Theodore H. Hammett Papers

Theodore H. Hammett Papers, 1924-1971

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Hammett, Theodore H., 1893-1971
Title: Theodore H. Hammett Papers
Dates: 1924-1971 (inclusive)
19241971
Quantity: 1.7 cubic ft. (2 document boxes, 1 slim document box, 1 F20 box)
Collection Number: 09305
Summary: Correspondence, certificates, clippings, and photographs of this Sinclair Oil and Gas Company attorney, vice president, and member of its board of directors.
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
Sponsor: The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Theodore Hargraves Hammett was born June 13, 1893 in Muskogee, Indian Territory, to parents Sallie B. (House) and Ellis Head Hammett. He attended high school until the tenth grade (1909) in Coweta, Oklahoma. He married Clara Sophia Konz at Independence, Kansas, and had three children: Ellis T., John P., and Elizabeth J.

Hammett began his career in the lease department of Sinclair Oil and Gas Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, December 18, 1916, approximately seven months after formation of the company. He continued in that position, taking time out for service with the marines in World War I, until 1921, when he was transferred to the land department in Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. In 1923, he became head of the lease department in Tulsa, and in 1925, was transferred to the land department and placed in charge of the Enid district land office.

Admitted to the Oklahoma State Bar by examination in 1924, Hammett began legal practice in 1928 when he transferred to the Tulsa legal department of Sinclair. He served the company for many years in that capacity and was elected a vice president in 1948. He moved to Denver in 1953. Hammett retired from Sinclair in 1962 after more than 45 years of continuous service with the company. After retirement he engaged in limited law practice and oil and gas consultant work.

Hammett died August 14, 1971 in Big Elk Meadow, Larimer County, Colorado.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Theodore H. Hammett Papers contain correspondence, certificates, clippings, and photographs of this Sinclair Oil and Gas Company attorney, vice president, and member of its board of directors. It is divided into two series, General Files and Oversized Materials, and is arranged alphabetically.

The General Files series contains correspondence, mostly of personal nature. A large part of it is political correspondence. Hammett was not shy about getting his opinions known in Washington DC, writing to such officials as President Richard Nixon, Senators Edward Kennedy and Birch Bayh, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Wyoming District Court Judge Ewing T. Kerr, to name a few. Topics include postal reform and the Vietnam War. Other files contain documents related to the privilege of practicing law before various courts. Sinclair Oil and Gas Company documents are generally personal such as certificates of service, clippings, and congratulatory correspondence on promotion to vice president and on retirement.

The Petroleum Study Committee’s "Report to the President" file contains a copy of the committee’s conclusions and recommendations to President Kennedy concerning federal control of the oil and gas industry, a transcript of a House of Representatives floor discussion on the matter, and Hammett’s critique which he sent to several state governors and federal officials. The files on the J.B. Oil Treatment Company document Hammett’s sizeable investment in John Brorby, of Newcastle, Wyoming, to patent an invention of an oil cleaning and well cleaning product. Brorby never did develop the formula as stockholders were led to believe.

Oversized materials include certificates, photographs, Hammett’s award plaque for being named Colorado’s Pioneer Oil Man of the Year by the Colorado Petroleum Council, and a scrapbook and other mementos from the "One-Shot Antelope Hunt" held in Lander, Wyoming.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

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

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Theodore H. Hammett Papers, 1924-1971, Collection Number 09305, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by Theodore H. Hammett at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

Elizabeth Hammett Kaboth gave her father’s papers to the American Heritage Center in 1986, 1987, and 1993.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Ronda Frazier in November 2003. No items were separated from the collection.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I. General Files, 1926-1971Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
Box 1	1	Admission to Colorado State Bar Application, correspondence, letters of recommendation, affidavits, rules	1953-1965
Folder
2		Admission to Practice Before the Supreme Court of the United States Application, correspondence, letters of recommendation	1947
3		Admission to Practice Before the United States Department of the Interior Application, correspondence, letters of recommendation, regulations	1939-1947
4		Agnew, Spiro T. (Vice President) Correspondence to and from	1970
5		Atlantic Richfield Company/Sinclair Oil and Gas Company Personal and business matters	1969-1971
6		Barrett, Frank A. (Senator) Correspondence to and from, clippings, newsletters from Washington D.C.	1953-1964
7		Big Elk Water Association (Committee to Study Feasibility of Construction of Commercial Water Filter Plant at Big Elk Meadows, Colorado)	1967-1970
8		Climax, Colorado Mine Visit Photograph	1956
9		Colorado’s Pioneer Oil Man of the Year Clipping	1968
10		Condolences (to Others)	1969
11		Denver Land Board Meeting Photograph	1955
12		Fishing Camp, Wind River Mountains, Wyoming Photograph	1957
13		Genealogy Correspondence from other people with last name Hammett	1970
14		Hill Foundation Trust (Chas. S. Hill): Leases in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico	1963-1967
15		Hoover, John Edgar (Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation) Correspondence to and from	1947, 1971
16		International Petroleum Exposition Clipping	1953
17		Interstate Oil Compact Commission Photographs and newsletter	1959-1963
		J. B. Oil Treatment Company (John Brorby, Newcastle, Wyoming):
Folder
18		Correspondence About cleaning product invention and stockholder deceit	1961-1969
19		Report "The Removal of 'Paraffin' Sludge From Rods, Tubing, and Flow Lines by the J. B. Oil Treatment Co. Chemical Process: Tested in the Tenneco Oil Company Block C Unit Wells, South Glenrock Field, Converse County, Wyoming and South Coyote Creek Field Wells, Weston County, Wyoming"	1964
Folder
20		Kennedy, Edward M. (Senator) Correspondence to and from	1969-1971
21		Kerr, Ewing T. (District Court Judge) Correspondence to and from, clippings	1952-1971
22		Konz Interests in Howard, Crockett, and Winkler Counties, Texas	1970
23		Landmen’s Association Executive Night Photograph	1961
24		Miscellaneous Correspondence	1969-1971
Box	Folder
Box 2	1	Miscellaneous Photographs	1932-1957
Folder
2		Miscellaneous Political Correspondence To and from Senators, Congressmen, and other officials on various topics	1970-1971
3		New Mexico Oil and Gas Association Photographs and "Report and Minutes" booklet	1956-1960
4		News Media Correspondence to and from	1969-1970
5		Nixon, Richard M. (President) Correspondence to and from	1970-1971
6		Petroleum Study Committee "Report to the President" (on Federal control of the oil and gas industry) with "An Analysis of the Report" by Theodore H. Hammett	1962-1963
7		Postal Reform and Postal Strike Correspondence to and from Senators and Congressmen	1970
8		Republican Party Correspondence, clippings, newsletters	1952-1970
9		Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association Photographs, clippings, newsletters	1952-1966
10		Rocky Mountain Petroleum Pioneers Membership roster, photographs	1962-1970
11		Royal Arch Masons of Oklahoma Correspondence regarding 50-year membership	1926-1970
		Sinclair Oil and Gas Company:
Folder
12		Certificates of Service	1929-1956
13		40-Year Service Dinner Scrapbook His own was held December 6, 1957	1957-1959
14		Photographs	1955-1959
15		Promotion to Vice President Congratulatory correspondence, clippings	1948
		Retirement:
Folder
16		Congratulatory Correspondence and Clippings	1961-1962
Box	Folder
Box 3	1	Resolution	1962
Folder
2		Speech before Rotary Club of Butte, Montana: "Bigness Needs No Apology,"	October 13, 1955
3		Thoylo Corporation and Postal Inspector Personal correspondence regarding refund for returned Tensolator	1970-1971
4		Trapshooter Lease, Rock Creek Field, Carbon County, Wyoming (Mrs. Esther M. Smith): Declining Production, Diminishing Royalty Returns	1966
5		"Treagle" Train (Wyoming State Tribune and Wyoming Eagle Newspapers' Football Train to University of Wyoming Games)	1961-1970
6		Vietnam War Correspondence to and from Senators and other officials	1970-1971
7		Wyoming Bar Association Photographs	1957, 1961

Series II. Oversized Materials, 1924-1968, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
		Certificates:
Box	Folder
Box 4	1	District Court of Colorado: Admission to Practice In	May 28, 1958
Folder
1		National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution: Member, Oklahoma Society, Admitted	December 3, 1935
1		Nobles of the Mystic Shrine: Membership	May 20, 1961
1		Pioneer Petroleum Industry: 25 Year Club Membership	undated
1		Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association: Meritorious Service as V.P., Colorado and Nebraska	1954-1955
1		Rocky Mountain Petroleum Pioneers: Membership	July 15, 1958
1		Sinclair Oil and Gas Company: Retirement after 45 years	June 30, 1962
1		Supreme Court of the State of Colorado: Admission to Bar	May 10, 1954
1		Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma: Admission to Practice Before	December 5, 1924
1		Supreme Court of the United States of America: Admission to Practice Before	February 11, 1948
		One-Shot Antelope Hunt, Lander, Wyoming:
Folder
2		Certificate	1959
2		Clippings	1953
2		Photographs	1954-1961
2		Scrapbook: "Pictorial History: One-Shot Antelope Hunt, Lander, Wyoming,"	undated
		Photographs:
Folder
3		Pipeliners' Club 6th Annual Banquet, Blackstone Hotel, Chicago, Illinois	November 5, 1951
3		Pipeliners' Dinner, Blackstone Hotel, Chicago, Illinois	November 9, 1953
3		Porter, Frank M.	November 20, 1953
		Plaques and Awards:
Folder
4		Colorado Petroleum Council: Colorado’s Pioneer Oil Man of the Year With Newspaper Clipping, 1968	1968
4		Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association (No. 1): Honorary Member	undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Petroleum industry and trade--United States.

Corporate Names

Sinclair Oil Corporation.

Occupations

Lawyers.

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