| Title | |  Charles F. McClure fonds |
| Dates of creation | | 1864-1866, 1873-1874 |
| Physical description | | 8 cm of textual records |
| Administrative history or biographical sketch | | Little information is available regarding the life of Charles F. McClure. It is known that he was a resident of Boston in the 1860s and 1870s, and involved at that time in various mining operations in North America as an agent and/or investor. From his correspondence with mine managers and engineers he was obviously familiar with mining techniques and technology. Much of his focus seemed to be on operations in Waverley, N.S., which was dominated in its early years by the highly speculative gold mining industry. In 1865 McClure was reportedly an agent for the Taylor Gold Mining Company, and purchased free claims there. He was also associated with the Waverley Gold Mining Company and the North American Gold Mining Company, which also mined in Waverley. |
| Scope and content | | Fonds consists of a letterbook containing correspondence to McClure, arranged in reverse chronological order. The volume is labelled "North American ... [incomplete - possibly meant North American Gold Mining Company] -- Charles F. McClure - From December 1873 to October 1874". There are two sets of letters in the letterbook: (1) 57 letters,1864-1866, from Benjamin C. Wilson (1832-1905), native of Hants County, and an authority on mining law and goldfields technology. He was apparently a manager of the North American Gold Mining Company at the time the letters were written. He wrote from Waverley either to McClure, or his associate, Charles Barrett, of Boston, providing updates every few days on mining progress. His letters describe equipment used, drilling methods, and similar information. (2) The second set, 166 letters, 1873-1874, consists of miscellaneous correpondence written to McClure in Boston. Some letters are from associates at the mining operations in Waverley, reporting on activities in the mines; others are from business associates in the United States, commenting on mutual investments, other mining ventures, and financial matters. There are also a few letters of a personal nature from friends and family members. |
| Source of supplied title | | Title based on contents of fonds. |
| Immediate source of acquisition or transfer | | Purchased from a private dealer in 2002. |
| Retrieval code | | Accession 2002-065 |
| Provenance access point | |  McClure, Charles F., 19th cent. search view |
| Last modified | | January 25, 2008 |
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