University of Arizona

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Roscoe H. Channing Collection

 

Roscoe H. Channing was born in New York City in 1868 and was the son of a prominent lawyer, also named Roscoe H. Channing and his wife, Susan. While he attended Princeton College, he was selected for the very first College All-American football team in 1889. After graduating in 1890, he immediately entered the mining field, becoming General Manager of Utah’s Consolidated Highland Boy Mine by 1897. When the Spanish-American War broke out, he resigned his position as General Manager and joined Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. In 1907 he became the President and General Manager of the Cerro de Pasco Copper Company mine in Peru. Eventually, Channing began managing much of the Whitney family mining businesses. This was followed by the establishment of the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, with his friend Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, with Channing serving as the President. He died in 1961.

This collection has material on Arizona mining operations, International mining operations and the personal papers of Roscoe H. Channing. The Arizona materials consist of information regarding the Bagdad Mines, San Manuel Mines and the Miami Copper Company, with reports written by John Parke Channing, brother of Roscoe H. Channing and mining engineer. The International mining operations includes information about the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, in addition to various other operations in Peru and the Yukon. The Hudson Bay papers include correspondence, reports and financial statements.

Papers regarding the Labor Union in Canada include confidential correspondence about individual strikers, Labor Union leaders, and conversations with government officials regarding Labor Laws. There are also some photos of strikes and articles from various newspapers.

The personal papers of Roscoe H. Channing include some photographs, Rough Riders memorabilia, information regarding his house construction, legal papers, research files and Betsy Channing’s (wife of Roscoe H. Channing) personal notebook and correspondence.