James Douglas Jr.

James Stuart Douglas (19 Jun 1868–2 January 1949), popularly known as Rawhide Jimmy, was a Canadian born, American businessman and mining executive.

James Stuart Douglas
Born
James Stuart Douglas

19 Jun 1868
Inverness, Quebec, Canada
Died2 January 1949 (aged 80–81)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian, American
Other namesRawhide Jimmy
OccupationBusinessman
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Political partyDemocrat
Spouse(s)Josephine Leah Williams (1872–1941)
ChildrenLewis Douglas
James Douglas
Parent(s)James Walter Douglas
Naomi Eleanor Douglas

Early life

Douglas was the son of Canadian mining engineer and executive James Walter Douglas (1837–1918) and Naomi Eleanor Douglas (1838-1922). Born at Inverness, Quebec, Jimmy Douglas grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where his father managed the Chemical Copper Company. Douglas left home at 17 and moved west to Manitoba, where he homesteaded. Suffering from asthma, he moved to the Arizona Territory, in the United States, in the hope that the drier climate might provide relief.[1]

Career

He moved to Bisbee, Arizona at his father's request to work as an assayer for the Copper Queen Mine. His father had acquired an interest in the mine from the Phelps Dodge mining company. [2]

In 1892 Douglas moved to Prescott to work for the Commercial Mining Company, an affiliate of the Phelps Dodge. Eight years later he was transferred to Sonora, Mexico, to manage the copper mine and smelter at Pilares and Nacozari; and directed construction of a railroad from Douglas, Arizona to Nacozari. While at Pilares, he acquired his nickname, "Rawhide Jimmy", because of his technique of using rawhide to protect the rollers on mining equipment.[3] Afterward, he moved to Cananea, Sonora, to manage the copper operations there.

UVX Mining Co.
The Douglas Mansion in Jerome

In 1912, Douglas returned to central Arizona, where he took an option on the United Verde Extension (UVX) property, a speculative venture to find the down-faulted extension of the great "United Verde" ore body near Jerome, Arizona. In 1914, with funds near exhaustion, an exploration drift cut bonanza copper ore. The UVX became a profitable mine. During 1916 alone, the mine produced $10 million worth of copper, silver and gold, of which $7.4 million was profit.[4] The UVX paid $55 million in dividends during its life (1915–1938), making Douglas a wealthy man.

Personal life

James Douglas was married to Josephine Leah Williams (1872–1941). Their son, Lewis W. Douglas (1894-1974), also entered the mining business, went on to a successful political career as an Arizona Congressman from 1927 to 1933. He served as the Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1947–51). In 1939, Douglas retired to Quebec where he died of heart failure in 1949. [5][6]

Jerome State Historic Park

The Douglas Mansion is open to the public as the Jerome State Historic Park. [7]

References
  1. "Douglas, James (1837-1918)". Morrin Centre. Queen’s University. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  2. Robert Paul Browder and Thomas G. Smith; Independent: A Biography of Lewis W. Douglas; Alfred A. Knopf Co.; New York; 1986; p. 10.
  3. Herbert V. Young (1964), quoting Lewis W. Douglas
  4. Arizona Bureau of Mines Bulletin #180; 1969; Mineral and Water Resources of Arizona; p. 128.
  5. "Lewis W. Douglas". Special Collections at the University of Arizona Libraries. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  6. "Lewis W. Douglas; Envoy to Britain 1947–50". The New York Times , March 8, 1974, Page 36. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  7. "The Douglas Mansion". Arizona State Parks. Retrieved 1 October 2020.

Further reading
  • Young, Herbert V. (1964). Ghosts of Cleopatra Hill: Men and Legends of Old Jerome. Jerome [AZ] Historical Society.
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