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Cronin Family fonds
- Date Range
- 1907-1934
- Collection
- Cronin Family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- GMD
- cartographic material
- graphic material
- textual record
- Scope and Content
- Fonds primarily illustrates the Cronin Family’s involvement in mining and timber endeavours, such as the Babine Bonanza Mining and Milling Company Ltd., Lardo Mine and Pen D’Oreille Timber Lands records. The Babine Bonanza Mining and Milling Company Ltd records span 1907 to 1934, depicting James Cr…
- Collection
- Cronin Family fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- GMD
- cartographic material
- graphic material
- textual record
- Creator
- James Cronin
- Rose Cronin Andersen
- Niels Andersen
- John T Cronin
- Fonds No.
- PF11
- Accession No.
- 1985.1
- 2017.4
- Physical Description
- 88 cm of textual records
- 4 photogrpahs
- 18 cartographic materials
- Date Range
- 1907-1934
- History / Biographical
- James T. Cronin was born in Bantry, Ireland, 1851, and left home before the age of 20 to arrive in New York in 1870. He married Annie and had four children: Mae (Seehorn), Evelyn (Shine), Rose (Andersen) and John.
After arriving in New York, Cronin travelled west to Nevada where he worked various jobs in mines, including machine man, shift boss and foreman. In the late 1870’s, Cronin spent time prospecting in British Columbia’s Cassiar country, and even went north to the Klondike. However, because of the harsh living conditions and non-existent modes of transportation, Cronin left B.C. and returned to the United States. In 1893, Cronin returned to Canada to work in the Kootenay region. Cronin and Father Cocola (a Roman Catholic missionary), with the help of Peter an Indigenous man, located St. Eugene Mine in Moyie, B.C. This mine and others in the Rossland, B.C. area, were incorporated under the Canadian Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, where Cronin worked as Managing Director of the Company’s mines. In the early 1900s, Cronin moved further north into British Columbia’s Omineca District and Babine Mountains. In 1907, he acquired a group of claims then known as the “Dibble Group” from J. Dibble and M. J. Brewer and with Charles Theis and several others, forming the Babine Bonanza Mining and Milling Company, Ltd in 1909. Two of Cronin’s children, John and Rose, took interest and became involved in Cronin’s new mining company.
Fifteen years prior to Cronin’s death, he moved back to Spokane, Washington, yet continued to be heavily involved in his mining company. In 1923, Cronin was riding his horse when it stumbled and fell, injuring Cronin. It is believed this fall contributed to Cronin’s death and he passed away at age 72 on March 3, 1925. After Cronin’s death, both John and Rose continued to be heavily involved with the company and filled positions of Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, on the Board of Directors.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds primarily illustrates the Cronin Family’s involvement in mining and timber endeavours, such as the Babine Bonanza Mining and Milling Company Ltd., Lardo Mine and Pen D’Oreille Timber Lands records. The Babine Bonanza Mining and Milling Company Ltd records span 1907 to 1934, depicting James Cronin’s involvement with the company, Rose Cronin Andersen and John T. Cronin’s involvement, their merger with Anglo London Mining Corporation (Babine Bonanza Metals Ltd.) and the lawsuit with Omineca Silver King Mines Ltd. The Lardo Mine records reflect James Cronin’s time mining in the Kootenay region from 1906-1912, and the time after Cronin’s death when Rose Cronin Andersen worked to sell the claims. The Pen D’Oreille Timber Lands [expand] Additionally, there are the personal records of Rose Cronin Andersen and the records of Niels Andersen’s (Rose Cronin Andersen’s husband) auto-repair shop, Cambridge Garage.
- Arrangement
- No original order exists. Records are artificially arranged.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Less detail