C Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri, Records, linear feet

Transcription

1 C Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri, Records, linear feet This collection is available at The State Historical Society of Missouri. If you would like more information, please contact us at INTRODUCTION The Chesmore Seed Company was founded in 1878 by Alfred M. Chesmore as a seed, farm implement, wagon, and buggy business in St. Joseph, Missouri. The collection contains historical documents, business papers, company correspondence, seed catalogs, advertisements and price lists, sales receipts, and photographs of the Chesmore Seed Company, as well as photographs and personal items of the Chesmore family. DONOR INFORMATION The Chesmore Seed Company Records were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Caryl Chesmore Hinckley on April 14, 2009 (Accession No. 6199). An addition to the collection was made on April 29, INSTITUTIONAL SKETCH In 1878, Alfred M. Chesmore founded the Chesmore-Eastlake Mercantile Company in St. Joseph, Missouri, as a seed, farm implement, wagon, and buggy business. By the end of 1900, the company had been renamed the Chesmore Seed Company and had sold the farm implement, wagon, and buggy business and expanded to include bulk farm and garden seed, as well as Christmas trees. The same year, a retail shop was opened in the 400 block of Felix Street, by Chesmore s son, Carlton R. Chesmore. Carlton R. Chesmore ran the company from 1900 until 1949 when illness compelled him to retire. The company was then reincorporated and managed by his son, Carlton R. Chesmore, Jr., a 1929 graduate of the University of Missouri, College of Agriculture. Carlton, Jr., expanded the seed business in 1953 to include a nursery and garden center on Belt Highway in St. Joseph and continued to run the business as a wholesale operation. The company sold Chesmore and other popular brands of farm and garden seed, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, peat moss, cattle and sheep manure, Christmas decorations, and pet supplies. It maintained a wide distribution throughout Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. When the company was sold in 1986, it was one of the oldest seed companies in the United States. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE The Chesmore Seed Company records contain historical, financial, and business documents including stock certificates, incorporation papers, deeds, receipts, seed catalogs, advertisements, seed industry periodicals, personal and professional correspondence, photographs and slides, and newspaper clippings. The collection is divided into four series: Business Documents; Advertising, Catalogs, and Periodicals; Correspondence; and Photographs and Personal Papers. The Business Documents series is comprised of historical documents, financial papers, board meeting minutes, tax receipts, stock certificates, incorporation papers, deeds, insurance papers, and audit reports of the Chesmore Seed Company. A brief history of the company is

2 C4045 Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri, Records, page 2 included in the first folder. This series also contains an engraved metal plate of the company logo and original Chesmore seed packets. The Advertising, Catalogs, and Periodicals series comprises the bulk of the collection and consists of seed price lists; wholesale catalogs for farm and garden seeds, agricultural chemicals, and Christmas decorations; advertisements for the company; and wholesale landscape and yard ornament magazines. Seed industry periodicals are also included. The Correspondence series consists of letters from Thomas Edison to Carlton R. Chesmore, Jr., seeking assistance in a study on plant rubber production in the United States; letters from the United States Golf Association to Carlton R. Chesmore, Jr., discussing grass seed mixtures; a telegram from President Jimmy Carter s Secretary of Commerce, Juanita Kreps, congratulating the Chesmore Company on its 100 th anniversary; and thank you letters from customers. The Photographs and Personal Papers series includes company and family photographs and slides, family correspondence, newspaper clippings associated with the business, and personal subjects of interest.

3 C4045 Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri, Records, page 3 FOLDER LIST Business Documents Series f. 1 History of Chesmore Seed Company f. 2 Chesmore seed packets, 1955 f. 3 Metal printing plate, n.d. f. 4 Rubber stamps with company logo, n.d. f. 5 Ephemera, f. 6 Patents, 1907, f. 7 Board meeting minutes, f. 8 Deed of Trust, Incorporation, Lease agreement, 1918 f. 9 Stock Certificates, f. 10 Stockholder meeting minutes, f. 11 Financial statements and account books, f. 12 First National Bank correspondence, f Sales receipts f f f f f f f Taxes f City tax receipts, f. 21 Corporate income tax returns, f. 22 Business insurance, f Audit reports f f f f Advertising, Catalogs, and Periodicals Series f. 27 Chesmore advertisements, n.d. f. 28 Surplus price lists, f. 29 Advertisement and price list mailers, f. 30 Miscellaneous price lists and advertising mailers, f Chesmore price list mailers f f f f Price lists and advertising correspondence f f

4 C4045 Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri, Records, page 4 Advertising, Catalogs, and Periodicals Series (con d) f f f f f f f f f f f f Chesmore seed catalogs f f f f s-1960s f Chesmore wholesale prices and dealer catalogs f f f f f f f f f f f. 61 Seed World Magazine, f. 62 Seed Trade News, f. 63 American Nurseryman, June 15, 1955; Southern Seedsman, July 1956 f. 64 Wholesale Christmas decoration catalogs, 1940, 1971 Correspondence Series f. 65 Carlton R. Chesmore, Jr. from Thomas Edison, 1927 f. 66 Carlton R. Chesmore, Jr. from United States Golf Association, f. 67 Thank you letters from customers, 1951 f. 68 Thank you letters 100 th anniversary celebration, 1978 f. 69 Correspondence with Secretary of Commerce, Juanita Kreps, 1978 Photographs and Personal Papers Series f. 70 Chesmore company photographs, f. 71 Newspaper clippings, Chesmore advertisements,

5 C4045 Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri, Records, page 5 Photographs and Personal Papers Series (con d) f. 72 Family correspondence, 1968; National Guard and Reserve statement of support, 1973 f. 73 Chesmore family photographs and slides, 1925, 1950s-1970s f. 74 Miscellaneous, n.d. INDEX TERMS Subject Folders Image Advertising--Seeds 27, 61-63, 70, 71 Agricultural chemicals 39, 40, American Seed Trade Convention, Souvenirs 5 Brown, Dwight Huber ( ) 8 Chesmore family 1, 72 Chesmore family 73 y Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri 1-71 Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri 70 y Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri--History 1, 8, 49 Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri--History 37, 47-49, 70 y Chesmore, Alfred M. ( ) 1, 7, 8 Chesmore, Carlton R., Jr. ( ) 1, 70, 71 Chesmore, Carlton R., Jr. ( ) 50, 70, 71, 73 y Chesmore, Carlton R., Sr. ( ) 1, 8, 9, 61, 62 Chesmore, Carlton R., Sr. ( ) 61 y Christmas decorations 28, 30, 34-46, 51-53, 56, 58, 64, 70, 71 Christmas decorations 28, 30, 34-46, 51-53, 56, 58, 64, 70, y 71 Commercial art 3, 4 y Deeds, 1920s 8 Droughts, Eastlake, William L. ( ) 7 Edison, Thomas Alva ( ) 65 Eisenhower, Dwight D. ( ) 61 Farm produce 61, 62 Farm produce 61 y The Farmer's Ready Reference Book, First National Bank, St. Joseph, Missouri 11, 12 Flowers 47-50, 61, 62 Flowers 47-50, 61, 62 y

6 C4045 Chesmore Seed Company, St. Joseph, Missouri, Records, page 6 Subject Folders Image Furniture 72 Furniture 73 y Garden ornaments and furniture German-American National Bank, St. Joseph, Missouri 11, 12 Horticulture Household equipment and supplies 74 y Household equipment and supplies 74 Ingalls, John James ( ) 74 Letterheads 28, Maps--Missouri, St. Joseph 74 Montgomery Ward and Company 62 Moseley family--genealogy 74 Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company of Newark, New Jersey Pacific States Seedmen Association, y Patents, Pets--Feeding and feeds Poetry 71, 74 Poultry, Receipts--Mercantile Seed industry and trade 1, 42, 52-55, 61 Seed industry and trade--periodicals 61, 62 Seeds--Advertising 27, 61-63, 70, 71 Seeds--Packaging 2, 71 Seeds--Prices 28-47, 49, Stock certificates, Tax receipts 19, 20 Toberman, Walter H. ( ) 8 U.S. Department of Agriculture 61 U.S. National Guard and Reserve--Certificate of support 72 Vegetables 2, 47-50, 61, 62 y Vegetables 47-50, 61, 62 Western Seedmen Association, y 22