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Wood (Henry Ellsworth) Papers
mssWoodh
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Henry Ellsworth Wood papers
Creator:
Wood, Henry Ellsworth, 1855-1932
Identifier/Call Number: mssWoodh
Physical Description:
4.53 Linear Feet
(8 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1853-1935
Abstract: The collection spans several generations of the Wood family, focusing on the personal life and business activities of Colorado
assayer Henry Ellsworth Wood.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item], Henry Ellsworth Wood papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
The collection was purchased from Joseph W. Jones, April 1955.
Henry Ellsworth Wood (1855-1932) was born in Joliet, Illinois, the son of William Cowper Wood and Hannah Tucker Lawrence.
The Woods hailed from a prominent Connecticut family which included Oliver Ellsworth, the third Chief Justice of the United
States Supreme Court. In 1868, William accompanied Major John Wesley Powell's expedition to explore the headwaters of the
Colorado River, hoping a trip to the West might improve his health. Thirteen-year old Henry joined his father for much of
the journey. Having entered Yale University with the class of 1876, Henry left after two years of study in mineralogy for
a job with the Edgar Thompson Steel Works in Braddocks, Pennsylvania. In 1876, Henry Ellsworth Wood returned to Colorado where
he began work in the Boulder County mines as a miner, ore assorter and assayer. He arrived in Leadville, Colorado, in 1878,
partnering with Maurice Hayes before establishing his own assay office and laboratory. Life in Leadville proved difficult
for his family and in 1889 Henry moved the business to Denver. In 1898, he expanded his professional activities with the formation
of the Henry E. Wood Ore Testing Works. He patented the Wood Ore Flotation process in 1909 and in 1912 turned his attention
toward the concentration of Molybdenite. During the First World War, Henry shipped the product to England, France and the
United States from the largest Molybdenite mine in Canada. His finances suffered following the war and eventually Henry joined
his sons in their general oil business. Henry Ellsworth Wood married Belle Matteson McGinnis on November 1, 1880, in New York
City. The Woods established a residence in Colorado, though each traveled extensively. Belle, granddaughter of former Illinois
governor Joel Aldrich Matteson, possessed her own Colorado ties. Her aunt, Mary Jane Matteson, married mining and real estate
broker Roswell Eaton Goodell and the pair became prominent Leadville residents. The Goodells had five daughters with whom
both Henry and Belle were close. In 1881, Mary Matteson Goodell married mining engineer James Benton Grant, operator of the
Grant Smelter at Leadville and later first Democratic governor of Colorado. The Woods had three children: Katharine Earle
Wood, Oliver Ellsworth Wood, and Lawrence Matteson Wood. The death of their daughter Katharine shortly after the birth of
her daughter Katharine Wood Manice in 1902, involved the Woods in a protracted dispute with her widower, Arthur R. Manice,
regarding both the upbringing of their granddaughter and various financial entanglements. The Woods celebrated their fiftieth
wedding anniversary in 1930. Having fallen on hard times financially, Henry Ellsworth Wood died in Sacramento, California,
in 1932.
The collection contains manuscripts by Henry Ellsworth Wood, letters written by various authors, photographs, negatives, ephemera,
an assay book, and photograph albums and scrapbooks. The collection spans several generations of the Wood family, focusing
on the personal life and business activities of Henry Ellsworth Wood. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence,
including some 300 pieces from Henry Ellsworth Wood to his wife, Belle Matteson McGinnis Wood. These letters, composed over
the fifty year period of their marriage, cover a wide range of aspects of their lives, including their immediate and extended
family, their day-to-day activities, trips to visit family and friends, financial hardships, mining affairs in Colorado and
Canada, and assorted business activities. Four generations of the Wood family are represented in the correspondence, including
69 letters composed between 1853 and 1856 by William Cowper Wood, his parents and siblings. The collection includes various
drafts of Henry Ellsworth Wood's reminiscences of his childhood and early days in Leadville, the most comprehensive manuscript
of this type being "I Remember." Also of note is the manuscript "Colorado in 1868," reproduced with commentary by Henry Ellsworth
Wood from a notebook kept by his father, William Cowper Wood, during the 1868 John Wesley Powell expedition. The collection
contains one assay book kept by Maurice Hayes between the years 1873 and 1878. Maurice Hayes arrived at Leadville no later
than 1873, serving as one of the first assayers in the area and many early Leadville notables are entered in this record book.
There are also several scrapbooks and photograph albums, approximately 1868 to approximately 1921.
Organized in the following series: 1. Manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs; 2. Ephemera and assay book; 3. Photograph
albums and scrapbooks.
The photograph albums and scrapbooks were originally separated from the other material in the ephemera collection; they were
reunited in March 2013.
Collection was processed by Peter J. Blodgett and Livia Hirsch-Shell in 2012. The photograph albums and scrapbooks were added
to the collection in December 2022 by Brooke M. Black.
Former call number: mssWood, Henry papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Assayers--Colorado.
Assaying.
Businessmen--Colorado--Archives.
Currency question.
Depressions--1893.
Mines and mineral resources--Canada.
Mines and mineral resources--Colorado--Boulder County.
Mines and mineral resources--Colorado--Leadville.
Mining engineers--Colorado--Denver.
Mining engineers--Colorado--Archives.
Molybdenite--Canada.
Silver--Assaying.
Silver mines and mining--Colorado--Leadville.
Silver question.
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Description and travel.
Leadville (Colo.)--History.
West (U.S.)--Description and travel.
Letters (correspondence)--United States--19th century.
Letters (correspondence)--United States--20th century.
Personal papers--Colorado.
Photograph albums -- 20th century
Photographs.
Reminiscences--20th century.
Scrapbooks -- United States -- 20th century
Hayes, Maurice.
Herter, Christian Archibald, 1895-1966.
Lyman, Chester Smith, 1814-1890.
Mudd, Harvey Seeley, 1888-1955.
Newell, Frederick Haynes, 1862-1932.
Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902.
Wood, William Cowper, 1821-1889.