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)

Boxes 1-4

Letters written to Adams

 

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.

Box 5

Personalia

 

Biographical data.

 

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

 

Tax lists, 1898-1902

 

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.

 

Clippings

 

A few concern Adams.


 

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

 

3 letters, 1895-1897

 

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.
 

Harwood, L. M.

 

21 letters, 1897-1899

Scope and Content Note

Re Adams' cattle & sheep business.
 

Hilp, Sol

 

3 letters, 1894-1895

 

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.
 

Nevada Gypsum Company

 

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
 

Payne, Ben

 

152 letters, 1894-1902 & n.d.

Scope and Content Note

Letters, 1894-1898, written mainly to Adams & Keating . Relate mainly to Adams' livestock business.
 

Service, James A

 

21 letters, 1894-1904

Scope and Content Note

Letters, 1894, written to Adams & Keating. Letter, 1904, written to W. N. McGill.