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James B. Leahy, Montana Mining Stock Promoter Archive, c. 1884-1894 [151086]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:5,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD
James B. Leahy, Montana Mining Stock Promoter Archive, c. 1884-1894  [151086]
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James B. Leahy was a very prominent figure in the Montana mining industry. He was involved in many different aspects of the mining industry throughout his career. First and foremost, he was a mining stock promoter in Butte. He was responsible for promoting stocks of many important Montana mining companies including, but not limited to, Moulton, Flint Creek, West Granite, Black Pine, Montana Fire Clay, and Granite Mountain. As a stock promoter, he worked closely with the stock brokerage company, Samuel Gaylord & Co. This collection is full of correspondence from many different individuals who were interested in buying stocks from Leahy. There is also correspondence from Samuel Gaylord & Co. about the current selling price of various stocks. These pieces of correspondence are a great window into the daily fluctuations of the mining stock market in Montana.

In addition to promoting mining stocks, Leahy was also involved in the ownership and management of several mining companies. From these letters, it is known that Leahy was the secretary of the Cleveland Mining Company. The president of this company was James Reardon, and there are letters from him in this collection. Other correspondence related to Leahy’s career in mining management are scattered throughout this collection.

Another business venture that Leahy was involved in was selling salt throughout the western United States. Along with his business partner, C.G. Bradshaw, Leahy was contracted to sell mining, milling, table, and dairy salts manufactured by the Inland Salt Company of Utah. The contract between Leahy and the Inland Salt Company is in this collection. There are also several pieces of correspondence from grocers and mining companies interested in buying salt from Leahy.

Later in his career, Leahy became involved in politics, especially as an advocate for the free coinage of silver. He wrote a pamphlet about the issue titled “Have I Solved It?” The actual pamphlet is not available in this collection, but there are many letters criticizing or supporting Leahy’s arguments. For a brief period of time, Leahy also managed a newspaper called “The People.” From correspondence, it can be assumed that this newspaper took a Populist stance, and contained many articles about labor and political issues. Leahy also advocated for the free coinage of silver by becoming the Chairman of the Silver Committee of the Trans-Mississippi Congress.

This collection consists of 16 binders in 3 boxes. These binders are full of hundreds of letters to Leahy related to his various business endeavors between 1884 and 1894. There are also some pieces of personal correspondence from some of his family and friends. Some of these letters are accompanied by their original postal covers from various towns, mostly in Montana, California, and Oregon. This collection is quite possibly the best collection of primary source documents related to James Leahy and his career. For more details, please see our online catalog. [Theresa Nielson] State:Montana City: Date: Provenance: