William Henry Blackmore (2 August 1827 – 12 April 1878) was an English lawyer who gained a fortune by exploiting a large

social network A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

as an investment promoter. He used his fortune for philanthropy, primarily centred on his interest in Native Americans, but ended his life after a failed investment deal related to the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fr ...

Lawyer

Blackmore was born 2 August 1827 in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, Wiltshire, England, to a family claiming descent from the family of Sir Richard Blackmore, the English poet and physician. His grandfather, The Reverend Richard Blackmore, was Rector of

Donhead St Mary Donhead St Mary is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England, on the county border with Dorset. The village lies about east of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury and stands on high ground above the River ...

located on the edge of the

Blackmore Vale The Blackmore Vale (; less commonly spelt ''Blackmoor'') is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. Geography The vale is part of the Stour valley and part of ...

. He attended King's College, Bruton, a public school in the neighbouring county of Somerset and then was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulate ...

to his uncle John Lambert of the Salisbury firm of solicitors Lambert and Norton. After qualifying in 1848 Henry joined the firm of solicitors Duncan, Squarey and Duncan in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England and soon became a full partner of Duncan, Squarey and Blackmore. He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1869.

Social network and venture capitalisation

Through several maritime compensation cases Blackmore developed contacts with Americans and their representatives; as well as British and European, investors, business and political leaders. An American lawyer, Cyrus Martin Fisher, showed Blackmore the large and immediate returns to assisting ventures to find capital. To this end Blackmore found his family and business connections useful. In each deal the promoter either took fees, stock or both in exchange for placing bonds or shares with investors. He opened a second office in Founder's Court, Lothbury, London, had success in ventures in Europe and Africa and became well known in British and European investment circles. On 14 May 1851, Blackmore married Mary Sidford. The couple entertained many prominent people of the time at Shepley House in Carshalton, south of London, including:

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most ...

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

, "

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

John Russell Bartlett John Russell Bartlett (October 23, 1805 – May 28, 1886) was an American historian and linguist. Early life Bartlett was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 23, 1805, the son of Smith Bartlett and Nancy (Russell) Bartlett. In 1819 he ...

, John Evans, Arthur Church,

Ernest Griset Ernest Henri Griset (24 August 1843, Boulogne-sur-Mer, – 22 March 1907, London) was a French-born painter and illustrator noted for the humorous interpretations of his subjects. He specialized especially in animal illustrations many of which we ...

, John Lubbock, 3rd Baronet, Colonel Lane Fox, Joseph W. Prestwick, and

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

American investment

On his first trip to America, 1863, Blackmore met with investors in New York and they developed a plan for investments in lands in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, headed to Washington, D.C. in early 1864 with letters of introduction to senators, congressmen and President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Blackmore made several trips to the United States to find investment opportunities, making additional deals with lands in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and forming railway companies. General

William Jackson Palmer William Jackson Palmer (September 18, 1836 – March 13, 1909) was an American civil engineer and veteran of the American Civil War. During the Civil War, he was promoted to brevet brigadier general and received a Medal of Honor for his actions. ...

needed financing for the

Denver and Rio Grande Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fro ...

which Blackmore placed primarily with a party of Dutch bankers. Blackmore became an investor in the United States Freehold Land and Emigration Company Limited which promoted emigration, particularly from the Netherlands and Germany, to the Costilla Estate in the San Luis Valley, Colorado Territory.

Social network extends

In January 1864, while in New York meeting with investors Blackmore attended the opera as the guest of

August Belmont August Belmont Sr. (born Aron Belmont; December 8, 1813November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, and politician. He served as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872. He was also a thoroughbred racehors ...

. In fall 1868, Blackmore travelled west to inspect the completion of the transcontinental railroad, locate likely mining ventures and to investigate the

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

. At the start of the trip Colonel Edward Bridges and Blackmore participated in a buffalo hunt organised by General Henry B. Carrington. On the train they joined Government commissioners, Mitchell and Latham,

Thomas C. Durant Thomas Clark Durant (February 6, 1820 – October 5, 1885) was an American physician, businessman, and financier. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific railroad at Promontory Su ...

Grenville M. Dodge Grenville Mellen Dodge (April 12, 1831 – January 3, 1916) was a Union Army officer on the frontier and a pioneering figure in military intelligence during the Civil War, who served as Ulysses S. Grant's intelligence chief in the Western Th ...

, Samuel B. Reed, Colonel Silas Seymour, Colonel

Richard Irving Dodge Richard Irving Dodge (May 19, 1827 – June 16, 1895) was a colonel in the United States Army. Dodge was born in North Carolina and died after a long and successful career in the U.S. Army. He began as a cadet in 1844 and retired as a Colonel Ma ...

and Professor

Ferdinand Hayden Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden (September 7, 1829 – December 22, 1887) was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union A ...

. West of

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie () is a List of municipalities in Wyoming, city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States, known for its high elevation at , for its railroad history, and as the home of the University of Wyoming. The population wa ...

, Blackmore and Bridges left the train to travel to

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

to make confidential reports to unidentified industrial leaders and the British Cabinet. There was much publicity in the eastern states that the Mormons would not trade with non-Mormons, and in Britain there were concerns raised on the large numbers of British subjects who had left to join the Mormons in Utah. From 6 to 10 October 1868,

John Willard Young John Willard Young (October 1, 1844 – February 12, 1924) was a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is one of the few individuals to have been an LDS Church apostle and member of the First Presidency wi ...

escorted the men providing information and guiding them around the area. Others they met with include Bishop John Sharpe, David Durant, William Henry Hooper, President

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

and his son

Joseph Angell Young Joseph Angell Young (October 14, 1834 – August 5, 1875) was an Apostle (Latter Day Saints), apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Young is one of the few Latter-day Saints in history to have been ordained to ...

. On a trip to the US aboard the SS Russia in 1871 with Generals Sheridan, Forsyth, and Ledlie, Blackmore was introduced to Abraham Lincoln's widow and son,

Robert Todd Lincoln Robert Todd Lincoln (August 1, 1843 – July 26, 1926) was an American lawyer and businessman. The eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, he was the only one of their four children to survive past the teenage years ...

. Robert later became involved in one of Blackmore's land deals.

Philanthropy

From the mid-1840s, archaeologists

Ephraim George Squier Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888), usually cited as E. G. Squier, was an American archaeologist, history writer, painter and newspaper editor. Biography Squier was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister, Joel S ...

(1821–1888) and

Edwin Hamilton Davis Edwin Hamilton Davis (January 22, 1811 – May 15, 1888) was an American physician and self taught archaeologist who completed pioneering investigations of the mound builders in the Mississippi Valley. Davis gathered what, at that time, was th ...

(1811–1888) excavated artefacts from mounds discovered in the Mississippi and Ohio valley, to form the so-called Squier-Davis collection. They had written a manuscript discussing their findings but did not have the funds to publish it. Having been unsuccessful in his efforts to sell the 1300-piece Mound City Group collection to the Smithsonian Institution or the New York Historical Society, Davis prepared a catalogue featuring his cumulative collections and placed them up for sale on the open market. The catalogue included not only Ohio antiquities, but those from his excavations in Peru, Central America, and Denmark as well. Davis preferred having the collection remain in the United States, but no American institution came forward to make a serious monetary offer. In 1864 Blackmore acquired the entire collection of native American archaeological artefacts excavated from the mounds in the Mississippi valley, including the Squier-Davis collection. He purchased this collection from Davis for US$10,000. Blackmore founded the Blackmore Museum in Salisbury which opened in a lavish ceremony on 4 September 1867. Dr. Humphrey Purnell Blackmore (1822–1929) and Blackmore's brother in law Edward Thomas Stevens (1828–1878) were the museum's honorary curators. Since the museum collections included the Squier and Davis collections it appears to have become something of a place of pilgrimage for American archaeologists. The 1907 edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' described the museum as "one of the finest collections of prehistoric antiquities in England." In 1899, the eminent

George Amos Dorsey George Amos Dorsey (February 6, 1868 – March 29, 1931) was an American ethnographer of indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a special focus on the Caddoan and Siouan tribes of the Great Plains. He is credited with helping develop the an ...

(1868–1931) wrote; "The Blackmore Museum of Salisbury contains one of the best selected and arranged collections of man's prehistoric relics that I have ever seen." Blackmore significantly sponsored the 1872 survey expedition of the Yellowstone region led by

, also funding equipment for photographer

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, American Civil War, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, t ...

and painter

Thomas Moran Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth, took ...

. Blackmore and his wife travelled with the expedition. Hayden named a newly discovered mineral ''Blackmorite'' in thanks for Blackmore's support.Brayer, Herbert O. ''William Blackmore: The Spanish-Mexican Land Grants 1863–1878. Volume 1.'' Denver, 1949. Page 23. Blackmore commissioned photographers like Jackson to photograph Native Americans. Some accompanied the survey expeditions, some he contacted and acquired their existing prints and some made portraits of natives visiting Washington. The work of some twenty-eight photographers were to be found in Blackmore's photographic collection. These included Antonio Zeno Shindler, Alexander Gardner, Orloff R. Westman, and

William Abraham Bell William Abraham Bell (26 April 1841 – 6 June 1921), fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, was an English physician who is best known as a photographer of the American West, and a founder and developer of several businesses and towns in Col ...

. The collections also included commercially available

carte de visite The ''carte de visite'' (, English: 'visiting card', abbr. 'CdV', pl. ''cartes de visite'') was a format of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero ...

s and stereoscopic views. Blackmore took prints for display at the museum but asked that the negatives be left for students to study. The original set of photographs is referred to as the Blackmore Collection. Some photographers continued to make portraits after Blackmore left and those expanded were named for the photographer. His brother, Humphrey Purnell Blackmore, a physician, surgeon and archaeologist was one of the founders of the

Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum The Salisbury Museum (previously The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum) is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology. The museum is housed in The King's Ho ...

which was primarily dedicated to local artefacts. In 1902 the two museums were amalgamated, taking the latter name. Following Humphrey Blackmore's death, a significant number of Blackmore Museum artefacts were distributed to other museums including the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, the Birmingham Museum, and the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. In 1932, Barbara Freire-Marreco Aitken (1879–1967), a prominent anthropologist who had worked with the innovative educator and passionate amateur archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett (1865–1946), secured a substantial set of Blackmore's papers relating to his activities in New Mexico for the Historical Society of New Mexico. This material also included some 112 photographs in carte de visite, stereoscopic, Cabinet and other formats. Blackmore's museum, whose name had become incorporated with that of the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum after his death – and amalgamated in 1902 – finally disappeared in 1968. The remnants of his museum moved from its purpose built setting adjoining the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum in St. Ann Street to The King's House in the Cathedral Close in 1981 and the building was subsequently converted into residential apartments.

Death

While on the expedition to Yellowstone in July 1872, Blackmore's wife Mary contracted pneumonia and died in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

. Blackmore purchased land and donated it to the town for a cemetery. Ferdinand Hayden named

Mount Blackmore Mount Blackmore is located in Gallatin National Forest, in the U.S. state of Montana. Bozeman is located near the East Gallatin River, Gallatin County, Mount Blackmore is south of the City of Bozeman in the Gallatin Range. Ferdinand Vandeveer ...

in Mary's honour. In 1871, he sent his brother Henry and cousin George Blackmore and their families to look after lands in

. A world recession hit in 1873, investors became agitated, American partners were taking advantage of Blackmore's absence leading to a stressful situation for the promoter. In 1877, his sister Blanche and her husband Arthur Boyle (1840–1910), whom she had married in that year, emigrated to America to look after Blackmore's property in New Mexico. Back in England Blackmore was suffering from a fall, overwork, lack of rest and over-indulgence. Humphrey prescribed some time away in the South of England. However, after a drinking binge he suffered from sun stroke, returning home in worse condition. Blackmore's business investments fell into more and more precarious states. He was unable to raise funding to travel to the USA to sort matters out. On 12 April 1878, Blackmore shot himself in his study at

Belgrave Mansions Grosvenor Gardens House is a Grade II-listed mansion block at 23–47 Grosvenor Gardens, London, Grosvenor Gardens, Belgravia, London. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother may have been born there in 1900. David Niven was born there in 1910, and Wil ...

Grosvenor Gardens, London Grosvenor Gardens is the name given to two triangular parks in Belgravia, London, faced on their western and eastern sides by streets of the same name. Both roads run roughly north to south from Hobart Place and Grosvenor Place to Buckingham ...

, London, near Victoria Station.Brayer, Herbert O. ''William Blackmore: The Spanish-Mexican Land Grants 1863–1878. Volume 1.'' Denver, 1949. Page 315. At his own request, he was buried on 20 April in Brompton Cemetery, London.

Published work

*''Colorado: Its Resources, Parks, and Prospects as a New Field for Emigration, with and Account of the Trenchara and Costilla Estates, in the San Luis Park''. Published by Sampson Low, Son and Marston, 1869, London. *''A brief account of the North American Indians and particularly of the hostile tribes of the plains; principal Indian events since 1862; causes of Indian wars; Indian atrocities and western reprisals; and war of extermination now being waged between the white and red men. An Introduction to Col.

's'' Hunting Grounds of the Great West. Chatto & Windus, 1877, London.

Cited references

External links

William Blackmore Collection
– A collection of William Blackmore's papers obtained by the Archives of New Mexico.

donated to the University of Iowa, William Blackmore mentioned in the Historical text.
Business papers, estate papers, accounts, corresp. of William Blackmore, Solicitor
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, UK
Some account of the Blackmore Museum
– Online and PDF copies of the book written by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society in 1868. 284 pages.