AHJ_ah01132 Inventory of the Robert Livermore papers, 1887-1965 Livermore (Robert) papers Processed by D.C. Thompson The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2006

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by Ann Mulfort March 2006 Finding aid is in English Robert Livermore papers, 1887-1965 Collection number: 01132 University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. Publication date: 2006 Contact Information American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/ January 2003

"©" 2006 University of Wyoming

 Collection Summary Livermore, Robert, 1876-1959 Robert Livermore papers 1887-1965 01132 .90 cubic ft. (2 document boxes) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English Robert Livermore was a mining engineer and executive who worked in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona; Baja California and Durango (Mexico); and Ontario and British Columbia (Canada). The collection contains copies of Livermore’s autobiography and diaries (1915-1937); a few business records and publications; and photographs spanning Livermore’s career from the 1890s to the 1930s. Biography of Robert Livermore

Robert Livermore was a mining engineer and vice president of North American Mines, Inc. and of Calumet and Hecla Copper Company. He graduated from Harvard in 1900 and from M.I.T. in 1903. Before graduation he undertook a brief stint as a cowboy near Culbertson, Montana. In 1902 he worked as an unpaid assistant at the San Fernando Mine in Durango, Mexico, a property in which his father was interested. After graduation, he engaged in mining and mining exploration in Colorado and Nevada. A little later he directed a mining company in Ontario and was involved in a steamship business. He served during World War I as a captain in the U.S. Army Engineer Corps.

In 1924, Livermore returned to Colorado to try to save the struggling Smuggler Union Mine near Telluride, which had previously been under the management of Bulkeley Wells, who was the husband of Livermore’s sister, Grace Livermore Wells. The mine required too much new capital investment to be made profitable again, however, and it was finally closed in 1928. In that same year, Livermore formed a partnership with W. Spencer Hutchinson and founded North American Mines Incorporated to investigate and invest in mining properties. The corporation was particularly interested in Baja California, Nevada, and Tucson. In the 1930s, Livermore investigated properties in the Yukon and in British Columbia.

Livermore married Gwendolen Young of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The couple had one son and two daughters. In 1947 they retired to Boxford, Massachusetts. Robert Livermore died in Boston in 1959.

 Scope and Content

The collection comprises Gene M. Gressley’s research in the course of editing Robert Livermore’s autobiography for publication. Gressley, a former director of the American Heritage Center, corresponded with surviving members of the Livermore family and talked and wrote to former associates of Robert Livermore and their descendents. The book was published in 1968 as Bostonians and Bullion: the Journal of Robert Livermore, 1892-1915, with an introduction and epilogue by Gressley. The collection includes drafts of Livermore’s autobiography, photocopies of his later diaries (1915-1937), and photographs, some original prints and some copy prints, from the Livermore family and from other sources. Also included are a few business papers of the Livermore family and publications by or relating to Robert Livermore.

 Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

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

 Related Materials

For the original diaries and other papers of Robert Livermore, see:

Robert Livermore Papers, 1890-1968, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215. Acquisition Information

The papers were obtained from Robert Livermore, Jr. from 1962 to 1966. A small amount of additional material was added from other sources.

 Processing Information

The collection was processed by D.C. Thompson in January 2003.

 Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Robert Livermore papers, 1887-1965, Collection Number 01132, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Access Terms Wells, Bulkeley, 1871-1931. Smuggler Union Mining Company. North American Mines, Inc. Hutchinson and Livermore. Mines and mineral resources--West (U.S.) Mines and mineral resources--Colorado. Mines and mineral resources--Mexico. Mines and mineral resources--Canada. Shipping--United States. Gold mines and mining--Colorado. Silver mines and mining--Colorado. Smuggler Union Mine (Telluride, Colo.) Telluride (Colo.) Diaries. Photographs. Ledgers. Autobiographies. Mining engineers. Businessmen. <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> Agriculture and Natural Resources Mines and Mineral Resources Business, Industry, Labor, and Commerce Businesses and Corporations Science, Technology and Health Container List 1 1 Autobiography of Robert Livermore circa 1950 1 2-3 Autobiography of Robert Livermore, Personal Recollection from the Nineties to 1910 circa 1950 1 4 Biographical Information – Livermore, Family, and Associates 1948-1965

Includes Herman Hinz, Charles E. Astrope, Manning Ranch, etc.

 Diaries of Robert Livermore (photocopies):

1 5 1915-1917 1 6 November-December 1918 1 7 1920-1925 1 8 1926-1929 1 9 1930-1931 1 10 1934-1937 Livermore Family Business Records – correspondence, stock certificates, etc.: 1 11 Atlas Crude Oil Company 1908-1932 1 12 Blue Bird Mining Company 1896-1955 1 13 Continental Oil Company of Los Angeles 1929-1931 1 14 Golden Bell Mining Company 1917, 1921 1 15 Indian Canon Oil Company 1900 1 16 Middlesborough Town Company, Kentucky circa 1890 1 17 North American Mines, Inc. 1928 1 18 Smuggler Union Mining Company 1911-1928 1 19 South Bisbee Copper Mining Company 1899-1904 1 20 Miscellaneous 1887, 1889, undated

Title bond to Henry Young; letter from Harvey [Young] from Brother, Denver; prostitute’s token, Denver

 1 21 Newspaper and Magazine Clippings 1965, undated 1 22 Photographs: Livermore Album, etc. circa 1893-circa 1935

Informal shots including travel, career, friends, family, etc.

 2 1-6 Photographs: Livermore Album, etc. circa 1893-circa 1935

Informal shots including travel, career, friends, family, etc.

 2 7 Photographs: Negatives of Portraits circa 1900

Halstead Lindsley; William Jackson Palmer; Bulkeley Wells

 2 8 Photographs: Portraits and Other circa 1896-1933

Livermore family and friends, places, people, etc.

 2 9 Photographs: San Miguel County, Mines, and Telluride 1887-circa 1900

Copy prints from collections of Colorado Historical Society and Denver Public Library

 2 10 Photographs: Smuggler-Union Mine, Bullion Tunnel, etc undated

Lucas photos

 Publications by Livermore: 2 11 “Draining Kerr Lake” (Canada) 1914 2 12 “Mining Districts of Northern Ontario,” 1916 2 13 “Prolonging the Life of the Smuggler Union,” 1928 2 14 “Prospecting for Gold on the San Juan River,” (Utah) in Mining and Scientific Press August 5, 1911 2 15 “Smuggler-Union Mine,” in Mining and Metallurgy March 1928 2 16 Publications on Labor Trouble 1904 2 17 Speech by Livermore: “Twenty-Seven Years of Work and Fun in Mining,” 1935 2 18 Stock Ledger

Photocopy of unidentified origin tracking ownership of stock