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Finding Aid for the Theodosia Burr Shepherd Papers, ca. 1900-1940
123
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Title: Theodosia Burr Shepherd Papers,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1900-1940
Collection number: 123
Creator:
Shepherd, Theodosia Burr
Extent:
3 boxes (1.5 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
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.
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.
Language:
English.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Myrtle Shepherd Francis.
[Identification of item], Theodosia Burr Shepherd Papers (Collection 123). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
2976878
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.
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.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Shepherd, Theodosia Burr--Archives.
Francis, Myrtle Shepherd.
Theodosia B. Shepherd Company.
Floriculturists--California--Archival resources.
Seed industry and trade--California--Ventura.
Photographs.
A string of Chumash Indian beads purchased by Theodosia Burr Shepherd in 1884 from Petra, a Chumash basket maker, is on indefinite
loan to the Ventura County Historical Museum in Ventura, California.