James Howard Collection, circa 1882-1939 (MSS 698)

Extent: 1.4 Linear feet (1 archives box and 5 oversize folders)

View OnlineThis collection has been digitized.

Photographs and documents from the collection of James Howard, a mining foreman with the Amparo Mining Company who lived in Guadalajara, Mexico and worked in the Bolaños region starting in 1889.

James H. Howard was born in England on January 20, 1868. In 1883 he emigrated from England and came to New York; he then moved to Texas in 1885, where he worked for the International Mining Company as a timberman. In 1889 Howard moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, where he settled in the American Colony of Colonia Seattle. Howard took a job working at the Amparo Mining Company in Bolaños, a mining district north of Guadalajara.

In Guadalajara, Howard met and married Maria Ignacia Martínez. In order to marry Martínez, he had to prove to the Mexican government that we was indeed single, and that he had never married before in England or America. As proof, Howard obtained three letters from his former employers as documentation to contest to his unmarried status. Howard and Martínez had their first child, Katherine Eleanor Howard on March 6, 1911.

Photographs and documents from the collection of James Howard, a mining foreman with the Amparo Mining Company who lived in Guadalajara, Mexico and worked in the Bolaños region starting in 1889. The papers include a few blueprints and plans for mining equipment; photographs of the regional landscape, towns, mine operations, and people; and a personal journal from Howard. The collection also includes a small amount of biographical material about Howard, including personal correspondence and a genealogical chart for the Howard family. Three documents are written in Spanish.

The papers are arranged in four series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) GUADALAJARA HOUSING AND MINING DOCUMENTS, 3) PHOTOGRAPHS, and 4) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS.

Container List

CORRESPONDENCE

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE

The CORRESPONDENCE series is comprised of letters pertaining to Howard's personal life, including a personal letter from his sister and a postcard. The majority of the correspondence is written in English, with the exception of one letter from H. Winninghoff that is written in both English and Spanish. These letters are organized in alphabetical order.

Box 1 Folder 1

Inscription reads: "We are on the way home again. Were you ever here? I forget. F. E. H."

Box 1 Folder 2

In Spanish.

Box 1 Folder 3

In Spanish.

Box 1 Folder 4

Signed "Ellie."

Box 1 Folder 5

Statement by H. Winninghoff. One copy in Spanish, and another in English.

GUADALAJARA HOUSING AND MINING DOCUMENTS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 2: GUADALAJARA HOUSING AND MINING DOCUMENTS

The GUADALAJARA HOUSING AND MINING DOCUMENTS series includes blueprints and plans for mining equipment and operations in central Mexico. These plans include a blueprint for the installation of three boilers for the Amparo Mining Company, as well as a pen and ink drawing from the San Nicolas del Monte mines in Guanajuato. Most of these documents are in Spanish. This series also contains two pamphlets, published in 1913, from Colonia Seattle, the American Colony in Guadalajara where Howard and his family resided.

Oversize FB-483 Folder 6

Promotional brochure for land and home-building.

Oversize FB-483 Folder 7

Stock certificate. In Spanish.

Oversize FB-483 Folder 8

In Spanish. Blueprint for the installation of three boilers for the Amparo Mining Company.

Box 1 Folder 9

In English.

Box 1 Folder 10

Pen and ink drawing depicting equipment details from the San Nicolas del Monte mines in Guanajuato. In Spanish.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 3: PHOTOGRAPHS

The PHOTOGRAPHS series is made up of black-and-white photographs of the Bolaños area mines. This is the largest portion of the collection, and includes three photo albums and loose prints. The photographs portray daily life in Bolaños, including images of the mill and mines, as well as photographs of Howard working at the mill or riding his horse around the settlement.

One important thing to note regarding these photographs is the photo album Howard created in 1921. This photo album, which contains thirty black-and-white prints of the Bolaños township, were labeled by Howard and are a good reference to the layout of the town and its settlements. Another photo album, which contains twelve black-and-white prints from Hacienda Nueva, was given to Howard as a gift from F. K. Boyd, and has photographs that capture the working mill. Loose prints include a cyanotype of Howard and a companion taken in Bolaños in front of steps which appear to lead into one of the silver mines.

Box 1 Folder 13
Box 1 Folder 15
Box 1 Folder 16

Cyanotype.

Box 1 Folder 17

Albumen print. Photo taken in King Stanley, Gloucestershire, England.

Oversize FB-483 Folder 9
Box 1 Folder 20

Albumen cabinet card portrait by Callaway portraits, San Antonio.

Box 1 Folder 21

Photographic postcard.

Box 1 Folder 22
Box 1 Folder 23

Twelve black and white prints.

Box 1 Folder 24

Thirty black and white prints. Includes images of San Pedro Analco, Bolaños, the ruins of La Playa, the Guadalupe shaft, the San Jose shaft, and the Purisima mines.

Box 1 Folder 25

Thirty-two black and white prints.

BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTS

Scope and Content of Series

SERIES 4: BIOGRAPHICALS MATERIALS

The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS series contains documents pertaining to James Howard and his family, which include a baptism announcement for Howard's first born daughter, Katherine Eleanor, dated March 16, 1911, as well as an official listing of her birth in the publication Diario Oficial, dated April 22, 1911. This series also includes James Howard's diary from 1919, which gives a daily account of Howard's personal life and business dealings.

Oversize FB-483 Folder 10

In Spanish.

Box 1 Folder 28
Box 1 Folder 29

Published in Guadalajara. Imprenta y libreria de ancira y hno. In Spanish.

Box 1 Folder 30
Box 1 Folder 31

James Howard's diary, with brief daily entries. In English.

Box 1 Folder 32

In English.