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Collection Summary | |
Creator: | Richmond Jones Jr. (1833-1861) |
Collection Name: | Richmond Jones papers, |
Inclusive Dates: | 1859-1861 |
Physical Description: | .4 linear feet |
Abstract: | Diary and Notebooks, 1859-1861. This collection includes materials which document the travels and surveys of Richmond Jones (1833-1861) while working for the Sopori Land and Mining Company in the Santa Cruz Valley of Arizona. The diary describes his journey from Rhode Island to Tucson, Arizona and offer insights on individuals and mining activities in southern Arizona until his sudden death at the hands of Apaches, in the field, in 1861. Includes account books, letters, survey books and documents, as well as a report on the Sopori and San Xavier mines by mining engineer Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923) who was in charge of the Santa Rita Mine from 1860-1861. |
Collection Number: | MS 414 |
Languages Represented | English |
Repository: |
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections University of Arizona PO Box 210055 Tucson, AZ 85721-0055 Phone: 520-621-6423 Fax: 520-621-9733 URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/ |
Richmond Jones, Jr. (1833-1861) was a mining engineer hired by Welcome B. Sayles (1812-1862) of the Sopori Land and Mining Company and the Arizona Land and Mining Company of Providence Rhode Island to survey the Sopori Rancho boundary in the Arizona Territory. Both the Sopori Land and Mining Company and the Arizona Land and Mining Company were incorporated in Providence Rhode Island in 1859 by Sayles with firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt (1814-1862) as a major stockholder. Although the Sopori Company was financed mainly out of Providence, Cincinnati financiers Charles Debrille Poston (1825-1902) and Samuel Peter Heintzleman (1805-1880) founders of the Sonora Exploration and Mining Company, were also involved. Jones' diaries help to tie together the sometimes complicated interactions of the companies. When the Civil War began in 1861 United States troops were withdrawn from the territory of Arizona and many mines closed due to increased raiding by Apaches. As the attacks increased Jones diary entries become less frequent until they cease altogether in July 1861 when Jones was killed in an Apache raid while attempting to return to Tucson Arizona.
Diaries and Notebooks, 1859-1861. Collection consists of materials which document the travels and surveys of Richmond Jones (1833-1861) while working for the Sopori Land and Mining Company in the Santa Cruz Valley of Arizona. The collection contains account books, letters, survey books, reports on individual mines, and documents. Jones' diaries and account books (1859-1861) make up the bulk of the collection.
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Richmond Jones papers (MS 414). Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries.
Series 1: Diaries, 1860-1861 | |||||||||||
These two diaries, an original written in pencil and a duplicate written in ink, record Jones' journey from Providence, Rhode Island to Arizona; his survey of the Sopori Rancho and the Rohnstadt grants; his examination of mineral indications; and the growing danger from Apaches. | |||||||||||
box | folder | ||||||||||
1 | 1 | Diary. , 1860 | |||||||||
1 | 2 | Diary. , 1860-1861 |
Series 2: Account Books, 1859-1861 | |||||||||||
These account books contain accounts by Sayles and Jones written by Jones. They detail the goods purchased for the trip to Arizona and other expenditures. The Sopori account book contains an account of transactions from Welcome B. Sayles to Richmond Jones which shows the purchase of equipment necessary to a geologist or a mining engineer, as well as foodstuffs, pack animals, weapons, and petty cash payouts to workers for unspecified jobs. | |||||||||||
box | folder | ||||||||||
1 | 3 | Richmond Jones and Welcome Ballou Sayles Account Book. , 1859-1861 | |||||||||
1 | 4 | Sopori Land and Mining Company Cash and Personal Account Book. , 1859-1861 |
Series 3: Notebooks, 1859-1861 | |||||||||||
These notebooks were kept by Jones while in Arizona and contain notes on mines and mining practices; plant and animal genealogy; barometric heights; and magnetic observations; and the completed survey of the land owned by the Arizona Land and Mining Company, including the Sopori Rancho and the Orozco property. | |||||||||||
box | folder | ||||||||||
1 | 5 | Arizona Land and Mining Company Notebook. , 1860-1861 | |||||||||
1 | 6 | Arizona Land and Mining Company Notebooks, Nos. 1-2, 5. , 1860 | |||||||||
1 | 7 | Sopori Land and Mining Company Notebook No. 4. , undated |
Series 4: Letters, 1861 | |||||||||||
This is a five page letter from Welcome Sayles to Richmond Jones, from Providence, Rhode Island. Receipt of the letter is noted by Jones in his diary and parts of the letter are noted in greater detail. The letter discusses the survey made by Jones and makes it clear that the Sopori Company has title in the Rohnstadt and Orozco land. Internal business matters are discussed and comments are made concerning many of the participants in the mining companies involved; including Charles Poston and John R. Bartlett. | |||||||||||
box | folder | ||||||||||
1 | 8 | Letter from Welcome Ballou Sayles to Richmond Jones Jr. , February 27, 1861 |
Series 5: Reports, ca. 1894 | |||||||||||
These reports consist of a 35 page report which details the history of the Sopori Land Grant; a handwritten copy of a three page title document originally produced in 1838 concerning the survey of the Sopori Rancho; and a five page handwritten report from Pumpelly to Jones concerning ore production at the Sopori and San Xavier Mines in Arizona. | |||||||||||
box | folder | ||||||||||
1 | 9 | Sopori Land and Mining Company vs. the United States et al. El Sopori Grant. , ca. 1894 | |||||||||
1 | 10 | Description of the Sopori Rancho. , undated | |||||||||
1 | 11 | Report on the Sopori and San Xavier Mines by Raphael Pumpelly. , April 18, 1861 |