Scope and Contents
The William H. Wright Papers consist of correspondence, printed materials, personal papers, and photographs that document the mining industry in the St. Helens Mining District of southwestern Washington. The papers also document stockholder relations with specific Washington and Oregon mining corporations. The bulk of the material relates to financial investments that William H. Wright and his wife, Ella, made in the Cascadia Mining and Development Company, the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Company, and the Polar Star Mining Company. The papers span the years 1897-1954, and include letters addressed to Wright's wife, in-laws, and son.
Series I. Correspondence is organized into three subseries: Family Correspondence, Business Correspondence and Third Party Correspondence. Family Correspondence consists primarily of letters from William Wright's brother-in-law, Eugene A. Sessions. According to a letter he wrote in 1898, Sessions was a proprietor of a grocery and supply store in Portland, Oregon. His letters to his sister and her husband, mostly addressed to the latter, describe mining investment opportunities in the mining district around St. Helens, and trace Session's career as a mining investor and entrepreneur and the increasing financial involvement of the Wrights in his ventures. Sessions' letters also discuss the growth and financial state of his mining and other business enterprises, which included the Cascadia Mining and Development Co., the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Co., and the Polar Star Mining Co. Letters from Sessions to his parents in Woodstock, Illinois are also present.
Business Correspondence consists primarily of stockholder letters to the Wrights from the Cascadia Mining and Development Company and the Polar Star Mining Company as well as letters replying to William Wright's inquiries about these corporations in the 1930s. Third Party Correspondence includes letters reporting on E. A. Sessions's mining properties in the St. Helens Mining District as well as two letters written by Henry E. Wright concerning his father's financial interests in corporations in the area.
Series II. Printed Materials consists of prospectuses and brochures for the Cascadia Mining and Development Company and the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Company of Portland, Oregon.
Series III. Personal Papers is organized into Financial and Legal Papers and Other Papers. Other Papers includes newspaper clippings, a map of the St. Helens Mining District, and a phone book containing birth and death dates for members of the Sessions and Wright families.
Series IV. Photographs consists of three photographs by James H. Eaton: "Soda Springs Camp", a captioned image picturing pack animals, men, and one woman in June 1897; "Minnie Lee", an image of the entrance of the Minnie Lee mine; and "Polar Star", an image of four unidentified miners in front of the entrance of the Polar Star mine. An uncaptioned mounted photograph by J. A. Meiser of two loggers sitting in the cleft of a tree they've nearly sawn through is also present.
Series I. Correspondence is organized into three subseries: Family Correspondence, Business Correspondence and Third Party Correspondence. Family Correspondence consists primarily of letters from William Wright's brother-in-law, Eugene A. Sessions. According to a letter he wrote in 1898, Sessions was a proprietor of a grocery and supply store in Portland, Oregon. His letters to his sister and her husband, mostly addressed to the latter, describe mining investment opportunities in the mining district around St. Helens, and trace Session's career as a mining investor and entrepreneur and the increasing financial involvement of the Wrights in his ventures. Sessions' letters also discuss the growth and financial state of his mining and other business enterprises, which included the Cascadia Mining and Development Co., the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Co., and the Polar Star Mining Co. Letters from Sessions to his parents in Woodstock, Illinois are also present.
Business Correspondence consists primarily of stockholder letters to the Wrights from the Cascadia Mining and Development Company and the Polar Star Mining Company as well as letters replying to William Wright's inquiries about these corporations in the 1930s. Third Party Correspondence includes letters reporting on E. A. Sessions's mining properties in the St. Helens Mining District as well as two letters written by Henry E. Wright concerning his father's financial interests in corporations in the area.
Series II. Printed Materials consists of prospectuses and brochures for the Cascadia Mining and Development Company and the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Company of Portland, Oregon.
Series III. Personal Papers is organized into Financial and Legal Papers and Other Papers. Other Papers includes newspaper clippings, a map of the St. Helens Mining District, and a phone book containing birth and death dates for members of the Sessions and Wright families.
Series IV. Photographs consists of three photographs by James H. Eaton: "Soda Springs Camp", a captioned image picturing pack animals, men, and one woman in June 1897; "Minnie Lee", an image of the entrance of the Minnie Lee mine; and "Polar Star", an image of four unidentified miners in front of the entrance of the Polar Star mine. An uncaptioned mounted photograph by J. A. Meiser of two loggers sitting in the cleft of a tree they've nearly sawn through is also present.
Dates
- 1897 - 1954
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The William H. Wright Papers are the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum on the Winlock William Miller, Jr. Memorial Fund, 2006.
Extent
0.42 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The papers consist of correspondence, printed materials, personal papers, and photographs of William H. Wright of Chicago, Illinois, documenting the mining industry in Washington State's St. Helens Mining District during the first decades of the twentieth century. The bulk of the material is correspondence relating to investments that William and his wife Ella made in southwestern Washington, and includes materials documenting stockholder relations with specific Washington and Oregon mining corporations. The papers span the years 1897 to 1954, and include letters addressed to Wright's wife, in-laws, and son.
WILLIAM H. WRIGHT (1857-1939)
William H. Wright was born in 1854. He lived in Chicago, Illinois with his wife, Ella R. Wright. The Wrights invested in the St. Helens Mining District in Washington state at the urging of Ella's brother, E. A. Sessions. Sessions was officially involved with multiple mining corporations in the St. Helens area during the first two decades of the twentieth century, including the Cascadia Mining and Development Company, the Levens Ledge Gold Mining Company, and the Polar Star Mining Company.
The Wrights had a son, Henry E. Wright. William H. Wright died on August 16, 1937.
The Wrights had a son, Henry E. Wright. William H. Wright died on August 16, 1937.
- Cascadia Mining and Development Company
- Copper mines and mining -- Washington (State) -- St. Helens Mining District
- Gold mines and mining -- Oregon -- Douglas County
- Gold mines and mining -- Washington (State) -- St. Helens Mining District
- Levens Ledge Gold Mining Company
- Loggers -- Washington (State)
- Maps (documents) -- Washington (State) -- Saint Helens Mining District
- Miners -- Washington (State)
- Miners -- Washington (State)
- Mines and mineral resources -- Washington (State) -- St. Helens Mining District
- Photographic prints -- Washington (State) -- Saint Helens Mining District
- Polar Star Mining Company
- Prospectuses -- Washington (State) -- Saint Helens Mining District -- 20th Century
- Saint Helens Mining District (Wash.)
- Saint Helens Mining District (Wash.) -- Maps
- Sessions, E. A. (Eugene A.)
- Silver mines and mining -- Washington (State) -- St. Helens Mining District
- Stockholders -- United States
- Stockholders -- United States
- Wright, Ella R., 1857-1939
- Wright, Henry E.
- Wright, William H., 1854-1937
- Title
- Guide to the William H. Wright Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Kathleen T. Burns
- Date
- July 2006
- Description rules
- Beinecke Manuscript Unit Archival Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.