Title: Samuel and James Hoskins Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1835-1930

Creators:

• Hoskins, Samuel, 1812-1889
• Hoskins, James J.

Call Number: Platteville Mss AK

Quantity: 1.6 c.f. (4 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the Southwest Wisconsin Room and Area Research Center, Ullsvik Hall, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Platteville Southwest Wisconsin Room / Platteville Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Business records and family papers, dealing primarily with the financial ventures of Samuel and James J. Hoskins of Dodgeville, Wisconsin. The business records concern investments in commerce, lead mining and land in the Dodgeville area as well as land investments in Wood County, Wisconsin. The family papers include family genealogy and history, correspondence and legal papers of Samuel and James J. Hoskins, documents relating to the legal clients of James J., and Dodgeville Rangers muster rolls and ordnance lists, 1874-1877.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-pltv00ak

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Born in Cornwall, England, in 1812, Samuel Hoskins emigrated to Wisconsin in 1837. Hoskins was trained in mining and worked in the lead mines of southeastern Wisconsin until 1842, at which time he entered into commercial ventures with his brother, John Hoskins, and Edward and Benjamin Thomas. Hoskins, Thomas and Co. began as an early Dodgeville, Wis. general store, providing goods bought in New York, Chicago and St. Louis. The firm soon added land investments and lead smelting to their ventures. In 1869, Hoskins and his partners formed Bennett, Hoskins and Co., a major dealer and shipper of Wisconsin lead until late in the 19th century.

John Hoskins was killed in a mining accident in 1851. His wife, Elizabeth and their son, James J., born in 1849, remained as partners in the business following John's death.

After Samuel Hoskins death in 1889, the various family investments, including sizeable land purchases in northern Wood County, were maintained by his nephew, James J. Hoskins.

In 1866 James attended business college in Chicago and from 1869 to 1871 he studied at Lawrence College in Appleton. He received his B.L. degree from Union University in Albany, New York, and passed his state bar exams in New York and Wisconsin in 1875. James practiced law in Dodgeville from 1875 until his death in 1929. He was a Republican and held a number of city and county offices before the turn of the century. He married Cory A. Schell on September 11, 1889. They had one child, Eunice, born in 1890. Following the death of James J. Hoskins in 1934, most of the Hoskins family investments were liquidated.

The papers are divided into family papers and several series that reflect the major investments of the family. The bulk of the papers concern extensive land investments in Dodgeville and in Wood County. The collection also includes account ledgers of the Hoskins store, a set of records for a hotel in the Town of Mazomanie, and a small amount of material on early railroad investments. Most of the personal correspondence of Samuel and James J. Hoskins involves business matters, although some family correspondence is extant. A portion of the business records of James J. Hoskins concern his legal career.

The most significant part of the collection is the records of the lead mining and smelting ventures. These records include those of C. Cholvin and Co. and Bennett, George and Co., predecessors of Bennett, Hoskins and Co. These contain some of the earliest mining records for the Wisconsin lead industry, and include purchase orders, ledger sheets, and correspondence.

Users of the collection should be aware that additional records of Bennett, Hoskins and Co., and its predecessor firms, obtained in 1951, are included in the Joseph Bennett Papers (Platteville Mss Q) held by the Archives.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mrs. Helene Stratman-Thomas Blotz, Madison, Wisconsin, 1962 and 1980. Accession Number: M62-154, M80-622

Processing Information

Processed by Terry Shoptaugh and Joanne Hohler, 1982 and 1984.

	Series: Family Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Genealogy and family history
	Samuel Hoskins
Box   1 Folder   2-4	Correspondence, 1844-1891, undated
Box   1 Folder   5	Personal business papers, 1856-1889
Box   1 Folder   6	Legal papers, 1839-1896, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Iowa County Agricultural Society, 1869-1880
Box   1 Folder   8	Iowa County Fund Commission, 1870-1877, undated
	James J. Hoskins
Box   1 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1857-1936
Box   1 Folder   10	Personal business and legal papers, 1866-1917
Box   1 Folder   11	Frank Schell legal papers, 1855-1906, undated
	Miscellany
Box   1 Folder   12	Dodgeville Rangers (State Militia) muster rolls and ordnance lists, 1874-1877
Box   1 Folder   13	Mementos
	Series: Accounts	⇧
	Purchase accounts
	Hoskins, Thomas and Company
Box   2 Folder   1	Samuel Hoskins, 1847-1861
Box   2 Folder   2-3	Hoskins and Thomas families and others, 1845-1879, undated
	Other Thomas companies
Box   2 Folder   4	Samuel Hoskins, 1860-1881
Box   2 Folder   5-6	Hoskins and Thomas families and others, 1859-1892
Box   2 Folder   7	Miscellaneous, 1862-1910, undated
	Interest accounts
Box   2 Folder   8	Hoskins, Thomas and Company partners, 1847-1888, undated
	Series: Lead Industry	⇧
Box   2 Folder   9-10	C. Cholvin and Company, 1854-1880, undated
Box   3 Folder   1	Bennett, George and Company, 1857-1879, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Bennett, Hoskins and Company, 1869-1906
Box   3 Folder   3	Miscellaneous mine records, 1843-1886, undated
	Series: Land Investment	⇧
	Wood County pine lands
Box   3 Folder   4-5	Correspondence, 1858-1884
Box   3 Folder   6	Accounts, 1873-1888, undated
Box   3 Folder   7	Deeds and Agreements, 1858-1880
Box   3 Folder   8	Henry R. Hare land, 1868-1884
Box   3 Folder   9	Mazomanie Hotel property, 1857-1865
	Other land
Box   10 Folder   7	Warranty deeds, 1852-1907
Box   3 Folder   11-12	Personal deeds and bonds, 1838-1891, undated
Box   4 Folder   1	Federal and State land grants, 1839-1927
Box   4 Folder   2	Quit Claims, sheriffs' deeds, tax sales, 1846-1906
Box   4 Folder   3	Leases and mortgages, 1846-1906
Box   4 Folder   4	Surveys, undated
Box   4 Folder   5	Series: Stock Certificates	⇧