Donna D. Beesley papers, 1880-2010

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Beesley, Donna D. (Donna Deem)
Title
Donna D. Beesley papers
Dates
1880-2010 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.25 linear feet, (1 box)
Collection Number
ACCN 2597
Summary
The Donna D. Beesley papers (1880-2010) contains her book and research concerning Enos Andrew Wall's life and his house on South Temple.
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

A partial biography of Enos A. Wall follows, written by Doris F. Salmon for the Utah History Encyclopedia:

Enos A. Wall was born in 1838 in North Carolina and reared in Indiana. He began his mining career at Pike's Peak, Colorado, in 1860. He soon moved on to Montana, where he and a fellow miner began freighting goods between Salt Lake City and the Montana gold fields. Later, he became involved in mining in Silver Reef in southwestern Utah. In 1879 he met with financial difficulties in Silver Reef and he fled the area, taking with him his Silver Reef sweetheart Mary Frances Mays. They stopped in Salt Lake City to be married and went north to Wood River, Idaho, where he continued his mining career. He invented several pieces of ore crushing machinery and was elected to the Idaho Territorial Legislature. Six daughters were born to the Walls.

The family returned to Utah in 1885 and Enos engaged in mining at Mercur and elsewhere. Wall first visited the Bingham Mining District in 1887 and immediately detected signs of copper. At once he stalked three claims, and by 1900 owned all or part of nineteen claims, covering an area of two hundred acres.

In his attempts to gain financial backing for development of these low-grade properties, he approached Joseph R. DeLamar. Sometime later DeLamar obtained an option on a portion of Wall's holdings and had tests made by Daniel C. Jackling, then a young metallurgical engineer. Many negotiations ensured during the next three years until the Utah Copper Company was incorporated in 1903.

It was Wall's copper properties that netted him his vast fortune, although that venture was probably the most unpleasant and frustrating in his fifty-year mining career. He eventually sold his holdings, receiving $2,700,000 on the New York market. In 1904, Wall purchased a two story adobe home at 411 East South Temple, which had been built in 1880 by Mormon Bishop James Sharp. He hired architect Richard Kletting to transform the home into a palatial dwelling resembling a Renaissance villa. He lived the remainder of his life there, and on 29 June 1920 died of cancer at the age of eighty-one. Following the death of Mrs. Wall three years later, the home was bought by the Jewish community to be used as a social center. The building is presently occupied by the LDS Business College.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Donna D. Beesley papers contains her book and research concerning Enos Andrew Wall's life, and his house on South Temple.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated by Donna D. Beesley in 2011.

Processing Note

Processed by Elizabeth Rogers in 2014.

Separated Materials

Photographs were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Related Materials

Forms part of the Aileen H. Clyde 20th Century Women's Legacy Archives.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Enos Andrew Wall biography and family documentsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Enos Andrew Wall: His Life and Achievements, His Family, His Home in Salt Lake
2010
1 2
Printed biographical material
1880-2002
1 3
Professional articles
1906-1988
1 4
Biography and death documents
circa 1920-1950
1 5
Family genealogy and printed material
1880s-2000s
1 6
South Temple building documents
1909-2006
1 7
Author notes and photocopies

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Copper miners--Utah
  • Mines and Mineral Resources

Personal Names

  • Beesley, Donna D. (Donna Deem)--Archives
  • Wall, Enos Andrew, 1839-1920--Biography