|
|
The Jackson Account of the
Forest Queen Mine. |
|
SOME NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE FOREST QUEEN
(deduced and extracted from old records, et cetera)
Assembled by James M. Jackson, May 1981
The LOCATION CERTIFICATE (Reference 1) indicates that the Forest Queen was "located and claimed" on March 4, 1892, a Friday, by (Col.) W. Neil Dennison, L. H. Blonger, S. H. Blonger, John E. Phillips and W. H. Gibson (and M. McNally). The wording of the certificate is clear and relates that the claim, 300 feet by 1500 feet, was laid out with the discovery shaft at the center.
The rules for locating a gold mining claim, as best I can determine (but somewhat simplified) were;
1. make a discovery (or locate the outcropping of a vein)
2. dig a discovery shaft to prove the existance of ore of a commercial quality.
3. name the lode, and
4. file a LOCATION CERTIFICATE
It is incumbent on the locator to determine the size and direction of the vein which he has discovered and to lay out his claim to take full advantage of this knowledge. It is not required that the discovery shaft be in the center of the claim. The claim may be worked by the discoverers so long as they perform, at least, $100 worth of work on the property each year.
As an historical note, Bob Womack (and John Grannis) filed their LOCATION CERTIFICATE for the EL PASO lode in October 1890. This wasn't Womack's first claim but it was the one that started the Cripple Creek Gold Camp. It wasn't untill July 1891 that the Colorado Springs carpenter, Winfield Scott Stratton, filed a LOCATION CERTIFICATE for the INDEPENDENCE mine and at that time, there were still fewer than 500 persons in the district.
In those days, they must have been very serious about the mining business (and hardy) to get out and dig the discovery shaft, so early in the year. The north side of Globe hill can be very cold in March.
On the thirtieth of May in 1892, William H. Gibson deeded (or sold) an undivided one-tenth interest in the Forest Queen Mining Claim or Lode (Forest Queen) along with interests in some other mines, to Robert W. Steele and O. W. Jackson (Reference 2).
In 1892, O. W. Jackson was working in Denver as Assistant District Attorney under the then District Attorney Robert W. Steele.
On the sixteenth of July in 1892, William H. Gibson deeded his remaining interest in the Forest Queen to Robert W. Steele and O. W. Jackson (Reference 3).
On the ninteenth of July in 1892, Michael A. McNally deeded his interest in the Forest Queen to W. Neil Dennison (Reference 4).
On the twentieth of July in 1892, Robert W. Steele, W. Neil Dennison, John E. Phillips. L. H. Blonger and S. H. Blonger conveyed their interests in the Forest Queen to O. W. Jackson (Reference 5). The stated purpose of this action was to place the property in the name of one person "for the purpose of more conveniently obtaining a PATENT thereto from the United States..." The phrase in quotes is from an agreement (Reference 6), signed by O. W. Jackson wherein he agrees to return the mine to the others following the obtaining the PATENT. The agreement specifies the payment of $5000 in the case Jackson defaults.
The few papers from 1893 include notes by C. W. Steele, agent for O. W. Jackson, documenting payments and financial statements and receipts, presumably prepared to assist in the persuit of the PATENT. In August 1893 the PATENT was issued to O. W. Jackson in the form of MINERAL CERTIFICATE No. 300 (Reference 7). The PATENT documents the sale of the land by the government at a nominal cost of $5 per acre. Following the issuance of the PATENT there is no longer the requirement to perform the $100 per year "improvement" to retain ownership.
Among the papers for 1893 is a note indicating that a windlass was purchased on September 22 for $3.75, and, in addition to a number of other things, drills, a single hand hammer, a gold pan and lumber for making a ladder. It sounds like a very primitive operation by todays standards. It was all hand work using black powder for blasting and a windlass to remove the ore and scrap. A handwritten receipt from the Morrell Hardware Company for October 1893 lists, in part (I can't read all of the items);
| Oct |
5 |
|
1 box candles |
|
$4.75 |
| |
|
|
1 ball twine |
|
.25 |
| |
12 |
|
1 ore bucket |
|
4.50 |
| |
18 |
|
10 lbs powder |
|
1.50 |
| |
|
|
100 ft fuse |
|
.75 |
| |
23 |
|
10 lbs powder |
|
1.50 |
| |
28 |
|
10 lbs powder |
|
1.50 |
| |
|
|
200 ft fuse |
|
1.50 |
The payroll for October 1893 lists three names; John B. Lawson, Thomas Wixted and S. R. Blonger. Each worked 29 days at a wage of $3.00 per day to earn a total of $87.00 for the month.
Following the granting of the PATENT, 0. 14. Jackson deeded undivided interests in the Forest Queen to the "original owners" as specified in the agreement, Reference 6. Reference 8 identifies the deed to L. H. Blonger and Reference 9 that to John E. Phillips.
In March of 1894, John E. Phillips deeded his 1/5 interest in the mining claim to Dennison, Blonger, Blonger and Jackson. Robert W. Steele retained his 1/10 interest.
The few papers from 1894 are lists of supplies purchased and the hours worked during the months of April, May and July. Of note were the first (listed) payments to an assayer. There continued to be three workers and they continued to use a lot of powder, fuse and candles. One other item purchased was a 75 foot length of rope. In July one of the workers listed was Joe Blonger (a fourth brother?) (Lou, Samuel, Simon, and Joe).
The work was progressing as the following note reveals;
| May 11, |
Length of west drift from shaft 300 feet |
| |
Length of south drift 27 feet |
| |
Both drifts are 6½ x 3½ feet |
The payroll for February 1895 was S. R, Blonger, Ben Harrison and Joe Blonger, each for 20 days. They were still using considerable powder, fuses and candles. They purchased a 125 foot length of rope (presumably the shaft was getting deeper) and iron wedges to repair the windlass. Included in the purchases there was one new item, blacksmith coal, apparently, they must have acquired a forge and were sharpening their own drills instead of taking them to the blacksmith. Another first time item was a $0.50 charge to pay express on a bag of ore sent to Denver. A note at the bottom of the February page;
"sank shaft 18 feet this month, timbered 12 feet"
The following exerpt is from a letter from S. R. Blonger to his brother (L. H., I assume):
"... the vein is getting some wider and looking better. We are not getting more than half as much sulphate of iron as we were and more quartz and looking better every way ... "
A March 8, 1895 letter from O. W. Jackson forwards a check for his share of the expenses and emphasizes that they had agreed to put $400 into the work and then stop. He wants to be sure that they do not continue without unaminous approval.
March expenses are typical and include more iron to fix the windlass and payment to ship another sack of ore to Denver. There continue to be notes of assessments, requested and paid, suggesting that the mine is not yet a paying proposition.
The following letter, in response to O. W. J.'s of March 8, sums up the situation and reveals that the Forest Queen has
been divided into (three) parts, leased and is being worked by at least two different parties.
CRIPPLE CREEK
4-1-95
OW Jackson, Esq. Denver
Dear Sir
Inclosed please find statement of work don on the Forest Queen Mine for month of March. We quit work on the 28th having expended the four hundred dollars agreed upon. we sunk the shaft 33 feet and drove the west drift on the 80 foot level 10 feet. In the shaft the ore looks about the same as the samples sent down.
The drift is changing some, looking better.
The lessors have started in an other place about 100 feet west of where they were working. I don't think they ever will strike the Pride of Cripple Creek vein where they are working. They may strike something else equally as good for they are getting some good looking quality. It is my opinion they are at least 200 feet west of the vein they are looking for. The Newport leasors have started to work. Mr Simmons is out of town as soon as he returns will sign the lease and I will send it back.
Yours Respectfully
S. R. Blonger
(signed)
There are no papers for the remainder of 1895 or for the years of 1896, 1897 or 1898. Presumably, it was in the latter half of 1895 that Lou Blonger traded his ¼ interest in the Forest Queen to J. W. McCulloch for 20 barrels of Green River Kentucky Whiskey, "THE WHISKEY WITHOUT A HEADACHE." (undated newspaper story) Mr. McCulloch must have shared his interest quickly since, as indicated in Reference 11, a 15/240 interest was conveyed to R. E. Harris on December 28, 1895.
Evidently Lou Blonger did not divest himself of all of his interest in the Forest Queen for as we shall note in Reference 12, both L.H. Blonger and S.H. Blonger signed for what appears to be a 1/8 interest for each.
Although those years were a blank in my records, there was a great deal going on, both at the mines and in the district. In April 1896, downtown Cripple Creek was almost destroyed by two great fires. The hardy natives rebuilt rapidly and by the end of 1898 the population of Cripple Creek was up to 25,000; there were 450 mines in operation removing gold (from the earth) at the rate of 650,000 ounces per year ($13,000,000 per year at that time).
The peak population of 30,000 was to be reached in 1901. It was Colorado's fourth largest city and quite a place, "... by 1900 Cripple Creek had become an electrically powered area. Here a miner could work in an electrically lit, ventillated and powered mine and then go home at night on an electric streetcar to a city and home illuminated by electricity." (The quotation and statistics are from CRIPPLE CREEK MINING DISTRICT by Robert G. Taylor, Indiana University 1966 & 1973)
For 1899, the only paper that I have is the lease, Reference 12, for block 1 of the Forest Queen Mining Claim. Signing this lease are the new owners of the ¼ interest of Lou Blonger, J.W. McCulloch and R.E. Harris. The Blongers signed as couples; Virginia Blonger & S.H. Blonger and Nola Blonger & L.H. Blonger, representing a ¼ interest. W. Neil Dennison and O.W. Jackson signed, representing a ¼ interest each.
In the fall of 1900 R. W. Steele was elected to the Supreme Court and O. W. Jackson was appointed court stenographer.
The Forest Queen was divided into three 500 foot sections along the 1500 foot dimension. The center section contains, the original discovery shaft but it was not exploited in these years. The workings developed in section 1 in these early days are the beginnings of the still existing shaft, et cetera.
In 1901, a lease was signed with Crawford and Triplett, Reference 13, to work the western sector for 2 years. A requirement of the lease was to sink the shaft 10 feet for each month of the lease. This lease is signed by Anna Barney in the place of W. Neil Dennison and by A. T. Steele, the judge's wife Anna.
Also in 1901, Frank J. Hangs, a Cripple Creek attorney, was consulted with respect to the tax assesment that seemed too high. As O.W.J. wrote when he paid the taxes for the first of 1900 under protest, ".. the said tax, except five dollars thereof, is illegally extracted under an erroneous and exorbitant assesment." The property was sold in 1901 for the second half of the taxes for 1900, however, by the end of 1902, it seemed that it was all straightened out again. There was, in 1902, some indication that the leasees were not putting in the required work.
On June 1, 1903 a lease agreement was signed with a new pair, James K. Walsh and Thomas Murray. Murrary wrote that he had machinery on the ground and that he planned to start crosscutting at the bottom of the 185 foot shaft. By October, the crosscut was 235 feet long and two veins of low grade ore had been discovered. In September the work crew was reduced from two shifts to one due to the existence of "bad air". Murray and his crew appear to have done a lot of work; they made considerable progress underground, built ore bins on the surface, cleared and prospected a seven foot trench on the surface and wrote about deepening the shaft by 100 feet.
In January 1904 an air compressor arrived in anticipation of starting work on the shaft. Walsh & Murray approached the owners about an extension of their lease beyond the 1905 expiration in order to give them the opportunity to exploit the new ground opened by their deepening of the shaft. The owners were not unanomously in favor. About that time, Murray and Walsh had a falling out and Murray was replaced, at the mine, by H. F. Baker.
Work on the shaft was persued without the extension when a very rich strike was announced on the W.P.H. mine adjoining the Forest Queen. Activity was increased to three shifts a day and, by the end of March, the shaft was down (to) 314 feet and a crosscut on the new third level was extended 135 feet toward the W.P.H. line. The result of all of this activity was twofold; (1) a geological formation was reported by Walsh, which indicated that the W.P.H_ geology (and, hence, good ore; couldn't continue onto the Forest Queen and (2) there was water seeping into the shaft. Finding no gold was bad enough but the presence of the water meant that continuous pumping would be required and that increased the cost of working at the bottom level and of sinking the shaft deeper.
James K. Walsh, the lessee, is backed financially by John M. Roach, president of the Chicago Union Traction Company (the Chicago subway).
Early in 1905, because of a suit against Walsh by Murray, the Forest Queen underground workings were inspected by "experts"
who reported "... to the effect that he (Walsh) has a very large and fine body of ore in the bottom (fourth) level. This finding and other aspects of Walsh's operation did not inspire confidence in the owners and they hired an agent to represent them at the mine.
The existence of the vein of ore, discovered underground brought with it a second problem. In the mining law, a vein of ore belongs to the owner of the apex, i.e., it is assumed that the vein will be discovered where it is closest to the surface and the owner of that part is allowed to follow the vein wherever it goes. This Forest Queen vein sloped upward and it wasn't clear where the apex would be. O. W. Jackson and the Blongers were worried that they ".. were guilty of trespass in taking the ore and are jointly and severally individually liable for the net value of all of the ore taken." Talk of incorporation begins.
By the end of 1905, concern about an adverse suit resulting from an apex claim was assuaged as the values in the various veins being followed melted away. It was the first year of significant production, about 1400 tons of ore were shipped and the owners split almost $4000 in royalties. However, Mrs. Barney was having misunderstandings with the Blongers and she was in court with "the lawful Dennison heirs" and Mr. McCulloch had a bad bout with malaria. The year ended well for Jackson as McCulloch sent him some "locked up sunshine, called Green River, THE WHISKEY WITHOUT A HEADACHE" after Jackson admitted that "Yes, I use whiskey. I inherited from my grandfather a belief in its medicinal virtues, and it is not at all bad to take when you get used to it."
In early 1906 the Auraria Mining Company was created, Reference 16. The name Auraria may be derived from the Latin AURUM for gold or it may follow the name of one of the two settlements later to become Denver, or it may have some other source. The corporation was authorized 54,000 shares of stock that were intended to represent a three-quarter interest in the Forest Queen; however, for some reason or another, the ¼ interest of McCulloch, Harris and Mills did not join. Perhaps Mrs Barney was not considered as that ¼ interest was in dispute. The 36,000 shares held by the original shareholders were as follows;
| Certificate No. |
1 |
|
Virginia Blonger |
|
4500 shares |
| |
2 |
|
Samuel H. Blonger |
|
4500 |
| |
3 |
|
Nola Blonger |
|
9000 |
| |
4 |
|
A. J. Steele |
|
7200 |
| |
5 |
|
O. W. Jackson |
|
10795 |
| |
6 |
|
Ethelbert Ward |
|
5 |
In June 1906 a lease was signed with John Roach to work the western 734 feet (half of the 1468.3 foot claim) of the Forest Queen through June 1908. The lease contained a clause stating that the lessee agreed not to employ James K. Walsh in any capacity. The lease was signed by the owners of only three-quarters of the property since the Dennison vs. Barney litigation was as yet unsettled. The royalties due that interest were to be deposited into a Denver bank.
Another document signed in 1906 was an AGREEMENT TO INDEMNIFY, Reference 19, signed by John Roach wherein he agreed to share "in proportion thereof that he or she received" the responsibility for taking ore from a vein apexing in another property and any suit that may result.
In 1907, a one-year lease was signed with Thomas Temple, et al. (Reference 21) to work the easterly half of the claim. Temple wanted to work the east end through the discovery shaft and there is correspondence which reveals a controversy over whether or not the discovery shaft was in the center of the claim. It was and Temple finally got to use it, but only after he sunk another shaft about 70 feet to the east.
Early in 1908, while inspecting around the discovery shaft, Mr Temple found a small piece of ore which assayed almost 136 ounces/ton.
In the last half of 1908, two year leases were negotiated with Temple (Reference 22) and with Roach (Reference 23) and discussions with Fred Johnson about leasing the dump rock were far enough along that leases were drafted and signed by many of the owners. These fell through, though as Roach was not willing to release the most recent dump.
Mrs. Anna Barney (or that ¼, interest) has not been mentioned in the leases since 1906 and it appears that she has been negotiating her own (similar) lease agreements. However, some kind of a hitch has developed and she hasn't signed her lease with Roach.
Temple reports that during 1908 the discovery shaft has been sunk to a depth of 205 feet with stations at the bottom and at 160 feet where drifts of 26 feet and 11 feet have been made. No merchantable ore has been discovered.
Early in 1909 Mr. Roach wrote to say that he had just taken a three year lease on the W.P.H. and wanted the Forest Queen owners to know that although both properties would be worked under the supervision of Mr. Fogelman, that the two operations would be quite independent.
The Temple Leasing Company wrote, in June of 1909, for permission to stop work for 60 days while they worked out a scheme to move the work along a little faster. The basis of the plan involved hiring the work done on a contract basis. After 60 days it was, apparent that there were serious differences among the partners and they acknowledged the default of their lease.
In October 1909, O. W. Jackson died while on a vacation trip visiting relatives in Iowa.
In May 1910, the 7200 shares of stock in the name of A. J. Steele were sold to Annie M. Jackson in return for future dividends.
Roach announced his decision, in August, to surrender his lease on the Forest Queen property. It simply was not profitable.
The new lessee, John Connors, started work while the lease itself was yet to be prepared, in September of 1910 by sorting and shipping dump rock to the mill while he set-up his machinery. By the end of the month he was taking ore out of the mine at the 540 foot level.
Judge (R. W.) Steele died in the fall of 1910.
Early in 1911, the owners, i.e., the Auraria Mining Company, J.W. McCulloch and Anna Barney, entered into sideline agreements with the owners of the adjoining claims; the W.P.H., the MONTROSE and the ARIZONA. The agreements limit the owners to ore which lies within the vertical extensions of the surface property lines and prohibits following a vein past those limits into a neighboring property. This, practically, eliminates concern of an apex claim.
John Connors entered into a three year lease with the owners, References 24 & 25, which runs until November 1914.
During this time, Mrs. Barney was Mrs Anna B. Lewis for a year or more.
Sam Blonger died in February 1914.
Connors was ready to quit when his lease expired. He has done a lot of work and shipped a lot of ore, it was simply that he wasn't making any money. The ore was too low grade. Negotiations with two possible lessees; Leo V. Youngworth, an attorney from Los Angeles, California and Edwin Gaylord of Cripple Creek proceeded along the lines of a lease which provides for a 60 day period, in the beginning where the lessee may change his mind without penalty. A kind of inspection time where he can look things over carefully. The lease went to Gaylord who subsequently incorporated his interest with his associates J. H. Reddin, a Denver attorney and a Mr. Sullivan.
In 1918 the fall was, as usual, a time of bad air in the lower levels "... I can only get down in the seventh level when the weather is pleasant."; but the miseries were compounded by THE influenza epidemic., The superintendent, the engineer and several others were down with the disease.
There were no letters from Mr. McCulloch in the papers for 1920. I was interested in the effect of the prohibition on the Green River Distillery. In 1921 there was a letter from Mr. McCulloch on the stationery of a Quenelda Graphite Corporation.
The mine was worked continously by Gaylord until his death in April 1923. The operation was continuous but the enthusiam was intermittent and the amount of work varied with the quality of ore and his money situation. When the owners repossessed the property, the shaft was down to 900 feet.
John Connors, who had worked the property from 1911 until 1915 prior to Mr. Gaylord, will resume work as the new lessee. Connors lived across the street from the Jackson home on Lafayette Street in Denver. In 1927 John Connors turned the supervision of operations over to his son Hugh M. Connors.
Also in 1927, Nola (Mrs. Lou) Blonger had her Auraria Mining Co. stock certificate reissued in the name Cora Macauley (Mrs. W. J. Macauley). Her name was always Cora, Nola was simply her stage name but it stuck for a long time.
Mr. McCulloch has passed away.
Hugh Connors decided in 1929 that there was no future in mining and moved to Chicago to seek engineering work with a future. Al Osberg took over the Connors lease. Osberg writes on stationary of THE UNITED GOLD MINES COMPANY. This is a Carlton Company started in the rich days of Cripple Creek's early history.
This is all of the story that I have at this time. So far the story has been a people story. I am trying to bring out all of the names and as many of the relationships that I can. It is a complicated story with many characters. The story continues, at least, untill 1951 when the Champion Mining Company shut down their operations there, but I haven't the time to pursue it now.
There is another story that involves the numbers, that is, the amount and quality of the ore and the cost of extracting it, et cetera. I will be interested to look at that side of things in more detail but, so far, I'm only up to 1905 and that is practically the first year of ore shipments.
For a glimpse into the number story, I enclose the following:
1. A summary of shipments through 1931
This is copied from a large chart made up by J.O. Jackson in the '30s but some of the numbers are missing and some of them do not jibe with other records.
2. A typical Mill Return sheet
For each car of ore shipped, there is (or was) a copy of the settlement sheet returned to, first, O.W. Jackson and then to the Auraria Mining Company.
3. Ore shipments for 1905
These are data from the 1905 settlement sheets. The shipment is in NET pounds (and tons) and dollars is gross dollars, i.e., no deductions. Gold price is a check for me and some arn't right.
4. Some statistics of the ore shipped in 1905
These totals, average and the distribution of ore quality are derived from the table of 3 above.
From a casual glance at the data, it doesn't appear that the Forest Queen ever had a real rich strike or ever made anyone rich operating it. Each lessee has claimed that he was losing money when he quit but the next one was always enthusiastic at the start.
The map is enclosed just to give one an idea of the location of the workings, the neighboring claims, the number of shafts, et cetera. For an idea of scale, the Forest Queen is 300 feet wide.
The Champion Mines Company report is included as the most authoritative summary of the condition of the property when it was last closed down.
Champion Mines Company report pg 1
Champion Mines Company report pg 2
Additional Documents
Auraria Organizational Chart
Interpretations of interests in the Forest Queen
Mine Map, 1937
All Forest Queen Documents
REFERENCES & COMMENTS
1. March 4, 1892 LOCATION CERTIFICATE * Forest Queen
April 7, 1892
discoverers:
W. Neil Dennison
L. H. Blonger
W. H. Gibson
John E. Phillips
S. H. Blonger
M. McNallay
recorded El Paso County April 14, 1892 book 3, page 174
(COMMENTS: I don't know of the practices of the time and
do not know if the paper that I have is an original or a
copy. In those days, pre Xerox, a copy was probably hand
written and would look a lot like an original.
The body of the document that I have is written mostly
in one hand, and five of the six signatures are in a
second hand. The Mc Nallay name was added in the body and
with the signatures in a third hand. Both Dennison and
Phillips were spelled differently in the body and in the
signatures. Someone must have signed the names of the first
five discoverers and put the fractions 1/5 after each name,
indicating ownership. The
Mc Nallay "signature" is darker in both places and the
1/5ths are over written as 1/6ths using the same darker
ink.)
2. May 30, 1892 WARRENTY MINING DEED
transfer from William H.Gibson to
Robert W. Steele and O. W. Jackson;
an undivided 1/4 interest in the Mississippi Mining Claim
an undivided 1/5 interest in the Newport Mining Claim
an undivided 1/10 interest in the Forest Queen Mining Claim
recorded El Paso County June 4, 1892 book 145, page 233
(There is no indication in this deed of Gibson's holding.
The one-tenth interest deeded could be either one-half of
his one-fifth interest or sixty percent of his one-sixth
interest.)
3. July 16, 1892 MINING DEED
transfer from William H Gibson to Robert W Steele and
O. W. Jackson;
"all his right, title claim and interest, to-wit, an
undivided one-tenth interest in the Forest Queen Mining
Claim or Lode being on Globe mountain in the Cripple Creek
Mining District in ElPaso County, Colorado (the intention
being to convey my entire interest in said mining claim
or lode whether it be more or less than an undivided
one-tenth interest.)"
recorded El Paso County July 20, 1892 book 153, page 16
(I surmise that there is some indication that Gibson
didn't know how much his interest amounted to.)
4. July 19, 1892 MINING DEED
transfer from Michael A. McNally to W. Neil Dennison
"forever all the right title and interest to the said
party of the first part in and to the Forest Queen Mining
Claim or Lode
recorded El Paso County July 20, 1892 book 153 page 17
(The most interesting aspect of this transaction is
that, as a result, it would seem that Dennison should have
a 1/3 interest in the Forest Queen. Later documents do not
reflect that idea at all.)
5. July 22, 1892 MINING DEED
transfer from Robert W. Steele, W. Neil Dennison, John E.
Phillips, L. H. Blonger and S. H. Blonger to
Oscar W. Jackson
".. all right, title and interest ... in and to the
Forest Queen .."
recorded El Paso County July 26, 1892 book 153, page 36
6. August 3, 1892 AGREEMENT (typed and notarized)
an agreement formalizing the arrangement where OWJ persues
the PATENT, the others pay their fair share of any expenses
and listing the following undivided interests;
Robert W. Steele 1/10
W. Neil Dennison 1/5
John E. Phillips 1/5
L. H. Blonger 1/5
S. H. Blonger 1/5
(Although not mentioned, it appears that O.W. Jackson
would be left holding a 1/10 interest.)
7. August 17, 1893 MINERAL CERTIFICATE NO. 300
Forest Queen Lode Mining Claim PATENT.
recorded El Paso County October 21, 1893
book 164, page 223 et seq
8. MINING DEED
Oscar W. Jackson gave a mining deed to L. H. Blonger for
"an undivided one-fifth of the Forest Queen Lode Mining
Claim"
recorded El Paso County July 21, 1893 book 163, page 133
9. October 19, 1893 MINING DEED
transfer from Oscar W. Jackson to John E. Phillips an
undivided one fifth interest in the Forest Queen
recorded El Paso County March 28, 1894 book 171, page 23
10. March 20, 1894 MINING DEED
transfer from John E. Phillips to W. Neil Dennison, L. H.
Blonger, S. H. Blonger and O. W. Jackson
".. an undivided one-fifth interest in the Forest Queen
mining claim and all rights and interest in the Newport
lode mining claim."
recorded El Paso County March 28, 1894 book 171, page 25
11. December 28, 1895
a memo of title prepared by the Teller County Title Company
indicates Nannette C. Harris was conveyed a 15/240 interest
by R. E. Harris on December 28, 1895.
12. April 19, 1899 AGREEMENT OF LEASE for BLOCK NUMBER ONE
(westerly 500 ft)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
J. W. McCulloch F. M. Reardon
W. Neil Dennison W. E. Pruett
Nola Blonger & L.H. Blonger Simon R. Blonger
Virginia Blonger & S.H. Blonger
O. W. Jackson
R. E. Harris
13. March 30, 1901 AGREEMENT OF LEASE for WESTERLY 500 FEET
(same as block 1)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
J. W. McCulloch E. H. Crawford
Mrs R. E. Harris Geo. W. Triplett
Virginia Blonger
Nola Blonger
Anna Barney
A. T. Steele
O. W. Jackson
14. April 27, 1903 AGREEMENT OF LEASE FOR WESTERLY 500 FEET
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
J. W. McCulloch J. K. Walsh
Nannette C. Harris Thomas Murray
Virginia Blonger
Nola Blonger
Susan L. Mills (signs but is not listed on the first page)
A. T. Steele
O. W. Jackson
Anna Barney
15. April 6, 1904 AGREEMENT TO EXTEND EXISTING LEASE
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
O.W. Jackson Jas. K. Walsh
Virginia Blonger
Nola Blonger
Anna Barney
A.T. Steele
16. June 5, 1906 CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION (AURARIA
MINING CO.)
filed in the Office of the Secretary of State of Colorado
recorded in book 118, page 39
17. June 8, 1906 MINING DEED
Transfer from Nola Blonger and Virginia Blonger to the
Auraria Company an undivided one-fourth interest in the
Forest Queen
recorded Teller County July 2, 1906 book 133, page 40
18. June 8, 1906 MINING DEED
a Mining transfer from O. W. Jackson and A. J. Steele to
the Auraria Mining Company an undivided one-fourth interest
in the Forest Queen
recorded Teller County July 2, 1906 book 133, page 39
19. June 26, 1906 AGREEMENT TO INDEMNIFY
the parties of the first part are listed as in 14, above
but it is signed only by John M. Roach
20. June 26, 1906 AGREEMENT OF LEASE (westerly 734 feet)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
Auraria Mining Company John M. Roach
J. W. McCulloch
Nanette C. Harris
Susan L. Mills
21. Sept 1, 1907 AGREEMENT OF LEASE (easterly 734 feet)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
Auraria Mining Company Thomas Temple
J. W. McCulloch William Temple
Nannette C. Harris F. B. Healey
Susan L. Mills W. M. Owen
A. W. McRae
T. C. Denney
22. Aug 31, 1908 AGREEMENT OF LEASE (easterly 734 feet)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
Auraria Mining Company Temple Leasing Company
J. W. McCulloch
Nannette C. Harris
Susan L. Mills
23. Sept 23, 1908 AGREEMENT OF LEASE (westerly 734 feet)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
Auraria Mining Company John M. Roach
J. W. McCulloch
Nannette C. Harris
Susan L. Mills
24. Nov 1, 1911 AGREEMENT OF LEASE (Forest Queen, all
except east 200 feet)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
Anna S. Barney John Conners
25. Nov 1, 1911 AGREEMENT OF LEASE
(Forest Queen, all except east 200 feet)
signatories:
(parties of the first part) (parties of the second part)
Auraria Mining Company John Conners
J. W. McCulloch
Nannette C. Harris
Susan L. Mills
Henry A. Mills (a signer but not listed on page one)
Anna S. Barney (listed on page one as a party of the
first part but not a signer)
| |
|
|
|
