Diary and Notebooks, 1859-1861. This
collection includes materials which document the travels and surveys of
Richmond Jones (1833-1861) while working for the Sopori Land and Mining Company
in the Santa Cruz Valley of Arizona. The diary describes his journey from Rhode
Island to Tucson, Arizona and offer insights on individuals and mining
activities in southern Arizona until his sudden death at the hands of Apaches,
in the field, in 1861. Includes account books, letters, survey books and
documents, as well as a report on the Sopori and San Xavier mines by mining
engineer Raphael Pumpelly (1837-1923) who was in charge of the Santa Rita Mine
from 1860-1861.
Collection Number:
MS 414
Languages Represented
English
Repository:
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
Biographical note
Richmond Jones, Jr. (1833-1861) was a mining engineer hired by Welcome
B. Sayles (1812-1862) of the Sopori Land and Mining Company and the Arizona
Land and Mining Company of Providence Rhode Island to survey the Sopori Rancho
boundary in the Arizona Territory. Both the Sopori Land and Mining Company and
the Arizona Land and Mining Company were incorporated in Providence Rhode
Island in 1859 by Sayles with firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt (1814-1862) as
a major stockholder. Although the Sopori Company was financed mainly out of
Providence, Cincinnati financiers Charles Debrille Poston (1825-1902) and
Samuel Peter Heintzleman (1805-1880) founders of the Sonora Exploration and
Mining Company, were also involved. Jones' diaries help to tie together the
sometimes complicated interactions of the companies. When the Civil War began
in 1861 United States troops were withdrawn from the territory of Arizona and
many mines closed due to increased raiding by Apaches. As the attacks increased
Jones diary entries become less frequent until they cease altogether in July
1861 when Jones was killed in an Apache raid while attempting to return to
Tucson Arizona.
Scope and Content Note
Diaries and Notebooks, 1859-1861. Collection consists of materials
which document the travels and surveys of Richmond Jones (1833-1861) while
working for the Sopori Land and Mining Company in the Santa Cruz Valley of
Arizona. The collection contains account books, letters, survey books, reports
on individual mines, and documents. Jones' diaries and account books
(1859-1861) make up the bulk of the collection.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
These two diaries, an original written in pencil and a duplicate
written in ink, record Jones' journey from Providence, Rhode Island to Arizona;
his survey of the Sopori Rancho and the Rohnstadt grants; his examination of
mineral indications; and the growing danger from Apaches.
These account books contain accounts by Sayles and Jones written
by Jones. They detail the goods purchased for the trip to Arizona and other
expenditures. The Sopori account book contains an account of transactions from
Welcome B. Sayles to Richmond Jones which shows the purchase of equipment
necessary to a geologist or a mining engineer, as well as foodstuffs, pack
animals, weapons, and petty cash payouts to workers for unspecified jobs.
box
folder
1
3
Richmond Jones and Welcome Ballou Sayles Account Book.
, 1859-1861
1
4
Sopori Land and Mining Company Cash and Personal
Account Book.
, 1859-1861
These notebooks were kept by Jones while in Arizona and contain
notes on mines and mining practices; plant and animal genealogy; barometric
heights; and magnetic observations; and the completed survey of the land owned
by the Arizona Land and Mining Company, including the Sopori Rancho and the
Orozco property.
box
folder
1
5
Arizona Land and Mining Company Notebook.
, 1860-1861
1
6
Arizona Land and Mining Company Notebooks, Nos. 1-2, 5.
, 1860
1
7
Sopori Land and Mining Company Notebook No. 4.
, undated
This is a five page letter from Welcome Sayles to Richmond Jones,
from Providence, Rhode Island. Receipt of the letter is noted by Jones in his
diary and parts of the letter are noted in greater detail. The letter discusses
the survey made by Jones and makes it clear that the Sopori Company has title
in the Rohnstadt and Orozco land. Internal business matters are discussed and
comments are made concerning many of the participants in the mining companies
involved; including Charles Poston and John R. Bartlett.
box
folder
1
8
Letter from Welcome Ballou Sayles to Richmond Jones Jr.
, February 27, 1861
These reports consist of a 35 page report which details the
history of the Sopori Land Grant; a handwritten copy of a three page title
document originally produced in 1838 concerning the survey of the Sopori
Rancho; and a five page handwritten report from Pumpelly to Jones concerning
ore production at the Sopori and San Xavier Mines in Arizona.
box
folder
1
9
Sopori Land and Mining Company vs. the United States et
al. El Sopori Grant.
, ca. 1894
1
10
Description of the Sopori Rancho.
, undated
1
11
Report on the Sopori and San Xavier Mines by Raphael
Pumpelly.
, April 18, 1861
