Comstock Lode Collection: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Go Oyagi, May 12, 2010.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2010
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Comstock Lode Collection
Dates (inclusive): 1867-1923
Bulk dates: 1875-1894
Collection Number: mssComstock Lode collection
Extent: 898 items in 13 boxes
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists primarily of legal documents related to the economic and social history of late 19th century Virginia City, Nevada, with some materials showing economic connections between Virginia City and San Francisco, California, as well as inter-state relations between Nevada and California. These documents are related to specific court cases (most filed with the First Judicial District State of Nevada) from a variety of different law suits including: mining companies suing one another over the uses of resources such as water, building material, railroads, roads and tunnels; and employees suing their employers for wages or injury compensation.
Language: English.

Access

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

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

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]. Comstock Lode Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Purchased from Neil Weinstein, May 9, 1975.

Historical Note

The Comstock Lode, composed of silver and gold ore, was discovered in the 1850s. It was located in western Nevada (then Utah Territory). The discovery of silver and gold attracted numerous people consisting of proprietors, miners, journalists (including Mark Twain, who came in 1861 and left in 1864), as well as investments from speculators. This Comstock rush quickly created a city called Virginia City. While the Comstock Lode yielded a tremendous value of silver and gold (more than the California Gold Rush), it was drained by the late 1870s and many mines were closed by the early 1880s. It is worth noting that the materials in this collection were created in the decline of the mining industry in and around Virginia City in the last quarter of the 19th century.
The Consolidated Virginia Mining Company and California Mining Company are prominent in the collection. The former was established in 1867, while the latter was incorporated in 1873.

Scope and Content

This collection contains 898 items. The material is chiefly related to the economic and social history of late 19th century Virginia City, Nevada; some materials show economic connections between Virginia City and San Francisco as well as inter-state relations between Nevada and California. The collection is 90% legal documents. These documents are related to specific court cases (most filed with the First Judicial District State of Nevada). They are grouped case by case and contained in Boxes 1-11. Other types of legal documents, including deeds, indentures, and agreements, are housed in Box 12. Finally, miscellaneous legal documents share Box 13 with non-legal documents, a letter, and ephemera. The items in each series are in chronological order.
Although the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company and California Mining Company are prominent in the collection, the collection includes documents related to more than 50 other mining companies (too numerous to list here). The documents comes from a variety of different law suits including: mining companies suing one another over the uses of resources such as water, building material, railroads, roads and tunnels; and employees suing their employers for wages or injury compensation.
Whereas the collection includes plenty of sources related to the mining industry, it also provides a good opportunity to look into people’s lives in Virginia City in the late 19th century. There are legal documents regarding divorces, conflicts over bills, rent, and property; several of the court cases involve Chinese citizens of Virginia City. There are also several documents related to the commitments of mentally ill people.
Moreover, the fact that some corporations and dealers located in California, including Belcher Silver Mining Company, Occidental Consolidated Mining Company, Holbrook, Merrill & Co, and Shea, Bocqueraz, and McKee, show up in the court cases, whether as plaintiffs or defendants, suggests that there were economic connections through the movements of capital and goods between San Francisco and Virginia City. In this point, this collection is invaluable to the study of the ways in which the regional economy of the Southwest developed through the movement of capital, goods, mining products, etc.
Finally, the brief guide of Comstock Lode and the map of the Comstock and Brunswick Lodes placed in the Ephemera folder give some general and quick information of the trajectory of the mining industry and location of the mining claims, although they were printed in the early 20th century, later than the period in which most documents in this collection were created.

Arrangement

Arranged in the following order:
  • Legal Documents regarding Court Cases (Boxes 1-11)
  • Applications, Certificates, Commitments, Deeds, etc. (Box 12)
  • Miscellaneous Legal Documents, Non-legal Documents, Letters, and Ephemera (Box 13)

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

California Mining Company (Virginia City, Nev.)
Consolidated Virginia Mining Company.
Chinese -- Nevada.
Gold mines and mining -- Nevada.
Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada.
Mining corporations -- California.
Mining corporations -- Nevada.
Silver mines and mining -- Nevada.
Comstock Lode (Nev.) -- History -- Sources.
Nevada -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Virginia City (Nev.) -- History -- Sources.

Forms/Genres

Deeds -- Nevada -- 19th century.
Indentures -- Nevada -- 19th century.
Legal documents -- Nevada -- 19th century.


 

Legal documents regarding Court Cases

Box 1

Legal Documents regarding Court Cases, 1867-1876 September

Folder 1

1867, Jan. 23. Thornburgh vs. Savage Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 2

1875, May 17. Joseph and Alvin Gossage vs Overman Silver Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 3

1875, May. Sierra Nevada Silver Mining Co. vs W. H. Sears and Allen Co. 2 items.

Folder 4

1875, July 12. Lonkey & Smith vs Columbia Silver Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 5

1875, Nov. Moore vs Consolidated Virginia Mining Co. 2 items.

Folder 6

1875, Nov.-Dec. Jacobs vs Consolidated Virginia Mining Co. 3 items.

Folder 7

1875-1876. Bryan vs Savage Silver Mining Co. 5 items.

Folder 8

1875-1876. Senator Silver Mining Co. vs Denny. 3 items.

Folder 9

1875-1876. Sullivan vs Savage Silver Mining Co. 3 items.

Folder 10

1876, Feb. 26. Walsh vs Home Insurance Co. 1 item.

Folder 11

1876, Mar. 7. Liebes et al vs Beer Brothers. 1 item.

Folder 12

1876, Mar. 17. Nevada vs Huff. 1 item.

Folder 13

1876, Mar. Roman Capitol Gold & Silver Mining Co. vs Joe Scates Consolidated Silver Mining Co. 3 items.

Folder 14

1876, May 9. South Woodville Silver Mining Co. vs Fowles et al. 1 item.

Folder 15

1876, May. Bamfield vs Sing. 2 items.

Folder 16

1876, June. Virginia & Truckee Railroad Co. vs Hampton. 4 items.

Folder 17

1876, Sep. 4. Windhoff vs Concordia Gold & Silver Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 18

1876, Sep. Merlini vs John & Mary Ann Pendy. 3 items.

Folder 19

1876, Sep. North Consolidated Virginia Mining Co. vs Simons. 3 items.

Box 2

Legal Documents regarding Court Cases, 1876 November - 1876-1877

Folder 1

1876, Nov. 2. Mitchell vs Considine. 1 item.

Folder 2

1876, Nov. 20. Swain et al vs White. 1 item.

Folder 3

1876, Nov. 22. Sullivan vs Davis & Greenlaw. 1 item.

Folder 4

1876, Nov.-Dec Oates vs Virginia & Gold Hill Water Co. 6 items.

Folder 5

1876, Dec. Whiteman vs Virginia City Gas Co. 3 items.

Folder 6

1876-1877. Landing vs Columbia Mining Co. 10 items.

Folder 7

1876-1877. McFarland vs Union Mill & Mining Co. & Noe. 6 items.

Folder 8

1876-1877. Myers vs Knickerbocker Mining Co. 11 items.

Folder 9

1876-1877. Moady vs Twin Peaks Mining Co. 5 items.

Folder 10

1876-1877. Perrose vs Belcher Silver Mining Co. 5 items.

Box 3

Legal Documents regarding Court Cases, 1877 - 1877-1879

Folder 1

1877, Jan. 14. Powers vs Moses. 1 item.

Folder 2

1877, June-July. Lemery vs Dardanelles Silver Mining Co. 2 items.

Folder 3

1877, June-Aug. Lewis vs Lafayette Consolidated Mining Co. 3 items.

Folder 4

1877, July 16. Morgan vs Mack. 1 item.

Folder 5

1877, Aug. Hutchinson vs Iowa Mining Co. 5 items.

Folder 6

1877, Aug. Lonkey & Smith vs McClellan. 3 items.

Folder 7

1877, Aug.-Sep. Mayor & Board of Aldermen of the City of Virginia vs California Mining Co. 4 items.

Folder 8

1877, Aug.-Sep. Mayor & Board of Aldermen of the City of Virginia vs Consolidated Virginia Mining Co. 3 items.

Folder 9

1877, Sep.-Oct. Town of Gold Hill vs Buckley. 10 items.

Folder 10

1877, Nov. 27. Belloni vs Walker. 1 item.

Folder 11

1877, Nov. 28. Keystone Silver Mining Co. vs Lady Washington Mining Co. & Keating. 1 item.

Folder 12

1877, Dec. 12. Hayton vs J. P. & Nancy Kerr. 1 item.

Folder 13

1877, Dec. Halleck vs Horst. 2 items.

Folder 14

1877, Dec. Mercer vs Elder. 5 items.

Folder 15

[1877]. Nevada vs Consolidated Virginia Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 16

1877-1879. Mayer vs Virginia Truckee Railroad Co. 9 items.

Box 4

Legal Documents regarding Court Cases, 1878 - 1879-1880

Folder 1

1878, Feb. 16. Town of Gold Hill vs California Silver Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 2

1878, Feb. 28. Tunnel Toll Road Co. vs Guildo Corecco. 1 item.

Folder 3

1878, Mar.-July. Pico et al vs Dellepiane. 2 items.

Folder 4

1878, Apr. 1. Jefferies et al vs Walsh et al. 1 item.

Folder 5

1878, Apr. 15. Ophir Silver Mining Co. vs Cooper. 1 item.

Folder 6

1878, Aug. 21. Morris et al vs Scorpion Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 7

1878, Oct. Brad & Crosby vs Orginial Keystone Silver Mining Co. 4 items.

Folder 8

1878-1879. Lonkey & Smith vs Peter & Thelma Savage. 2 items.

Folder 9

1878-1880. Branson vs Cummings. 9 items.

Folder 10

1879, Feb. Atkinson vs Finlen. 5 items.

Folder 11

1879, Feb. Walker vs Tilden. 8 items.

Folder 12

1879, Feb. -May. Caledonia Silver Mining Co. vs Treadwell et al. 2 items.

Folder 13

1879, Mar. Crandall vs Taylor. 6 items.

Folder 14

1879, Sep. 20. Welsh vs Rice. 3 items.

Folder 15

1879, Nov. 24. Lenan vs Marcoux et al. 1 item.

Folder 16

1879, Nov. Mitchell vs Spring. 1 item.

Folder 17

1879, Nov.-Dec. Dickman vs Sheppard. 5 items.

Folder 18

1879, Nov.-Dec. Lonkey & Smith vs Original Gold Hill Gold & Silver Mining Co. 6 items.

Folder 19

1879, Dec. Bailey vs Jenkins. 5 items.

Folder 20

1879, Dec. Cameron vs Iowa Mining Co. 6 items.

Folder 21

1879, Dec. Mish vs Sheibell. 5 items.

Folder 22

1879-1880. Flurchutz et al vs Scorpion Gold & Silver Mining Co. 11 items.

Folder 23

1879-1880. Noble vs Noble. 4 items.

Folder 24

1879-1880. Van Bokkelen et al vs Cook & Derby. 7 items.

Box 5

Legal documents regarding Court Cases, 1880 - 1880-1881

Folder 1

1880, Jan. 20. Thornton vs East Bonanza Gold & Silver Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 2

1880, Jan. Holbrook et al vs Cochran. 5 items.

Folder 3

1880, Feb.-May. Staricha vs Overman Silver Mining Co. 7 items.

Folder 4

1880, Mar. McArdle vs Day et al. 16 items.

Folder 5

1880, Mar. McManus vs Day et al. 12 items.

Folder 6

1880, Apr. 26. Youngworth vs Jewell. 1 item.

Folder 7

1880, Apr.-May. Grabner vs Creditors. 4 items.

Folder 8

1880, Apr.-May. Lonkey & Smith vs Sterns. 4 items.

Folder 9

1880, Apr.-May. Penrose vs Creditors. 4 items.

Folder 10

1880, May 14. Randall vs Creditors. 2 items.

Folder 11

1880, May-June. Meighan vs Creditors. 2 items.

Folder 12

1880, May-June. Shea et al vs Stewart & Smith. 6 items.

Folder 13

1880, June 23. Shea et al vs Magee. 1 item.

Folder 14

1880, June. Deal vs Justice Mining Co. 6 items.

Folder 15

1880, June. Haynie & Yerrington vs Justice Mining Co. 6 items.

Folder 16

1880, June. Walter et al vs Justice Mining Co. 7 items.

Folder 17

1880, July-Nov. Lonkey & Smith vs Justice Mining Co. 3 items.

Folder 18

1880, Oct.-Nov. Ryder vs Consolidated Imperial Mining Co. 5 items.

Folder 19

1880-1881. Kramer vs Cronin. 10 items.

Box 6

Legal documents regarding Court Cases, 1881 - 1881-1882

Folder 1

1881, Mar. Halligan vs Utah Gold & Silver Mining Co. 2 items.

Folder 2

1881, Mar. Mandelbaum vs Young. 3 items.

Folder 3

1881, Mar.-Apr. Brown vs Saltenberger. 8 items.

Folder 4

1881, Apr. Scanavino vs Taverna. 3 items.

Folder 5

1881, Apr.-May. Smith vs Smith. 7 items.

Folder 6

1881, May. Bowers vs McGurn. 6 items.

Folder 7

1881, May. McKnight vs Strouse et al. 4 items.

Folder 8

1881, May-Aug. Logan vs Logan. 3 items.

Folder 9

1881, June. Smith vs Smith. 2 items.

Folder 10

1881, June-July. Gray vs Dobbie. 12 items.

Folder 11

1881, July-Aug. Stoufe & McCrum vs Killeen. 5 items.

Folder 12

1881, Aug. Bloom vs McDonald. 3 items.

Folder 13

1881, Aug.-Sep. Evans vs Evans. 7 items.

Folder 14

1881, Oct. 24. Mercer vs Ogg. 1 item.

Folder 15

1881, Oct.-Nov. Rosasto vs Corsiglia et al. 19 items.

Folder 16

1881, Nov. 10. State Investment & Insurance Co. vs Hickok & Curtis. 1 item.

Folder 17

1881, Dec. Man & Herman vs Howard. 6 items.

Folder 18

1881, Dec. Shea et al vs Howard. 10 items.

Folder 19

1881-1882. Shannon vs Original Keystone Silver Mining Co. 8 items.

Box 7

Legal documents regarding Court Cases, 1882 - 1882-1883

Folder 1

1882, Jan.-Dec. Masel & Steffan vs Creditors. 59 items.

Folder 2

1882, Mar.-Sep. Mallon vs Andreas Mining Co. 6 items.

Folder 3

1882, May 10. Nevada vs Burke. 1 item.

Folder 4

1882, July 3. Phipps & Cizovich vs Halley. 1 item.

Folder 5

1882, Nov. 24. Nevada vs Unknown Parties. 1 item.

Folder 6

1882, Dec. 21. Steffan vs Creditors. 2 items.

Folder 7

1882-1883. Masel vs Creditors. 4 items.

Box 8

Legal documents regarding Court Cases, 1883 - 1884

Folder 1

1883, May 12. Southern Cross Gold & Silver Mining Co. vs Aaron Hooper. 1 item.

Folder 2

1883, Oct. 20. Nevada vs Savery & Delury. 1 item.

Folder 3

1883, Nov. 23. Nevada vs Peterson et al. 1 item.

Folder 4

1883-1884. Masel & Steffan vs Creditors. 28 items.

Box 9

Legal documents regarding Court Cases, 1885 - 1889-1890

Folder 1

1885, Jan.-Nov. Fitzpatrick vs Keys & Hills. 2 items.

Folder 2

1886, Jan.-Dec. Masel & Steffan vs Creditors. 41 items.

Folder 3

1889, Apr.-May. Penrose vs Penrose. 3 items.

Folder 4

1889, May 13. Nevada vs Sue. 1 item.

Folder 5

1889, May-June. Allen vs Creditors. 14 items.

Folder 6

1889, June-July. Williams & Nelson vs Fisher. 3 items.

Folder 7

1889, July-Aug. Geisher vs Keys Silver Mining Co. & Keys. 3 items.

Folder 8

1889, July-Aug. Zadig vs Brodek. 6 items.

Folder 9

1889, July-Sep. Theresa Pettineli vs Creditors. 9 items.

Folder 10

1889-1890. Nichol vs Nichol. 10 items.

Box 10

Legal documents regarding Court Cases, 1890-1894

Folder 1

1890, Aug. 19. Alta Silver Mining Co. vs Benton Consolidated Mining Co. 1 item.

Folder 2

1890, Nov. Erwin vs Erwin. 2 items.

Folder 3

1890, Dec. 12. Frankel & Company vs Creditors. 1 item.

Folder 4

1891, Feb. 23. Peterson vs Morehead. 1 item.

Folder 5

1891, Apr. 11. Singleton vs Singleton. 2 items.

Folder 6

1891, Apr.-May. Vardy vs Willimason & Kossman. 2 items.

Folder 7

1891, May. Datta vs Gammans. 2 items.

Folder 8

1891, May. Hirschberg vs Hirschberg. 5 items.

Folder 9

1892, Feb. Luke vs Hing. 2 items.

Folder 10

1892, Feb.-Mar. Kuhlman vs Meagher. 4 items.

Folder 11

1892, Feb.-Mar. Lewis & Co. vs Cox & Mitchell. 3 items.

Folder 12

1892, Mar. 17. Rickard vs Isola. 1 item.

Folder 13

1892, Mar. 24. Bleakley vs Chubbuck. 1 item.

Folder 14

1892, Mar. 29. South End Mining Co. vs Tinney et al. 1 item.

Folder 15

1892, Mar.-Apr. Spring vs Mountain Queen Mill & Mining Co. 9 items.

Folder 16

1892, Apr. Hechinger vs Hechinger. 2 items.

Folder 17

1894, Feb.-Aug. Gilligan vs Phoenix Insurance Co. 9 items.

Folder 18

1894, Apr. 9. Cuddy vs Poirieor. 1 item.

Folder 19

1894, Apr.-June. Pearson & Mitchell vs Comstock Tunnel Co. 8 items.

Folder 20

1894, Apr.-Oct. Tauszky vs Comstock Tunnel Co. 10 items.

Folder 21

1894, May-July. Metzgar vs Northwestern Consolidated Mining Co. 3 items.

Box 11

Legal documents regarding Court Cases, 1895-1903

Folder 1

1895, Jan.-Apr. Nevada vs Occidental Consolidated Mining Co. 18 items.

Folder 2

1895, June-Sep. Crosby vs North Bonanza Silver Mining Co. 6 items.

Folder 3

1896, May. Staricha vs Cosmopolitan Mining Co. 11 items.

Folder 4

1897, June. Nevada vs “Snookie” Indian. 4 items.

Folder 5

1899, Jan. 6. Nevada vs Weir & Keely. 1 item.

Folder 6

1899, Feb.-Mar. Comstock Tunnel Co. vs Occidental Mining Co. 5 items.

Folder 7

1899, Apr.-June. Kitson et al vs General Gold Extracting Co. & Quirk. 3 items.

Folder 8

1901, Feb.-July. Kenny & Casey vs Supreme Council Catholic Knights of America. 2 items.

Folder 9

1903, Mar. 21. Occidental Consolidated Mining Co. vs Comstock Tunnel Co. 1 item.

 

Applications, Certificates, Commitments, Deeds, etc.

Box 12

Applications, Certificates, Commitments, Deeds, etc.

Folder 1

1877-1902. Applications. 12 items.

Folder 2

1875-1887. Certificates. 3 items.

Folder 3

1877-1879. Commitments. 4 items.

Folder 4

1862-1874. Deeds, etc. 5 items.

Folder 5

1875, Jan.-Oct. Deeds, etc. 3 items.

Folder 6

1875, Nov.-Dec. Deeds, etc. 18 items.

Folder 7

1876. Deeds, etc. 7 items.

Folder 8

1877-1879. Deeds, etc. 8 items.

Folder 9

1881-1912. Deeds, etc. 6 items.

 

Miscellaneous Legal Documents, Non-legal Documents, Letters, and Ephemera

Box 13

Miscellaneous Legal Documents, Non-legal Documents, Letters, and Ephemera

Folder 1

1870-1879. Miscellaneous legal documents. 5 items.

Folder 2

1886-1922. Miscellaneous legal documents. 7 items.

Folder 3

1874-1891. Miscellaneous Documents. 8 items.

Folder 4

1917-1919. Potosi Gold and Silver Mining Co. Documents. 5 items.

Folder 5

1919. Potosi Gold and Silver Mining Co.’s Monthly Statements of Receipts and Disbursements. 12 items.

Folder 6

1920. Potosi Gold and Silver Mining Co.’s Monthly Statements of Receipts and Disbursements. 10 items.

Folder 7

1921. Potosi Gold and Silver Mining Co.’s Monthly Statements of Receipts and Disbursements. 8 items.

Folder 8

1889, Aug. 21. Scoville, J. J. 1 letter to “Dear Sir.” 1 item.

Folder 9

1914-1923. Ephemera. 5 items.