The George U. Young Papers date from 1894 to 1922 and include correspondence, commercial documents, legal documents, articles, and news clippings describing Young's industrial, journalistic, and political activities. They are divided into four series.
Identification:
MSS-83
Language:
Material in English
Repository:
Arizona State University Library. Greater Arizona Collection P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 Phone: (480) 965-4932 E-Mail: archives@asu.edu Questions? Ask An Archivist!
Biographical Note
George U. Young, mining and railroad executive, journalist, and politician, was born to John Alexander and Mary (Wilson) Young in Hamburg, Indiana on February 10, 1867. The Youngs moved to Kansas when George was thirteen, and he began teaching in his home two years later. He also studied law and was admitted to the Kansas bar in 1890. Subsequently, he moved to Arizona and obtained employment with a railroad line. With Rough Rider and lawman William "Bucky" O'Neill, he co-founded the Santa Fe and Grand Canyon Railroad.
Young was active in Arizona politics. He served a term as Secretary of the Territory of Arizona from 1909 to 1912 and was acting Governor during part of that time. He was subsequently an unsuccessful candidate for the governorship of the state. In addition, Young served as Mayor of Phoenix from 1914 to 1916, as Arizona manager of the Robert LaFollette presidential campaign in 1924, and as a Draft Board member during the First World War. Young owned several mining properties in Arizona and participated in their operation through correspondence with their on-site managers. He was also the owner of The Williams News (Arizona) and authored numerous articles about Arizona and a guidebook to the Grand Canyon.
George Young married Mary Ellen Smith (1884-1940) in 1900 and the couple had three children: George U., Helen E., and E. Lucille. George U. Young Sr. died in 1926.
Scope and Content Note
The George U. Young Papers date from 1894 to 1922 and include correspondence, commercial documents, legal documents, articles, and news clippings describing Young's industrial, journalistic, and political activities. They are divided into four series.
Series I: Correspondence dates from 1984 to 1922. Each aspect of Young's public life is represented, but this correspondence is preponderantly a compilation of routine business, traffic, personnel, and engineering communications addressing Young's mining concerns.
Series II: Financial Records dates from 1901 to 1921 and comprises Young's files of accounting source documents for his various commercial holdings. The majority of these records derive from the operations of the Young, Madizelle and Mammoth Mining Companies at Prescott and Goldfield, Arizona.
Series III: Mines and Mining contains correspondence, legal documents, articles, and news clippings concerning Young's commercial holdings. These items range in date from 1894 to 1915.
Series IV: City of Phoenix contains correspondence, commercial documents, legal documents, and news clippings. It dates from 1914 to 1915 and highlights Young's career as Mayor. Folders 28, 29, 34, 35 and 37 of Box 8 contain items concerning efforts to reform Phoenix municipal government during his tenure.
Arrangement
This collection consists of eight boxes divided into four series:
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.