MG-48. FALL BROOK RAILROAD AND COAL COMPANY RECORDS, 1768-1938 (bulk 1819-1938).
Records of the business and financial interests of the Magee family of Bath, New York, containing primarily the records of the Fall Brook Coal Company and the Fall Brook Railroad Company. Born near Easton, Pennsylvania, John Magee (1794-1868) took up residence in Bath, Steuben County, New York in 1816. In 1854, John Magee obtained ownership of the Corning and Blossburg Railroad. In 1851, Magee obtained the lease for the coal mines at Blossburg, held earlier by Mallory and Bostwick of Corning, New York. John Magee’s son, Duncan S. Magee, discovered coal near Fall Brook, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, and organized the Fall Brook Coal Company in 1859. When John Magee died in 1868, Duncan directed the family enterprises until his death one year later, whereupon he was succeeded by his brother, George J. Magee. In 1897, George J. Magee died and was succeeded as president of the coal and railway companies by his son, also named John Magee.
JOHN MAGEE, 1892-1900
The records of John Magee (grandson of the original) contain minute books, letter press books, general correspondence, and account books. Among the Correspondence of George J. Magee (1864-1908) are three letters from George T. Maxwell, a student at Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, one of the African American land grant universities, addressed to General G. A. Magee, dated May 8, 16, and 28, 1896, requesting employment from either Magee or his wife for the summer in order to have enough money to return to Fisk University in the fall of 1896. In reviewing Magee’s letter press books, no reply to Maxwell was found.