The Bradford papers contain James Otey Bradford's correspondence from 1888-1919. Much of it is correspondence pertaining to his duties with the Wells, Fargo & Co. There are also typescripts of historical writings (possibly copied from printed sources) and copies of newspaper articles pertaining to the early days of stage coaching, the men involved and the crimes committed against stages. Biographical material pertaining to stage robbers, as well as drivers are in the collection.

James Otey Bradford (d 1919?] was born in Virginia and served as a lieutenant in the Confederate Navy. After the war he worked for various English shipping lines. He began his employ with Wells, Fargo in New York City. In this position he was in charge of freight and travel requests for tourists. He left Wells, Fargo and moved to San Francisco where he was employed by the Palace Hotel. He shortly returned to the employ of Wells, Fargo and remained with them until retirement. In his later years he served as the director of the Wells, Fargo historical exhibit at the Columbian Exhibition of 1893. Later he was placed in charge of all Wells, Fargo historical exhibits. He retired after forty years service with the company. Much of the present collection represents Mr. Bradford's interest in the history of Wells, Fargo.

2 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

These materials are believed to be in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use of public domain materials.

Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.