E.F. Spears & Sons hemp records
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- E.F. Spears & Sons hemp records
- Date
- 1886-1925, undated
- Extent
- 1.8 Cubic feet
- Subjects
- Business records--Kentucky.
- Businessmen--Correspondence.
- Grasses--Seeds.
- Hemp
- Hemp industry--Kentucky--Bourbon County.
- Hemp industry--Kentucky--History--20th century.
- Hemp industry.
- Hemp--Kentucky.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format.
- Preferred Citation
- 1997ms338 : [identification of item], E. F. Spears & Sons Hemp records, 1886-1925, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- The Spears family were early Bourbon County, Ky., settlers. Jacob Spears (1754-1825) was a soldier who served with George Washington at Yorktown. He erected the first whisky distillery in Bourbon County in 1790. His grandson, Edward Ford Spears (1840-1907), was a Confederate veteran who served in the Orphan Brigade. Edward married Sallie Woodford (1840-1919) in 1866. They had six children: Woodford, Mary, John W., Lizzie, Catesby, and Keith Young. In 1867, Edward became partner in a mill and distilling business named Woodford, Spears, and Clay. When that company dissolved in 1876, Edward went exclusively into milling flour. In 1886, he founded E.F. Spears & Sons, a company which advertised "Kentucky Bluegrass seed, rough and dressed American hemp, flour, meal, feed, grain, etc. Paris, Kentucky."
- E.F. Spears & Sons was a major participant first in the hemp industry and then in the bluegrass seed industry. Hemp, a fiber used for binder's twine, was mainly produced in the U.S. during the pre-Civil War era in Central Kentucky counties. The difficulties in producing hemp, a lack of demand, and the tobacco industry reduced hemp's importance as a viable agricultural crop. In 1923, the company changed its name to Woodford Spears & Sons, and added a bluegrass seed cleaning business in Paris, Ky., which reflected a diversification of offerings. The firm was led by Edward's grandsons, Charles F. Spears (1897-1982) and Edward F. Spears (1895-1970). Cleaning bluegrass seeds is a process that pulls the very rough seed through a machine with a wire mesh component, and the remaining material is sifted and run through a bran polisher to loosen the wool and leave a better quality of seed weight. The diversification of products preceded the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which levied steep fines on growers of hemp, cannabis, and marijuana, and many growers ceased producing those materials. In 1938, the production of hemp was completely outlawed. Through the rest of the 20th century, Woodford Spears & Sons continued expanding their offerings with general farm and agricultural materials, including animal feed and fencing products.
- Sources:
- Biddle, Patty. Kentucky Straight Bourbon: Roots of Bourbon Co.- Paris, Kentucky and surrounding counties ... 1808-1865. Compiled by Patty Biddle, Paris, Ky., 1979.
- Brown, Edgar and Pieters, A.J., U.S. Department of Agriculture. Kentucky Bluegrass Seed: Harvesting, Curing and Cleaning. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1902.
- Collins, Lewis. History of Kentucky, Vol. 2. Covington, Ky.: Collins & Co., 1877.
- Everman, H.E. A History of Bourbon County, 1785-1865. Paris, Ky.: Bourbon Press, 1977.
- Hopkins, James F. A History of the Hemp Industry in Kentucky. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1951.
- Perrin, William H. History of Bourbon, Harrison, and Nicholas Counties. Chicago: O.L. Baskin, 1882.
- Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Ky.: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls. Ancestry.com. Accessed Oct. 14, 2014.
- Scope and Content
- The E.F. Spears & Sons Hemp Records (dated 1886-1925, undated; 1.8 cubic feet, 4 boxes) comprises correspondence, and product and customer account information documenting the production, distribution and development of hemp and hemp seed in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky (centered in Paris, Ky.). Included in the collection is business correspondence between Spears & Sons and potential and current clients across the United States. The letters detail customer solicitations--including to the United States Navy--product inquiries, orders, and transportation plans. There are also mercantile agency records with information about other companies; hemp, hemp seed, and hemp rate ledgers (1912-1923); a hemp-related equipment blueprint; and Woodford Spears’ balance and deposit slips for the Bourbon Agricultural Bank, Paris, Ky. (1886-1893) and the First State Bank, Eustice, Fla. (1917-1923).
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact Special Collections.
Contents of the Collection
Correspondence, 1894-1908
Scope and Contents note
Primarily comprises business correspondence related to trying to gain new clients in other cities, orders filled, and letters declining interest in hemp from E.F. Spears & Sons. The personal correspondence comprises one letter from Noah Spears to his second cousin, E.F. Spears, about their genealogical history.
Arranged into two subseries, Personal correspondence and Business correspondence. The Business correspondence is arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder chronologically.
Business correspondence, 1894-1908
Alabama, 1904
Canada, 1904
Connecticut, 1904
Delaware, 1904
New York, 1902-1903
New York, 1904 January-May
Oregon, 1904
Rhode Island, 1903
Virginia, 1904-1906
Office records, 1886-1925, undated
Scope and Contents note
The Office records series comprises receipts for hemp, seeds, and hemp manufacturing-related items; bank account balance and deposit slips from the Bourbon Agricultural Bank and Trust Co. and First State Bank in Eustice, Fla.; documents related to soliciting United States Navy contracts; telegrams received from potential and actual clients; blueprints and catalog order forms for hemp production equipment; and mercantile agency records with information about other companies.
Production equipment blueprint and catalog order forms, undated
Ledgers, 1886-1923, undated
Scope and Contents note
Comprises nine business and personal ledgers. There are seven business ledgers documenting hemp growing, hemp seed sales, seed rates, and business-related expenses. The ledgers also record client names, amounts purchased, money owed, and amounts grown from year to year. There are also two ledgers of weekly and monthly personal expenses for the Spears household, such as hogs, cream, and clothes.
Personal expenditures ledgers, 1922, undated
Hemp, hemp seed, hemp rates ledgers, 1912-1915
Hemp, hemp seed, hemp rates ledgers, 1916-1918
Hemp, hemp seed, hemp rates ledgers, 1920-1923
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Table of Contents
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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
