CPRR Books [Financial Records]
I am told there is some question recently surfaced regarding the "lost" books of the CPRR Contract and Finance Company.
Perhaps this will assist resolve that question. On August 1, 1887, Daniel Z. Yost testified as follows, I will trim out the testimony that is not relevant:
"I was private secretary (to Leland Stanford)...from 1870 to 1877 ... "
Q. "Did you ever see the books of the company?"
A. "Yes, sir"
Q. "When did you see them?"
A. "I saw them last in Sacramento, in 1873, in charge of Mr. Mark Hopkins ... "
Q. "Did you hear they were lost?"
A. "I heard so, yes sir."
Q. "What was the condition of the books when you last saw them in 1873?"
A. "They were being packed in large cases."
Q. "Who was packing them?"
A. "Mark Hopkins."
The rest of the testimony revolves around the moving of the CPRR from Sacramento to San Francisco.
Hoping this will help.
—Chris Graves
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 9:51 PM
7 Comments:
From: "Don Snoddy" ddsnoddy@gmail.com
I think many of the Contract and Finance books were in the Brannan Street warehouse in 1995. At least that's where I found one or two.
—Don
From: ldfarrar81@comcast.net
Yes, there were a very few Contract & Finance books left over from Uncle Marks foray into obliterating any remnant of them. He did a thorough job, let me tell you. However, those books that remained were simply books of little importance that Uncle M. either overlooked or felt they had no significance, which they did not. My research team was well aware of those few, but they were of no help to us in determining costs of construction. Kyle Wyatt asked me if any Charles Crocker & Company records remained and went to Stanford Business School library along with the Pacific Improvement Company Books. I told him I don't remember. He has looked at some of the PI Co. books at Stanford. For researchers into railroad records the UTEP librarian has let it be known the material Dave Myrick gave them many years ago is now indexed and ready for review. These records came from the Rio Grande Division in El Paso and include a variety of departments of SP, but many from the El Paso & Southwestern also. Vernon Glover can be contacted for more information on these records.
—Lynn Farrar
From: kylewyatt@aol.com
So, did that material [in the Brannan Street warehouse in 1995] go to Stanford? Or?
—Kyle
From: "Chris Graves" caliron@cwnet.com
There is further testimony in the Pacific Railroad Commission hearings that would be of interest to you all, along the lines that someone else saw Hopkins with the books just before lunch, and coming back from lunch, the books were gone. When I have a minute, I'll find that for you.
—gjg
From: Bob_Spude@nps.gov
The Serial Set has been digitized and is online, which is a great tool. [There are] hundreds of pages of testimony.
This is a Newsbank connection, which you have to have a subscription to use. If you have the page numbers, I can copy and attach for folks info/use.
—Bob
Bob Spude – Historian – Cultural Resources Management – National Park Service – Intermountain Region – 505.988.6770 Voice – 505.988.6876 Fax
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
From: "Wendell Huffman" wwhuffma@clan.lib.nv.us
Several volumes of the Pacific Railway testimony are on Google books, though last I checked the primary Central Pacific volume was not among them.
—Wendell
Also see, Contract & Finance Company Records at Stanford University.
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