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Joseph Singer Wildberg Stock Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MS-613

Scope and Contents

Collection, 1843-2020, of stock certificates, related documentation, and reference materials. Focuses primarily on copper mining corporations in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Ontonagon County, Michigan, but also includes stocks for local Keweenaw businesses, transportation businesses, mining suppliers, and mining corporations operating elsewhere in the United States. Contents include stock certificates, bonds, historical photographs, business records, ephemera, and reference materials.

Dates

  • 1843-2020
  • Majority of material found within 1845-1965

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Available for use in the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

Various copying restrictions apply. Guidelines are available from Michigan Technological University Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections.

Biographical Note

Joseph Singer (“Joe”) Wildberg was born on August 24, 1944, to Alfred and Myrtle (Singer) Wildberg. Alfred was a mining engineer and businessman who had fled Germany. Myrtle, a New Jersey native, was a physical education teacher.

Joe grew up in Jersey City, NJ, where he graduated from Snyder High School in 1962. He attended Michigan Technological University, serving as a U.S. Army ROTC cadet. He graduated in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and entered into active duty in Korea. Following three years of service, Wildberg remained active in the Army Reserve, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. In civilian life, Wildberg worked in the automobile industry.

Wildberg married Mary Bridget Kaufman in 1972. Their daughter, Ellysen, was born in 1982. They lived in New Jersey and Michigan. Mary passed away on December 20, 1996. Wildberg married a second time to Dr. Carol Ellstein.

Wildberg was an avid stock collector in his retirement, and he was active in the American Legion and the Temple B’nai Israel of Petoskey. He passed away on July 31, 2021, in Wolverine, MI.

Extent

1.08 cubic feet ( (2 manuscript boxes, 1 object box, and 1 oversize folder))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection, 1843-2020, of stock certificates, related documentation, and reference materials focusing primarily on copper mining corporations in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Ontonagon County, Michigan.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series: Stock Certificates and Reference Materials. The Stock Certificates series is further arranged in two subseries, Copper Mining Corporations and Other Corporations, to capture Wildberg’s original arrangement of the materials.

Series I, Stock Certificates, includes stock certificates, bonds, and related documentation such as historical photographs, business records, ephemera, and biographical sketches of shareholders and company executives. Certificates fall in two major groupings, copper mining corporations and other businesses. Copper mining corporations, especially those of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, were Wildberg’s primary collecting focus. However, Wildberg also collected stock certificates for local Keweenaw businesses, mining suppliers, iron and gold mining corporations, and transportation businesses (automobile, shipping, and railway companies).

Series II, Reference Materials, includes a collection inventory assembled by Wildberg in 2020, six published books concerning copper mining, and a folder of reference materials about stock certificates and mining in the Copper Country.

Title
Joseph Singer Wildberg Stock Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Martin Kaehrle
Date
June 28, 2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Materials are primarily in English; ; there are two documents in French, noted at the file level.

Repository Details

Part of the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections Repository

Contact:
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton 49931 U.S.A. US