William Tudor Papers 1867-1916; bulk: 1901-1916 Guide to the Collection

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Sources Collection Description Related Materials Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

William Tudor was born to Frederic "The Ice King" Tudor and Euphemia Fenno Tudor on September 27, 1848. He was the fourth of six children. He attended Harvard University and graduated in 1871. He married Elizabeth Whitwell (b. 1851), daughter of William Scollay Whitwell and Mary Hubbard, in Paris, France, on May 24, 1873. Together they had five children: Henry Dubois, William, Elizabeth, Delia Aimee, and Mary.

William Tudor had an intense interest in his own genealogy and collected information on his Tudor ancestry. In 1896, he edited and published the diary of his great-great-grandfather, Deacon John Tudor, as Deacon Tudor's Diary. His primary occupation, however, was investing in mines. He served on the Boards of Trustees of many of the mining companies he invested in and held positions as an officer in many of them. In 1908, Tudor became the treasurer of the Salida Copper Company, in which he held a very large share. In July 1909, Salida Copper Company bought out Sedalia Copper Company. In October, Tudor traveled to Salida, Colorado, to inspect the companies' mines. In 1910, the Mountain Mining Company, a spin-off of the Salida Copper Company, was formed, and in January 1911, Tudor became its president. In 1913, Tudor became treasurer of the Shawmut Consolidated Copper Company.

Although Tudor owned homes in Hancock, New Hampshire, and Auburndale, Massachusetts, his primary business address was the St. Botolph Club in Boston. He did a great deal of traveling, inspecting mines in Juneau, Alaska, and Salida, Colorado, and he was married and had his first child in Paris, France. He painted for relaxation. William Tudor died in 1923.

Sources

For genealogical material, see:

Tudor, John. Deacon Tudor's Diary: or, "Memorandoms from 1709, &c., by John Tudor, to 1775 & 1778, 1780 and to '93"; A record of more or less important events in Boston, from 1732 to 1793, by an eye-witness. Ed. William Tudor. Boston: Press of W. Spooner, 1896. Appendix.

Collection Description

The William Tudor papers consist of business correspondence; a large number of letters, telegrams, maps, notes, and receipts; the shareholder records of the Salida Mining Company and the Lake Superior Copper Company; personal letters and legal correspondence pertaining to the farm he owned in Draketown, Georgia; and a collection of notes and letters describing the Tudor genealogy.

The majority of the collection consists of letters, telegrams, newspaper clippings, receipts, diagrams, and notes detailing William Tudor's transactions and investments in various mining companies. Early focus is on the Windham Bay Mining Company and later on the Salida Copper Company, of which William Tudor was treasurer; the Sedalia Copper Company, where he served as director; the Mountain Mining Company; and Empire Mines. The Mountain Mining Company and Arizona and Georgia Development Company subseries contain the incorporation documents of these two companies.

The bulk of Tudor's personal correspondence consists of genealogical notes and letters documenting his research for the genealogical appendices in Deacon Tudor's Diary. There are also a few personal letters, receipts, and tax and duty records.

Related Materials

The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) holds the following materials related to the William Tudor papers:

Children of Frederic Tudor [photograph], [ca. 1851-1854]. Photo. 1.472L.

Tudor, John. Deacon Tudor's Diary: or, "Memorandoms from 1709, &c., by John Tudor, to 1775 & 1778, 1780 and to '93"; A record of more or less important events in Boston, from 1732 to 1793, by an eye-witness. Ed. William Tudor. Boston: Press of W. Spooner, 1896. Appendix.

Tudor, Frederic. Will of Frederic Tudor. [Mass.?: s.n., 1864?].

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

William Tudor papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Photographs from this collection have been removed to the William Tudor photographs (unprocessed). Photo. Coll. 500.116.

A sample of wire mesh from the Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co. (Milwaukee, Wis.) has been removed to the MHS Artifacts Collection.