Duff Chapman

Biography

Mining Engineer Jeffrey Schweitzer (1885-1979) graduated from the University of California School of Mines (1907). From 1908, he did free-lance work investigating mines and writing reports on them for various western mining companies. He was particularly well-informed about mining activities in Amador County, California. Most of the individuals with whom Schweitzer corresponded were active in the mining industry. Two of these men, John J. McSorley and James E. Davis, were associated with mines in Amador County. Schweitzer maintained friendships with McSorley and Davis for over fifty years. After he retired (1958) Schweitzer settled permanently in Jackson, Amador County. There, he became active in various local history projects. He oversaw the town of Jackson's acquisition of the Kennedy Mining & Milling Company Wheels as a city park. He was also the first Director of the Amador County Historical Society. During his last years, Schweitzer met amateur historian, Duff Chapman. Chapman was a long-time Amador County resident who wrote about the Jackson area. Jeffrey Schweitzer left his papers to Chapman, who, in turn, gave them--together with his own--to the University of the Pacific.