James McParland Letter, 1906
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- McParland, James
- Title
- James McParland Letter
- Dates
- 1906 (inclusive)19061906
- Quantity
- 8 p.
- Collection Number
- MsSC 62
- Summary
- James McParland was manager of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency's Denver, CO office. Collection consists of a letter containing the transcript of the interrogation of Harry Orchard regarding the murder of Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg.
- Repository
-
Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture)
2316 W. First Avenue
Spokane, WA 99201
archives@northwestmuseum.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is not restricted.
- Additional Reference Guides
-
Nolan, Edward W. A Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Spokane, WA: Eastern Washington State Historical Society, 1987).
- Languages
- English
Biographical Note
James McParland was manager of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency's Denver, CO office. After the assassination of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg at Caldwell in December 1905, Governor Gooding called on the Pinkertons to direct the State of Idaho's investigation of the bombing. McParland went to Idaho in 1906 and interrogated Harry Orchard, who had been arrested soon after the murder. McParland obtained a confession that implicated most of the leadership of the Western Federation of Miners in the violence that had rocked the Coeur d'Alene Mining district in 1899. While Orchard was convicted, the case against the WFM leadership did not hold up in court.
Content Description
The collection consists of a letter from McParland to Governor Frank Gooding, Boise, ID, 3 January 1906, and contains a transcript of the interrogation of Harry Orchard.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Use
Publication RightsCopyright has not been assigned to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Museum Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Eastern Washington State Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher
Preferred Citation
James McParland Letter (MsSC 62), Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA.
Administrative Information
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Criminal investigation--Idaho
- Detectives
- Miners--Idaho
- Miners--Labor unions
- Trials (Murder)--Idaho
Personal Names
- Gooding, Frank
- McParland, James--Archives
- Orchard, Harry Frederick
- Steunenberg, Frank, 1861-1905
Corporate Names
- Pinkerton's National Detective Agency
- Western Federation of Miners
Geographical Names
- Caldwell (Idaho)--Legal affairs
- Coeur d'Alene Mining District
- Idaho--Legal affairs
Form or Genre Terms
- Letters
- Small manuscript collections
