Guide to the Edward Boyce Papers 1881-1941

Creator:	Boyce, Edward, 1862-1941
Title:	Edward Boyce Papers
Dates:	1881-1941 ( inclusive )
Quantity:	12 linear ft. (12 boxes)
Collection Number:	Ms 50
Summary:	Financial and business records, correspondence, diaries, and publications of an Irish-born laborer, miner, labor leader, and state legislator, of Idaho, and businessman, of Portland, Or.
Repository:	Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives 2316 W. First Avenue Spokane, WA 99201 Phone: (509) 363-5313 Fax: (509) 363-5303 Email: archives@northwestmuseum.org
Languages:	Materials are inEnglish
Sponsor:	Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical Note

Edward Boyce was born and educated in County Donegal, Ireland. He immigrated to the United States in 1882 and worked his way west as a laborer. In 1887 he arrived at Wardner, ID, where he found employment in the Coeur d’Alene mining district. Boyce became active in labor organization and was jailed for his participation in the 1892 labor disputes. In 1893 he joined the Western Federation of Miners, served as president, 1896-1902; and edited its magazine, The Miner’s Magazine, 1900-1902.

Boyce’s leadership of the Western Federation of Miners was aggressive, and during his presidency the union waged three bitter strikes; Leadville, CO, 1896-1897; the Coeur d’Alenes, ID, 1899; and Telluride, CO, 1901.

After his marriage to Eleanor Day in 1901, Boyce gradually disengaged himself from the labor movement. He resigned from the Western Federation of Miners in 1902. The Day family purchased the Portland Hotel Company in Portland, OR, and Boyce moved to Portland to serve as its president, 1911-1941. In Portland he became active in the business community, serving as president of the Oregon Hotel Association, 1936, and as chairman of the Tunnel Commission of the State of Oregon, 1931-1935.

Content Description

The Edward Boyce papers contain a wide variety of materials documenting the various periods of his life. Included are his diaries, 1896-1941. While the earlier diaries contain information regarding his activities in the Western Federation of Miners, the entries are quite circumspect and reveal very little regarding behind-the-scenes activities or Boyce’s role in the violence that marked his term as president. The later diaries contain very brief daily entries of his business and social activities. The correspondence files are fragmentary, but do contain some valuable information regarding the Western Federation of Miners, particularly after Boyce left the organization. Correspondents include: Clarence Darrow, Eugene V. Debs, William D. Haywood, Charles H. Moyer, John M. O’Neill, and Eamon de Valera. There is extensive correspondence with all members of the Day family regarding mining and other financial matters. Boyce had a great interest in Democratic Party politics and in Irish Free State causes, and there is correspondence reflecting these interests. There is a complete run of The Miner’s Magazine, 1900-1902. The records of the Portland Hotel Company, 1889-1941, comprise the bulk of the Boyce papers. Included are incorporation records and stock certificates and financial and other business records.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :

Collection is not restricted.

Restrictions on Use :

Collection is open for use.

Preferred Citation :

Edward Boyce Papers (Ms 50), Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information :

Donated by Henry Day Ellis, 1984 (L84-362, L84-351).

Processing Note :

Processed to the file folder level.

Separated Materials :

The Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture has a number of artifacts associated with Edward Boyce and the Western Federation of Miners.

Bibliography :

Fahey, John. "Ed Boyce and the Western Federation of Miners," Idaho Yesterdays (Vol. 25, No. 3), pp. 18-30.

Fahey, John. The Days of the Hercules (Moscow, ID: University Press of Idaho, 1978).

Additional Reference Guides :

Nolan, Edward W. A Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the Eastern Washington State Historical Society (Spokane, WA: Eastern Washington State Historical Society, 1987).

Related Materials :

See also Eleanor Boyce Papers (Ms 51) and John Fahey Papers (Ms 65 and Ms 98).

Detailed Description of the Collection

Personal

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Inventory and Biography
1/2	Diary, W.F.M. Travels	1896-1897
1/3	Diary, W.F.M. Travels	1898-1902
1/4	Diary	1900
1/5	Diary	1901
1/6	Diary	1902
1/7	Record and Ledger of the Parnell, Lincoln, Hugo, Emmet Mines	1902-1903
1/8	Diary	1903
1/9	Diary: San Francisco and Southern California	1903
1/10	Diary	1904
1/11	Record of Money, Labor, Materials .... Hugo Group of Claims	1904
1/12	Diary	1906
1/13	Diary	1907
1/14	Diary	1908
1/15	Diary	1909
1/16	Diary	1910
1/17	Diary	1911
1/18	Diary	1912
2/1	Diary	1913
2/2	Diary	1914
2/3	Diary	1915
2/4	Diary	1916
2/5	Diary	1915
2/6	Diary	1918
2/7	Diary	1919
2/8	Diary	1920
2/9	Diary	1921
2/10	Diary	1922
2/11	Diary	1923
2/12	Diary	1924
2/13	Diary	1925
2/14	Diary	1926
2/15	Diary	1927
3/1	Diary	1928
3/2	Diary	1929
3/3	Diary	1930
3/4	Diary	1931
3/5	Diary	1932
3/6	Diary	1933
3/7	Diary	1934
3/8	Diary	1935
3/9	Diary	1936
3/10	Diary	1937
3/11	Diary	1938
3/12	Diary	1939
3/13	Diary	1941
3/14	Abstract of Title: Shinn's Addition, Portland, Oregon	Jan. 3, 1918
3/15	Accounts, Personal	Jan., 1918-Dec., 1922
4/1	Accounts, Personal	Jan., 1923-Dec., 1926

Guide to the Edward Boyce Papers 1881-1941

Overview of the Collection

Biographical Note

Content Description

Use of the Collection

Administrative Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

Subjects

Finding aid prepared by Edward W. Nolan© 1987

Guide to the Edward Boyce Papers
1881-1941

Finding aid prepared by Edward W. Nolan
© 1987