Hamrick Collection

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ThomasG
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Hamrick Collection

Post by ThomasG »

From the Hamrick Collection:

Going through Collection I have come across letters written by Gerald “Jerry” Hamrick. One would expect Jerry’s files to have letters sent to him (which they have), but unlikely to have letters sent to others. The reason is Jerry’s letters are hand written. Hence no carbon copy.

It seems that Jerry wrote his letters in long hand, then edited it putting new material in the margins, crossing out certain words/phrases, ets. It appears he then wrote a final letter and sent it to the recipient.

In the “rough draft letters” letters he has some interesting information on the Don’s Map — the one commonly called the Profile Map.

In the letter he explains that he had been living in Mexico for some years (he spent five years total) . He went through original records. (He told me that he had a letter from the Gonzales family that helped him get access.)

In the mining records Jerry found:

“The Gonzales Mine was discovered in 1787 — filed for record Jan. 3, 1788— the Area Map.

The “Adolph Ruth Map” used by the Don’s Club is a forgery — the desert map was reversed (a mirror image) to fit the area — joined to the Profile Map that was altered to fit the Superstition Mts. — from the Don’s Camp — If you can believe it a Counterfeit Map.” Letter to Tom Lerch, no date.”

And:

“I guess you might say — of what use is another book — I have the map of the area the Original Claimants Map. There were 5 men — 6 claims were filed — of one was the ancestor of Gonzales — 1788 — Dated — filled for record 6 gold mines — 2 for the discoveror, one for eash other man — The names of 5 men are listed. I only wish Erwin (Ruth) had lived to see the map’”

On a single sheet from another letter he wrote:

“You see he (Erwin Ruth_) only had 1/2 of the maps necessary to locate the mine —

He had the Profile Map - [map] #. 2.”

Unfortunately the first page to this letter is missing.

In another letter Jerry delineates the function of the three maps. This information will follow, along with Hamrick's take on the differences between the maps he found in the Mexican archives and the Don's Profile Map".

Thomas
cuzzinjack
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Re: Hamrick Collection

Post by cuzzinjack »

Hello Dr. Glover,

That is exciting news. As you can see from my last post, I have the technique for overlaying the maps over google earth refined pretty well. If you are so inclined, I'll do it for you. I'm just guessing, but this may be the northern part of the same district.

cuzzinjack
ThomasG
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Re: Hamrick Collection

Post by ThomasG »

Thank you. I am still going through the collection. Presently I have not determined if copies of the original maps are in the correction.

Some of the collection was inadvertently destroyed some years ago. If I come across any I'll contact you.

T
cuzzinjack
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Re: Hamrick Collection

Post by cuzzinjack »

Hello Dr. Glover,

The irony of this is overpowering. Just a week-and-a-half ago I took some people on a tour of my mining claims, and told them the high points of the area standing on top of Cerro Negra. Two of them were mining engineers from the Colorado School of Mines. One of them says, “Oh, that is Gonzales Rock”, and he has never even lived here. I laughed out loud then, and am laughing now.

If you find any maps that show this rock as a reference, please contact me. Your IP regarding this is yours, and yours alone.

Image

cuzzinjack
ThomasG
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Re: Hamrick Collection

Post by ThomasG »

When Hamrick returned from Mexico he wrote a letter to Erwin Ruth. It appears Hamrick had been writing Erwin off and on prior to the excerpts below.

“Dear Mrs. Stella Hawkins May 14, 1988

I wrote a letter to your Brother in 1970 — after I came from Mexico — spending 5 years there. My letter was answered by Mr. Richard Anderson who stated, Dr. Ruth would have enjoyed talking about Mexican adventures. But that he had passed away nearly a year before. I was really sorry.
I really wanted to talk with Erwin — I had found all the answers about the Lost Gonzales Mine.
First, general Gonzales was an orphan at 5 years old — raised by relatives until he was 12 — placed into a Military school from there into the army.
So he never knew where the mine was. Did not know even the state it was in. Did not know a map was missing. He did give Erwin all the maps he had of the family mine — told Erwin all he knew. The general and his family lived in exile in the U.S.A. — for nearly 20 years. They all were allowed to return to Mexico where his tank of general was Reinstated — Honored as a Hero of the Revolution. He died an old man of natural causes. Today Buildings — Streets — Avenues, and thousands of Boy Children have his name to honor him.
The general’s son only knew what his father had told him — nothing about the mine. Only that no one in the general’s family or his had tried to to find the mine.
The maps given to Dr. Ruth were all they had. They were real . No one knew one map was missing.”

This is all the time I have right now to transcribe Hamrick’s letter to Stella Hawkins. What follows in the letter are information on “The Desert Map” and “The Profile Map”.

Note Hamrick used the dash (—)sometimes as a break in a sentence, sometime as marking the end of a sentence. Also he used capitol letters s for emphasis. I have tried to differentiate the two uses using a period for what is the apparent end of a sentence, and a dash for emphasis.

More as time allows,

Thomas
Deducer
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Re: Hamrick Collection

Post by Deducer »

Dr. Glover, thank you for sharing.

Where is the Hamrick collection located, and is it a private collection?
ThomasG
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Re: Hamrick Collection

Post by ThomasG »

Deducer,

The account of the Hamrick Collection is a tangled one. The collection is is in a private collection, which, one might say is a good thing. As at one time Jerry wanted to destroy the collection. The original collection consisted of primary documents and notes. The notes are not organized, and on one sheet of paper there are usually multiple disconnected entries and scribbled notes. The entries and notes are not sequential. Meaning that often one had to know Jerry pretty well to know the significance of an entry on a page of notes. For example, on one sheet of paper there are well over something like 20 distinct entries -- none related. Up in the corner is the following: 75,000. No explanation. However, if you knew Jerry and had done your research you take it as a notation is to the "Birch petition" in California, which it is. Jerry and I talked about that petition as Jerry found Waltz's name on it. As for the other multiple entries on this particular sheet of paper, they are as yet to be identified, Further, most (but fortunately not all) of gis original documents and copies if original were lost in a fire years ago.

The collection is currently in a private collection. My understanding is that it has yet to be untangled.

Thomas
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Re: Hamrick Collection

Post by Deducer »

Thanks for the quick response, Dr. Glover.
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