Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Shepherd, Theodosia Burr
- Abstract:
- Theodosia Burr Shepherd was born in Keosauqua, Iowa. She was the daughter of Augustus Hall, a lawyer who later became Chief Justice of Nebraska. She married W.E. Shepherd on September 9, 1866, and they moved to California for her health in 1873. In 1881 she sent a package to Peter Henderson, a seedsman in New York, who encouraged her to grow seeds and flowers in the Ventura climate. She built up a business, the Theodosia B. Shepherd Company, which annually issued a retail catalogue and two wholesale lists. The business was incorporated in 1902. She wrote and lectured on plant life, her hybridization work, and her success in the seed industry. The Collection contains correspondence, 2 scrapbooks, photographs, and printed materials related to Theodosia Burr Shepherd and her work as a pioneer of seed culture in Ventura, CA. Includes a typescript biography of Theodosia B. Shepherd by her daughter, Myrtle Shepherd Francis.
- Extent:
- 3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.)
- Language:
- English.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection contains correspondence, 2 scrapbooks, photographs, and printed materials related to Theodosia Burr Shepherd and her work as a pioneer of seed culture in Ventura, California. Includes a typescript biography of Theodosia B. Shepherd by her daughter, Myrtle Shepherd Francis. Most of the correspondence is to and from Myrtle S. Francis, who controlled the Theodosia B. Shepherd Company and its flower gardens after her mother's death. Correspondents include Florence Yoch and Luther Burbank. Many photographs in the collection are of various plants and flowers, and others are of Theodosia Burr Shepherd and Myrtle Shepherd Francis.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Theodosia Burr Shepherd was born in Keosauqua, Iowa; she was the daughter of Augustus Hall,a lawyer who later became Chief Justice of Nebraska; she married W.E. Shepherd on September 9, 1866, and they moved to California for her health in 1873; in 1881 she sent a package to Peter Henderson, a seedsman in New York, who encouraged her to grow seeds and flowers in the Ventura climate; she built up a business, the Theodosia B. Shepherd Company, which annually issued a retail catalogue and two wholesale lists; in 1902 the business was incorporated, and the stockholders were members of her family; she wrote and lectured on plant life, her hybridization work, and her success as a pioneering woman in the seed industry; she died September 6, 1906 in Ventura, California.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Myrtle Shepherd Francis.
- Physical location:
- Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988