Isaac Lawrence Requa Papers mssRequa
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
August 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Isaac Lawrence Requa papers
Creator:
Requa, Isaac
L.
Identifier/Call Number: mssRequa
Physical Description:
3.75 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1819-1935
Abstract: A collection of professional and
personal material related to the life and work of Isaac Lawrence Requa, American mining
engineer and businessman.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Isaac Lawrence Requa papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of Mrs. John Henry Russell, September 1934 and December 1936. Gift of Mrs. Mark L.
Requa, June 1944. Acquired from Amy Requa Russell, April 1957 and April 1959. Purchased from
Argonaut Book Shop, January 1961.
Isaac Lawrence Requa (1828-1905) was a mining engineer and businessman. Requa was born in
Tarrytown, New York and came around Cape Horn to California in 1850. He engaged in mining in
California until 1860, when he moved to Virginia City, Nevada; he became superintendent of
the Chollar-Potosi Mining Company, the Hale and Norcross Mines, and the Union Mill and
Mining Company, which controlled most of the mills on the Comstock Lode. Requa married Sarah
Jane Mower (1831-1922) and they had two children, Mark Lawrence Requa and Amy Requa Long
Mitten. In 1880, Requa established his home in Oakland, California, and became active in
Republican politics, serving as Republican State Central Committee Chairman for twenty
years, but declined the nomination for governor of California. He was president of the
Oakland Bank of Savings and in 1894 was made president of the Central Pacific Railroad.
Requa died in Oakland in 1905. Mark Lawrence Requa (1865-1937) was born in Virginia City,
Nevada; he engaged in mining in California and Nevada, built the Nevada Northern Railroad,
served as head of the oil division of the U.S. Fuel Administration from 1918 to 1919 and
helped manage the presidential campaigns of Herbert Hoover in 1928 and 1932.
A collection of 381 items from 1819 to 1935, which consists of letters, documents,
manuscripts, one scrapbook, and two photographs related to the personal life, professional
activities and family of Isaac Lawrence Requa. There is personal correspondence between
Requa and his family from 1877 to 1901, and materials about mining in Virginia City, Nevada.
The collection also contains vouchers of the Chollar-Norcross-Savage Shaft Company and the
Chollar Potosi Mining Company from 1876 to 1879. There are also letters and a few
manuscripts by Mark Lawrence Requa, including his memoirs from January 10, 1918 to June 30,
1919 while director of the Oil Division of the United States Fuel Administration.
Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa 1965. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the
finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.
Arranged alphabetically.
Library also has American scenes: a collection of mounted photographs of western scenes
related to the Requa family history (photCL 319), it was transferred from rare book 219888
to Photo Archives.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada -- Comstock Lode --
History
Mines and mineral resources -- Nevada -- Virginia City --
History
Mining engineers -- Nevada
Chollar Potosi Mine (Nev.)
Comstock Lode (Nev.) -- History -- 19th century
Virginia City (Nev.) -- History -- 19th century
Ephemera -- California
Ephemera -- Nevada
Letters (correspondence) -- California
Letters (correspondence) -- Nevada
Professional papers -- California
Professional papers -- Nevada
Vouchers -- Nevada
Requa, M. L. (Mark
Lawrence), 1865-1937
United States. Fuel
Administration
Chollar-Norcross-Savage Shaft Company
Chollar Potosi Mining Company
Box 1, Folder 1-33
Correspondence and manuscripts: Benguist-Requa
Box 2, Folder 1-40
Correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera: Requa-Wilson
Box 3
Scrapbook and vouchers