James Edwin Hyslop (7 November 1861 – 11 January 1928) was a Scottish businessman and landowner, who settled in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and founder of several mining companies.

Childhood

James Hyslop was born in Kirkhill, Invernesshire, Scotland on 7 November 1861, son of William Hyslop and Margaret Gowenlock. Hyslop hailed from a Scottish family involved in diverse industries, including mining, agriculture, livestock, and psychiatric hospitals. Hyslop lived the first years of his childhood in the city of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, Scotland and later in his youth, his family would settle permanently in

Church Stretton Church Stretton is a market town in Shropshire, England, south of Shrewsbury and north of Ludlow. The population in 2011 was 4,671.

, England, where he lived along his 7 siblings. At 19, driven by an interest in his family's mining business, he pursued Mining Engineering at Oxford University, earning a First Class Hons degree.

Migration and companies

He arrived in Mexico in 1895, to

Parral, Chihuahua Hidalgo del Parral is a city and seat of the municipality of Hidalgo del Parral in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is located in the southern part of the state, from the state capital, the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua. As of 2015, the city ...

, as co-owner and general manager of "San Francisco del Oro Mines, Ltd", a London based mining firm that had 20 mines in Mexico and 7 mines abroad. Different minerals such as gold, silver, copper and zinc were extracted in these mines. This mining company was founded by James Hyslop and other English aristocrats, including Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh. Also, in the year 1900, Hyslop founded, together with the British, William Harrison, the mining company "The Guggenheim Smelting Co." Company that operated in the state of Chihuahua, which had 5 mines, where silver and zinc were mainly extracted. In 1908, James Hyslop, together with the British engineer and investor Weetman Pearson, established the "Compañía Mexicana de Petróleo El Águila S.A." oil company. It came to represent 50% of the oil market in Mexico, where it operated for 30 years. It was expropriated in 1938 and dissolved in 1963.

He inherited from his father-in-law the "Hacienda De Santiago", a famous hacienda built in the Spanish Viceroyalty, where agricultural, livestock and textile activities were practiced. It was established as the official residence of the family. Hyslop saw the great business opportunity that

Hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

represented in Mexico at the time, by which he acquired estates across different states in the country. Very diverse activities were performed at the different "Haciendas", including textile production, wood production, agricultural production, dairies, vineyards, brickyards and livestock handling. By 1910, James Hyslop had become a prominent figure in Mexican business during the Porfiriato period, making investments across diverse sectors, including mining, oil, rail transport, livestock, and agriculture. He also acquired extensive tracts of land in both Mexico and the United States.

Family

In 1903, Hyslop married Maria Beckmann, daughter of the German William Christian Beckmann, another prominent miner with land extensions in the district of Parral,

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

. James and Maria had seven children, Margaret, William, Mary, Letitia, James, Beatrice and Henry.

Death

On 11 January 1928, Hyslop suffered a heart attack due to a condition he had been suffering for several years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyslop, James E. British mining businesspeople 1861 births 1928 deaths People from Inverness Alumni of the University of Oxford British emigrants Immigrants to Mexico Scottish company founders 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish expatriates in Mexico