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, General Libraries, 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
	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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 (Jan. 3 - Feb. 19)
	10		General correspondence 1911 (Feb. 20 - Mar. 25)
	11		General correspondence 1911 (Apr. 12 - Nov. 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 (Feb. 6 - July 31)
	19		General correspondence 1918 (Aug. 20 - Nov. 29)
	20		General correspondence 1919 (Jan. 27 - July 10)
	21		General correspondence 1919 (Sept. 23 - Dec. 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," January 30, 1909-March 5, 1910 and December 26-28, 1910.
			Laird correspondence after 1910 is integrated with the subseries, "General correspondence".
box	folder
2	3		"Laird's letters" Jan. - Feb. 1909
	4		"Laird's letters" March 1909
	5		"Laird's letters" April 1909
	6		" Laird's letters" May 1909
	7		"Laird's letters" June 1909
	8		"Laird's letters" July 1909
	9		"Laird's letters" August 1909
	10		"Laird's letters" Sept. - Dec. 1909
	11		"Laird's letters" January 1910
	12		"Laird's letters" February 1910
	13		"Laird's letters" March 1910; Oct. 26, 1910; Dec. 26 - 28, 1910
	14	3. Subseries, Voting Trust, Corralitos Co., January 28, 1916-January 13, 1923.
		4. Subseries, Ben P. Converse.
box	folder
2	15		i. Corralitos stock owned by Zimpleman, 1907-1908.
	16		ii. Land holdings in Texas, June 6, 1914-October 20, 1922.
	17		iii. Land holdings in Coryell County, Texas, May 22, 1918-April 29, 1919.

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

1. Subseries, Correspondence.

2. Subseries, Legal documents.

box

folder

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

Contract between Corralitos Company and E.D. Morgan Aug. 30, 1912 - Oct. 7, 1916

3. Subseries, Clipping, July 23, 1913.
Oversized.

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III. Minutes of the board of directors.

box

folder

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

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

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IV. Reports.

box

folder

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

2. Subseries, Report on the property of the Candelaria Mining Co., no date.

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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., May 1917-December 1919.
	26	3. Subseries, Analyses of interest, taxes, and rents, August-December 1917.
	27	4. Subseries, Corralitos - miscellaneous financial, 1900-1917.
	28	5. Subseries, Candelaria and León - miscellaneous financial, 1908-1909.

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VI. Legal documents

box

folder

Legal documents 1909, 1911

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

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