Daniel Willis James (April 15, 1832 – September 13, 1907) was the son of an American merchant who with his cousin, William Earl Dodge Jr., transformed
Phelps, Dodge & Co. from a predominantly mercantile business into one of the largest copper producers in the world.
Biography
James was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England, the son of American merchant,
Daniel James, who was domiciled in England. His mother, Elizabeth Woodbridge (Phelps), died in 1847 and two years later his father remarried. In that same year James moved to New York to further his education and work in the family business of Phelps, Dodge. The company was run by
Anson Greene Phelps and three of his sons-in-law: In New York
William Earl Dodge Sr. and
James Stokes
James Stokes VC (6 February 1915 – 1 March 1945) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Details ...
, and in the UK
Daniel James. The primary trade was importing metals to America and exporting cotton to the UK. They had subsidiary interests in lumber, property, railroad and manufacturing. By the time Phelps died in 1853 James had a 5% share in the business. As the years progressed, this increased until he and his cousin,
William E. Dodge Jr.
William Earl Dodge Jr. (February 15, 1832 – August 9, 1903) was an American businessman, activist, and philanthropist. For many years, he was one of two controlling partners in the Phelps Dodge Corporation, one of the largest copper mining corpo ...
, were the sole partners.
In 1880 the president of the Detroit Copper Mining Company at Morenci, William Church, asked Phelps, Dodge for financial assistance. The partners appointed
Dr James Douglas to inspect the mines and give his opinion on the viability. He reported back that Morenci had potential and was even more enthusiastic about the Bisbee area. The partners asked Douglas to work for them and gave him the choice of a flat fee or a 10% interest in the mining operation; Douglas took the latter. Despite early setbacks the mines eventually became highly productive and highly profitable.
Transportation to and from the mines was a problem so the partners built their own railroad called the
El Paso and Southwestern Railroad
The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad began in 1888 as the Arizona and South Eastern Railroad, a short line serving copper mines in southern Arizona. Over the next few decades, it grew into a 1200-mile system that stretched from Tucumcari, New M ...
. They next purchased the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad to secure delivery from their coal mines in Dawson, New Mexico to their smelting plants. Eventually they had more than 1000 miles of track.
By 1906, Phelps, Dodge & Co. had wound up their old mercantile business to concentrate on the production of copper and copper wire.
James served on the board of other large U.S. corporations, including the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
, the Arizona, El Paso and Southwestern Mining Company, and the
Ansonia Clock Company
Ansonia Clocks were made by a clock manufacturing business which started in Ansonia, Connecticut, in 1851 and which moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1878.
History
In 1838, brass movements had mainly replaced wooden and cast iron movements in mo ...
.
[New Jersey Historical Society. ''Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society.'' Trenton, N.J.: New Jersey Historical Society, 1909.] He also served as vice president and director of the
Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company in
Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,923, down from 5,575 i ...
.
According to one historian, James was "a genuinely good man of impeccable character, a secret philanthropist, whom
Charles Parkhurst said loved everything in the universe 'from God down to the newsboy.'" He donated the
Union Square Drinking Fountain
Union Square Drinking Fountain, also known as James Fountain, is an outdoor bronze sculpture and ornamental fountain by sculptor Adolf von Donndorf and architect J. Leonard Corning, located on the west side of Union Square Park in Manhattan, New ...
in New York. In 1885, his family built a summer home in
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937.
Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming one ...
, and James there built a park and a free library, believing the latter would be "a means of public enjoyment and benefit."
James married Ellen S. Curtiss, with whom he had a son,
Arthur Curtiss James
Arthur Curtiss James (June 1, 1867 – June 4, 1941) was a wealthy speculator in copper mines and railroads.
Early life
He was the son of Daniel Willis James and Ellen S. Curtiss. His grandfather was Daniel James, one of the founders of Phel ...
. James died at the
Mount Washington Hotel
The Mount Washington Hotel is a hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, near Mount Washington. It was designed by Charles Alling Gifford. In 1944, it hosted the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary ...
,
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Bretton Woods is an area within the town of Carroll, New Hampshire, Carroll, New Hampshire, United States, whose principal points of interest are three leisure and recreation facilities. Being virtually surrounded by the White Mountain National Fo ...
, in September 1907, one of the hundred wealthiest Americans, having left a large fortune estimated at $26 million (
U.S. dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
s). Included were bequests to charities and religious institutions of $1,195,000. The library James built in Madison, New Jersey, is the home of the
Museum of Early Trades and Crafts
The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts is a non-profit educational institution in Madison, New Jersey, Madison, Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The museum's mission is:
:''To inspire a connection with New Jersey' ...
.
Williston, North Dakota
Williston is a city in and the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, United States. The 2020 census gave its population as 29,160, making Williston the sixth-largest city in North Dakota. The city's population nearly doubled between 20 ...
, was named for him by his friend, railroad magnate
James J. Hill
James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railroad director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwes ...
.
References
External links
James Library Building, Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, Madison, New Jersey.Union Square Drinking Fountain (James Fountain), New York City
*.
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Daniel Willis
1832 births
1907 deaths
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
Amherst College alumni
Businesspeople from Liverpool
English emigrants to the United States
Williston, North Dakota
Phelps Dodge
19th-century English businesspeople