Guide to the Jewett William Adams Papers, 1883-1912
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Guide to the Jewett William Adams Papers, 1883-1912
Collection number: BANC MSS P-G 291
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information:
- Processed by:
- The Bancroft Library staff
- Date Completed:
- ca. 1963
- Encoded by:
- Padma Rubiales
© 1996 The Regents of the University of California
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Jewett William Adams Papers,
Date: 1883-1912
Collection Number: BANC MSS P-G 291
Collector:
Adams, Jewett William,
Extent:
Number of containers: 5 boxes
Repository: The
Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Letters, financial records, property tax records, and clippings relating mainly to his career as president of the Nevada Lava
Stone Company, treasurer of the Nevada Gypsum Company, and to his livestock business, especially his partnership with W.N.
McGill.
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Manuscripts Division. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jewett William Adams Papers, BANC MSS P-G 291, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Biography
Jewett William Adams was born in Vermont in 1835. He emigrated to California in the early 1850s and moved to Nevada in the
1860s. After serving as lieutenant governor of the state for eight years, he was elected governor in 1882. When his term ended
in 1886, he served for several years as super-intendant of the mint at Carson City and then devoted the rest of his career
to his livestock and other business. He was president and a director of the Nevada Lava Stone Company which was organized
about 1895. In the late 1890s he formed a partnership with William N. McGill which became one of the largest livestock companies
in the state. In 1908 he helped organize the Nevada Gypsum Company, a corporation formed to mine the gypsum deposits near
Mound House which he had worked as the Empire Plaster Company. He was treasurer of the new company until 1912 when it was
sold to the Pacific Portland Cement Company. In 1915 he moved to San Francisco and died there in 1920.
Scope and Content
The Adams papers were purchased from John Howell Books in January, 1963. They relate to his many business interests, primarily
those in which he was involved from 1894 to 1912.
Box 1
Letters written by Adams, 1886-1912; n.d.
Mainly to his wife concerning business affairs. A few are addressed to business associates. Arranged chronologically. (1 folder)
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization. A partial list of correspondents follows the key to arrangement.
Unlisted letters are in a Miscellany at the beginning of the file.
Nevada Lava Stone Company
Reports on rock analyses, oath of office for officers &directors, etc. 1895-1898.
Financial Records, 1891-1904
Invoices, receipts, etc., for supplies bought by employees of his livestock & amp; other businesses. Include also a few payroll
records.
Property tax assessments & receipts, 1894-1904, for state & county taxes
Printed lists giving total valuation of property on which taxes were assessed in Lincoln, Lyon, Nye, Ormsby, & White Pine
counties, Nevada.
Receipts for payment of interest on land purchased in Nevada, 1902-1906
Issued to J.W. Adams, E.L. Adams & others.
Miscellaneous Papers, 1895-1910
Include agreements re sale of livestock; reports on analyses cf stone, gypsum, etc.; & description cf land owned by Adams
& McGill.
Adams, Emma (Lee) [Mrs. Jewett W. Adams]
2 letters, 1897 & n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Relate mainly to their business interests.
Boyle, Emmet Derby, 1879-1926
3 letters, 1908
Scope and Content Note
Copies, written to N.L. Bell. Written while superintendent of construction of the mill of Nevada Gypsum Company at Mound House,
Nevada. See also
Nevada Gypsum Company
Bryan, Mary Elizabeth (Baird), 1861-1930 [Mrs. William Jennings Bryan]
Letter, Apr. 8, 1900
Scope and Content Note
Written to Mrs. Adams.
Cassidy, George Williams, 1836-1892
3 letters, 1883-1884
Scope and Content Note
Written while U.S. Representative from Nevada.
Comins, Henry A, 1836-1917
Fair, James Graham, 1831-1894
Letter, Feb. 20, 1885
Scope and Content Note
Written while U.S. Senator from Nevada. Asking Adams' advice re proper person to recommend for Superintendent of the Mint
at Carson City.
21 letters, 1897-1899
Scope and Content Note
Re Adams' cattle & sheep business.
McGill, William N., 1853-1923
277 letters, 1898-1912 & n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Relate to the Adams-McGill cattle & sheep business. Contain many comments about the live stock business in Nevada and other
western states.
Nevada-California Power Company
Letter, Sept. 29, 1909
Scope and Content Note
Re a shipment of Portland cement.
294 letters, 1908-1912
Scope and Content Note
Written mainly by N.L. Bell & M. Greenblatt . Some letters transmit copies of letters written to others. A few letters (copies)
written to others. See also
Boyle, Emmet Derby
152 letters, 1894-1902 & n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Letters, 1894-1898, written mainly to Adams & Keating . Relate mainly to Adams' livestock business.
21 letters, 1894-1904
Scope and Content Note
Letters, 1894, written to Adams & Keating. Letter, 1904, written to W. N. McGill.