Devlin-Miller Coal Co. - Signed by John H. Miller and Charles J. Devlin - 1902 dated Kansas City, Missouri $1,000 4.5% Gold Bond (Uncanceled)

$1,000 4 1/2% Uncanceled Gold Bond, Signed by Devlin & Miller, Printed by Western Bank Note Co. Chicago. From the Engineering and Mining Journal of 1905:

Charles J. Devlin, a well-known coal mine operator, recently declared bankruptcy with liabilities exceeding $5,000,000. He died from a stroke of paralysis at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Chicago on October 31. Devlin had suffered a similar stroke the previous summer. At the time of his death, he was 52 years old and left behind a widow and five children. Before his financial troubles began in July, Mr. Devlin was the head of 26 different companies, including coal-mining enterprises and mercantile establishments across Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and other states. For many years, he was one of the most active businessmen in the Southwest. His wealth was primarily derived from coal-mining properties located in southern Kansas, near Marceline, Missouri, and in Illinois. His notable companies included the Mount Carmel, the Toluca, the Marquette, Third Vein, the Devlin Coal Company, the Devlin-Miller Coal Company, and the Southwestern Fuel Company. Devlin's decline began due to overwork; he collapsed last summer while papers were being drafted in Kansas City to form a corporation aimed at managing his business ventures. However, the First National Bank in Topeka, Kansas, where he was the principal stockholder, unexpectedly failed. The bank was found to hold nearly $1,000,000 in Devlin's promissory notes, leading to panic and subsequent runs on several banks in Topeka, as well as the failure of a Kansas City bank that also held his notes. This chain of events halted the incorporation of Devlin's properties, ultimately resulting in his bankruptcy. A report from the Devlin receivers, released on October 19, indicated his total liabilities to be $5,631,000. Two months prior to his death, Mr. Devlin traveled to Europe in search of better health and had only recently returned to New York.