Finding aid for the Samuel J. Ritchie Papers
Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Ritchie, Samuel J.
Title: Samuel J. Ritchie Papers
Dates: 1870-1920
Extent: 21.60 linear feet (40 containers and 11 oversize volumes)
Abstract: Samuel J. Ritchie (1838-1908) was a railroad and mining promoter, and resident of Summit County, Ohio. The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, notes, legal proceedings, and other papers dealing primarily with the construction and operation of the Central Ontario Railroad Co. and the incorporation and affairs of the Canadian Copper Company and the Anglo-American Iron Company, three companies which Ritchie served as president. Includes papers relating to Ritchie's discovery of copper and nickel mines in Sudbury, Ontario and to his large coal properties in West Virginia., and family correspondence, private account books, and newspaper clippings.
MS Number MS 3145
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

Biography of Samuel J. Ritchie

Samuel J. Ritchie (1838-1908) was born in Boston Township, Summit County, Ohio. He attend Western Reserve College of Hudson, Ohio, in 1856, and entered the lumber business in 1860. He married Sophronia J. Hale in 1865. In 1871 he became a partner in Sperry & Ritchie, makers of sewer pipe and then owners of West Virginia coal and timber lands. In 1882, the Central Ontario Railroad was incorporated, and Ritchie was appointed president. This was followed in 1886 with the founding of the Canadian Copper Company and the Anglo-American iron Company. Ritchie served as president of both companies. In 1889, Ritchie convinced United States Navy Secretary Tracy of the advantages of nickel alloy steel. Ritchie co-founded the International Nickel Company in 1902. Ritchie died in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1908.

Scope and Content

The Samuel J. Ritchie Papers, 1870-1920 and undated, consist of correspondence, memoranda, notes, legal proceedings, and other papers dealing primarily with the construction and operation of the Central Ontario Railroad Co. and the incorporation and affairs of the Canadian Copper Co. and the Anglo-American Iron Co., three companies which Ritchie served as president. Includes papers relating to Ritchie's discovery of copper and nickel mines in Sudbury, Ontario and to his large coal properties in W.Va., and family correspondence, private account books, and newspaper clippings.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of Samuel J. Ritchie and his activities in the lumber, railroad, and iron industries. This collection documents Ritchie's activities as president of the Central Ontario Railroad, Canadian Copper Company, and the Anglo-American Iron Company of Cleveland during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. All three of those companies merged in 1902 to become the International Nickel Company. The bulk of this collection consists of Ritchie's business correspondence from 1870-1910. It also includes papers related to Ritchie's1889 trip to England and to continental Europe where he promoted the use of nickel. The collection also documents Ritchie's activity in developing the mining and use of nickel from copper mines in Sudbury, Ontario, notably for armor plate for the United States Navy. There also papers related to the construction of Ritchie's home in Akron, Ohio, from 1904-1905, and limited personal papers. Notable correspondents include Stevenson Burke, Benjamin Butterworth, Elbert H. Gary, Thomas W. Cornell, Myron T. Herrick, Sir John Alexander McDonald, Henry P. McIntosh, William McKinley, James McLaren, George W. McMullen, Ambrose Monell, Sir Oliver Mowatt, Henry B. Payne, Charles M. Schwab, Benjamin F. Tracy, and Sir Charles Tupper.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged by document type and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

Oversize Volumes 1 through 11 have been microfilmed.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Coal mines and mining -- West Virginia.
Copper mines and mining -- Ontario.
Iron mines and mining -- Canada.
Iron mines and mining -- United States.
Nickel mines and mining -- Ontario.
Railroads -- Ontario.
Ritchie family.
Ritchie, Samuel J., 1838-1908.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3145 Samuel J. Ritchie Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Clara Belle Ritchie (daughter of Samuel J. Ritchie) in 1956.

Processing Information

Processed by John J. Horton in 1960.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Samuel J. Ritchie Papers 1870-1920 undated

Box
1 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1870-1884
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2 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1885-1887
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3 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1888-1890
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4 Papers related to Samuel J. Ritchie's trip to Europe 1889
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5 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1891-1893
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6 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1894-1896
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7 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1897-1898
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8 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1897-1898
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9 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1899
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10 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1900-1901
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11 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1900-1901
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12 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1902-1903
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13 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1902-1903
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14 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1904
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15 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1905
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16 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1906
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17 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him 1907
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18 Letters received by Samuel J. Ritchie; besides letters, this container might contain memoranda, notes, and drafts of letters not sent; some of the letters were written by Ritchie, not received by him; also includes a number of letter received by Ritchie's son and daughter after his death 1908-1909
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19 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie 1885-1895
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20 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie 1896-1899
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21 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie 1900-1901
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22 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie 1902-1903
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23 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie 1904
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24 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie 1905-1906
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25 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie; includes the "Butterworth Papers," 1893-1897, left in original order 1907-1910
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26 Copies of letters and memoranda authored by Samuel J. Ritchie; also includes original letters received by Ritchie undated
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27 Telegrams received by Samuel J. Ritchie 1875-1891
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28 Telegrams received by Samuel J. Ritchie 1892-1908
Box Folder
29 1 Special subject file, biographical material, including sketch of Ritchie's life to about 1893, autobiographical and biographical notes, sketches, and newspaper clippings dates vary
29 2-4 Special subject file, Canadian Copper Company and International Nickel Company, including letters and memoranda related to Ritchie's relations with the companies dates vary
29 5 Special subject file, International Nickel Company, brochures and other printed pieces dates vary
29 6 Special subject file, legal papers, chiefly personal documents, notes, deeds, receipts, and letters dates vary
29 1-2 Special subject file, two copies of the Cleveland, Ohio, proceedings of McClaren vs. Anglo-American Iron Company 1898
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30-32 Material relating to Clara B. Ritchie et al vs. D. G. Sayers et al., District Court of the United States for the Southern District of West Virginia; suit brought by Ritchie's heirs concerning coal lands bought by him in West Virginia; includes material relating to earlier suits beginning in 1877 1877-1920
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33 Photographs, Central Ontario Railroad, views along the line from Trenton to Bancroft, Ontario (material removed to the WRHS Photograph and Print Collection) dates vary
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34 Account books and note books dates vary
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35-36 Receipts 1880-1900
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37-38 Receipts 1900-1908
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39-40 Papers related to the building of the Ritchie House, Akron, Ohio; includes quotations, contracts, and invoices for construction, installation, and supplies (Container 40 includes one bound volume of Samuel J. Ritchie vs. James B. McMullen involving Ritchie and the affairs of the Canadian Copper Company, Central Ontario Railway, and Anglo-American Iron Company, 1894) 1904-1905
Volume
1 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1882-1884
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2 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1886-1890
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3 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1890-1893
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4 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1893-1894
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5 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1894-1896
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6 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1896-1897
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7 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1897-1898
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8 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1898-1900
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9 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1901-1902
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10 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1902-1903
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11 Press-copy letters written by Samuel J. Ritchie 1906-1908