The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur,
Delaware 19735
Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF
THE COLLECTION
Creator: Southern Kaolin Mining
Co.
Title: Papers
Dates: 1901-1906, (bulk 1902)
Call No.: Col. 610
Acc. No.: 01x28
Quantity: 24 pages (1 folder)
Location: 34 J 4
BIOGRAPHICAL
STATEMENT
According to the letterhead on its stationery, the
Southern Kaolin Mining Co. mined kaolin, flint, and feldspar, and manufactured
water floated white china clay under the trade name Bryson City Brand. Headquarters were in Detroit, Michigan, and
the mines were in Bryson City, North Carolina.
Officers were chairman Harry C. Bulkley, vice-chairman David A. Wales,
secretary Henry N. Brown, and treasurer Charles A. Rathbone.
SCOPE AND
CONTENT
Papers of the Southern Kaolin Mining Co., 1901-1906,
is comprised mostly of letters from Charles Rathbone in Bryson City (although
the stationery says Detroit) to Harry [perhaps Henry N. Brown] in Detroit, and
discusses the mining operations in North Carolina. One letter (January 12, 1902) gives details
of a nearby mine, to which Rathbone compared their own outfit. In other letters, Rathbone writes of the work
they are doing at the mine and about financial difficulties. A letter dated July 6, 1902, from David Wales
shows how little he thinks of Southern Kaolin Mining Co., because it is
underfunded. By 1906, operations seem to
have ceased as the company is trying to sell its machinery. As well, there is an undated list of
potteries and pottery manufacturers in East Liverpool, Ohio, and their
Bradstreet rating.
ORGANIZATION
Arranged in chronological order.
LANGUAGE OF
MATERIALS
The materials are in English.
RESTRICTIONS
ON ACCESS
Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
Purchased from Thomas Cullen, Rockland Bookman.
ACCESS POINTS
People:
Bulkley,
Harry C.
Wales,
David A.
Rathbone,
Charles A.
Topics:
Kaolin industry.
Clay industries
- North Carolina - Bryson City.
Business records
- North Carolina - Bryson City.
Business records
- Michigan - Detroit.
Correspondence.
Letterheads.
DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 34 J 4
All accession numbers begin with 01x28.
Charles Rathbone’s handwriting is not easy to read.
Folder 1 of 1:
.1 list: “Potteries and Pottery Mfrs, East
Liverpool, O.”
In addition to the names
of the companies, the Bradstreet rating for each is given. Two companies were located in Chester, West
Virginia.
[this probably goes
along with .16-.17, see below]
.2 letter, C.H. Freeman, Charleston,
W.Va., April 17, [no year], to H. F.[?] Buckley, Detroit: Pittsburgh people
have no title to the land in question; it is owned by Gov. Curtin, Mr. Pardee,
and the B&O Railroad.
On letterhead stationery
of the Hotel Ruffner, owned by the Charleston Hotel Co., Geo. O. Taylor,
manager; with illustration of the Hotel Ruffner
.3 letter, Charles A. Rathbone, Bryson
City, N.C., Dec. 24, 1901, to Dave [David A. Wales, Detroit]: finished
something on Thursday; great snowfall on Monday but was able to start grading;
takes 20 wheelbarrow loads to make one car load; smallpox scare;
.4 letter, Charles A. Rathbone, Bryson
City, Dec. 29, 1901, to Harry [Harry C. Bulkley, Detroit]: about charge for
flowers on his Detroit Club bill, and wonders if Harry had ordered flowers for
a funeral; rain has washed out bridges and trains won’t run for another day or
two
.5-6 two page letter, Charles A. Rathbone,
Bryson City, Jan. 5, 1902, to Harry, [Detroit]: having a hard time for last
couple of years; something about his brother not letting someone handle a
contract; has been working as hard in Bryson City as he thinks Dave would do,
but weather has caused delays; lumber not yet arrived; has had picks sharpened
and has ordered shovel handles; had to fix road after a storm; something about
an auction and selling stock; New Year’s greetings to all
.7 letter, Charles A. Rathbone, Bryson
City, Jan. 12, 1902, to Harry [Detroit]: reports on visit made by Charles and
John to works of Harris Meice, who has good deposit of kaolin and much more
money invested in his works than does Southern Kaolin in its, but Charles and
John are satisfied with their plant; [more about Meice’s works, which is the
largest in N.C.
.8 letter, Charles A. Rathbone, Bryson
City, Jan. 13, 1902, to Harry [Detroit]: about stock shares in Witchell; John
McCraken wants a pair of hunting boots for his father’s birthday; Dave needs
the money by Saturday
.9 letter, Charles A. Rathbone, Bryson
City, Jan. 22, 1902, to Harry [Detroit]: Dave is angry because money has not
yet come and wanted to telegraph about it, but Charles stopped him because
everyone in a small town would know about it and that would hurt the company’s
credit; Dave will stop work if money doesn’t come today; suggestions for how to
handle money; getting the finest clay yet
.10-.11 two page letter, Charles A.
Rathbone, Bryson City, Jan. 27, 1902, to Harry [Detroit]: need to give letters
more time to reach them as there are no Sunday trains; something about testing
the clay and disappointing results; don’t want clay to be stained by red dirt;
much rain and therefore mud; dug out and built a room for the rolling machine;
hope to soon be able to turn out fine white clay; more about stock shares
.12 short letter, Henry N. Brown, Detroit,
Jan. 27, 1902, to Harry C. Bulkley: please paste the enclosed stub in the stock
book
.13 letter, Charles A. Rathbone, Bryson City,
Feb. 2, 1902, to Harry [Detroit]: doesn’t understand Harry’s reaction to his
request; not having ready access to money is hindering the work
.14 typed letter, Harry C. Bulkley, Detroit,
Feb. 15, 1902, to Henry N. Brown, Detroit: statement of moneys received from
the sale of treasury stock of the company, and a list of disbursements;
With note from Brown
that the statement is correct
.15 letter, Charles A. Rathbone, Bryson City,
Feb. 16, 1902, to Harry, [Detroit]: about stock and a payment due in the
spring; am ill
.16a-b “Mail or Express Samples to following,” April
26, 1902: two page list of companies to which clay samples were to be sent, one
in Chester, W.Va., the others in East Liverpool, Ohio; with a note, initialed
J.M.B., identifying these as the most prominent concerns using clay;
Although the top part of
the both pages has been cut off, this list was written on stationery of The
Hollenden, Cleveland, Ohio [see .17];
This was sent with the
letter in .17 below; the list in .1 is probably related to .16-.17
.17a-c two page letter, J. M. Bulkley, Cleveland,
Ohio, April 27, 1902, to Southern Kaolin Mining Co., Bryson City, N.C.: have
called upon pottery concerns in East Liverpool and Chester and all are in the
market for kaolin; these companies are willing to test the company’s clay to
see if it suits their needs, and if so, how much they will pay;
Also: newspaper clipping
[photocopy only retained] about forming a pottery combination;
[see also .1 and .16]
On stationery of The
Hollenden, illustrated with a view of the hotel
.18-.19 two page letter, D.A. Wales, Bryson
City, N.C., July 6, 1902, to Mr. Rathbone [probably in Detroit]: advises
Rathbone and Waterman to not invest in Green’s proposal; hopes to start his own
kaolin processing plant;
[this is typed copy of
the letter that is found as .20]
.20 letter, D.A. Wales, Bryson City, N.C.,
July 6, 1902, to Mr. Rathbone [probably in Detroit]: this is the original
hand-written letter that was typed as .18-.19 above
.21 letter, Henry N. Brown, Detroit, Nov. 12,
1902, to H.C. Bulkley, The SKM Co. Ltd., Bryson City, N.C.: details about money
transactions; “glad to hear things are ok.
Kind regards to Mr. Wales.”
.22 letter, [signature unclear], Office of N.
P. Walker, Clerk, Superior Court, State of North Carolina, County of Haywood,
Waynesville, July 17, 1906, to Messrs Russell, Campbell & Buckley,
Detroit[?], Mich.: encloses a reply to his inquiry as to state of your
[illegible] in Swain Co. [Bryson City is located in Swain County, N.C.]; will
be in court next week;
[handwriting is poor]
.23 letter, Edward[?] [?] Frost[?], Caroline
Clay Company, Asheville, N.C., Sept. 29, 1906, to Harry C. Bulkley, [no place,
perhaps Detroit]: cannot pay his price for the mineral rights on his property;
Mr. Wells agrees that property worth little because of mortgage and it is
without a mill
.24 letter, Edward I. Frost, Bryson City,
N.C., Sept. 12, 1906, to H. C. Bulkley,[ no place, perhaps Detroit]: has no
need of more machinery but might be interested in leasing his property on
royalty;
On stationery of Hotel
En-Tel-La, headquarters for travelling men & lumbermen, railroad easting
house, Bryson City, N.C.