Jesse Ross Letters: Finding Aid mssRoss
Kelly Kress
The Huntington Library
March 2022
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Jesse Ross letters
Creator:
Ross, Jesse
Identifier/Call Number: mssRoss
Physical Description:
0.21 Linear Feet
(1 half box)
Date (inclusive): 1909-1919
Abstract: Letters to Colorado tenant farmer Jesse Ross from landowner Edna B. Leorke, indicating the state of farming at the time; and
a few letters from family.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Jesse Ross letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from McBride Rare Books, March 2021.
Jesse A. Ross was a tenant farmer working in the Colorado Springs area of Colorado in the early 20th century.
A collection of letters and documents belonging to Colorado tenant farmer Jesse Ross. Letters provide details about farming
life in early twentieth-century Colorado, ranging from discussion of agricultural productivity and crop marketing to considerations
of the opportunities in Colorado as the state's transportation infrastructure developed. Five letters from landowner Edna
Leorke (Mrs. J.L. Lewis), illuminate Leorke's understanding of their business relationship as well as her knowledge of the
land, the climate, and the market. Included is the original lease contract between the two, in which Ross agrees to lease
eight acres located in Conejos County, Colorado. Four letters from family describe news and events elsewhere in Colorado and
in Georgia, including construction of the Denver Northwestern and Pacific Railway Hill Route, also known as the Moffat Road,
through Colorado; and news of family friends conscripted to serve overseas during World War I. Also included is a business
contract with another landowner, and a small, unidentified tintype of a young man.
Processed by Kelly Kress in March 2022.
Arranged alphabetically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Colorado
Farm tenancy
Landlord and tenant
Tenant farmers
Women landowners
Colorado -- History -- 20th century
Conejos County (Colo.)
United States -- Armed Forces -- Recruiting, enlistment, etc. -- World War, 1914-1918
Leases
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century
Denver, Northwestern, and Pacific Railway
Box 1, Folder 1
Ball, E.K. agreement 1915
Box 1, Folder 2
Family letters 1909-1918
Box 1, Folder 3
Leorke, Edna B. letters 1914-1919
Box 1, Folder 4
Unidentified tintype approximately 1910