Wells, Fargo & Company Records: Finding Aid mssWF
Huntington Library staff, Brooke Dykman Dockter and Diann Benti
The Huntington Library
2000
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated on January 11, 2023, by Kelly Kress.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Wells, Fargo & Company records
Creator:
Wells, Fargo & Company
Identifier/Call Number: mssWF
Physical Description:
42 Linear Feet
(35 boxes, 11 volumes)
Date (inclusive): 1839-1911
Date (bulk): 1883-1906
Abstract: This collection consists mainly of letters to and from Wells, Fargo & Company official Hosmer B. (Buckingham) Parsons (1846-1908),
who joined the company in 1867 and later became president of its bank in New York. The papers deal with company business and
company's relationships with railroad lines and competing express firms. Some of the papers relate to the personal business
affairs of Hosmer B. Parsons, including his investments in Mexico.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Wells, Fargo & Company Records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from William P. Wreden, May 1961.
Historical Note
Wells, Fargo & Company was founded in New York in 1852 through the amalgamation of several companies by Henry Wells (1805-1878)
and William George Fargo (1818-1881). It was expanded in the wake of the Gold Rush to handle the growing express business
in the West. Henry Wells is not represented in the collection, nor is William G. Fargo, but there are a few letters from or
about his brothers James Congdell Fargo and Charles Fargo who were active in Wells, Fargo & Company and the American Express
Company. In 1872, Lloyd Tevis (1824-1899) became president of Wells, Fargo & Company followed in 1892 by John Joseph Valentine
(1840-1901).
Scope and Content
The collection consists mainly of letters to and from Hosmer B. (Buckingham) Parsons (1846-1908), who joined Wells, Fargo
& Company in 1867 and successively held the positions of cashier, assistant secretary, vice-president, and president of the
company bank in New York. The papers deal chiefly with the express business: relationships with competing express companies
such as American Express, Pacific Express, Northern Pacific Express, Texas Express, etc.; with railroad companies including
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company, Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad
Company, and others; as well as matters of shipments, rates, and routes. There are also papers that relate to the personal
business affairs of Hosmer B. Parsons.
Includes original letters, press copies and press copy letter books, and duplicated copies of letters.
Persons represented by 50 letters or more:
- Hancock, W. J. (325 pieces)
- Parsons, Hosmer B. (52 pieces + 11 letter books)
- Tevis, Lloyd (127 pieces)
- Valentine, John Joseph (1,071 pieces)
Some notable items include: one to three letters each from Marcus Daly, James Ben Ali Haggin, George Hearst (plus 9 stock
orders), Phoebe Apperson Hearst (plus scattered letters addressed to her in the letter books beginning in 1891), James Heron,
and Collis Potter Huntington.
Processing Information
Processed by Huntington Library staff in May 1985. In 2000 Brooke Dykman Dockter and Diann Benti revised and encoded the finding
aid.
Arrangement
Arranged in four series: 1. General correspondence (Boxes 1-33); 2. Investments in Mexico (Box 34); 3. Business papers of
Hosmer B. Parsons, photographs, ephemera, printed items (Box 35); 4. 11 letter books.
Related Materials
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Banks and banking -- United States
Coaching (Transportation) -- West (U.S.) -- History -- Sources
Express service -- West (U.S.) -- History -- Sources
Investments, American -- Mexico
Postal service -- United States
Railroads -- United States
West (U.S.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Business records -- West (U.S.)
Letter books -- West (U.S.)
Letters (correspondence) -- West (U.S.)
Parsons, Hosmer B. (Hosmer Buckingham), 1846-1908
Daly, Marcus, 1841-1900
Haggin, James Ben Ali, 1822-1914
Hancock, W. J.
Hearst, George, 1820-1891
Hearst, Phoebe Apperson, 1842-1919
Heron, James, active 1875-1886
Huntington, Collis Potter, 1821-1900
Parsons, Hosmer B. (Hosmer Buckingham), 1846-1908
Tevis, Lloyd.
Valentine, John J. (John Joseph), 1840-1901
Box 2
Campbell-Cooper, E. M. (to Parsons, 1884 April 22-1886 June 28)
Box 3
Cooper, E. M. (to Parsons, 1886 July 7-1888)
Box 4
Cooper, E. M. (to Tracy) - Evans
Box 5
F-Hancock, W. J. (to Parsons, 1883-1885 February 26)
Box 6
Hancock, W. J. (to Parsons, 1885 March-September 21)
Box 7
Hancock, W. J. (to Parsons, 1885 September 24-1886 October)
Box 8
Hancock, W. J. (to Parsons, 1886 November 2-1887 July)
Box 9
Hancock, W. J. (to Parsons, 1887 August-1888 January, and R-T)
Box 10
Hancock, W. J (to V-Z)-Heron, James
Box 12
Milford-Parsons, Hosmer B. (to B-Ha)
Box 13
Parsons, Hosmer B. (to Hi-Y)-R
Box 14
S-Tevis, Lloyd (to Parsons, 1874-1884)
Box 15
Tevis, Lloyd (to Parsons, 1885-1886)
Box 16
Tevis, Lloyd (to Parsons, 1887-1889)-Titus
Box 17
Tracy-Valentine, J. J. (to Banks-Langtry)
Box 18
Valetine, J. J. (to M-Parsons, 1869-1883 May 20)
Box 19
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1883 May 21-November 14)
Box 20
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1883 November 15-1884 January 31)
Box 21
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1884 February-May)
Box 22
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1884 June-October)
Box 23
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1884 November-December 26)
Box 24
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1884 December 27-1885 January 31)
Box 25
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1885 February 2-March 14)
Box 26
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1885 March 15-April 25)
Box 27
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1885 May 3-July 9)
Box 28
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1885 July 10-August 31)
Box 29
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1885 September 1-1886 October 28)
Box 30
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1886 November -1887 June 13)
Box 31
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1887 July 16-December 19)
Box 32
Valentine, J. J. (to Parsons, 1887 December 20-1898 July 11, and P-Z)
Box 34
Investments in Mexico
Scope and Contents
Chiefly correspondence about investments that appear to have been personal investments on the part of Hosmer B. Parsons and
others.
Box 35
Business papers of Hosmer B. Parsons; Photographs (copies only); Ephemera; Printed Items
General
There are also personal business papers of Parsons scattered throughout the collection and in the letter books.
Letter books
Scope and Contents
Eleven letter books containing press copies of letters written by Hosmer B. Parsons. The volumes contain letters addressed
to Phoebe Apperson Hearst, Lloyd Tevis, and others.
Volume 1
Letter book.
1879, Dec. 11-1882, May 18
Volume 2
Letter book.
1890, June 10-1891, May 20
Volume 3
Letter book.
1892, Jan. 28-Dec. 30
Volume 4
Letter book.
1893, Jan. 7-Nov. 29
Volume 5
Letter book.
1893, Dec. 1-1895, Apr. 20
Volume 6
Letter book.
1895, Apr. 22-1896, Jan. 9
Volume 7
Letter book.
1896, Jan. 11-Nov. 23
Volume 8
Letter book.
1896, Nov. 27-1898, Dec. 23
Volume 9
Letter book.
1898, Dec. 24-1900, Feb. 19
Volume 10
Letter book.
1900, Feb. 20-1901, Dec. 3
Volume 11
Letter book.
1901, Dec. 10-1903, May 22