The machinations of the various companies operating in the Virginia Mining District between 1879 and 1882, and with which James B. Price and William and John Boyle were associated, are almost impossible to describe in complete detail; some transactions were not entered into Grant County records, whether this was simply an oversight or not we do not know.
The most commonly written about of these companies is The Shakespeare Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company, sometimes referred to as just “the Shakespeare Company.” There were however other companies with which the three men were associated, either directly or indirectly, and all are relevant to an understanding of what was happening at Shakespeare during the period of 1879 – 1882.
Here we list those companies, the names of their Incorporators, and the details of capital stocks, numbers of shares, and the initial share values, again because of the relevance of these details to the true history of Shakespeare.
- The Shakespeare Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company
Incorporated at St. Louis, Missouri on May 27, 1879 by William George Boyle, Frank Herbert Woodworth, William Joseph Crosby, James Barry Price and John Boyle, the Company’s stated purpose was “to do and perform everything necessary” to the development of its properties in the Virginia Mining District, and to “buy, raise, mill and market” the ores, metals and bullion products those properties would provide. The Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $20,000,000 divided into 200,000 shares at $100 each. Shakespeare was named as the principal place of business, but provision was made for the establishment of an office at St. Louis, the stated place of residence of John Boyle.¹⁵
- The New Comstock Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company
The Company was incorporated under the laws of New Mexico Territory on January 20, 1880, by B. Gratz Brown¹⁶ and John Boyle, both of St. Louis, and W. G. Boyle, Alexander Young, and Obed Foote, all of Grant County. It was incorporated with a capital stock of $10,000,000 divided into 100,000 shares at $100 each. Shakespeare was again named as the principal place of business, “but subordinate offices may likewise be established in the cities of New York, San Francisco and St. Louis.” The actual paperwork for the incorporation was done at St. Louis by B. Gratz Brown, John Boyle, Young, and Foote.¹⁷
- The Ormus Gold and Silver Mining Company
Details of this company appear in Grant County records as “Charter for the Ormus Gold and Silver Mining Company”; the Charter is dated April 3, 1880. The Articles of Incorporation themselves were filed at New Orleans. The Company was organized by W. G. and John Boyle, John M. Bonner, Thomas Hinton, William Henderson, Gilbert H. Green, “and their associates.” Capital stock was fixed at $5,000,000; 100,000 shares at $50 each. The date of incorporation was March 1, 1880.¹⁸
- The Peoples Silver Mining Company
Incorporated by V. K. Stevenson of New York, James Barry Price, and Robert V. Newsham, O. R. Smythe, and W. B. Donoho [Donaghue] of New Mexico “and their associates” on October 12, 1880. Its stated purpose was the “development and operation of any mining properties either at present owned, or of future acquisition … in the territory of New Mexico, and to sell & otherwise dispose of same, or of the products of gold, silver, copper or other minerals obtained therefrom.” The capital stock was $5,000,000, with 500,000 shares at $10 each. Offices were to be at Shakespeare, “or at the immediate successor thereof as the Rail Road town or City, and with branch offices at St. Louis, New Orleans and other points which may be regarded as promotive of the objects and interests of said Company.”¹⁹ This company’s properties lay exclusively in the Gold Gulch Mining District, located approximately half way between Silver City and Lordsburg, and on or near Gold Gulch in the Big Burro Mountains.
- The Indus Mining Company
This company was incorporated at St. Louis on June 20, 1881, by B. Gratz Brown, Frank H. Woodworth and John Boyle, with Shakespeare as its principal place of business. Incorporated with a capital stock of $7.5 million dollars divided into 300,000 shares at $25 a share, the company was formed not only to buy, sell, and work mines and mining claims but also to “constitute the company into which ‘The Shakespeare Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company’ and ‘The New Comstock Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company’ may be consolidated, should the stockholders of said last two named companies so decide.”²⁰
It is likely that William G. Boyle would have been involved in this company too, but he was deceased by this date.
A study of Grant County records relating to the transactions of these companies and the properties owned by them in the Virginia Mining District shows much shuffling and re-allocation of those properties first owned by The Shakespeare Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company, together with the addition of some new properties brought into each subsequent company by various company members. To illustrate: each of those properties sold to The Shakespeare Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company by W. G. Boyle eventually ended up as part of The Indus Mining Company’s portfolio of properties, as per the statement of purpose quoted above. Also, in October of 1879, James B. and Caroline V. Price, as part of a Conveyance in Trust, handed over to B. Gratz Brown a one-fifth interest in ten mines,²¹ two of which would later pass into the hands of first The New Comstock Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company and then The Ormus Gold and Silver Mining Company. One of these two mines would then later find its final home in the portfolio of The Indus Mining Company.
Next: William G. Boyle – myths and errors concerning his arrival at Shakespeare,his involvement in the renaming of Ralston City, and his death.
©2007-2024 Jim & Erica Parson
REFERENCES FOR THIS INSTALLMENT
Note:
Documents located at the Grant County Clerk’s Office (1400 Hwy. 180 E. Silver City, NM 88061) are denoted by (GCCO).
Documents located at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87507) are denoted by (NMSRCA).
¹⁵Deeds. Book 3 (February 1876 – May 1880). Pages 442-444. (GCCO)
¹⁶Benjamin Gratz Brown was a prominent figure in Missouri. Born in Lexington, KY, in 1826, he attended Yale, graduating in 1847; he subsequently relocated to St. Louis, and established a law practice there. From 1852 to 1858, he was a member of the Missouri State Legislature, and from 1854 to 1859, Editor of the Missouri Democrat.
At the commencement of the Civil War he raised a regiment, fighting on the side of the Union. Later in the War he commanded a militia brigade. In 1863, he was elected United States Senator for Missouri, holding that position until 1867. He was appointed Governor for Missouri in 1871. [Johnson’s (Revised) Universal Cyclopaedia (1886). New York: A. J. Johnson & Co. Vol. I. Page 607].
In 1872, Brown was the Vice-Presidential nominee of the Liberal Republican Party which was formed as the result of a split in the Republican Party over attitudes towards the Grant administration. Soundly defeated at the 1872 elections, the Party quickly dissolved. [McLaughlin, Andrew C. and Hart, Albert Bushnell (Editors) Cyclopedia of American Government (1914). New York and London: D. Appleton And Company. Vol. II. Page 344]. Gratz Brown had a long association with the Price family, both as an attorney and as a business associate. In 1875, he was one of the incorporators of the Texas Land And Immigration Company of St. Louis. The company was incorporated at St. Louis in 1875, and quickly received an endorsement from the State of Texas by a special act of the State Legislature. The company owned and controlled 3 million acres of land. (Dacus, Jos. A. and Buel, Jas. W. (1878) A Tour of St. Louis or: The Inside Life of a Great City. St. Louis: Western Publishing Company, Jones & Griffin. Pages 343 – 344.) The company was formed “for the purpose of procuring and assisting settlers for Texas Lands; to colonize vacant Lands and organize Colonies throughout the United States and Europe”. B. Gratz Brown was President of the company, and James B. Price the Vice-President. Also involved was Frank H. Woodworth, who was the Secretary and Manager of the St. Louis office, and Lee R. Shryock – associated with Price’s National Mail and Transportation Company – who was Vice-President and Manager of the Texas department. (Texas Daily Leader, undated).
¹⁷Copy of Articles of Incorporation of The New Comstock Gold and Silver Mining and Milling Company obtained from Grant County Clerk’s Office.
¹⁸Record of Deeds, Book No. 6. May 1880 – March 1888. Pages 116-123. Note: This book is mislabeled; it contains deeds through March 1882, not 1888. (GCCO)
¹⁹Copy of Articles of Incorporation of The Peoples Silver Mining Company obtained from Grant County Clerk’s Office.
²⁰Copy of Articles of Incorporation for The Indus Mining Company obtained from Grant County Clerk’s Office.
²¹Deeds. February 1876 – May 1880. Book 3. Pages 594 – 596. (GCCO)
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