Los Angeles County
Biographies
CHARLES EMERY FINNEY
FINNEY, CHARLES EMERY,
Mining, Los Angeles, California, was born in Cambridge City, Indiana,
February 20, 1860, the son of Jasper Finney and Sara A. (Crane) Finney. He
married Alice Cary Jones at Connersville, Indiana, May 15, 1889, and
to them there have been born five children, Charles Emery Finney, Jr., Edgar
Lawrence Finney, Walter Finney, Katherine Finney and Emily Finney.
Mr. Finney received his elementary training in the public
schools of Indianapolis, leaving there in September, 1875, to become a student
in the Preparatory School of De Pauw University at
Greencastle, Indiana. Completing his preparatory work in June, 1877, he entered
De Pauw University the following September and was
graduated in 1881 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Three years later the
degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him.
From the time he left school in 1881 down to the present,
Mr. Finney’s life has been one of ceaseless activity and progression. He was
clerk in a book house at Indianapolis during the first year after concluding
his studies and followed this with a year’s service as clerk in the offices of
the Hoosac Tunnel Line in Indianapolis. From 1883 to
1885 he was a clerk for the White Star Line Transit Company, but gave this up
when he was appointed Chief Clerk of the Indianapolis Division Freight Office
of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis (Big Four) Railway
Company.
After one year in charge of the Indianapolis office, Mr.
Finney was appointed General Western Freight Agent for the Big Four Route, with
headquarters at Kansas City, Missouri. After serving in this capacity for about
two years, Mr. Finney severed his connection with the railroad company to
become Traffic Manager of the Consolidated Kansas City Smelting & Refining
Company, this marking his advent into the mining business.
Mr. Finney served in various capacities with the Consolidated
Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company until 1895, when he was made Manager
of the concern. During the first seven years of his connection with the company
he was on the Board of Directors and also held Directorships in the Arkansas
Valley Smelting Company of Leadville, Colorado; the El Paso Smelting Company of
El Paso, Texas, and the Mexican Ore Company, also located at El Paso. In 1897
he became a member of the Board of Directors of the United Zinc & Chemical
Company of Kansas City.
In the year 1899, Mr. Finney, who had come to be known as
one of the expert smelting men of the country, gave up the management of the
Kansas City concern and its affiliated companies and went to New York as
Manager for M. Guggenheim’s Sons, taking charge of their refining and
smelting plants and mining interests in various parts of the country. He was
occupied in this position for approximately two years, when, in 1901, the
Guggenheim properties were merged into the American Smelting & Refining
Company, at which time Mr. Finney became a member of the Operating Committee of
the latter corporation, in charge of the operation of its twenty-five large
plants.
In 1903 Mr. Finney became associated with Benjamin
Guggenheim in the organization of the Power & Mining Machinery Company, of
Milwaukee, Wis., and served as a Director of the company until some time in the latter part of the year 1904.
Severing his connection with the Milwaukee concern, Mr.
Finney was elected Vice President and General Manager of the Arizona Smelting
Company, of Humboldt, Arizona, also serving as a member of the Board of
Directors. The company’s works were constructed under the direction of Mr.
Finney and he began their operation in March, 1906. In addition to his duties
with this company, Mr. Finney served, during the year 1906, as a Director of
the Prescott National Bank, of Prescott, Arizona.
In 1907 Mr. Finney became President and Director in a
number of copper companies, among which are the London-Arizona Copper Company,
the London Range Copper Company, London Shamrock Copper Company, Ball Copper
Company and the Vekol Range Copper Company, all of
which properties are located in Gila County, Arizona.
Although most of his interests are in Arizona, Mr. Finney
found it more convenient to transfer his headquarters to Los Angeles. He
maintains offices there, under the name of Finney & Co.
Mr. Finney is a member of the Lawyers’ Club, New York;
Highland Club, Summit, N. J.; Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, N. J.;
Monday Night Club (Literary), Summit, N. J.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
11 October 2010.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 496,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2010 Marie Hassard .
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