Robert Cleland research collection on Phelps Dodge Corporation, 1861-1940

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Summary

Creators:
Cleland, Robert Glass, 1885-1957
Abstract:
The Phelps Dodge Corporation collection consists of manuscript drafts, notes, research materials, and interviews compiled by Robert Glass Cleland for his book A History of Phelps Dodge (1952), from 1861-1940.
Extent:
5.22 Linear Feet (9 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Robert Cleland research collection on Phelps Dodge Corporation, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Robert Cleland research collection on Phelps Dodge Corporation consists primarily of chapter drafts written by Arthur Train, Jr., comments from readers at the Huntington, research notes, interviews, history essays, and printed ephemera about the history of the Phelps Dodge Corporation from 1861-1940. The chapter files usually include manuscript drafts, notes, some also include interview questions, excerpts, and photographs. Of note are the interviews, interview notes, and questions conducted by Train in 1939 and 1940. The identification of interviewees is very poor, with some interviews identified only as "Mr. Wilson." Included are index notes created by Cleland for microfilm he made of Train's research and notecards referencing various sources with citations for Train's work. The location and existence of this microfilm is not known. Also included are records from the District Court (1st Judicial District, Cochise County, Arizona), transcripts of a court testimony from the Supreme Court of New Mexico, articles of agreement from the Recorder's Office in Pima County, Arizona, and a smelter register. The contents of two loose leaf binders, which contained miscellaneous information organized by subject with references to the microfilm reels and interviews, has been re-housed in folders. Included is an unpublished and undated typescript entitled Men and Mines: the story of Phelps Dodge by Arthur Train, Jr. and John L. Lawler.

Source: Dennis Preisler, "Readers Guide to the Phelps Dodge Collection at the Huntington Library," 1998.

Biographical / historical:

Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William Earle Dodge, Sr., and Daniel James. Originally, Phelps, Dodge & Co. (renamed the Phelps Dodge Corporation after the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company acquired its assets in 1917) provided many of the raw materials that fueled America's early industrial expansion and helped build frontier communities of the American West. In 1881, the Phelps Dodge Corporation invested in copper mining in Arizona and continues to mine those claims today.

Robert Glass Cleland (1885-1957) was an educator, historian and scholar who received his B.A. from Occidental College in 1907 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1912. He served as professor of history and held numerous positions at Occidental College from 1912-1943. Upon retiring from Occidental College, he joined the Permanent Research Group at the Huntington Library. Cleland used Arthur Train, Jr. and John L. Lawler's unpublished manuscript on the history of Phelps Dodge extensively for his book A history of Phelps Dodge.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Phelps Dodge Corporation via Robert Glass Cleland, April 1953.
Arrangement:

Cleland's original files were maintained and arranged in loose alphabetical order by folder title.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

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]. Robert Cleland research collection on Phelps Dodge Corporation, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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