William M. Fitzhugh papers

William M. Fitzhugh papers, 1387-1967

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Fitzhugh, William M., 1853-1929
Title: William M. Fitzhugh papers
Dates: 1387-1967 (inclusive)
Date of CollectionDate of Collection

1882-1929 (bulk)
Date of CollectionDate of Collection
Quantity: 52.35 cubic ft. (79 boxes)
Collection Number: 00538
Summary: Correspondence, maps, reports, legal files, etc. of a mining and petroleum engineer best known for his discoveries in the Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming. Also newspapers, printed material, art, and historical manuscripts dating from the 14th to 20th centuries.
Repository: American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions: Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

William M. Fitzhugh (1853-1929) was a petroleum explorer whose investment in the Salt Creek Oil Field in Wyoming made him a millionaire. Fitzhugh was born in 1853 and moved to California with his family 10 years later. He graduated from the University of California in 1875 as a civil engineer. He traveled extensively around the world prospecting for oil and other commodities and was instrumental in uncovering fraud in Alaska’s gold fields. His major success came in 1909 when he located oil in central Wyoming. The fields were highly productive, but disagreements arose between Fitzhugh and Midwest Oil Company over oil rights. Fitzhugh retired from business in 1914 and began to collect art. He died in San Francisco in 1929.

His son, William M. Fitzhugh (1901-1976), was a physician and rare book collector. He traveled extensively with his family and met inventors and politicians, including Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson. He collected historical documents, early California newspapers, art, and artifacts, as well as books.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection contains correspondence, maps, reports, etc. pertaining to Fitzhugh's explorations for minerals, petroleum, and other commodities around the world. There are also many legal files primarily concerning oil rights in the Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming, which were disputed between Fitzhugh and the Midwest Oil Company. Also included are newspapers, printed material, art, and historical manuscripts dating from the 14th to 20th centuries, including items from Italy, Spain, England, and Ireland in Europe and from the colonial, Civil War, Reconstruction, and later eras in the United States.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by William M. Fitzhugh at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

This material was received from the William M. Fitzhugh Estate and William M. Fitzhugh Jr. (son), 1958-1974.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by D. Claudia Thompson in August 2020.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I. Personal and Professional MaterialsReturn to Top

Includes material about Fitzhugh's personal life, career as an oil and mining prospector, and various business endeavors.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box
53	Artifact: metal sign advertising Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes - "Oh! Look Who's Here"	undated
	Biographical and Personal Information:
Box
20	American Mining Congress - Appointment	1910
14	Beauregard, H.T. (relations with)	1902-1929
20	Book - "Monuments and Memories of San Francisco" (contains biography and photograph of William M. Fitzhugh)	1955
19	Book - "Mining and General Telegraphic Code"	undated
20	Bookplates of William M. Fitzhugh and William M. Fitzhugh Jr.	undated
20	Boy Scouts - San Francisco Council	1920
73	Burleson, Albert S. (framed items with note on back from William M. Fitzhugh, Jr. telling how Postmaster General Albert S. Burleson sent him a ticket to the Democratic National Convention):
	Photograph of Albert S. Burleson	undated
	Envelope addressed to Billy Fitzhugh "The Democrat" (William M. Fitzhugh, Jr.)	circa 1920
	Ticket to Democratic National Convention	1920, June 28
19	Bohemian Club Information Booklet	1967
14	Business Cards	undated
19	Catalog - Indian Basket Collection of Prof. and Mrs. T.S.G. Lowe	undated
73	Certificate - Society of the Cincinnati (membership of William M. Fitzhugh)	1916
20	Diary of William M. Ftizhugh	1892
14	Diary of William M. Fitzhugh	1900
20	Fitzhugh Ancestors - New York Historical Society Bulletin	1932
53	Fitzhugh Family Tree	circa 1966
20	Fitzhugh, William M., Jr. - "A Story of Experiences"	undated
14	Hall, William Hammond (relations with)	1902-1925
20	Lithograph of Shakespeare (removed from frame)	1910
14	Miscellaneous	1901-circa 1912
53	Passport of William M. Fitzhugh	1898
20	Obituaries of William M. Fitzhugh	1929
20	Prospecting Permit	1922
14	Recipes (Gumbo)	undated
14	Speech - "Why Wyoming Has Not Developed as Rapidly as Some of the Surrounding States"	1904
21	Tape Recording (reel-to-reel) - of William M. Fitzhugh Jr., M.D.	1964
20	Torrence, Henry George (relations with) - Depositions, Offprint	1903-1904
20	Wine Vault Robbery	1920
	Buildings:
Box
20	Apartment House (San Francisco, California) - cost estimate	1913
20	Fitzhugh Building (San Franciso, California) - applications, drawings, photographs, etc.	1919-1923
20	Sunnyside Addition Lots (San Franciso, California) - Mortgage	1909
20	Reservoir (Portola, California) - building contract	1915
	Company Papers (contains reports on mining prospects and prospects for real estate and other business ventures):
Box
14	Adair Bay, Sonora, Mexico - Carbonate of Soda Deposits	undated
10	Alaska Company	undated
10	Alaska - Legal Papers	1902-1904
10	Alaska - Flume Creek Bar	1902
10	Alaska - Gold Rock Bar	undated
10	Alaska - Granite Forks Bar	1903
10	Alaska - Hogsback Bar	1903
10	Alaska - Klondike Estate Corporation Limited	1904
10	Alaska - Mission Creek	1901
10	Alaska - Mogul Bar Claims	1903
10	Alaska - Nimrod Bar	1903
10	Alaska - Nugget Bar	1901-1903
10	Alaska - Rock Creek	undated
10	Alaska - Seventy Mile River	1903
11	Altar Placers	1905
15	Amu Darya - Gold	undated
20	Balaklala Mine	1904
20	Battrum Ranch Land and Irrigation Project (Lassen County, California)	1908
11	Berthaton Smelting Company	undated
14	Butte, Montana	1910
11	Byers Ranch, California	1913
20	Byron (Wyoming) Oil and Gas Field	1914
20	C&W Oil Company	1913
14	Californian Petroleum and Asphalte	1900
20	Carey Brothers Coal Proposition (Wyoming)	undated
11	Clarines Mine	undated
11	Colombia, South America	undated
11	Columbia, Tuolumne County, California	1907
11	Conejo Blanco Mines	undated
11	Cotton Seed Oil Mill, Saratov, Russia	1898-1900
20	Cottonwood Anticline (Wyoming)	undated
11	Dolores Mines	1903-1905
11	Eaton Survey, Jefferson County, Texas, (abstract of title)	1918
11	Eldorado Creek, Yukon Territory	undated
11	Empire Gas & Fuel Company of Texas	undated
11	Escondida Copper Property	undated
14	Fitzhugh's Ore Report	1906
11	Graham (B.F.) Lumber Company	undated
11	Grand Canyon, Arizona	undated
15	Griadi, Russia - Peat Bogs	undated
11	Griffith (E.) Concession	undated
11	Honey Lake Delta Lands, Lassen County, California	undated
11	Houston Oil Company	1922-1923
20	Independent Oil and Refining (Lander, Wyoming)	1907
11	International Alkali and Chemical Company	undated
53	Jefferson County, Texas	1882-1901
14	Lindsay, California, - Oranges	1902
12	McFadden Survey, Jefferson County, Texas (abstract of title)	1918
12	Kewannee System & Pipe Lists	1913-1914
12	Mexico Mining	undated
12	Mineral Development Company	undated
20	Natomas Consolidated of California	1914
20	Oil Development Syndicate - Parker Oil Field (Wyoming)	circa 1913
12	Palmarito Mining Property	undated
12	Pan-American Gold Dredging Company	1906
20	Pete's Valley Reservoir (California)	1911
20	Petrol Company (California)	1914
12	Placer Properties in Texas Canon	undated
12	Presidio Mining Company	1904
12	Purissima Mine	undated
12	Quartz King Mining Company	undated
15	Queen Charlotte Island - Timber Concession	undated
12	Reed Oil Company	undated
12	Rialito Copper Company of Sonora, Mexico	undated
21	Sage Creek Petroleum Company (Porter B. Coolidge)	1928
12	San Sabastian Mining Zone	1907
12	Seward and Wolf Creek Claims	1901
21	Sherrard Lease (Big Horn County, Wyoming)	1909-1912
53	Talara, Peru - "Industrial and Social Study", International Petroleum Company Limited	1945
12	Texas Oil Fields Limited	1904-1913
12	Texas-Paris Oil Company Limited	1904
12	Torres & Prietas Railway	circa 1904
12	Tunisian Oil Fields	1902
21	Utah Oil Refining Company	1924
12	Visalia Mineral Entries by Honolulu Consolidated Oil Company	1915
12	William Fitzhugh Limited	circa 1900
12	West Tonopah Mining Company	undated
12	White Spruce Timber Property	undated
21	Wyoming Central Irrigation Company	1909
	Correspondence:
Box
1		1894-1902
21		1901-1907
2		1903
3		1904
4		1905-1906
5		1907-1911
21		1908-1910
21		1911
6		1912-1929
21		1914
21		1915
21		1916
21		1917
21		1928
7		1930-1941
	Financial Records:
Box
13	Bank Statements - Bank of New York	1899
13	Bank Statements - Casper National Bank	1913
13	Bank Statements - Crocker National Bank	1912-1914
13	Bank Statements - Mercantile National Bank	1914
13	Bank Statements - Western National Bank	1900
21	Bills, Receipts, etc.	1897-1910
21	Bills, Receipts, etc.	1916
21	Cash Book - G.H. Thompson in account with W.M. Fitzhugh	1901-1911
22	Casper National Bank	1913
13	Check Books and Bank Books	1900-1912
22	Crocker National Bank and Others	1906-1912
22	Garland State Bank	1902
14	Mining Stock Prices	1906
22	Newsboys Fund	1918-1921
15	Statements and Receipts	1899-1917
15	Tax Bills	1912-1939
	Legal Papers (not concerning Midwest Oil Company):
Box
22	Abstract of Title - Oil Placer Mining Claims (Fremont County, Wyoming)	1908
8	Affidavits	1912
8	Agreements	1891-1940
22	Agreements	1909
9	Assignments	1905
9	Bills of Sale	1902
9	Deeds	1891-1938
22	Deeds	1908-1911
9	Notice of Location of Water Rights	1902
9	Oil and Gas Leases	1901-1925
9	Power of Attorney	1902-1907
22	Waiver - Henshaw to Fitzhugh	1903
9	Miscellaneous Contracts and Legal Papers	1890-1925
Box
15, 22	Newspaper Clippings	1897-1930
22	Newspaper Clippings - Herbert Hoover	1929
54	Newspapers - San Francisco Earthquake (San Francisco News Letter; Argonaut; New York Herald)	1906
22	Notebook	1905-1907
14	Notebooks - Addresses and Expenses	undated
22	Notes	undated
14	Notes - Field Notes, Drafts, etc	1901-1938
	Photographs:
Box
22		circa 1900
22		1905, undated
14		1912, undated
22	Alaska (?)	undated
22	Fitzhugh, Peregrine and Sarah	1897
22	Fitzhugh, William M.	1873, undated
22	Fitzhugh, William M. (Jr.)	undated
22	Switzerland	undated
	Post Card and Photograph Albums:
Box
49	Britain (England, Scotland) (post cards)	undated
50	France, Britain, Austria, Italy (post cards)	circa 1906
51	New Zealand, Australia, France (post cards)	undated
52	Mount Shasta and Mud Creek Glacier (photographs)	1924
52	Russia (includes Bokhara [Bukhara]) (photographs)	undated
	Printed Material:
Box
22	Anticlines in Central Wyoming (government documents)	1916
22	California	1912, undated
18	Government Documents, Pamphlets, Prospectuses, Advertisements, etc.
22	Mining on Tribal Land (government documents)	1909
22	National Conservation Association	1916
22	Oil Exploration (government documents)	1914-1915
Box
52	Scrapbook: Salt Creek Oil Fields - Newspaper Clippings and Documents	1913-1918

Series II. Midwest Oil LawsuitsReturn to Top

Contains material about the discovery and development of the Salt Creek Oil Field in Wyoming and documents about the numerous lawsuitsin which Fitzhugh and the Midwest Oil Company were involved over rights to the profits from the field.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box
9, 23-44, 44A, 44B,44C	Correspondence, Legal Documents, Financial Records, etc. regarding lawsuits between William M. Fitzhugh, Midwest Oil Company, and other parties concerning oil in the Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming	1908-1922
53	Maps of Oil Placer Claims, Salt Creek Field, by M.D. Woolery	1912
	Photographs:
Box
44A	Midwest Refinery, Casper, Wyoming	undated
48	Midwest Refinery, Casper, Wyoming - Panoramic	undated
44A	Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming	1912, undated
44A	Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming - Freighting	undated
48	Salt Creek Oil Field, Wyoming - Panoramic	undated
44A	Tecopa, California	undated
53	"Ratio of Net Oil Production...Carried Through Midwest Pipeline, 1912-1918"	circa 1918
53	"Statement of Oil Carried Through Midwest Pipeline, 1911-1918"	circa 1918

Series III. MapsReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box
45	Big Horn Basin (Wyo.)	undated
45	Fitzhugh Property (Calif.)	undated
45	Irrigation - Wyoming Centeral Irrigation Company	undated
45	Natrona County (Wyo.)	1910
45	Oil Fields - Alkali (Wyo.)	undated
45	Oil Fields - Byron (Wyo.)	1909, undated
45	Oil Fields - Casper Creek (Wyo.)
45	Oil Fields - Castle Creek (Wyo.)	1913
45	Oil Fields - Lander (Wyo.)	undated
45	Oil Fields - Lost Soldier (Wyo.)	undated
45	Oil Fields - Montana	1916
45	Oil Fields - Parker (Wyo.)	1912
45	Red Basin (Wyo.)	circa 1913
45	Riverton (Wyo.)	undated
45	Oil Fields - Rocky Mountains	undated
45	Oil Fields - Shoshone (Wyo.)
46	Oil Fields - Salt Creek (Wyo.) (includes USGS bulletins)
45	Oil Fields - Wallace Creek (Wyo.)	1913
45	Oil Fields - Wyoming	1905-1910
47	Russia, Siberia, Caucasus, Turkestan
16-17	Unsorted
48	Unsorted - Rolled

Series IV. Rare Documents and ArtReturn to Top

This material was collected and donated by William M. Fitzhugh, Jr.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
	Sub-series 1. Early California Newspapers
Box
55	Calaveras Chronicle (14 scattered issues)	1899-1906
55	Calaveras Prospect (15 scattered issues)	1924-1926
56	Mariposa Gazette	1865-1879
57	Mariposa Gazette	1879-1888
58	Mariposa Gazette	1888-1901
59	Mariposa Gazette (1906-1918) and Gazette-Mariposan (1902-1905)	1902-1918
60	Palo Alto Times (74 issues)	1901, January 4-1902, June 27
61	Sacramento Reporter (volumes 5-6)	1870-1871
62	Sacramento Reporter (volume 7)	1871
63	Sacramento Reporter (volume 8)	1871
64	Sacramento Reporter (volume 9)	1872
65	San Diego Union	1868-1910
60	San Diego World (135 issues)	1872, July 25-December 31
66	San Francisco (Daily) Call (1878-1 issue; 1885-31 issues; 1892-1 issue; 1896-20 issues))	1878, 1885, 1892, 1896
55	San Francisco Chronicle (11 scattered issues)	1885-1897
67	San Francisco Golden Era (164 issues)	1872, December 1-1880, November 20
68	San Francisco Herald (205 issues)	1856, June-December
55	San Francisco Pacific (1891-13 issues; 1894-7 issues)	1891, 1894
69	San Francisco (Daily) Report (69 issues)	1882-1898
55	Santa Barbara Press (30 issues)	1874, January 31-1877, September 1
70	Santa Monica (Daily) Outlook (103 issues)	1908, January 4-May 7
60	Sonora Union Democrat (25 issues)	1924, September 13-1925, May 30
71	Miscellaneous Issues:
	Santa Clara News	1910, March 15>
	San Francisco Chinese Press	1949, July 1
	Monterey Peninsula Herald	1954, July 8
	San Francisco (Daily) Pacific Builder	1946, December 5
	Oakland Tribune	1897, June 12 &June 26
	Oakland Tribune (8 single pages)	1917-1921
	Oakland Enquirer (8 copies of 1 page)	1921, October 22
	(Salinas) Monterey County Post (scattered issues)	1930-1933
	San Diego Evening Tribune (5 scattered issues)	1898-1899
	Coronado Mercury (4 issues)	1888, September
	Madera Times	1900, November 2
	Mariposa Herald	1885, January 9, and 1885, May 15
	(San Francisco) Young China - Chinese language	1927, December 16, and 1945, August 14
	Sacramento Record-Union	1893, January 9
	(Downieville) Mountain Messenger	1905, December 23 and 30
	(Lakeport) Lake County Bee	1896, April 9
	(San Francisco) Daily Examiner	1887, March 4, and 1894, June 4
	(San Francisco) Californian	1848, March 15
	(Jackson) Amador Dispatch	1881, October 8
	(Jackson) Amador Ledger	1903, August 14, September 18, and October 4
	(San Francisco) Wasp	1906, May 26
	(San Francisco) Evening Bulletin	1877, March 7, and 1885, July 23 and October 29
	(San Francisco) Daily Alta California	1866, March 12, and 1885, August 7 and 12
	(San Francisco) Daily Stock Report	1879, August 30 and September 2
	(Oakland) San Francisco Tribune	1907, August 15
	Escondido Times	1894, March 22 and April 19, and 1897, August 19
	Sub-series 2. Historical Documents, Art, and Artifacts
Box
73	Assignment of Buildings and Lands in England	1712, December 12
73	Autograph of William Clopton (who sold New Place in Stratford-On-Avon to Shakespeare)	1594
72	Broadsides - American (advertisements for books and periodicals; political; etc.)	1817-1840
72	Broadsides - American (railroads; fire regulations)	1854-1855, 1874
72	Broadsides - Civil War:
	Central Association for the Recognition of the Confederate States, Manchester, England	undated
	Memorial of the New York Chamber of Commerce to Enlarge Canal Locks for Defense of the Lakes	1862
	Naval Order Against Distilled Spiritous Liquors on Ships of War	1862, September 16
72	Cartoon Drawing, by William T. McCutcheon - "A Dance in Bird Center"	circa 1900
72	Charcoal Sketch reproduction - Karthago (Carthage), Paul Aucler (del.), Librairie Ch. Delagrave	circa 1899
72	Civil War Maps:
	Military Map Illustrating the Seat of War	undated
	Map Showing the Route of Marches of the Army of General W.T. Sherman from Atlanta to Goldsboro, North Carolina	undated
	Location of Fort Fisher (North Carolina)	1865
	Fortifications of Fort Fisher (North Carolina)	1865
73	Deed (England) - between Edward Johnson and John Dymokee (?)	1665, April 4
74	Deed (Philadelphia) - Michael Holling and Dorthea Holling to John Ernst Kurtz (framed)	1759, September 18
73	Hebrew Manuscript - Book of Numbers 7	undated
72	Japanese Drawing - "A Ceremonial Procession to the Emperor in Kyoto" (brush drawing in colors) - Hokusai, or school of	1705
72	Jewett, William Cornell ("Colorado" Jewett)
	Pamphlet - "An Appeal...to Restore the Constitutional Liberties of the People"	1863
	Letter from Jewett to James Gordon Bennett	1865, June 20
	Photograph of W.C. Jewett at Niagara Falls, Canada	1863, October 1
73	Last Will and Testament - Mencia Daza (Castilian language with transcription in Spanish)	1477, circa 1700s
73	Last Will and Testament and Probate of Will - Margaret Bunbury (England)	1798, 1804
73	Lease for a Year - Thomas Farlly, Elizabeth Farlly, and William Henward to Richard Thomas Streatfeild [sic]	1802, October 2
73	Legitimation of Bonsignore and Condesa de Montagna (Verona, Italy; Latin lanuage)	1387, November 14
73	Letters Patent - Henry VIII, King of England to William Ibgrave granting lands belonging to dissolved Abbey of St. Albans in Abbot's Langley	1540, May 14
72	Lithograph (color) - "Flags of the Principle Nations in the World" (Philadephia, Pennsylvania)	1837
72	Lithograph (color) - "Prairie on Fire" (possibly Germany)	circa 1820
75	Lord Chancellor's Purse, 1841-1846 (England) - John Singleton, Baron Lyndhurst	circa 1840
73	Marriage Settlement (Ireland)- John Ashley and Elizabeth Busteed	1799
72	Newspapers:
	Freeman's Journal (Philadelphia)	1782, December 11
	Clinton Herald (Iowa)	1859, April 30
	Savannah Republican	1862, February 22
	Savannah Republican	1865, January 25
	Telegraph Gazette (New York)	1874, January
76	Phonograph Record (England) - "James Joyce Reading 'Anna Livia Plurabelle'"	undated
72	Prints - "A History of Medicine in Pictures," by Robert A Thom (set 1)	1958
47	Seal of Queen Victoria (6 1/4 inches diameter; 3/4 inch thickness) - in tin box	undated
72	Southern Antebellum and Reconstruction Documents:
	Division of Slaves, Estate of Joseph Mosby	1833
	Promissory Note and Protest of Non-Payment (Memphis, Tennessee)	1858, 1861
	Stock Certificate, State of South Carolina	circa 1869
	Bond, State of South Carolina	1871
	Bond, State of South Carolina	1874

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Mining and mineral resources -- 20th century
Mining and mineral resources -- Alaska
Oil fields -- Wyoming -- Natrona County
Petroleum industry and trade -- 20th century

Corporate Names

Midwest Oil Company

Geographical Names

Salt Creek Oil Field (Wyo.)
Wyoming -- History -- 1890-1918

Form or Genre Terms

Audiotapes
Phonograph records

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents