Wisconsin & Arizona Mining Company was organized on 10 December of 1904, under the laws of Arizona, with capitalization at $1,000,000.00, shares $1 par. The lands were five claims known as the Copper King group, 4 miles north of Poland, Arizona in Yavapai County. They had shafts of 35', 35', and 50', also a short tunnel showing a 5' vein carrying 6" stringers of high grade auriferous and argentiferous ore. Michael H. Ryan of Goodwin, Arizona, was president and superintendent, J. L. Jacquot, of Appleton, Wisconsin was vice-president; E. G. Jones, also of Appleton, Wisconsin was secretary, and Dr. Donald McIntyre, of Dale, Wisconsin, was the treasurer. 

Michael H. Ryan and Sarah E. Randolph leased various mining claims in the Turkey Creek Mining District, Yavapai County, Arizona, to Donald MacIntyre on 20 May 1904. These claims were the "Copper King" mining claim, the "Atlantic" mining claim, the "Salmon" mining claim, the "Golden Fleece" mining claim, and the "Red Jacket" mining claim.

McIntyre after the contract was signed, had the right to take immediate possession of the property, to work, operate, mine, develop and explore the same as he deemed proper, with several provisions (all work to be done in a miner-like manner, etc). McIntyre had the right to extract, ship, mill, treat, or otherwise dispose of the ores found upon the property by his operations. He was to pay Ryan & Randolph 15% of the net proceeds. McIntyre had the option during the life of the agreement to purchase the property for the sum of $20,000.00. To facilitate the carrying out of this agreement and option, Ryan and Randolph executed a deed conveying the property to the McIntyre, which was then placed in an escrow account.

McIntyre, after having the contracts signed in his name,  then signed over for $1.00 all his right, title, claim and interest in the escrow account to the Wisconsin and Arizona Mining Company, of which he was treasurer, Michael H. Ryan was president and superintendent. Ryan and Sarah E. Randolph then signed over the Turkey Creek mining district claims (the four claims mentioned above) to the Wisconsin and Arizona Mining Company on 3 January 1905. On 10 April 1906, the Wisconsin and Arizona Mining Company purchased the mining claim properties from Sarah E. Randolph (of Howell, Michigan).

All of the above documents (articles of incorporation, agreements, escrow account papers, and mortgage) mentioned above are all within the collection offered here.  There are a couple of other copies of the articles of incorporation, showing that the company was previously going to be known as the Michigan, or Muskegon and Arizona Mining Company, before settling on Wisconsin and Arizona Mining Company. There is also a "report" of 22 June 1904 that was conducted by J.J. Whiliams, M.E. The report is a detailed look at the mining claims mentioned above, the types of ore he found, the potential, locations, access to transportation, etc.

      Correspondence:

75 letters, 129 pages, 23 envelopes, dated 1904-2013, as follows:

1904 -2 letters, 3 pages

1905 - 9 letters, 11 pages, 1 envelope

1906 -40 letters, 61 pages, 4 envelopes

1907 -17 letters, 46 pages, 6 envelopes

1908 - 5 letters, 6 pages, 1 envelope

1951 - 1 letter, 1 page

2013 -1 letter, 2 pages

The bulk of the correspondence (55 of the 75 letters) consists of letters written by officers of the Wisconsin & Arizona Mining Company, to Dr. Donald MacIntyre, also an officer of the company. The president and superintendent of the company, Michael H. Ryan, who also owned the land where the mining claims of the company are, writes 27 of the letters to MacIntyre, and he and Sarah E. Randolph wrote a letter together.  Ryan appears to be the main operative in the mining adventure, he is the only one living in Arizona and the others appear to be out of state investors and officers of the company, responsible for securing money to get the various ores out of the ground. His letters are very informative about the details of the mining operations; and his letters are very candid in his views of t the mining operations, his feelings about the people he has to deal with, and his thoughts and opinions  concerning the fellow officers of the company:

"Goodwin, AZ, April 27th, 1905,

Friend Mac,

Yours of the 1st and 11th received and noted. Now Doc as far as that Hazeltine is concerned he is a dam liar he lied to me about your letter. From what you wrote me later on I will say there was one good thing about the denial that he kept the proposition away from Jones. We had a hell of a time doing it. Hazeltine also lied to Mrs. Randolph about me in regard to the money. Now you know or ought to know that I would not accept one dollar that belonged to Mrs. Randolph as I have written her today, but the way Hazeltines proposition was it would make most any body hot. Why I wired you at the time about the bank, now about cleaning out and running the tunnel. I expect Mrs. Joneses report will explain every thing satisfactory to the company in regard to the tunnel that you spoke about in one of your letters. This work Doc was really a necessity on account of air which Mr. Jones discovered very quickly after he was on the ground. Now about that boarding house proposition, Jones or I neither one of us could figure on the cost, but I find by the way the bills are coming in it is going to cost a whole lot more than we figured on....The south tunnel is in by measurement yesterday 34 feet am working three shifts on it and have one of the prettiest bodies of ore that has been discovered in this or any other country. I thought I would run it five or en feet further and commence sinking, I don't know yet. Received from Mrs. Randolph the new instructions signed them and sent them to the bank, now Doc you perhaps don't understand in regard to the timbering, this copper shaft in regard to the understanding between Jones and me it is rather a slow job to cut and timber a shaft. We will perhaps have it completed by tomorrow, then will place Whinn on it and commence sinking in cutting out for timbers. We struck a nice streak of ore in the hanging wall. Have not received no advance draft yet as agreed up on between Jones and me as you spoke about in a previous letter, Yours truly, Mike Ryan."

"Goodwin, AZ, Jan. 9, 1906.

Dear Doc,

Just read yours of 4 inst. Go ahead and get up the papers if there is a prison in sight. For you will stop it, but for Christ's sake get some money coming this way as soon as you can as I need it awful bad and get some so we can start work and the old lady needs some very much, it has broke me flat to keep up the work on the mines. Let me hear from you, yours truly, M. H. Ryan."

Goodwin, AZ, Jan 14, 1906.

Dear Doc,

I answered yours of the 4 inst on the 9, but the letter was given to the driver as we have no Post Office here. Now the office being moved one mile below the copper mines, I sent some other letters to town the same day and have not heard from them yet. I heard the driver got drunk on the trip and may have mislaid them so I write again. You can go ahead and make out the papers and shut them fellow's mouths. Try and get some money coming this way as soon as you can. I don't think we were born to spend our lives in prison, any of us.  Mike Ryan"

Edward G. Jones, the secretary of the company, writes 24 letters to MacIntyre. Jones is an attorney with the firm of George C. Jones and Edward G. Jones, of Appleton, Wisconsin, specializing in timber and mineral lands. Jones and Ryan appear to be at odds with each other:

"Appleton, WI, Jan. 24, 1906.

Dr. D. MacIntyre,

I have your favor of Jan. 21st and will write the letters wished for. I telephone to you the other night telling you of the action of Bowdre. Of course, he got tired of waiting for Mike to pay him his money and attached the property, of course, the attachment would not hold, and now that Mike has some money he will probably pay that up. But there is Steinbrooke's bill that Mike has not paid and he will probably do the same thing and Mike will pay that up. If this fact becomes noised about Prescott, Brown Bros. will take the same course and the Company's credit, good name and standing will be sadly damaged. I don't think you realize the situation. We have got to have that money, $500.00 anyway to send to Mike Ryan and you must dig it up. If you haven't got it get it from Saenger, but for the love of God, get it. If you don't raise it by the end of the week I am done with the Wisconsin & Arizona. I send you Mike's letter, I wish you would return it at once. If you don't get busy he will commence proceedings to cancel our contract and that means the opening up of your deal with Mrs. Randolph for on behalf of yourself and the Wisconsin & Arizona Mining Co. With this thing opened up, where will you be at? I went over this matter very thoroughly with Jacquot Sunday night, and I told him then that I would write you as I have done in this letter. He quite agrees with me. Yours truly, E. G. Jones"

"Appleton, WI, February 2, 1906,

Dr. D. MacIntyre,

...I should judge there was in the neighborhood of three or four ton good rock at the stock pile, No. 1 Shaft; there is probably three ton of select rock at the No. 2 Tunnel. There were 15 or 20 ton of ore taken out of Tunnel No. 2, unselected and this is what I want to have an assay run on now. Over one-half of this was lost by the high water this spring. You see a lot of that good rock came down in little fine pieces quite in the bed of the creek, and when the water came down in such torrents, as it always will do, it will take always take out that fine grade of stuff. It is for this reason that Ryan advocates going up on the hill and putting down a shaft to connect with the tunnel at say 75 feet; with that down you can hoist the ore from the shaft and make a stock pile further down the creek, where there is plenty of room and no danger from water. I do not think that it is advisable to send that stuff to Poland or Meyer, that is for what there is in it, for it would hardly pay. I do think however that if we could have four or five ton of good rock taken over there and a smelter run on it, it would be quite worth while. There would not be enough in the money to pay for the trouble; the good would come in knowing what the smelter returns are, however, I will talk with John. To your question as to whether Mrs. Randolph could deed to you under existing contract, I answer 'yes.' Have her so if you can without fail, it would be an additional lever to work on Ryan, if you can do so. ...E.G. Jones"

J. L. Jacquot wrote 2 letters to MacIntyre. Jacquot, the vice-president of the mining company, is also a manufacturer and wholesaler of cheese, at Appleton, Wisconsin:

"Appleton, WI, February 10, 1906,

Dr. D. MacIntyre,

I have received your letter and would say that there is not the amount of money left in the treasury here that you thought. You see, MacIntyre, we have had to pay Miss McInernaey for her services in straightening out the books as well as for typewriting, etc., and besides a couple of bills for incidentals. You know there is some other money to come in and you had better get that so as to pay the overdraft there, as there won't be a great deal of this left. Yours truly, J. L. Jacquot"

The letters of the officers of the company to MacIntyre show the dire financial shape the company was in, with the officers looking to MacIntyre to raise necessary capital. Jones and Jacquot appear to have been offered shares in the company to help in its organization and offered the secretary and vice president's positions. MacIntyre, helped to raise the money and was given the treasurer's position.  Jones and MacIntyre have a good working relationship with Jacquot, but, Ryan, the president, is at odds with them, or at least with Jones, as he refuses even to write him. Ryan is the only one of the officers located in Arizona. He is the one that actually owns the land, Mrs. Sarah Randolph, only being cut in on the agreement as she was kind to Ryan in the past. With Ryan being the owner and knowing something  about mining, he became the president of the company. Ryan's letters to MacIntyre show him offering various mining deals to MacIntyre. The "Copper King" claims seemed to be good ones, but the company appears to be failing financially, at least, there is no ready cash to pay bills. At one point Jones, Jacquot and MacIntyre go behind Ryan's back and secure a deed from Sarah E. Randolph; however she was not legally one of the owners. Ryan catches them and writes a very scathing letter:

"Appleton, WI, March 26, 1906,

Dr. D. MacIntyre,

Don't forget to write to Mrs. Randolph in regard to getting a deed from her for her half interest. This will tie the thing up so that Ryan cannot move except with a great difficulty. Have not heard from him, and don't know just exactly how to take it. I haven't heard from Milwaukee people either, yours truly, E. G. Jones."

"Goodwin, AZ, June 14, 1906,

Dear Doctor,

Doc what's the matter have you fellows gone crazy or do you imagine that you are the whole thing. It looks that way; in the first place your explanation about that Deed is mighty weak. You knew that Mrs. Randolph did not own one foot of that ground and you talked her into giving you a Deed that ain't worth the paper its wrote on. I might as well give some one a deed to your house. Because I choose to give her a share of the money which (she) is fully entitled to from me for her many kindnesses to me in past years. That cuts know figure in the ownership of the mines. If I sold a band of horses I would give her the money just the same. It did not set very good with me the other day when a party that had the money in the bank to make the first payment and went to the recorders to get an abstract and run up against your dam fool deed.. Now then, I want you to cancel that deed at once. If it would happen to be the course of knocking my sail it may not suit you to be defendant in a suit for damages in a sale of this amount. Another thing if you and your associates have any more schemes to operate work them on me and please let Mrs. Randolph alone. She is too honest to deal with tricksters. I will guarantee you that I will protect her interest from you or Jones or anybody else so beat me if you can and let her alone and there will be no kick coming. That option you gentlemen have is a myth or a man it don't make any difference which, it is funny what gall some Dam fools have to give an option to anybody on something that they don't have, and never did own one foot of ground on, and I would like very much to see that party operate on that kind of an option. Another thing seems strange how you fellows can get money to pay for spreading worthless papers on the records and you can't refund the money to me that I paid for the company months ago. I would like to know what grounds you had for thinking that Jones was trying to squeeze Mrs. Randolph. Such rot makes a man tired. If your good council will look over the statute of Arizona in regard to contracts on mines he may possibly learn something to his benefit. The Wisconsin & Arizona Mining Company are a dead cock in the pit and have been since the third of October 1905. Very true Jones sent me some money and that money I applied on the president's salary. I thought as you were good enough to pay the secretary and vice president a salary at their request without consulting anybody, for running down to Neenah to play marbles with you when they felt like it after you had already given them a block of stock for such services and at the same time you could not pay for labor that had been performed and that you had ordered. Fine graft, was it not. Now then I done different, I consulted Mike Ryan and he told me to pay the president. About shipping ore, doc, I have been shipping ore for the last twenty five years from my own mines just as I am doing now and I never asked permission from anybody and I don't think I will start in now consulting Mr. Jones or anybody else about it. Yes, I am shipping ore from the Copper King and from the Grand Mine and Pine Flat and I shipped eighty tons from the Grand and got a check for fifteen hundred dollars clear. This is the mine I wanted you to take hold of. I will send you my smelter returns from either mine if you want them...M.H. Ryan"

After apparently sending Ryan's letter to Jones, MacIntyre receives a letter back from Jones:

"July 9, 1906

Dr. D. MacIntyre,

Yours received - I return Ryan's letter. He's a good deal of an ass - however you had better write him a "jolly up" letter - tell him you are expecting to raise $10,000 for survey and patent and to pay him balance due him - that he will get every cent due him. Tell him you have made a change [moved from Dale] to Muskegon Heights - for reasons that you would be getting in with a class of money men and you could do business with them...E. G. Jones"

The whole venture seems to be imploding: not only did the officers try to deceive the president of the company, but the officers fought amongst themselves, as Jones letter to MacIntyre suggests:

"Nov 6, 1906

Dr. MacIntyre,

Yours of the 30th received, and John has answered it in part. I may say right here that no money will be paid you or anybody else until there is more money in the treasury. Your letter taking it all together makes me very tired. You display an amount of irritableness that is absurd, when you come to consider the condition that the Company matters are in....E. G. Jones."

While Jones and MacIntyre tried to deceive Ryan and were caught, it did not stop the three from doing business. Ryan continued to offer various scenarios in which they might continue to do business together, Jones wrote to MacIntyre with counter offers:

"November 21, 1906

Mr. D. MacIntyre,

...Referring to your request for a proposition to submit to your people I hardly know what to say. You are as well able to make a proposition as either John or I am. There is approximately in the Treasury, four hundred thirty-six thousand (436,000) shares. you hold, outside of Mrs. Randolph's stock, approximately one hundred fifteen thousand (115,000) shares. John and I hold twenty-nine thousand (29,000) shares each. We want $10,000 by December 25th. You can afford to give ninety or one hundred thousand shares, and we ten thousand or fifteen thousand, to get money to take care of the property. if you can get your parties to put up ten thousand ($10,000) dollars, and take care of Ryan and pay something to Mrs. Randolph and do the assessment work on the property and then get it patented, go ahead. Sell one hundred thousand (100,000) shares at 10cts. if they will stand for it, or one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) shares at 7cts. They can have the management, John, you and I will resign at any time. If they come into this in good faith, John will go out with them inside of two or three weeks and get this matter fixed up with Mike, so that we can do business.....Personally I would rather give up all of my stock than to see these fool farmers dump their money as they are bound to do, unless they put up the money as suggested in my last report....E. G. Jones."

While the rights to the claims expired, another venture was to commence. Besides the letters of Ryan, Jones, and Jacquot, MacIntyre, the treasurer of the company, writes one of the letters to the First National Bank of Dale, Wisconsin, for assistance in collecting on a note owed him.  There are also five letters from the cashier and one letter from the assistant cashier of the Bank of Arizona, located in Prescott, the bankers for the Wisconsin & Arizona Mining Company. The letters concern various deposits made into MacIntyre's account, Michael H. Ryan's account, or Sarah E. Randolph's account, as per their escrow accounts. The assistant cashier writes to MacIntyre to let him know that escrow between the WI & AZ Mining Co. and Ryan and Randolph had expired and he would have to organize a new company and get bonded to continue or to start working the mines.

There are 8 letters written by attorney Thomas Ryan, a city attorney, at Appleton, Wisconsin, who appears to be acting as a collections agent for MacIntyre. These letters concern the various accounts he is either collecting or trying to collect on, and apparently MacIntyre trying to get the attorney to reduce his commission for collection:

"November 21, 1906

Dr. Donald MacIntyre,

Your favor of the 20th inst. informing me that Grant Hopkins sent you $35.00 and Mrs. Wm. Hall sent you $2.50 in settlement of their accounts was duly received. I note what you say in reference to my commission. You sent the collections to be governed by the rates of the United States Commercial Agency and of course I intend to be governed thereby. Because one or two of them are collected without much trouble it does not follow that I should be expected to throw off any commission. I may have to put considerable work on the other claims, much more than will every pay me, before making the collections, and with all my work I may not be able to collect some of the claims. So you see the injustice of asking me to throw off any of my commission on claims collected.....Thomas H. Ryan"

The remaining letters are from Dan Lappla (3 letters) of Appleton, Wisconsin and G. A. Bock (3 letters), a hardware manufacturer of Dale, Wisconsin. Both Lappla and Bock are writing to MacIntyre concerning their help in selling the stock of the Arizona & Wisconsin Mining Company to the citizens of Dale, and who were now are up in arms and are feeling betrayed, since the company's "can't lose" prospects have not exactly panned out. Lappla writes McIntyre asking what happened to all the money that the stockholders invested in the company, he practically calls the company a fraud. He also hints that MacIntyre's relocation to Muskegon Heights from Dale, may have been because the failure of the company forced MacIntyre to move away so as not to face the censure of the people of Dale:

"Jan 8th, 1907

Mr. D. MacIntyre,

I have seen or heard nothing from you, since you left Dale. I thought I would drop you a few lines in regard to mining. Now the way it seems we are all badly mistaken of your personal knowledge which you have gained in the mining proposition. I thought you an honest man and I as a personal friend of yours & as I always thought a great deal of you & now have to look upon the matter as a genuine cheat in the mining matter. Now I would like to know what did you do with the stockholders money? You told me what the mine costs & what money you put in also, and Sanger, Jones, & Jacquot & besides all of the stock you sold. Now what did you do with it all? As far as I can see, neither one of the above mentioned parties have invested one dollar, only the stockholders, outsiders of this should have kept this thing moving along. Now this is a perfect scandal although I for one will give the matter attention as I have a few dollars more to blow in & will see if such scandal can be worked according to our laws which were made of late. Now I am the cause of a whole lot of stock which you sold in the town of Dale & have to hear it often. And you know that I had the real idea as to help you along or else I would not have bought so much stock as I did, and I hope you will think of this before it comes to a crisis. You are real condemned in Dale, but I don't pay any attention to that as I can't wholly blame you for this for you are not experienced enough in managing a business of that kind and we had not ought to been so free with our money. But to my idea you appeared to be a man of good judgment & by your personal acquaintance I though the best of you. Now you need not feel insulted on my part that is, if you can explain yourself? And I hope you will? People really think you left town on their behalf, but I don't, I still have faith in the upheaval & think it can be fined up. The proposition offered at the meeting are well enough, but why haven't your partners as mentioned put in one dollar up to this time are waiting for a further graft in the matter? If the matter goes wrong I have misjudged you by far as an honest & upright citizen of this country. Now for granted I hope you will answer my letter & change my opinion that I am wrong or right, I remain yours... Dan Lappla."

Bock's letters are very insightful concerning the operations of Jones and Jacquot and their involvement in the company. Two other, later letters concern the archive:  by C. A. Savery of Denver, Colorado and Mary Grimes of Fairborn, Ohio, dated 1951 and 2013 respectively. Grimes' letter provides a little background on this archive; Savery's letter concerns the settling of the estate, some stock, of MacIntyre. He is writing to Mrs. Lucille M. Rex of Big Rapids, Michigan, who was executrix of the MacIntyre estate.

      Paper ephemera:

5 photographs, one identified as "Grandma Kaufhold aged 92, Jane E. Fox aged 59, Wesley S. Fox, 28, and Harold B. 6 months." Another photo of a young girl is addressed to "Mrs. A. Gibson, Port Jefferson, Sta LINY," a third photograph is a picture of a man sitting on a bench outside a tobacco store.

1 stock certificate of Donald MacIntyre and his wife for 100 shares of American Television Corporation dated 1938.

6 receipts: 1 for ore settlement with the Arizona Smelting Company, dated 1906; 1 back statement for MacIntyre, for First State Bank of Dale, WI, dated 1907; 1 mss receipt for expenses of MacIntyre related to the WI & AZ Mining Co., dated 1905-1906; 4 receipts for the Copper King grants, dated 1905; 1 bank statement for The Bank of Arizona, dated 1905.

8 agreements; all concerning the leasing, or purchasing of several mines, including the Copper King group located in Turkey Creek Mining District of Yavapai County, Territory of Arizona, between Mike Ryan and Sarah E. Randolph with MacIntyre, then MacIntyre with the WI & AZ Mining Company, plus another for the sale of the mines outright, dated 1904-1906.

3 copies (typed) of the Articles of Incorporation; 2 for the Wisconsin & Arizona Mining Company; and 1 for the Michigan & Arizona Mining Company, all dated 1904-1905.

1 Report on the Copper King Group dated 1904.

1 Indenture between MacIntyre and S. E. Randolph for Copper King Mining claims, 1906.

1 recording document for the County of Yavapai, Territory of Arizona dated 1904, to insure recording of the Articles of Incorporation of the WI & AZ Mining Company.

1 notice for stockholders meeting at Appleton, WI for the Wisconsin and Arizona Mining Company, from E. G. Jones, Secretary, dated 1906.

7 assaying analysis certification receipts for Ogden Assay Company; Mariner & Hoskins; & E.E. Burlingame & Company, for gold, silver & copper, dated Chicago & Denver, 1904-1905.