James Graham Fair
Encyclopedia
James Graham Fair was the overnight millionaire part-owner of the Comstock Lode
, a United States Senator
and a colorful real estate and railroad speculator.
family in Clogher
, County Tyrone
, Graham immigrated to the United States in 1843 and grew up on a farm in Illinois
. There he received an extensive education in business before moving to California
in 1850, where he prospected the Feather River
country for gold embedded in quartz rather than pan for placer gold. His attention shifted to Nevada
, where he operated a mill on the Washoe River
and landed various mine superintendent positions in Angels and other places in the Mother Lode
region. He became superintendent of the Hale and Norcross mine in Virginia City, Nevada
in 1867.
He formed a partnership with three fellow Irishmen, John William Mackay
, and the San Francisco saloon owners James C. Flood, and William S. O'Brien
. The company was formally Flood and O'Brien, but popularly known as the "Bonanza firm
". The four made large fortunes in shares in silver
mines working the Comstock Lode
, struck in 1859. It was the first major silver discovery in the United States, producing over five hundred million dollars in twenty years' operation. Although Fair was acknowledged to be a capable mine superintendent and a shrewd businessman, he was not well liked, and carried the nickname "Slippery Jim." He invested much of his income from the Comstock in railroads and San Francisco real estate. Fair and Mackay owned the Nevada Bank of San Francisco, the rival to William Chapman Ralston
's Bank of California
; after the collapse of Ralston's financial empire, the Nevada Bank was for a time the largest bank in America at the height of the silver boom.
In 1876 he conceived the daring plan of extending his narrow-gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad
down the east side of San Francisco Bay
, through San Jose and Los Gatos and southward through a mountain route that entailed a 6,200-foot tunnel, another 5,000-foot one and six shorter tunnels, during which some six hundred Chinese workers were employed, among whom thirty-one lost their lives in explosions of coal gas. After Fair's death the Southern Pacific
took over his line and converted it to standard gauge.
in 1881. He was not much interested in Washington, where he promoted silver issues in the Senate at a time when a movement was afoot to demonetize silver. Fair only served one term due to his defeat in the 1886 election. Following the end of his term, he moved back to San Francisco.
. She divorced him in 1883 on grounds of "habitual adultery" and brought up their four children on her own, with a very considerable settlement.
When his daughter, Theresa "Tessie" Alice Fair was married in 1890 to Hermann Oelrichs
of Norddeutsche Lloyd
shipping lines, in the grandest wedding San Francisco had seen, he remained in his hotel suite without an invitation. He gave her a million dollars as a wedding gift nevertheless (Ferguson 1977 p. 2)
Fair is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery
in Colma, California
. His will left $40 million in trust to his daughters, née Theresa "Tessie" Alice Fair, Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs, and Virginia Graham
, later Mrs William Kissam Vanderbilt II
and his surviving son, Charles Lewis Fair.
After his death, Mrs. Nettie Cravens came forward claiming to be his wife. She presented her evidence to the court trial, but lost the case. She moved to Iowa and lived in obscurity, spending her last days in a mental institution. Later, another woman, Phoebe Couzins
, a women's-rights advocate, also claimed a relationship with Fair.
who built the hotel Construction began in 1902, but they sold their interests in 1906, days before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
.
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...
, a United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and a colorful real estate and railroad speculator.
Early life
Born to a poor IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
family in Clogher
Clogher
Clogher is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, south of Omagh. The United Kingdom Census of 2001 recorded a population of 309.-History:...
, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, Graham immigrated to the United States in 1843 and grew up on a farm in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. There he received an extensive education in business before moving to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1850, where he prospected the Feather River
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
country for gold embedded in quartz rather than pan for placer gold. His attention shifted to Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, where he operated a mill on the Washoe River
Washoe County, Nevada
Washoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 421,407 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County includes the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area.-History:...
and landed various mine superintendent positions in Angels and other places in the Mother Lode
Mother Lode
Mother lode is a principal vein or zone of veins of gold or silver ore. The term probably came from a literal translation of the Spanish veta madre, a term common in old Mexican mining...
region. He became superintendent of the Hale and Norcross mine in Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...
in 1867.
He formed a partnership with three fellow Irishmen, John William Mackay
John William Mackay
John William Mackay was an American capitalist, born in Dublin, Ireland.-Early years:His parents brought him in 1840 to New York City, where he worked in a shipyard.-Gold and silver mining:...
, and the San Francisco saloon owners James C. Flood, and William S. O'Brien
William S. O'Brien
William S. O'Brien was an American businessman who formed a business partnership with fellow Irishmen James Graham Fair, James C. Flood, and John William Mackay, the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company...
. The company was formally Flood and O'Brien, but popularly known as the "Bonanza firm
Bonanza Kings
The Bonanza Kings, also called the Silver Kings, was a nickname given to the four men who started a stock brokerage called Flood and O'Brien, more commonly known as the Bonanza Firm...
". The four made large fortunes in shares in silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mines working the Comstock Lode
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...
, struck in 1859. It was the first major silver discovery in the United States, producing over five hundred million dollars in twenty years' operation. Although Fair was acknowledged to be a capable mine superintendent and a shrewd businessman, he was not well liked, and carried the nickname "Slippery Jim." He invested much of his income from the Comstock in railroads and San Francisco real estate. Fair and Mackay owned the Nevada Bank of San Francisco, the rival to William Chapman Ralston
William Chapman Ralston
William "Billy" Chapman Ralston was a San Francisco, California businessman and financier, and was the founder of the Bank of California.-Biography:...
's Bank of California
Bank of California
The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered instrumental in developing the American Old West.-History:The ancestor of...
; after the collapse of Ralston's financial empire, the Nevada Bank was for a time the largest bank in America at the height of the silver boom.
In 1876 he conceived the daring plan of extending his narrow-gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad
South Pacific Coast Railroad
The South Pacific Coast Railroad was a narrow gauge steam railroad running between Santa Cruz, California and Alameda, with a ferry connection in Alameda to San Francisco. The railroad was created as the Santa Clara Valley Railroad, founded by local strawberry growers as a way to get their crops...
down the east side of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, through San Jose and Los Gatos and southward through a mountain route that entailed a 6,200-foot tunnel, another 5,000-foot one and six shorter tunnels, during which some six hundred Chinese workers were employed, among whom thirty-one lost their lives in explosions of coal gas. After Fair's death the Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
took over his line and converted it to standard gauge.
Political career
Fair was elected by the Nevada legislature to the U.S. SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1881. He was not much interested in Washington, where he promoted silver issues in the Senate at a time when a movement was afoot to demonetize silver. Fair only served one term due to his defeat in the 1886 election. Following the end of his term, he moved back to San Francisco.
Personal life
In 1861 Fair married Theresa Rooney, who had been keeping a boarding houseBoarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
. She divorced him in 1883 on grounds of "habitual adultery" and brought up their four children on her own, with a very considerable settlement.
When his daughter, Theresa "Tessie" Alice Fair was married in 1890 to Hermann Oelrichs
Hermann Oelrichs
Hermann Oelrichs , was an American businessman, multimillionaire, and owner of Norddeutsche Lloyd shipping. The grandson of a German immigrant, Oelrichs was married in 1890 to Teresa Alice Fair, daughter of United States Senator and Comstock Lode millionaire James Graham Fair...
of Norddeutsche Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG, which in turn owns other subsidiaries such as Hapag-Lloyd Ships and a cruise line, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises which is now integrated into TUI AG, Hanover...
shipping lines, in the grandest wedding San Francisco had seen, he remained in his hotel suite without an invitation. He gave her a million dollars as a wedding gift nevertheless (Ferguson 1977 p. 2)
Fair is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, California is an American Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Established in 1887 on of a former potato farm, it is the oldest and largest cemetery established in Colma to serve the needs of San Francisco...
in Colma, California
Colma, California
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....
. His will left $40 million in trust to his daughters, née Theresa "Tessie" Alice Fair, Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs, and Virginia Graham
Virginia Fair Vanderbilt
Virginia Fair Vanderbilt was an American socialite, hotel builder/owner, philanthropist, owner of Fair Stable, a Thoroughbred racehorse operation, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Biography:...
, later Mrs William Kissam Vanderbilt II
William Kissam Vanderbilt II
William Kissam Vanderbilt II was a motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family.-Biography:...
and his surviving son, Charles Lewis Fair.
After his death, Mrs. Nettie Cravens came forward claiming to be his wife. She presented her evidence to the court trial, but lost the case. She moved to Iowa and lived in obscurity, spending her last days in a mental institution. Later, another woman, Phoebe Couzins
Phoebe Couzins
Phoebe Couzins was one of the first female lawyers in the United States and the first female appointed to the U.S. Marshal service....
, a women's-rights advocate, also claimed a relationship with Fair.
Legacy
The Fairmont San Francisco hotel was built and named after Fair as grand monument by his daughters, Theresa Fair Oelrichs and Virginia Fair VanderbiltVirginia Fair Vanderbilt
Virginia Fair Vanderbilt was an American socialite, hotel builder/owner, philanthropist, owner of Fair Stable, a Thoroughbred racehorse operation, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Biography:...
who built the hotel Construction began in 1902, but they sold their interests in 1906, days before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
.
Further reading
- Tales of Love and Hate in Old San Francisco, Millie Robbins. Chronicle Books, San Francisco 1971.
- J. Walton Ferguson, Rosecliff (The Preservation Society of Newport County) 1977. Rosecliff was built for Fair's daughter, Mrs Oelrichs.
External links
- Entry from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- The Valley Post, 5/10/2005 Fair's South Pacific Coast Railroad