SILVERMINERS AND MINEOWNERS
IN NEVADA
Adam S.
Eterovich
The silver
discoveries in Nevada Territory during the late 1850’s had a far reaching
effect upon the Croatian community in California. Fortunes were made, farms were purchased,
orchards were created and considerable San Francisco real estate was purchased
from the earnings throughout Nevada.
Some returned to Croatia and lived out their lives in lovely Dalmatia on
the Adriatic. At least one town is named
Nevada in Hercegovina.
The
Comstock Lode (Virginia City) produced silver, all mines: (1)
1875 26
million dollars
1876 32
million dollars
1877 37
million dollars.
All sales
of mining securities on the San Francisco Stock Exchange totaled 120 million
dollars in 1877.
An Editor
and writer of the Comstock in the 1970’s compiled statistics of various sorts
on the miners, a small group of Croatians (Austrians and Slavonians) were
noted: (2)
Silverminers Working on the
Comstock
No.
M Sing. Avg. Age
Max. Min. Avg. Height Max.
Avg. Weight
Aust.
11 3 8
34 54 29 5’11” 6
6-1/2 170
Slav. 1
- 1 38 38 38 5’ 10”
5’ 10” 149
Of all
miners on the Comstock the Croatians were the tallest. The one at 6 6-1/2 was the tallest of all.
The
Comstock miners in general, represented splendid types of honest manhood, and
they surmounted great difficulties in their often-perilous work. The newspapers were obliged to report an
appalling continued capter of accidents. (3)
The
Miners’ Union was organized at Virginia City June 6, 1863. R. D. Ferguson was made President; W. C.
Bateman, Vice-President; and B. J. Shay, Secretary.
The Gold
Hill branch was organized August 6, 1864, Wm. Woodburn, afterwards member of
Congress, being made President.
These
organizations soon included in their membership the larger part of the miners,
and undoubtedly exerted considerable influence in keeping up the rates of labor
to four dollars per day, a price which did not vary much for years. They were generally on good terms with their
employers, and in some instances the organizations were approved by them as
giving the mining population a head with which to communicate. Some members of these societies organized the
miners leagues in Grass Valley and Sutter Creek, in California. At the latter place the league came into
collisions with the authorities, causing what was called the Amador war,
resulting in the stopping of mining for some months.
The First
demonstration was made on the evening of July 31, 1864, at Gold Hill. The dissatisfied miners of Gold Hill were
joined by the league from Virginia City.
They paraded again the next day, and the prospect of difficulty was so
strong that the mining superintendents thought proper to yield to the demand
for four dollars per day.
February
11, 1877, quite an excitement occurred at the Imperial Mine. The members of the league to the number of
thousands gathered and informed the superintendent that he must discharge all
(to the number of fifty-eight) who were working for less than the established
prices. No violence was sued, but the
action was denominated by the papers as a “forcible persuasion.” (4)
Bajazet and Golden Era Mine
The
Bajazet and Golden Era Mine is a good example of the excitement and speculation
that went on in early 1860’s. I have
just listed the Croatian (Slavonian) share holders. (5)
Bajazet
and Golden Era Consolidated Gold and Silver Mining Company, Office No. 45 C
Street, Virginia City, N.T. September 7, 1864.
“Notice... There will be sold at public auction, at 2 o’clock p.m. on
Saturday, the 8th day of October 1864, in front of the company’s office,
Virginia, so many shares or parts of shares of the following capital stock,
represented by the following persons, as will pay the amounts due for
assessments, heretofore levied, and of which public notice has been given,
together with cost of advertising and expenses of sale, unless the same have
been paid previous time of sale.”
Bajazet Share
Holders
Shares Value
Angius, C. 3 $ 900
Antonovich 10 3,000
Bateovich, Floria 1 300
Bego, Antonio 8 2,400
Bennet, M. 3 900
Chaitovich, J. 10 3,000
Dabovich, Nikola 10
3,000
Davis(Devcich), John 23
6,900
Franicevich, E. 5
1,500
Gasivoda, Giovanni 3-1/2 1,650
Glavina, Luka 1 300
Gregovich, Elia 9
2,700
Grosetta, M. 5 1,500
Gugnina 20 6,000
Gugnina, Nikola 10
3,000
Ivancovich, John & Co 20
6,000
Jovanovich, R. 10 3,000
Lovely-Ljubich, Mark 15
4,500
Maina, Marco 2 300
Marinovich, A. 2 600
Mavrich, Paul 18 5,400
Medin, Marco 8 2,400
Milco, Nikola 10 3,000
Millinovich, M. 10 3,000
Radovich, Peter 14
4,200
Spazek, John 1 300
Trobock, Nikola 20
6,000
Tuzak, Antone 2 600
Uzovich, John 15 4,500
Vlautin, Paola 28 8,400
Vucanovich, M. 178 51,000
Vucanovich, S. 5
1,500
Vugha, Georgio 2 600
Zonich, Antone 1 300
Zvietsch, F. 2 600
Columbus Mining District
Columbus,
Esmeralda County was the first evidence of concentrated efforts by Slavonians
to “get in on the ground floor” with mining claims and strikes. (6)
Columbus
was the first persistent mining district to organize after the Aurora
excitement. This was organized in August
1864, by Mexican miners, who were soon replaced by Americans, Germans, and
Slavonians (Croatians), both in ownership of the claims and control of the
affairs of the district. Mineral
district was merged with that of Columbus because of their nearness and the
more desolate character of its location.
May 22, 1865, the Candelaria claim was located, and later this name was
taken by the mining camp nearby. In 1870
the miners shook off their sluggishness and began to give promise of
activity. In that year three mills were
erected, two to ten stamps each and one brought over from Aurora with four
stamps. By 1873 the North Berle, which
had been originally located in 1865 and relocated five years later, had found
so much ore that it started a 20-stamp mill that was completed two years later,
only to build another of equal since the next year. Waster was conducted to this mill my a
fifteen mile pipe-line and ditch at an outlay o $25,000. This one company produced in excess of one
and one-fourth million dollars in 1877.
The Candelaria mines are credited with a production of fifty-five
million, work still going on. The town
never claimed over 1,000 citizens, and most of these were male, as the
conditions were not inviting for residence.
The true
Fissure newspaper fortunately lists the first names in the district. The Slavonians were: (7)
Elia Gregovich
Nikola Gregovich
Peter Radovich
Nikola Trianovich
S. Severe
John Chiatovich
Luka Zenovich
Nikola Violich
C. Novacovich
John Novacovich
S. Severs.
Almost all
of these men later had substantial business of land holdings in Nevada.
Croatian Gold and Silver
Mining Companies
The Marco Medin Gold and Silver Mining Company
was filled in Washoe County on June 29, 1863.
Nikola
Mersich owner of the Billiard Saloon in Virginia in 1862 filed his
Mersich Gold and Silver
Mining Company in 1863 at Storey County
with $240,000 capital. (8)
John
Herzo, pioneer of San Francisco, filed the Herzo
Consolidated Gold and Silvemining Company of Excelsior District at Aurora
in 1863. (9)
Nikola
Simunovich had money in the El Tesoro
Silvermining Company in La Pas, Lower California (Mexico) and Augustus D.
Splivalo had shares in the Guadaloupe
dei Aqujito Mining Company, District of San Javier, Sonora, Mexico in 1864.
(10)
The Reese
River Reveille newspaper at Austin in 1863 reports: (11)
Rothchilds
Ledge, Dabovich Company is the name
given to a new discovery made by M. Dabovich on the old grade above
Clifton. It is five feet wide, filling
the whole incline, and rock very good.
Two men will be employed on it constantly to develop its full merits.
Adriatic Gold & Silver Mining Company
Articles
of incorporation were usually filed in the State of California prior to Nevada
becoming a state. The Adriatic Mine
filed as follows:
Articles
of Incorporation
October,
13, 1862
This is to
Certify that the undersigned have united and formed themselves into a company,
under the laws of California, concerning corporations for mining purposes,
under the name of the
“Adriatic
Gold & Silver Mining Company”
The object
of the Company shall be extracting from the mines of the Company, and working the same, ores of gold
and silver. The location of the mine is on the Josephine Ledge, in the Flowery Mining District, Storey County, Nevada
Territory. The term existence of the Company was to be fifty years. The Capital
stock of the Company shall be two hundred and seventy thousand dollars
($270,000.) divided into twenty seven hundred shares of one hundred (100)
dollars each. The number of trustees to be five. The principal place of
business to be in the City of San Francisco, State of California. The trustees
for the first three months shall be John Middleton--John Kelly--Jos. H.
Lyon--J. G. Gilchrist and Smyth Clark--Given under our hands and seals, this
13th day of October A. D. 1862.
Territory
of Nevada
County of
Storey
13th day
of October A.D. 1862
Geo.
C. Brickett
Commissioner
for California
Adriatic Mine in Humbolt
County (12)
Humbolt
City may be said to be the best illustration of the celebrated “places that
were” that is known. There are stone and
adobe houses, stores and hotels, but not a foot-fall gives evidence of life. In 1863, when in its most flourishing state,
it had a population of some 500 inhabitants.
The first settler was Louis Barbeau, who has the reputation of being the
first to discover the existence of valuable minerals in Humbolt County. Soon after him came A. Pryor, John Coulter,
F. J. Daniels, Colerick Brothers,
Geo. W. Meacham, Thos. McKinzie, Charles Lewis, Toney Martin, and John
Sylvester. The mines at the time of
settlement were considered very promising, and prospective millionaires were as
plentiful as mosquitoes. Among the mines
which promised much were the Starlight, Calaveras, Sigel, Adriatic, Winnemucca, Washington, and Saint Bernard. Some of these veins were cut by tunnels
several hundred feet in length. A vast
expense was incurred. During the panic
of 1865 all work was suspended, thought the claims were not quite abandoned,
sufficient work being done to hold possession.
In 1871 work was partly resumed on the Starlight and Madia, which,
however, are not worked at present. The
town seems to be utterly prostrated. The
nearest place is the Humbolt House, two miles away. The place seems capable of being useful, and
in the hurly-burly of mining may again wake to life. A correspondent of the Humbolt Register, May 2,
1863, thus describes the town.
Delano Mining District
Delano
Mining District is situated north from the town of Tecuma, district about 30
miles. The prevailing geological
formations are limestone and dorphyry.
Very little work was been done in the district, thought quite a number
of locations were made. Wood and water
for all purposes are found in the vicinity.
There were hopes at one time that the mines would be developed by Slavonia Mining Company which
incorporated in San Francisco for that purpose, but these hopes were never
realized. It is quite a place at the
present time (1880).
Slavonian Gold and Silver
Mining Company
Articles
of Incorporation--September 13, 1876. Known all men by the presents, that we,
the undersigned, have this day voluntarily associated ourselves together for
the purpose of forming a corporation, under the laws of the State of
California. And we hereby certify, first: That the name of said corporation is
THE SLAVONIAN GOLD and SILVER MINING
COMPANY. Second: That the purposes for
which it is formed are to locate, buy and sell mines, mill-sites and timber
lands, to extract and work gold and silver ores, and to transact a General Mill
and mining business in the County of Esmeralda State of Nevada.
That the
place where its principal business is to be transacted shall be the City and
County of San Francisco, State of California. That the term for which it is to
exist is fifty years, from and after the date of its incorporation. That the
number of its Directors or Trustees shall be five and that the names for the
first year are E. B. Hendill, E. R. Ferris, Geo. A. Danis, F. H. Adams and H.
E. Ahsbey. That the amount of the capital stock of this corporation shall be
Ten Million (10,000,000) dollars, divided into one hundred thousand (100,000)
shares of the par value of one hundred (100) dollars each. In witness whereof,
we have hereunto set our hand and seals, this 13th day of September A. D. 1876.
Signed and
Sealed in the presence of
Samuel
S. Murfey
Slavonian Chief Silver
Mining Company
An Editor
remarks in 1874: (14)
A sample
of pulp from the Slavonian Chief assayed
20,786.01 to the ton. That’s figuring
down to a fine, but highly lucrative, point.
The same paper less that a year later reported a find by John Gregovich
and Tom Meretovich in which the poorest ore in a vein twelve to 16” in width,
carried values of 3000 to the ton.
The Editor
of the Reese River Reveille on July 29, 1863 remarks:
The Sclavonian, a little west, also has a
large amount of work done on it, but not enough to prove its real value.
The
Federal Census of Virginia City in 1870 reports that John Mandich, age 47, was
worth $15,000 and listed as a speculator.
Nick
Millich of Eureka thought things were slowing down a bit in town and visited
the Black Hills of Dakota: (15)
Eureka
Items: Nick Millich, and old Eurekan,
returned from a summer sojourn in the Black Hills. He says Eureka is black enough for him, and
he will ‘Hie to the hills’ no more.
Silver Mines
Adriatic
Gold and Silver Mining Company
1864. Flowery District, Nevada
Mining
Directory by C. Potter, San Francisco
Adriatic
Gold and Silver Mining Company
1862. Storey County, Nevada
Nikola
Gugnina share holder
Adriatic Mine
1875. Tybo, Nye County, Nevada
Nevada
State Mineralogists Report of 1875-76, p. 214
Adriatic
Mining Company
1878.
Storey County, Nevada
Adriatic
Silver Mining Company
1873.
Nevada
Austria
Gold & Silver Mining Company
1864.
Mining
Directory by C. Potter, San Francisco
Bajazet
& Golden Era Mining Company
1864. September 20, 1864, Virginia Daily Union
Many
Slavonian investors
Belvidere
Mine
1881. march 25, 1881, Grantsville, Nye County
Claim
filed by John Centras
Caterin
Ledge Mine
1880. July 7, 1880, Grantsville, Nye County
Claim
filed by John Centras
Centras
and Smith Mine
1878. June 29, 1878, Downieville, Nevada
Claim
Filed by John Centras
Crysopolis
Gold & Silver Mining Comapny
1864. Nevada
Shares
owned by E. Chevesich
Columbus
Mining District
1863. November 27, 1880, True Fissure news
Slavonians
are pioneer locators
Crocket Silver Mine
1877. November 3, 1877, Aurora, Esmeralda Herald
News
Owned by
C. Novacovich
Rothchild
Ledge, Dabovich Company
1863. September 12, 1863, Reese River Reveille,
Austin
New
Discovery
Excelsior
Depe Gravel Mining Company
1875. Trustee E. Chielovich
Pacific
Coast Mining Review, p. 195
Galatea
Mining Company
1878. February 16, 1878, Grantsville, Nye County
Claim
filed by John Descovich
Herzo
Consolidated Gold & Silver Mining Company
1863. July
6, 1863, Aurora, S. F. Evening Bulletin
John Herzo
owner
Inyo Gold
& Silver Mining Company
1863. July 11, 186, S.F. Evening Bulletin
John
Centras owner
Jerusalem
Silvermining Company
1867. June
13, 1867, Reese River Reveille, Austin
John
Centras owner
Lucky
Baldwin Mine
1880. June
21, 1880, Grantsville, Nye County
Claim
filed by Mike Plamenaz
Medin Gold
& Silver Mining Company
1863. June
21, 1880, Grantsville, Nye County
Claim
filed by Mike Plamenaz
Medin Gold
& Silver Mining Company
1863. Storey County, See 1863 Virginia City
Directory
Nikola
Mersich owner
Nova
Zembla Gold & Silver Mining Company
1881. April 2, 1881, True Fissure, Candalaria
Overman
Silver Mining Company
1865. December 12, 1865, S.F. Evening Bulletin,
Gold Hill
Shares
owned by J. Ivancovich, Luca Zenovich, and A. D. Splivalo
Pasha Gold
& Silver Mining Company
1863. September 5, 1863, Reese River Reveille,
Austin
Sclavonia
Ledge
1863. October 17, 1863, Reese River Reveille,
Austin
John
Centras, Supt.
Sclavonian
Gold & Silver Mining Company
1863. November 23, 1863, Reese River District
Seneca
Mining Company
1864. September 23, 1864, Daily Alta, Virginia
District
M.
Grosetta, N. Dabovich, F. Miovilovich own shares
Slavonia
Mining Company
1875. Elko
County, Nevada
Seymour
Mining District
1864. September 23, 1864, Daily Alta, Virginia
District
M.
Grosetta, N. Dabovich, F. Miovilovich own shares
Silver
Crown Mine
1878.
February 16, 1878, Nye County
John
Descovich owner
Slavonian
Chief Silver Mining Company
1874. August 1, 1874, Belmont Courior
Owned by
John Gregovich and Tom Meretovich
Slavonian
Gold & Silver Mining Company
1876. Esmeralda County
Vanderbilt
Mill & Mining Company
1881. March 19, 1881, True Fissure, Esmeralda
County
L.
Radovich, Trustee
Waukasin
Gold & Silver Mining Company
1863. July 11, 1863, S. F. Evening Bulletin
John
Centras owner
1.
Wells Drury, An Editor on the Comstock Lode (Farrar and Rinehart,
New York, 1936),
p. 232.
2.
Eliot Lord, Comstock Mining and Mines (Howell and North, Reprint of 1883 edition, 1959), p. 384.
3.
Drury, op. city., p. 69
4.
Thompson and West, History of Nevada (Oakland, 1881), p. 261.
5.
Virginia Daily Union, September 20, 1864.
6. Sam
P. Davis, History of Nevada (1913).
7. True
Fissure, November 27, 1880.
8. J. Well Kelly Second Directory of Nevada
Territory (Valentine and Company,
San Francisco, 1863).
9. San
Francisco Evening Bulletin, July 6, 1863
10. Daily Alta, August 16, 1864; August 24, 1864.
11. Reese River Reveille, September 12, 1863, p.
3, Col. 2.
12. Thompson and West, History of Nevada
(Oakland, 1881), p. 454.
13. Ibid., p. 393.
14. Belmont Courier, August 1, 1874.
15. Tybo Sun, November 3, 1877.