William Rollin Morgan addenda, 1833-1934, bulk 1880-1907

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Cox, George W. and Morgan, William R.
Abstract:
Papers of California pioneer and gold miner William Rollin Morgan.
Extent:
6 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. William Rollin Morgan addenda, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains 260 pieces, including ephemera. The bulk of the material is correspondence; however, there are a few business records and legal documents throughout the collection. Most of the letters in this collection were written to Morgan after he had moved back to Vermont. His partners are writing to keep him apprised of business matters. The majority of the correspondence deals with the legal problems the Sierra Union Water and Mining Company was facing due to the hydraulic mining process. Some specific subjects discussed in these letters are: hydraulic mining, lawsuits, mining law, mining claims, claim jumpers, water rights, mining equipment, abandoned mines, and land disputes. Many of the letters are written from or related to San Francisco, St. Louis, Sierra County, and Marysville, California.

Biographical / historical:

William R. Morgan, born in Bennington, Vermont in 1832 or 1833, came to San Francisco in 1852 and settled in St. Louis, Sierra County, California. In the 1870s, he started a successful hydraulic enterprise with his friend Timothy Donohue. By 1880, George W. Cox had joined them, and their company became known as the Sierra Union Water and Mining Company. The company, in addition to working its own mines, contracted to provide water to other mines in the region. Forced to build debris dams to control wastes from the hydraulic process, Sierra Union was involved in litigation regarding the debris. Morgan moved back to Vermont in the 1890s, but made several trips back to California to attend to business matters.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Pacific Book Auction Galleries, Sale 116, lot #218, October 1996. Purchased from Bancroft Library, January 1997. Purchased from Pacific Book Auction Galleries, Sale 129, lot #348, March 1997.
Processing information:

Processed by Brooke M. Black in December 1999. In 2022, she created a finding aid.

Arrangement:

Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence and documents; 2. Ephemera.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

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]. William Rollin Morgan addenda, 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
Website