Frederick Russell Burnham papers, 1879-1979

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Summary

Creators:
Burnham, Frederick Russell, 1861-1947
Abstract:
Correspondence, speeches and writings, clippings, other printed matter, photographs, and memorabilia, relating to the Matabele Wars of 1893 and 1896 in Rhodesia, the Boer War, exploration expeditions in Africa, and gold mining in Alaska duing the Klondike gold rush.
Extent:
8 manuscript boxes, 24 envelopes, 23 35mm slides, 1 album box (4.8 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Frederick Russell Burnham papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Biographical / historical:

Born in the USA Burnham was brought up in California. He received a limited formal education but in the course of his early working life in the Western USA he acquired a knowledge of mining, particularly gold mining. From 1893 to 1897 he was in present-day Zimbabwe and Zambia. It was he who led the Northern Territories (BSA) Exploration Co. expedition which established for the outside world that major copper deposits existed in Central Africa.

In 1897 Burnham left Africa to take up gold mining in Alaska and the Klondike but in 1900 he returned to become the chief scout of the British forces engaged in the Boer War. In 1901, having been wounded, he left South Africa for London. There he was employed by the Wa Syndicate. For the Wa Syndicate he led an expedition through Ghana and Upper Volta which was concerned both with mineral occurrences and the possibility of improving the navigability of major rivers. He also served the Wa Syndicate as their London office manager.

From 1902 to 1904 Burnham was employed by the East Africa Syndicate. For them he led a mineral prospecting expedition which travelled extensively in the area around Lake Rudolph. Thereafter he was engaged in projects in the Americas for, or in cojunction with, John Hays Hammond, the mining magnate. During the 1920s and 1930s Burnham was engaged in the management of the Dominguez oilfield in California.

The papers of Frederick Burnham are not all in one place. One stray item is in the National Archives of Zimbabwe. The remainder are split between Yale University Library and the Hoover Institution's Archives. The papers at Yale University were gifted by Major Burnham's widow in 1951. Those at the Hoover Institution she gifted in 1978. Whilst most of those gifted to Yale are subject to a closure which renders them inaccessible until the year 2000, those at the Hoover Institution are open. The latter contain a substantial number of transcripts, that is to say copies laboriously made by hand from diaries, letters, etc. the originals of which are (in most cases, at least) now at Yale. One file of correspondence at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives contains both transcripts and the originals from which they were copied: the transcripts are highly accurate. That the same is true of the other transcripts at the Hoover Institution can not, however, be guaranteed. Whilst some papers are in both repositories (the originals at Yale and the transcipts at the Hoover Institution) this is by no means the whole picture. Some papers at Yale (on mines in Chile and China, for instance) are not duplicated in the papers at the Hoover Institution. Vice versa, some materials at the Hoover Institution are not duplicates of papers at Yale.

References mentioned above:

Baxter, T.W. and Burke, E.E. Guide to the Historical Manuscripts in the National Archives of Rhodesia, 1970, p.67.

Yale University Library, Manuscripts and Archives, New Haven, Connecticut 06520.

A collection of writings about Burnham and working papers for his two books Scouting on Two Continents (1928) and Taking Chances (1944) are open for research use.

Folder "Lummis, Charles F., "Folder 10 in Box 3.

Date Event
1861, May 11
Born, Tivoli, Minnesota
1870
Family moved to Los Angeles
1878-1882
Cowboy, hunter, prospector and scout in Arizona and Texas
1884
Marriage to Blanche Blick
1893
Trooper in BSA Police, Rhodesia [Zimbabwe]
1895
Prospecting in North West Rhodesia [Western Zambia]
1896-1897
Scout for British forces in Matabele [Ndebele] wars
1897-1900
Gold mining in Alaska and Klondike
1900-1901
Chief Scout of British forces in Boer War
1901
Awarded Distinguished Service Order
1901-1902
Working for Wa Syndicate in Gold Coast [Ghana] and London
1902-1904
Working for East Africa Syndicate. Led mineral prospecting expedition to Lake Rudolph
[1908-?]
Engaged in irrigation project in Yacqui River Delta, Mexico
1912-[?]
Director of Yacqui Delta Land and Water Co.
[1917-1918]
Manager of manganese and tungsten survey of Western USA
[?]
Manager of Burnham Exploration Co. [later Dominguez Oil Fields Co.]
1923
Burnham Exploration Co. and Union Oil Co. agreed to develop Dominguez Oilfield on a 50:50 basis
1928
Author, Scouting on Two Continents
[?]
Director of Union Oil Co.
1939
Death of Mrs Blanche Burnham
1943
Marriage to Ilo K. Willits [or Ferrce]
1944
Author, Taking Chances
1947
Died, California
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Frederick Russell Burnham papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US