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)
1882-1929 (bulk)
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 He collected historical documents, early California newspapers, art, and artifacts, as well as books.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

Copyright Information

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

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

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

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Related Materials

Related Materials

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

Acquisition Information

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