SANTA FE
Special History Study
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CHAPTER VI:
ENDNOTES

1"I will never forget him because for me he was the finest and most sincere friend that I have known; I do not have enough words to express my gratitude to a friend like him who was always ready to help me when I was in need. . .I beg and plead with you that you continue to lend me the money, if you wish at 6 percent as your kind father, my boss, Don Felipe, had done..." FCZIM, folder 33 (Felipe Delgado, 6/16/1906). This letter was addressed to José E. Chávez right after the death of José Felipe Chávez, his father.

2Felipe Chávez played a very important role in the history of New Mexico during the nineteenth century. Substantial records survive to conduct a biographical study incorporating an in-depth analysis of both his business career as well as his private life. The present study does not include materials after 1880 and does not claim to have examined all of the Chávez records. For a brief summary of his life see, Tibo J. Chávez's "'El Millonario:' Ambitious Merchant Cut Stylish Figure on Frontier," New Mexico Magazine LXVII (June 1989), 73-79.

3His papers are at the New Mexico State Records Center, thereafter FCSRC, and at the Zimmerman Library at the University of New Mexico, hereafter FCZIM. The latter are part of the New Mexican merchants collection. Most of the documents used in this work come from box 1, but the folder number has been indicated. To facilitate the identification of the individual documents, the author of the letter and/or invoice is listed followed by the date of the document. Unluckily only scattered correspondence survives that records the economic activities of other members of this and other influential New Mexican families.

4FCZIM, folder 66 (Agustín de la Rúa, 12/2/52). Felipe Chávez died in June 1906, FCZIM (folder 33, Felipe Delgado, 6/1906).

5For example, the borrador for 1859 to 1863 included 76 letters addressed to W.H. Chick, P. Harmony, Edward James and William Henry Glasgow, Joseph Amberg, José Cordero, Henry Connely, R. Bernard, William Smith, Antonio Castillo, Ambrosio Armijo, and others.

6FCZIM, borrador 1859-1863, letters to P. Harmony on 8/13/59, 9/16/59, 9/22/59; to E. Glasgow 8/29/59; folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 9/13/59, P. Harmony 12/15/59); for the itemized list of the bolts of cloth Chávez purchased, see FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 519/56).

7Parish, "The German Jew," 18.

8Walter Barrett, The Old Merchants of New York City (New York: Thomas R. Knox & Co., 1885), 226-227; for invoices, see FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 4/26/56, 4/30/56; E. Glasgow, 5/10/56, 5/21/56); FCZIM, folder 39 (P. Harmony, 4/26/56, 5/2/56; E. Glasgow, 5/21/56); folder 41 (Harmony, 5/14/56). A month and a half later Felipe arranged for the purchase of an additional 16,000 pounds of goods, this time from Kearney & Bernard, from Westport, Missouri, FCZIM, folder 41 (Kearney & Bernard, 6/6/56).

9FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 6/16/56; 4/30/56; 12/13/60; E. Glasgow, 5/6/56). There are more than one hundred examples of these types of transactions. Edward James and William Henry Glasgow were among the leading Missouri mercantile firms that engaged in active trade with New Mexico and the northern Mexican provinces; see Mark L. Gardner, ed., Brothers on the Santa Fe and Chihuahua Trails: Edward James Glasgow and William Henry Glasgow, 1846-1848 (Niwot: University of Colorado Press, 1993).

10FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 4/30/59).

11FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 3/14/60); FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 3/15/60).

12FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 4/23/63); folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 3/31/63).

13Mark L. Gardner, The Glasgow Brothers (Niwot: University of Colorado Press, 1993),

14FCSRC, Business papers (E. Glasgow, 5/6/56).

15FCZIM, folder 31 (Chick, Browne & Co., 7/4-7/71).

16FCZIM, folder 31 (Chick, Browne & Co., 11/17/1873); folder 68 (S. Davis & Co., 2/22/76).

17FCZIM, folder 31 (Chick, Browne & Ca., 7/10/72, 11/17/73).

18Robles's comments were very interesting. More than once he noted that sometimes the packaging of the merchandise was worth more than the content itself, "Las pomadas son de buena calidady si se tira lo que adentro contienen, el pomo o botellita vale el dinero y un poco más," (Unguents are of high quality and after the contents are gone the tube or little bottle are worth the money, or even more); this citation is from a letter dated 2/22/60; FCSRC, Business papers (A. Robles, 2/17/60, 2/22/60); FCZIM, folder 67 (A. Robles, 2/21/60; 2/26/60).

19FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 5/4/59, 5/9/59).

20Robles did not continue as Chávez's agent after this trip, possibly because Harmony sent a very unflattering report on him. Robles's activities offended Harmony and almost delayed the shipment of the order. According to the Spanish entrepreneur while his workers were trying to prepare the final invoice for shipment, numbering and checking the various loads, Robles would appear announcing the purchase of a new set of merchandise which had to be packaged adequately, labeled, and included in the invoice. To accommodate the additional goods the workers would have to stop their work on the invoice and shift their attention to the items Robles had bought. They were pressed for time since the merchandise had to be ready for shipment. Harmony admitted that in their hurry his workers had misnumbered various fardos. Chávez also complained that he had not received some of the shovels that Robles had purchased, FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 8/1/60).

21FCZIM, folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 6/30/58);

22FCZIM, folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 5/17/61, 3/31/63).

23FCZIM, folder 67 (Charles Stem, 4/15/67); FCSRC, Miscellaneous Documents 2 (Cuno, Bohms & Co., 2/20/68); FCZIM, folder 67 (Appleton, Noyes & Co., 4/14/68).

24FCZIM, folder 68 (E. Glasgow, 6/23/71; R. D. Wells, 6/23/71; A. Mellier, 6/21/71; B. & J. Slevin, 6/23/71).

25FCSRC, Business papers (S. P. Shannon, 6/65).

26FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick & Co., 3/22/67; Chick Browne & Co., 10/11/69).

27FCSRC, Miscellaneous Papers 2 (Cuno, Bohms & Co, 2/20/68); FCZIM, folder 68 (Bartels Brothers & Co., 9/26/1876); folder 21 (Browne & Manzanares, 4/25/79).

28FCZIM, folder 68 (P. Brother, 8/15/1871).

29FCZIM, folder 67 (A. Montoya, 3/60).

30FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 6/5/59).

31FCZIM, folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 4/5/62); FCSRC, Business papers (E. Glasgow, 3/4/60).

32FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 6/8/69).

33FCZIM, folder 31 (Chick, Browne & Co, 7/4-8/71, 11/22/71).

34FCZIM, folder 21 (F. Manzanares, 4/25/78).

35FCZIM, folder 21 (V. Baca, 7/17/78). Storage and commission fees were other expenses that had to be added to the cost of merchandise. These charges at times could be fairly high, FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 4/23/63); FCSRC, Business papers (W. H. Chick, 6/6/63).

36FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 9/28/64).

37FCSRC, Business papers (Otero & Sellars, 9/22/68).

38FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 6/26/69).

39There is a considerable number of documents that show this pattern, see FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 10/20/63); folder 31 (W. H. Chick & Co, 6/18/69).

40FCZIM, folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 62); folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 6/8/69, 6/18/69); folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 10/6/79).

41FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 6/8/69, 6/18/69); FCSRC, Business Papers (Chick, Browne & Co., 4/25/72; W. C. Houston, Jr. & Co., 10/2/1880); FCZIM, folder 39 (E. J. Glasgow, 8/6/79); folder 68 (Benjamin Walker, 5/21/1879).

42FCSRC, Business papers (Harmony, 6/16/56).

43FCSRC, Business papers (Harmony, 7/14/57).

44FCZIM, folder 5 (Nicolás Armijo, 2/2/69, 3/2/69, 3/9/69, 11/15/69), folder 13 (9/8/72); folder 26 (J. Francisco Chávez, 10/10/65). His associates and friends also kept him informed of developments that could negatively affect his family and that required his attention. In 1871 the vicar of Denver wanted to discuss with Felipe's mother the inheritance of her recently-deceased daughter. Delgado advised Chávez that the vicar had been named administrator of the estate, and that he (Delgado) had informed the vicar that Mrs. Chávez was not the guardian. Since the vicar insisted, Delgado felt it would be better for Mrs. Chávez if Felipe himself went to Santa Fe and spoke directly with the vicar, FCSRC, Business papers (Pablo Delgado, 2/23/71).

45FCZIM, folder 27 (Melquiades Chávez, 11/4/67).

46FCZIM, folder 24 (Francisco Chávez II, 5/21/79, 6/25/79).

47FCSRC, Business papers, (J. B. Rougemont, 3/28/73, 10/20/79), (Nicolás Quintana, 6/21/74); Gutiérrez's addressed Felipe as primo (cousin), FCSRC, Miscellaneous papers, (José Gutiérrez, 1/16/68).

48FCZIM, folder 33 (Pablo Delgado, 5/12/71); folder 68 (Rita R. de Valencia, 5/22/73; Luis M. Baca, 5/21/77; Benito and Eleuterio Baca, 2/21/79); folder 16 (Benito and Eleuterio Baca, 3/3/79); FCSRC, Business papers, (Jacob Amberg, 5/30/69; A. Zeckendorf, 7/29/67).

49FCSRC, Miscellaneous Papers 2 (J. Martin Amador, 2/3/68); FCZIM, folder 33 (Pablo Delgado, 7/30/70). He also lent $3,000 to the Baca brothers and extended the loan for an additional year, FCZIM, folder 68 (Baca Hermanos, 2/21/79); folder 16 (Baca Hermanos, 3/3/79). Americans also borrowed, folder 33 (Pablo Delgado, 5/12/71).

50At the time of his death Felipe was charging Delgado 6 percent interest, FCZIM (Felipe Delgado, 6/16/1906). It is not clear if this was the standard rate that he levied on his debtors.

51FCSRC, Business papers (A. Zeckendorf, 6/26/67; 7/29/67); it is possible that Chávez was guilty of anti-semitism. His correspondence does not indicate such sentiment, but a letter from Antonio Robles, his trusted agent, reveals a strong anti-Jewish sentiment. Writing from New York on February 26, 1860, Robles told Chávez, "...esta judillada is infernal, si Salomón no es judío, vive con ellos, y sigue las mismas huellas," (...this bunch of jews is infernal; if Salomón is not a Jew, he lives with them and follows the same tracks), FCZIM, folder 67 (Antonio Robles, 2/26/60).

52FCZIM, folder 33 (Felipe Delgado, 6/16/1906).

53FCSRC, Miscellaneous papers 2 (José Felix Benavídez, 1/27/68).

54FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 10/11/69); folder 41 (P. Harmony, 11/3/65, 4/23/67).

55FCZIM, folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 4/6/60).

56FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 8/12/59; José Cordero, 2/24/60, 9/20/62); FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 8/18/59, 8/7/61); folder 67 (José Cordero, 9/11/62).

57FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 6/6/61), folder 67 (P. Harmony, 7/10/61); FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 7/10/61).

58FCSRC, Business papers (Delino Hermanos, 9/16/62).

59FCZIM, folder 68 (F. Maceyra, 4/26/78).

60FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 3/15/60), folder 66 (Alvarez Araujo, 11/29/59); FCSRC, borrador (Felipe Chávez to Harmony, 10/5/59).

61FCSRC, Business papers (Antonio José Otero, 7/8/62); FCZIM, folder 41 (Antonio José Otero, 12/3/62).

62It is possible that Pablo was also a partner. An invoice from the First National Bank of Santa Fe indicates that Pablo Delgado was making regular deposits on Felipe Chávez's account, FCSRC, Business papers (no date, ca. Nov. 1872). See Figure 8 for a look at Felipe Chávez's store in Belen.

63FCSRC, business papers (P. Harmony, 1/10/57).

64FCZIM, folder 33 (Simón Delgado, 2/4/63; 2/10/63; 3/25/63; 9/15/65; Pablo Delgado, 5/9/69; 6/18/69; 7/30/70; 5/12/71; 7/20/71; 2/25/72); FCSRC, Business papers (Simón Delgado, 9/1/61; W. H. Moore & Co., no day or month/65; Pablo Delgado, 6/28/70; 10/13/70; 2/23/71); FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 4/16/67).

65FCSRC, Business papers, 1868 (Pablo Delgado, 6/11/68).

66FCZIM, folder 21 (F. Manzanares, 12/26/68).

67FCZIM, folder 33 (Pablo Delgado, 5/9/69). Amberg informed Chávez at the end of May that his partner (Gustave Elsberg) had cheated him and had stolen all the property and destroyed his reputation. He had even sold their store in Chihuahua. As soon as he heard of this Amberg went to Chihuahua to take care of the situation. Amberg assured Chávez that he would pay everything he owed even before it was due, FCSRC, Business papers, (Jacob Amberg, 5/30/69).

68FCZIM, folder 33 (Pablo Delgado, 5/9/68, 6/18/69).

69FCZIM, folder 33; unluckily it is not clear how much each partner invested in the operation initially; the one surviving invoice indicates that Chávez contributed $20,795.14 while Simón Delgado's share was substantially smaller, $3,827.65; FCSRC, Business papers (no name, 1861; Simón Delgado, 9/1/61).

70FCZIM, folder 33 (P. Delgado, 2/2/5/72).

71FCZIM, folder 39 (Antonio José Otero, 1/9/59); FCSRC, Business papers (Pablo Delgado, 10/27/70).

72FCZIM, folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 9/2/61); folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 10/3/69).

73FCSRC, Business papers (A. Montoya, 7/12/58).

74FCZIM, folder 39. In 1871 he was still authorizing P. Harmony to make payments in gold, but the reasons for this specific request are not clear, FCZIM, folder 41 (Theodore Herrmann, 4/18/71).

75FCSRC, Business papers, 1859. This was not unusual. In Sep 1861 Simón Delgado sent in Chávez's behalf $15,400 in libranzas to P. Harmony in New York, FCSRC, Business papers (S. Delgado, 9/1/61); in 1864 P. Harmony gave him credit for $38,833.37, FCZIM, folder 41(10/1/64).

76FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 8/24/63); folder 31 (Chick, Armijo y Cia., 11/10/67, 11/18/67).

77FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 10/31/57); FCZIM, folder 66 (P. Harmony, 9/29/56).

78Eighth Census of the United States, roll 712.

79Ninth Census of the United States, roll 897.

80FCZIM, folder 41 (Harmony 1/11/71); folder 39 (Glasgow. 1/1/79); folder 21 (Browne & Manzanares, 7/3/79), (Chick, Browne & Co., 7/3/79); FCSRC, Business Papers (Bank statement for 1872; FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 12/31/79). In November 1870 Manzanares wrote explaining that even though Chávez had been proposed as one of the director of the National Bank to be established in Santa Fe, all the stock being sold, however, it would not be possible for him to become a director. It is interesting to note that three of the six directors were merchants from the Río Abajo—José Leandro Perea, Manuel Antonio Otero, and Frank A. Manzanares. The other three directors were S. B. Elkins, J. L. Johnson, and J. L. Griffin, FCSRC, Business papers, 1870 (Frank A. Manzanares, 11/18/70). Unfortunately due to changes in census format it is not possible to establish if the family wealth continued to grow during the 1870s.

81FCZIM, folder 31 (10/18/67).

82The evidence is not conclusive. The only reference to deposit of gold comes from one invoice, FCZIM, folder 33 (W. H. Chick, 6/24/71).

83Most of the surviving partidos are in FCZIM, folder 59; folder 68 (Luis M. Baca, 10/14/78).

84FCSRC, Business papers (Edwin Edgar, 10/1/69).

85The first surviving record of Chávez's shipping wool dates from 1869, FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 10/3/69); FCSRC, Business papers (Chick, Browne & Co., 10/14/72). The strategy on wool deliveries was also complex, FCZIM, folder 68 (Luis M. Baca, 10/14/78); sometimes if only a small lot arrived at the railroad terminal, the middle-man would wait until he accumulated a larger amount to negotiate for a better price, FCSRC, Business papers (Chick, Browne & Co., 4/25/72).

86FCZIM, folder 31 (W. H. Chick, 10/3/69, 10/17/69, 10/10/70); folder 21 (Browne y Manzanares, 4/2/1878); folder 25 (Jesús Bonifacio Chávez, 9/10/70); folder 39 (Glasgow Brothers, 5/17/1878, 6/14/1878, 7/11/1878, 7/27/1878); folder 41 (P. Harmony, 10/1/1878, 10/6/1878, 11/6/1878); folder 68 (Luis M. Baca, 10/14/78); FCSRC, Business papers (Chick Browne & Co., 8/14/72); Business papers (Glasgow Brothers, 4/21/79, 4/25/79).

87FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 12/31/1879).

88FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 10/26/1879, 11/8/1879, 11/10/1879); folder 39 (E. J. Glasgow, 10/2/79)

89FCZIM, folder 17 (Vicente M. Baca, 4/29/79).

90FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 6/5/61); FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 6/6/61).

91FCSRC, Business papers (Z. Staab & Brother, 6/14/68).

92FCZIM, folder 67 (José Lobato account, 7/21/68-5/20/72); folder 68 (José Miguel Baca account, 2/12/68-6/24/63; Rita R. de Valencia, 5/22/73)

93FCZIM, folder 67 (Baca's partial account, Jan. 1868-Jun. 1873).

94FCSRC, Business papers, 1868 (Pablo Delgado, 10/27/70, 11/13/70).

95FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 1/10/64; 5/10/64; 10/10/64); FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 2/7/65); the former was at No. 59 East 28th Street, the latter was at No. 36 East 29th Street.

96FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 22/1/65); FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 5/6/65; 5/10/65; 10/3/65).

97FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 4/5/66; 10/5/66).

98FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 1/29/66; 2/20/66; 3/19/67; 5/9/67); FCSRC, Business papers (P. Harmony, 12/28/67).

99FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 9/13/69, 10/9/69).

100FCZIM, folder 41 (P. Harmony, 3/8/71, 5/6/71, 7/11/71).

101FCZIM, folder 39 (E. Glasgow, 1/1/79); folder 41 (P. Harmony, 7/22/1879, 10/28/79).



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