Los Angeles County
Biographies
LYCURGUS LINDSAY
LINDSAY,
LYCURGUS, Mining Operator, Los Angeles,
California, was born in Princeton, Missouri, October 18, 1859, the son of
William Lindsay and Nancy (Boatman) Lindsay. He married Eva R. Robson at
Newport, Kentucky, in the year 1881, and to them there were born two children,
Roberta and Gladys Lindsay.
Mr.
Lindsay, who is recognized as one of the real developers of natural resources
in the Southwest, has spent the greater part of his life west of the Rocky
Mountains. When he was two years old (1861) he was taken by his parents across
the plains to California, the family locating in Sonoma County, the center of
the great deciduous fruit-growing country. He spent his early childhood there,
but later in his boyhood lived in Texas, Kansas, Illinois and other parts of
the Middle West. He received his education principally through private teachers
and was graduated from the High School at Humboldt, Kansas, in the year 1877,
supplementing this with a business course in a college at Jacksonville,
Illinois. He also received higher instruction from Professor Bickler, a noted educator of Austin, Texas.
When
he was eighteen years of age, Mr. Lindsay embarked in the grain and cattle
business in Southeastern Texas and after a few years, moved to Kansas, where he
engaged in the cattle and flour milling business. The cattle in that day were
driven over the trails from Texas through the Indian Territory to Kansas and
the Northwestern States, and Mr. Lindsay was one of the successful cattlemen of
his section. He had a well-equipped and prosperous flour mill, but in 1889 it
was destroyed by fire, and instead of rebuilding, he went to Kansas City,
Missouri, not far from his birthplace, and engaged in the grain brokerage
business. He continued in that for about three years, but at the end of that
period closed his offices and moved to Los Angeles.
For
the first year after his return to California, Mr. Lindsay was concerned in
various enterprises, but in 1893 transferred his headquarters to Nogales,
Arizona, on the International border between the United States and Mexico, and
took up mining. This was the beginning of a new phase of his career, one in
which he met with numerous trials, but through determination and a natural
ability, he overcame his difficulties. His first mining venture was the Mexicana Mine, in the wonderfully rich State of Sonora,
Mexico, and later he took charge of the Santa Rosa Lea Mine as Superintendent.
His success in the handling of these properties quickly placed Mr. Lindsay
among the leaders of the mining industry in the Southwest and his work since
that time, involving the ownership and management of numerous important
projects, has been attended almost invariably with success.
In
1895, Mr. Lindsay turned his attention to the centuries-old copper mines of Cananea, Mexico, and he located and opened for development
what has since proved to be one of the greatest groups in the history of
copper. These mines were worked by the early Spanish invaders, but for many
years they had resisted the efforts of the best mining experts to turn them
into paying property. Mr. Lindsay led the way in the development of these
mines, which were later divided into sections and worked with great success by
various interests. He had a number of rich claims and continued as one of the
principal factors in the operation of the district until1907, when he sold the
last of his mines, the Cananea Central, to the
Cole-Ryan syndicate of New York. This property is now known as the Greene-Cananea mine and is famous as one of the most productive
copper properties in the world.
Mr.
Lindsay was a developing force also in the Denocrita
mines, which he later sold to the H. H. Hoffman Syndicate of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and which, like the Cananeas, have proved to be among
the wealth-producing properties of Northern Sonora. Another valuable property
which he held and operated for some time in the northern part of Mexico was the
Indiana-Sonora Mine, which he disposed of to the Phelps-Dodge Company, owners
of the Copper Queen and other noted mining properties.
Mr.
Lindsay’s success in the mining business is partly due to an inherited disposition
toward the business, his father having been one of the pioneer mining and
milling men at Virginia city, Nevada, when that famous
camp was opened. The son still retains interests in several mining companies in
Nevada and during the historic Goldfield boom was one of the early operators.
Besides his Nevada interests, Mr. Lindsay still retains valuable mine holdings
in Mexico, although since the sale of his Cananea
property he has been gradually withdrawing from the mining business and expects
eventually to devote himself to other affairs exclusively.
Since
1905, Mr. Lindsay has made his permanent home in Los Angeles and has become
interested in various enterprises which place him among the substantial men of
the community. He is a Director of the Los Angeles Trust Company and one of the
largest stockholders in the First National Bank of Los Angeles, two of the
strongest financial institutions in the Southwest, in addition to being one of
the principal owners and a Director of the First National Bank of Nogales,
Arizona. Another important business which claims his attention is the
Independent Sewer Pipe Works of Los Angeles, of which he is controlling
stockholder. This company’s plant manufactures all kinds of building material
and gives employment to several hundred people.
His
public spirit, as well as that of his associates, is shown by the exceptionally
artistic building in which the Los Angeles Trust Company is housed, a building
which is a splendid example of how beauty and utility can be combined.
Aside
from the various interests mentioned, Mr. Lindsay is the owner of an immense
amount of land in old Mexico and is engaged in cattle-raising on a large scale,
this enterprise being one of the largest cattle and stock ranches in the State
of Sonora.
Although
he has never taken an active part in politics, Mr. Lindsay is regarded as one
of the strong men of Los Angeles, and a man of great generosity. He is a member
of the Jonathan Club, California Club, and the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Transcribed 2-11-09
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 193, International News Service, New York, Chicago,
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta.
1913.
© 2009 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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