John Janney Collection

http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8hx1j65 No online items John Janney collection Finding aid prepared by Gina C Giang. Manuscripts Department The Huntington Library 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2203 Fax: (626) 449-5720 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © 2016 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. John Janney collection mssJanneycollection 1 Descriptive Summary Title: John Janney collection Dates: 1896-1992 Bulk dates: 1920-1960 Collection Number: mssJanneycollection Creator: Janney, John, 1877-1967 Extent: 338 boxes, 29 ledgers, and 2 oversize folders Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department The Huntington Library 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2203 Fax: (626) 449-5720 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: The John Janney collection contains correspondence and business records related to mining in the early 20th century American West. Included are files related to John Janney's several properties and interests, most of which were in Lincoln County, Nevada, including the Ely Valley Mines, Mountain View Hotel, Pioche Mines Company, Pioche Power and Light Company, and Tenabo Mining and Smelting Company. This collection exists as an extensive and rich documentation of Nevada mining, especially during the Great Depression and World War II. Language of Material: The records are in English. Access Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, please go to following web site . Publication Rights The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], John Janney collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Acquisition Information Purchased from Serendipity Books, July 1999 Biography John Janney was born on August 15, 1877 in Leesburg, Virginia. His great grandfather served as Attorney General under George Washington and John Adams. He was named after a famous uncle. In 1896, John Janney graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1900. Soon after, Janney headed west to Idaho and then, Pioche, Nevada where he re-created himself as a businessman. Seemingly, Janney was motivated by a desire to be a great and respected businessman. He admired John D. Rockefeller for making a fortune in oil and set out to do the same in mining. However, Janney proved to be plagued by misfortune and a certain degree of incompetence or irresponsibility that limited his success. During his 50 years in the mining industry, he managed to create enemies of the worst kind, those who neither feared nor respected him. He was sued by other companies and stockholders on numerous occasions, and was forced to devote much of his energy to a never ending stream of litigation. Janney failed to follow the advice of Andrew Carnegie, who claimed he made his fortune by putting all his eggs in one basket, and "watching that basket." From the very beginning of his career, Janney had investments in several companies, and projects across the United States. He worked on the development of Milner Dam in south central Idaho and contributed to the founding of Twin Falls, Idaho. He continued to own property and farmland in Idaho throughout this life. In the early 1900s, he became the Secretary of the Pioche Mines Company, and began to make his rise. He spent time in France before the war, and then returned to Pioche, Nevada. He spent the years up until 1920 acquiring controlling stock in the Nevada Volcano Mines Company for his personal ownership. In 1920, he bought the land from the company. Now, he had control of Pioche Mines Company, which had equipment for mining, but no money to buy land on which to use the equipment. Janney John Janney collection mssJanneycollection 2 also acquired controlling stock in The Pioche Record, the Mountain View Hotel, and the Pioche Power and Light Company. He oversaw the running of these businesses as well as his main interest, mining. Janney was a capitalist in every sense and strove to make the Pioche Mines Company profitable throughout the 1920s. Soon, he became the president of the company and was determined to make it work. His success was set back on September 14, 1929, when a fire destroyed the company's mill. Workers expressed support and sympathy for Janney after the fire, despite the depression into which the world had fallen into, plans were soon underway to rebuild the mill. Throughout the 1930s, Janney expressed strong views in regards to his economic theories and opinions on the silver policy. He wrote numerous letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and friends tried to arrange a meeting with the President Roosevelt so Janney could push his plan for economic recovery. Pioche Mines Company eventually merged with Pioche Mines Consolidated, Inc. Janney continued as president. Under his direction, the company actively worked to increase stockholders in the east, especially in Philadelphia. Janney spent much of his time living in hotels in east coast cities promoting and trying to expand his company. The company was not free of problems, however. Percy H. Clark, had replaced T. Mitchell Hastings, as attorney for Philadelphia investors in the company and soon began his push for reorganization. Clark clashed with Janney and other company heads frequently, which eventually led to several lawsuits. Eventually, Clark resigned his vice-presidency; he was unable to see eye to eye on anything with Janney. Problems abounded with investors and supply companies that Pioche Mines Consolidated, Inc. was in debt to. Janney seemed to owe money in all directions and to be in no rush to pay up. As the patience of many wore out, the number of lawsuits rose steadily. The case of Fidelity-Philadelphia vs. Pioche Mines Consolidated, Inc. and John Janney dragged on for years and eventually landed in the United States Supreme Court in the early 1960s. In the late 1930s or early 1940s, Janney became the General Manager of Ely Valley Mines Company. He oversaw all operations and business in this company, saving records of daily operations at the mill. In letters to and from his wife, Alice Janney, he expresses intense desire to see the company become profitable. In response, his wife made several suggestions on how to accomplish that goal. However, this company was also plagued with lawsuits, specifically the case of Helen Dolman vs. Ely Valley Mines, which carried on until the early 1960s when it finally reached the United States Court of Appeals. Janney also worked on developing the Randsburg mining district, located in Kern County, California. His energies were constantly invested in mines, as shown by the massive number of business correspondence. The 1960s lawsuits seemed to wear on him. He spent more time expressing his political views, and following the events of the Civil Rights Movement. Janney spoke out for right-wing politics, anti-communism, and constitutional limitations. Janney passed away in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967 at the age of 90. At that time, several court cases were still in progress, and the mining companies were in his control. In his will, he instructed three old friends to take care of his possessions, being sure his wife would be provided for until her death. His only other beneficiaries were The Defenders of the American Constitution and John C. Williams, President of the Texas Voters for Enforcing the Constitution. Janney's stock was transferred to Arabian Shields Company of Dallas, Texas and his properties were taken over by this company. Scope and Content Series I: Ely Valley Mines Company The first series, Ely Valley Mines Company, primarily contains reports, such as Foreman's Daily Reports, Daily Explosives Reports, Shift Reports, Truck Operation Reports, Daily Timber Reports, and Daily Drill Reports. Also, pertaining to Ely Valley Mines Company, are Assay Certificates, Requisition for Supplies forms, time cards, financial records, production estimates, and other technical figures. Included are letters to and from supply companies, stockholders, company officers, and legal firms. Also in this series, are letters to and from John Janney and wife, Alice Janney in Box 57 (3). Series II: Mountain View Hotel The Mountain View Hotel series, mostly consists of invoices, receipts, statements, and tax records from various supply and utility companies. This series is roughly organized chronologically. The few letters in this section concern a Redflash boiler leak at the hotel. Series III: Oriental Refining Company The third series mostly includes correspondence, memoranda, notes, and statements concerning two lawsuits: Oriental Refining Company, Plaintiff, vs. American National Bank of Denver, Defendant and Richard K. Baker, as Trustee, Francis G. Shaw and Richard K. Baker, as Trustees, Wallace M. Scudder, James B. Thayer, Augustus Hemenway, and Francis G. Shaw, Plaintiffs, vs. Max P. Zall, E. M. Stringer, H. L. Jewell, and Oriental Refining Company, Defendants. Series IV: Amalgamated Pioche Mines and Smelting Corporation:The Amalgamated Pioche Mines and Smelting Corporation series primarily consists of invoices, receipts, and statements from various supply and utility companies from the late 1930s to early 1940s. Series V: Pioche Mines Company and Pioche Mines Consolidated, Inc. This series is roughly divided into two parts. The first part concerns Pioche Mines Company from the early 1900s to late 1920s. The second part relates to Pioche Mines John Janney collection mssJanneycollection 3 Consolidated, Inc., which incorporated in December 1928. Both sections contain business correspondence to and from supply companies, stockholders, company officers, and legal firms.

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