| James G. Fair | |
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| In office March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1887 |
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| Preceded by | William Sharon |
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| Succeeded by | William M. Stewart |
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| Born | December 3, 1831 Belfast, County Tyrone, Ireland |
| Died | December 28, 1894 (aged 63) San Francisco, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Theresa Rooney (divorced) |
| Residence | Virginia City |
| Profession | Real estate |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
James Graham Fair (December 3, 1831– San Francisco, December 28, 1894) was the overnight millionaire part-owner of the Comstock Lode, a United States Senator and a colorful real estate and railroad speculator. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England 1575 - Indian Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common William Sharon ( January 9, 1821 &ndash November 13, 1885) was a United States Senator from Nevada who profited from the William Morris Stewart ( August 9, 1827 &ndash April 23, 1909) was an American lawyer and politician Events 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French Year 1831 ( MDCCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom Events 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French Year 1831 ( MDCCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Comstock Lode was the first major US deposit of Silver Ore, discovered under what is now Virginia City Nevada on the eastern slope of Mt The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives
Biography
Born to a simple family near Belfast, Ireland, Graham imigrated to the United States in 1843 and grew up on a farm in Illinois. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. 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. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. This article treats the river in California For other uses see Feather River (disambiguation The Feather River is a principal tributary of 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. Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. Washoe County is a County located in the US state of Nevada. The population was 339486 at the 2000 census; 2006 Census Bureau Mother lode is a principal vein or zone of veins of Gold or Silver Ore.
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. John William Mackay ( November 28, 1831 - July 20, 1902) was an American capitalist, born in Dublin Ireland. William S O'Brien (1825-1878 was an American businessman who formed a business partnership with fellow Irishmen James Graham Fair, James C 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. Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen The Comstock Lode was the first major US deposit of Silver Ore, discovered under what is now Virginia City Nevada on the eastern slope of Mt 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. "[1] 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. William "Billy" Chapman Ralston ( January 12, 1826 - August 27, 1875) was a San Francisco California businessman and The Bank of California was founded in San Francisco California on July 5, 1864 by William Chapman Ralston.
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 6200-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. The South Pacific Coast Railroad was a narrow gauge steam railroad running between Santa Cruz California and Alameda, with a ferry connection in Alameda San Francisco Bay is a shallow productive Estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento After Fair's death the Southern Pacific took over his line and converted it to standard gauge.
In 1861 he married Theresa Rooney, who had been keeping a boarding house. A boarding house, also known as a "rooming house" (mainly in the United States) or a "lodging house" is a House (often a family home She divorced him in 1883 on grounds of "habitual adultery" and brought up their four children on her own, with a very considerable settlement.
He was appointed by the Nevada legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1881. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives 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, where, 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[2] without an invitation. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Hermann Oelrichs (born June 8, 1850, Baltimore Maryland, died September 1, 1906, aboard SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container Shipping line Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, and a cruise He gave her a million dollars as a wedding gift nevertheless (Ferguson 1977 p. 2)
His will left $40 million in trust to his daughters, nee Theresa "Tessie" Alice Fair, Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs, and Virginia Graham, later Mrs William Kissam Vanderbilt II and his surviving son, Charles Fair. Virginia Fair Vanderbilt ( 1875 - July 15, 1935) was an American Socialite, hotel builder/owner, Philanthropist William Kissam Vanderbilt II ( March 2 1878 &ndash January 8 1944) was a Motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman and a member After his death, Mrs. Nettie Cravens came forward claiming to be his wife. She brought plenty of 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.
Fair is the Fair of Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco which was begun in 1902 by his daughters who were determined to construct a grand monument to their father, but sold their interests in 1906, days before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Fairmont San Francisco is a luxury Hotel in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco California. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city
| Preceded by William Sharon |
United States Senator (Class 1) from Nevada 1881–1887 Served alongside: John P. Jones |
Succeeded by William M. Stewart |
References
- ^ Grant H. William Sharon ( January 9, 1821 &ndash November 13, 1885) was a United States Senator from Nevada who profited from the United States Senate See also List of United States Senators from Nevada House of Representatives Delegates from Nevada Territory Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common John Percival Jones ( January 27, 1829 - November 12, 1912) was an American politician who served for 30 years as a Republican William Morris Stewart ( August 9, 1827 &ndash April 23, 1909) was an American lawyer and politician Smith (1943) The History of the Comstock Lode, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Geology and Mining Series No. 37, p. 118.
- ^ His hotel built that year survived the San Francisco Earthquake and continues as the "Queen Anne Hotel".
- 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
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