Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company

Records, 1897-1915
3.5 cubic feet

The records of the Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company are part of the records of Day Mines, Inc., donated to the University of Idaho by Henry Day in 1984 and 1985. Initial processing of this manuscript group was done under the direction of Richard Davis from 1988 to 1990. Processing was completed by Michael Tarabulski in July 1991. Funds for processing were provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the U.S. Department of Education HEA Title II-C "Strengthening Research Library Resources" program, the Library Associates of the University of Idaho and other donors.

COMPANY HISTORY

The Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Co. -- no explanation has been found as to why Chesapeak lacks the final "e" -- was incorporated in 1897 to manage a number of claims above Burke Canyon in Shoshone County, Idaho. The major stockholder and manager before 1906 was Daniel Brien, a Wallace, Idaho, physician. The Day brothers, convinced of the value of the Tamarack & Chesapeak holdings, began buying up stock quietly, acquiring proxies and delinquent stock. By 1906 they controlled the majority of shares and were in a position to oust Brien and elect themselves to the board of directors. Harry Day became president and manager. Litigation followed in which Brien claimed ownership, through his Snowy Peak Mining Company, of certain company properties.

By 1913 the Days emerged as the victors but were required to pay compensation for some of the lode claims in question. Daniel Brien subsequently left the area; his last known address according to the local paper was Seoul, Korea. When title to the Tamarack & Chesapeak holdings had been settled, the Days merged this firm with their adjacent Custer Consolidated Mining Company to form the Tamarack & Custer Consolidated Mining Company.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The records of the Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company span the years 1897 to 1915, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1905 to 1912. Included are minutes of meetings, financial statements, correspondence with suppliers and stockholders, stock ledgers and journals, cancelled stock certificates, lists of stockholders, financial ledgers and journals, a voucher record, check registers, and ore assay, shipping, and smelting records.

Related materials can be found in the records of the Custer Consolidated, Tamarack & Custer, Puritan, and Snowy Peak Mining Companies.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The records of the Tamarack & Chesapeak Mining Company are divided into seven series: Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1897-1912; General Correspondence and Related Records, 1900-1913; Capital Stock Records, 1897-1915; Financial Records, 1897-1913; Personnel Records, 1904-1913; Ore Production and Shipment Records, 1905-1910; and Plant and Equipment Records, 1907.

The first series contains a minute book, 1897-1910, and three folders of records related to meetings, 1897-1912.

The second series includes two folders of records relating to court cases: the Polly Fraction case of 1906-1908, and the Snowy Peak Mining Company lawsuit of 1911. Both cases involved Daniel Brien's claims against the company. A folder of claim coordinates, 1906-1909, also contains coordinates for the Custer Consolidated and Snowy Peak Mining Companies. Another folder contains seven blueprint maps, only three of which are dated: two 1900; one 1901. There are eight folders of correspondence from the company's Wallace office, 1906-1913, organized in three alphabetical series: 1906-1910 (5 folders), 1909-1913 (1), and 1912 (2). There are also two files from Secretary F.M. Rothrock's office in Spokane, Washington: one chronological, 1905-1907, the other alphabetical, 1905-1910. Correspondence, 1905-1908, in a third folder from Spokane, from the office of F.H. Gohlke, Assistant Secretary, 1905-1908, concerns stock and legal matters. Finally, a folder of miscellaneous items, 1905-1910, includes board bills, a fire insurance policy, indentures, county tax forms and other records.

Capital Stock Records, the third series, contains four ledgers, and three journals, all 1897-1912. Also included are: four folders of correspondence, 1912-1915, which suffered water damage; a folder containing ten lists of stockholders, 1906-1912, and a few blank stock certificates; and a folder containing a meeting notices and proxy card replies for meetings 1905-1910, kept as samples and organized chronologically.

The fourth series, Financial Records, contains three ledgers, documenting activity 1897-1913. Journal coverage is less complete -- the one journal present covers only 1906-1913. A check register volume and three folders of check registers also cover 1906-1913, and one folder of check registers, paid checks, and promissory notes covers 1900-1906. One ledger, the journal, and the check register volume are oversized items. Two folders contain bills and receipts, 1900-1910, ordered alphabetically. Two other folders contain bills, receipts, and financial statements (monthly and discontinuous), 1904-1911, in loose chronological order. There is a folder of monthly financial statements and trial balances, 1906-1908, again in loose chronological order and perhaps missing a few months. Another folder contains bank statements (monthly but incomplete), deposit slips, and a few paid checks. All are from the Fidelity National Bank of Spokane for 1906-1909, mostly 1907. Finally there is a voucher record book for 1910-1911, the second half of which is the voucher record for the Custer Consolidated Mining Company for these same years. A complementary volume for 1906-1909 is boxed with the records of the Custer Consolidated Mining Company.

The fifth series, Personnel Records, includes four folders of monthly payrolls, organized chronologically, covering 1904-1912. These payrolls are badly water damaged and very brittle. A time book covers only from November 1897 to January 1898 and records the activity of only a few workers. Lastly, there are two folders of time checks. The first covers 1906-1907 (mostly 1906); the second, 1912-1913 (mostly 1912).

Ore Production and Shipment Records, the sixth series, contains a folder of assay and settlement sheets, 1905-1907. Most of the ore in these years went to the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) plant in East Helena, Montana, or to the Ohio and Colorado Smelting and Refining Company in Salida, Colorado. Another folder contains two pages from an Ore Record book, summarizing assay and settlement activity for 1905-1906. Another group includes smelting contracts: Five from 1906, one from 1910. All are blank except for a 1906 contract between the Rex Mining Company and ASARCO. A final folder contains bills of lading for 1907, detailing activity with both the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company and the Northern Pacific.

The final series contains only a folder of correspondence related to the purchase of generators and milling equipment, mostly from June and July 1907.

Removal of cancelled stock certificates, returned proxy statements, bills, receipts, invoices, bank statements, and paid checks reduced the bulk of this collection by 3.5 cubic feet.

SERIES LIST

								Container
I.	Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1897-1912	1
II.	General Correspondence and Related Records, 1900-1913	1
III.	Capital Stock Records, 1897-1915	2
IV.	Financial Records, 1897-1913	3, o.s.
V.	Personnel Records, 1904-1913	3
VI.	Ore Production and Shipment Records, 1905-1910	3
VII.	Plant and Equipment Records, 1907	3

TAMARACK & CHESAPEAK MINING COMPANY
INVENTORY

Box	Folder	Description

I. Records of the Board of Directors and the Stockholders, 1897-1912

1	1	Minutes, 1897-1910
	2-4	Records relating to meetings, 1897-1912

II. General Correspondence and Related Records, 1900-1913

	5	Polly Claim court case, 1906-1908
	6	Tamarack law suit, 1911
	7	Claim coordinates, 1906-1909
	8	Maps (blueprint), 1900-1901, n.d.
	9-16	Correspondence: Wallace Office, 1906-1913
	17-18	Correspondence: F.M. Rothrock, Spokane office, 1905-1910
	19	Correspondence: F.H. Gohlke, Spokane office, 1905-1910
	20	Miscellaneous, 1905-1910

III. Capital Stock Records, 1897-1915

2	21	Lists of stockholders, 1906-1912
	22-25	Ledgers, 1897-1911
	26-28	Journals, 1897-1912
	29-32	Correspondence, 1912-1915
	33	Proxy cards (samples), 1905-1912

IV. Financial Records, 1897-1913

3	34-35	Ledgers, 1897-1905
o.s.	36	Ledger, 1906-1913
o.s.	37	Journal, 1906-1913
o.s.	38	Check register, 1906-1912
3	39-42	Check registers, 1900-1913
	43	Voucher record, 1910-1911
	44-45	Bills and receipts, 1900-1910
	46-47	Bills, receipts, and financial statements, 1904-11
	48	Monthly statements, 1906-1908
	49	Bank statements, 1906-1909

V. Personnel Records, 1904-1912

	50-53	Pay rolls, 1904-1912
	54	Time book, 1897-1898
	55-56	Time checks, 1906-1913

VI. Ore Production and Shipment Records, 1905-1910

	57	Assays and settlements, 1905-1907
	58	Ore record, 1905-1906
	59	Smelting contracts, 1906, 1910
	60	Bills of lading, 1907

VII. Plant and Equipment Records, 1907

	61	Correspondence, 1907

mg245.htm / February 1995

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