 Apr 1907
TWP elected director Corralitos and Candelaria
30 Mar 1908
León Mining Company organized [in New York]; mentioned on Candelaria letterhead
July 1908
Thompson resigned
30 July 1908
TWP director of León Co.
11 Jan 1909
TWP sent check for $12,000 to León Mining Co. as loan
18 Feb 1909
Candelaria NJ to purchase Candelaria, Colorado
13 May 1909
TWP purchased stock in León Co.; Reeves said it would be Candelaria stock, but the León Co. could endorse the check.
17 Jan 1911
resolution to dissolve León Co. to be voted on January 23
11 Feb 1911
Reeves to Peirce: “We will shortly call in the León Mining shares and issue Candelaria Mining Co. in its place.”
May 1911
Walter P. Bliss became president of Corralitos
9 Apr 1911
TWP elected director Corralitos
Apr 1913
Reeves lost place on board to E. H. Wright? (letter of Apr 11)
4 Jun4 1914
TWP elected director Corralitos
10 Oct 1915
p.3 refers to Candelaria: drugs left at mines; must have been closed already
4 June 1916
Raynal Bolling president Corralitos
27 Oct 1916
“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)
20 Jan 1917
Shearson to become president of Company (doesn't say which); Morgan to retire form active management but remain on board of directors
10 Apr 1917
TWP elected director Corralitos
18 June 1917
Candelaria adjudged insolvent by Court of Chancery of the State of New Jersey; Charles I. Reeves appointed Receiver.
9 May 1920
León Co. still alive: “holds the Candelaria stock in its treasury”
1921
Edward Shearson is president of Corralitos
10 Apr 1923
TWP elected director of Corralitos Company (April 12).
30 Oct 1923
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)
May 1927
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.
Acquisition Information
The Thomas Wentworth Peirce, Jr. papers were donated to the Benson Latin American Collection in 1988 by John W. Peirce.
Processing Information
The papers were described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in May 1994.
Finding aid initially repared by the Mexican Archives Project, January 30, 1995.
Preferred Citation
Thomas Wentworth Peirce, Jr. Papers, 1900-1923, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.
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.
1
1
General correspondence
1903
1
2
General correspondence
1904
1
3
General correspondence
1905
1
4
General correspondence
1906
1
5
General correspondence
1907
1
6
General correspondence
1908
1
7
General correspondence
1909
1
8
General correspondence
1910
1
9
General correspondence
1911 (Jan. 3 - Feb. 19)
1
10
General correspondence
1911 (Feb. 20 - Mar. 25)
1
11
General correspondence
1911 (Apr. 12 - Nov. 13)
1
12
General correspondence
1912
1
13
General correspondence
1913
1
14
General correspondence
1914
1
15
General correspondence
1915
1
16
General correspondence
1916
1
17
General correspondence
1917
[unittitle added: see error report]
1
18
General correspondence
1918 (Feb. 6 - July 31)
1
19
General correspondence
1918 (Aug. 20 - Nov. 29)
1
20
General correspondence
1919 (Jan. 27 - July 10)
1
21
General correspondence
1919 (Sept. 23 - Dec. 22)
1
22
General correspondence
1920
1
23
General correspondence
1921
2
1
General correspondence
1922
2
2
General correspondence
1923
2. Subseries, Laird's letters,
January 30, 1909-March 5, 1910 and December 26-28, 1910.
Laird correspondence after 1910 is integrated with the subseries, General correspondence.
2
3
Laird's letters
Jan. - Feb. 1909
2
4
Laird's letters
March 1909
2
5
Laird's letters
April 1909
2
6
Laird's letters
May 1909
2
7
Laird's letters
June 1909
2
8
Laird's letters
July 1909
2
9
Laird's letters
August 1909
2
10
Laird's letters
Sept. - Dec. 1909
2
11
Laird's letters
January 1910
2
12
Laird's letters
February 1910
2
13
Laird's letters
March 1910; Oct. 26, 1910; Dec. 26 - 28, 1910
2
14
3. Subseries, Voting Trust, Corralitos Co., January 28, 1916-January 13, 1923.
4. Subseries, Ben P. Converse.
2
15
i. Corralitos stock owned by Zimpleman, 1907-1908.
2
16
ii. Land holdings in Texas, June 6, 1914-October 20, 1922.
2
17
iii. Land holdings in Coryell County, Texas, May 22, 1918-April 29, 1919.
II. Contracts between Corralitos Co. and E. D. Morgan, June 20, 1910-October 7, 1916.
1. Subseries, Correspondence.
2. Subseries, Legal documents.
2
18
Contract between Corralitos Company and E.D. Morgan
June 20, 1910 - Apr. 29, 1911
2
19
Contract between Corralitos Company and E.D. Morgan
Aug. 30, 1912 - Oct. 7, 1916
3. Subseries, Clipping, July 23, 1913.
Oversized.
III. Minutes of the board of directors.
2
20
1. Subseries, Corralitos Co., 1909 and 1920-1923.
2
21
2. Subseries, León Mining Co., 1909 and 1911.
IV. Reports.
2
22
1. Subseries, Reports of E. D. Morgan to the president and stockholders of the Corralitos Co., December 6, 1910-March 2, 1921.
2
23
2. Subseries, Report on the property of the Candelaria Mining Co., no date.
V. Financial documents.
2
24
1. Subseries, Treasurer's reports of receipts and disbursements, Corralitos Co., 1911-1913.
2
25
2. Subseries, Monthly reports of operation, Corralitos Co., May 1917-December 1919.
2
26
3. Subseries, Analyses of interest, taxes, and rents, August-December 1917.
2
27
4. Subseries, Corralitos - miscellaneous financial, 1900-1917.
2
28
5. Subseries, Candelaria and León - miscellaneous financial, 1908-1909.
VI. Legal documents
2
29
Legal documents
1909, 1911
VII. Miscellanea. Notes, clippings, and a sketch map of New Mexico.
2
30
Notes
2
31
Clippings
2
32
Sketch map of New Mexico