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William Scallon papers , 1876-1951

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Scallon, William, 1855-1951
Title
William Scallon papers
Dates
1876-1951 (inclusive)
Quantity
4.5 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 108 (collection)
Summary
William Scallon (1855-1951) was a Helena, Montana, attorney. His papers (1876-1951) include correspondence; court papers and legal documents; reports and print material; and speeches and writings. The correspondence (1882-1951) includes typed transcripts of personal letters concerning Irish independence, the Sino-Japanese War, and other topics. The court papers (1902-1937) consist primarily of case files in a suit of the United States against the Standard Oil Company to regain title to lands in California's Naval Oil Reserve.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library and Archives
Montana Historical Society, Library and Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 406-444-2681
Fax: 406-444-5297
mthslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

William Scallon was born in Joliette Province, Quebec, in December 1855. His father, Charles Edouard Scallon, was a native Canadian of Northern Irish ancestry, who had served for a period in the United States Navy. His mother, Delia Trumble Scallon, was born in Ireland. Throughout his life, Scallon felt a deep loyalty and concern for Ireland. He attended Joliette Seminary, where he received a classical education, and was trained in law at McGill University, graduating in 1876. After several years of law practice in Montreal, Scallon emigrated to the United States, moving to Wickes, Montana, in 1883 and to Butte the following year. He served as general counsel for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company until 1900, when he was chosen to succeed Marcus Daly as president and western general manager of the company, during the tumultuous period known as the War of the Copper Kings. In 1904, he resigned as president of Anaconda to return to private practice. Scallon briefly left Montana from 1911-1913, to serve as chief counsel for the Union Pacific Railway in New York. On his return in 1913, he settled in Helena and joined in a law practice with T.J. Walsh and C.B. Nolan. This practice became one of the most prominent in Montana. In 1929, President Herbert Hoover appointed Scallon special counsel for the United States in a suit against the Standard Oil Company for the recovery of land within the Naval Oil Reserve in California. During his later years, Scallon served as one of the directors of the Thomas Cruse Mining and Development Company. Scallon was a Republican. He only held public office once, when he was elected to the 1907 State Legislature. However, he was active in various civic functions, including almost 70 years of membership in the Montana Bar Association, service on the Butte Civic League, and memberships in the Elks, the Knights of Columbus, and the Junipero Serra Club. He never married and, during his residence in Helena, lived at the Montana Club. William Scallon died July 5, 1951, in Helena.

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Content Description

This collection contains general correspondence (1882-1951), including letters on banking reform, the Montana Waterways Association, and other topics; court papers (1902-1937, undated) including files on several court cases and indexes to court cases; a legal document (1918) admitting Scallon to practice before the U.S. Land Office; a book (undated) of maps and photographs of Anaconda mines; printed material (1902-1960) collected by Scallon on a wide variety of topics; reports (1914-1916) to the Montana Bar Association; speeches and writings (mostly undated) on a wide variety of topics; and miscellany. There is also a subgroup for United States vs. Standard Oil Company in which Scallon served as counsel for the United States government in a suit to regain title to lands within the Naval Oil Reserve in California. The subgroup includes general correspondence (1929-1935), court papers (1925-1938), financial records (1929-1930), maps (1932, undated), and miscellany, including a list of records of the case. This collection consists primarily of Scallon's legal case files as special counsel for the United States in a suit against Standard Oil Company (1929-1935) to regain title to lands in California's Naval Oil Reserve. There is also a small subgroup of Scallon's personal correspondence (typed copies) concerning Irish independence, the Sino-Japanese War, and other interests. The collection contains no material on the Anaconda Company.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged by subgroup and series.

Location of Collection

5:7-3

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Chinese-Japanese War, 1894-1895
  • Cold War
  • Irish Question
  • Petroleum industry and trade--California

Personal Names

  • Scallon, William, 1855-1951 (creator)

Geographical Names

  • California--Industries
  • Helena (Mont.)--Commerce
  • Marysville (Mont.)

Finding aid prepared by MHS staff
2004

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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