Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
MSNC00005 |
Filing Title |
Stewart (William M.) papers |
Collection |
William M. Stewart papers |
Dates of Creation |
1866-1909 |
Extent |
20 boxes, 7 volumes |
Creator |
Stewart, William M. (William Morris) |
Other Creators |
Kappler, Charles Joseph |
Scope & Content |
William M. Stewart is known as the "Silver Senator," but is also recognized as the "Father of National Mining Laws" and the principal author of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Regarded as a dynamic lawyer and legislator, Stewart rose to some international fame during his lengthy legal and political career. Born in New York, he received his early education there and in Ohio before attending Yale College for two years. He moved to California in 1850 where he was admitted to practice and was elected Nevada County (California) District Attorney in 1852 before becoming California Attorney General two years later. Stewart moved to Nevada in 1860 and quickly gained a reputation for his handling of mining litigation on the Comstock Lode. Serving in the 1861 Territorial Council and the 1863 Constitutional Convention, he was elected to the U.S. Senate after Nevada's admission to the union in 1864. His first congressional career ended in 1875, at which time Stewart returned to the Pacific Coast to again practice law and pursue his mining interests. Stewart was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 1887 where he remained until his voluntary retirement in 1905. He returned to Nevada and another law practice before his death in 1909. William Stewart was associated with the formation of the National Silver Party in the 1890s in furtherance of his lengthy crusade for the free coinage of silver. He also supported or instigated legislation dealing with mining and lumber on public lands, arid reclamation, and railroad interests. As a close friend of Leland Stanford, Stewart served as Trustee of Stanford University for fifteen years. Among his most noteworthy legal cases, Stewart represented the Roman Catholic Church at the Hague Tribunal in 1902, successfully recovering the Pious Fund of California. The collection contains a small amount of correspondence for the period 1866 to 1886. The bulk covers 1886 to 1909 and relates chiefly to the Silver issue, Stewart's private mining concerns, political appointments, general Senate business, publication of his newspaper (the "Silver Knight-Watchman"), his law practice, and family matters. Included is correspondence of Stewart's secretary, Charles J. Kappler (1868-1946?), who also held a law practice at Washington, D.C.; records of the Wheless Electric Railway Company (1890-1895); as well as seven volumes of newspapers, four of which are 1895-1899 issues of the "Silver Knight-Watchman." Principal correspondents include George Stuart Nixon, Joseph C. Sibley, Henry M. Yerington, Henry Winninghoff, William F. Herrin, P. B. Ellis, C. C. Wallace, Richard Rising, Henry S. Foote, D. L. Bliss, H. B. Maxson, William Jennings Bryan, Charles M. Sain, Charles Walcott, John P. Jones, Collis P. Huntington, Francis G. Newlands, Marion Butler, Samuel P. Davis, George A. Bartlett, William S. Bonnifield, W. W. Booth, Hugh H. Brown, Alfred J. Chartz, James D. Finch, James C. Hagerman, and Alexander Muir. Subjects: Stewart, William M. (William Morris), 1827-1909 -- Family. Stewart family. United States. Congress. Senate. Legislators -- United States -- Correspondence. Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada. Silver question -- Nevada. Senators, U.S. Congress -- Nevada. Nevada -- Politics and government. United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1933. Press releases -- Nevada -- Reno. Financial records -- Nevada -- Reno. Speeches -- Nevada -- Reno. Photographs -- Nevada -- Reno. Telegrams -- Nevada -- Reno. Legislators -- Nevada. Other titles: Silver knight-watchman. |
Admin/Biographical History |
U.S. senator from Nevada. |
Finding Aids |
William M. Stewart papers finding aid |
Language of Material |
English |