By Susan D. Wheatley
Title: John H. McDowell Papers, 1853-1884
Primary Creator: McDowell, John H. (1826-1883)
Extent: 0.44 Cubic Feet
Date Acquired: 08/06/2002
Subjects: Railroad companies--United States., Transportation--Kentucky.
Languages: English
In 1857 John H. McDowell became part owner of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad Company (L.P.&W.), later known as the Union Pacific, Eastern Division, along with James C. Stone, A.J. Isaacs, and Thomas Ewing Jr. These four men controlled the company throughout its existence. This collection consist of resolutions, receipts, stock certificates, deeds, lists of assets, meeting notices, and correspondence that give some insight into the day to day operations of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western, the Kansas Pacific, and the Union Pacific, Eastern Division Railroads. Also included are lists of the stock holders and fees paid by those that had been loaned money, as well as documentation of treaties made with the Delaware Indians for land.
Through the railroad business McDowell had connections with John C. Fremont who purchased the Mariposa estate in 1847, a large tract of land in California that was thought to be worthless but which actually contained rich gold deposits. The Mariposa Estate documents found in this collection contain a letter relaying the condition of the estate upon purchase and the cost of purchasing the estate. The documents in this folder contain a list of current accounts held through the company including the previous balance and current balance, lists of real estate owned, a loan certificate and correspondence pertaining to the transfer of a stock certificate.
John Harvie McDowell (1826-1883) was born in Spotsylvania, VA to Joseph Jefferson McDowell and Sarah Allen McCube. He married Isabelle "Belle" Amelia Rodes (11 Sep 1832 - 19 Oct 1915) in Madison Co., KY on 22 Dec 1852. She was the daughter of William Rodes and Pauline Clay Rodes, a granddaughter of Green Clay and a niece of Cassius M. Clay. At the time of his marriage, McDowell was a businessman in Cincinnati. John and Isabelle had eight children: Pauline Rodes McDowell (12 Oct 1853 - 3 Aug 1854); Joseph Jefferson McDowell (31 Mar 1856 - 1903); William Rodes McDowell (6 Apr 1861 - after 1938); John Harvie McDowell (30 Oct 1863 - after 1938)
Green Clay McDowell (19 Oct 1868 - 28 Jun 1887); Martha McDowell (7 May 1871 - 6 Apr 1938) married Dr. Frank M. Hanger 23 May 1893 and lived in Staunton, VA; Eugene McDowell (6 Oct 1874 - 18 Aug 1875); and Belle Rodes McDowell (6 Apr 1877 - after 1938) married M. C. Woodbury.
In 1857 John McDowell became part owner of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad Company (L.P.&W.) along with James C. Stone, A.J. Isaacs, and Thomas Ewing Jr. These four men controlled the company throughout its existence. In 1863 the L.P.&W. became known as the Union Pacific, Eastern Division. This name change was decided upon because it reflected what the owners originally set out to accomplish, and it defined the role the railroad played in the country at the time.
During his tenure with the railroad company McDowell held the positions of board member and president. After the name change the board of directors was reorganized and McDowell was placed among the rest as directors with John C. Fremont as president. The creation of this railroad did not occur over night, it started out as a last chance effort by Thomas Ewing Jr. to make money after many failed attempts. It was not until Ewing needed financial backers that McDowell became involved. In 1857 control of the L.P.&W. Railroad lay in the hands of not only McDowell but also of James C. Stone, A.J. Isaacs, and Thomas Ewing, Jr. himself. These four men would continue to control the company.
The process of turning this railroad into a business and not into another failed company was not an easy one. In the process of obtaining the land they needed to build upon they created a new treaty with the Delaware Indians which granted the L.P.&W. over two hundred thousand acres that they never paid for. Once the Civil War began, the men started lobbying even harder to obtain federal funds. Once they were granted these funds allowed the railroad to become transcontinental.
McDowell was elected state senator in Kansas on the Republican ballot in 1861. This was the first election held after Kansas attained statehood. His brother James L. McDowell also ran for state senator, and his oldest brother William C. McDowell ran for district judge for the First District of Leavenworth, Kansas. An 1861 entry in Rutherford B. Hayes' diary (Ohio Historical Society) mentions that McDowell is a "senator and major in Kansas." By 1870 John Harvie McDowell had moved back to Richmond, KY where he became involved with the Richmond, Irvine and Three Forks Railroad which later became the RINEY-B Railroad. He died in 1883 and is buried in the Richmond Cemetery.
Repository: Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives
Acquisition Source: Found in Collections - Townsend
