John Sproston Papers

This collection contains papers of Nevada and California mine stockholder and insurance agent John Sproston.

The Diaries/Account Books series consists of holographic account books and diaries kept by Sproston and/or his clients from 1856-1879.

The Correspondence series (ca. 1875-1883) includes business and personal letters that Sproston received and sent to others. The series also includes correspondence between clients and a small amount of letters that are addressed to Mary E. Sproston.

The Legal Documents series is divided into three subseries: Financial Records, Indentures, and Stock Certificates. The Financial Records subseries ranges from 1868 to 1885 and includes receipts, account statements, billheads, checks, and money orders in regards to the estate of F. J. (Frances Joseph) Hammell, a client of Sproston. The subseries also includes receipts regarding the tuition payment of Hannah Sproston's education and room and board, as well as a receipt verifying the payment of Sproston's life insurance policy. The Indentures subseries (1860-1880) includes legal agreements, deeds, and bill of sales in regards to mining grounds from F.J. Hammell's estate and Sproston's personal agreement with the Argonaut Mill and Mining Company. The Stock Certificates subseries dates from 1863 to 1879. Certificates within the subseries are for various gold and mining companies including Allison, Bonny, Consolidated Cedar Hill, Dardanelle, Durgan, Harrison, MaryAnn, and Wells Fargo.

The Ephemera series (1865-1885) contains a biography of Virginia Nevada, empty envelopes, announcements, invitations, a miscellaneous note, a baptism certificate, and a diploma earned by May Sproston.

The Photograph series is arranged alphabetically by folder title and contains family photographs of the Sprostons and the Hammells. There are also images of family friends, the Lewishan Church, Bow Bridge, Flores Peak, a pulled wagon, and unidentified men and women. Within this series are cabinet cards, tin types, cartes-de-visite (card photographs), and cyanotypes.