The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Collecting area: Agriculture

Drake, Friend

Friend Drake Daybook

1856-1878
1 vol. 0.1 linear feet
Call no.: MS 622 bd

For most of his adult life, Capt. Friend Drake (1799-1882) farmed his property in Sharon, Mass., and raised a large family. Drake appears to have married twice, having three children with his first wife Sarah, and 10 with his second wife Sally. His son Melzar relocated to Texas in 1858 and served in the Confederate 24th Texas Cavalry during the Civil War.

Primarily a record of small purchases and labor, this daybook was kept by Friend Drake and his son Melzar — apparently interchangeably — during the years just prior to the Civil War. Interspersed throughout the text, however, are family references and interesting vignettes, including a mention of the great “Cold storm” of January 1857, which Drake called “the toughest storm I ever faced;” an agreement with a neighbor, allowing passage rights through a meadow in exchange for permission to take a valuable large white oak “root and branch;” and Melzar’s note from Oct. 25 1858 that his 121 year old grandfather Joseph Drake had died, just as Melzar was leaving for Texas.

Subjects

Farming--Massachusetts--SharonSharon (Mass.)--History

Types of material

Daybooks
Duesing, Bill

Bill Duesing Collection

1995-2000
14 items 1.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 760
Depiction of Bill and Suzanne Duesing
Bill and Suzanne Duesing

A pioneer in organic agriculture in New England, Bill Duesing has been as an environmental educator, writer, artist, and lecturer over for four decades. After graduating from Yale University (1964), Duesing worked as a Cooperative Extension agent before turning to organic principles in the early 1970s. Emphasizing sustainability and greater local food sufficiency, he has been instrumental in developing organic standards for gardening and land care and he has served as both founding president and later executive director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association Connecticut and president of the NOFA Interstate Council. During the 1990s, Duesing produced two radio shows, “Living on the Earth” (WSHU) and “The Politics of Food” (WPKN), and he is author of Living on the Earth: Eclectic Essays for a Sustainable and Joyful Future (1993).

The Duesing collection consists of transcripts of his radio show, “Living on the Earth” (1990-2000) and fourteen recordings of “The Politics of Food,” which was broadcast monthly over WPKN (89.5 FM) in Bridgeport in 1997-1998. Each half hour segment of “Politics” included news, a fifteen minute interview, recipes, and tips, with interviewees including Mel Bristol, Jac Smit, Vincent Kay, John Wargo, Hugh Joseph, Joseph Kiefer, Julie Rawson, Michael Sligh, Kathy Lawrence, Lee Warren, and Elizabeth Henderson.

Subjects

Cookery, Health aspectsLiving on the EarthNatural foods--CertificationOrganic farmingOrganic farming--Law and legislationPolitics of foodSustainable agriculture

Contributors

Henderson, Elizabeth, 1943-Rawson, Julie

Types of material

Audiotapes
Eshbach, Charles E.

Charles E. and M. Sybil Hartley Eshbach Papers

1913-1963
30 boxes 25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 886
Depiction of Charles Eshbach on pony, ca.1915
Charles Eshbach on pony, ca.1915

Charles Edgar Eshbach, Jr., a 1937 graduate of Massachusetts State College, and Maude Sybil Hartley met in late 1939, while she was a student at Simmons College and he was working for the New England Radio News Service, part of the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. They soon began dating and in February 1941 were engaged. After graduating in 1942, Sybil lived at home in Rochester, Mass., and taught school. Charles was drafted and enlisted in the army December 30, 1942. Trained as a radio operator, he was assigned to the Army Air Force Technical Training Command’s 326th Signal Co. Wing. Charles and Sybil married in September of 1943, and by November, Charles was in England, part of the 67th Fighter Wing stationed at Walcot Hall in Lincolnshire. Although not in combat, Charles rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant. He returned to the U.S. in December 1945. He and Sybil moved to Weymouth and had four children. Charles was appointed professor of Agricultural Economics at UMass in 1959. The family moved to Amherst in 1964, as Charles’ department was transforming into the Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration Department. He taught at UMass until 1986, when he retired. He died in 1997. Sybil worked at the University store for thirty years and died in 2009.

Consisting chiefly of their letters to each other, the Eshbach Papers vividly document the courtship and early married life of Charles and Sybil, particularly during their long separation, against a wartime backdrop. The collection also contains diaries, photograph albums, loose photographs, histories and rosters from Charles’ army unit, and a variety of ephemera and memorabilia such as ration tickets, receipts, programs, and Charles’ army badges and dog tags.

Gift of Aimee E. Newell, Nov. 2015

Subjects

4-H clubsEngland--Description and travelSimmons College (Boston, Mass.)United States. Agricultural Marketing ServiceUnited States. Army Air Forces. Technical Training CommandWorld War, 1939-1945

Contributors

Eshbach, M. Sybil Hartley

Types of material

DiariesEphemeraLetters (Correspondence)Photograph albumsPhotographs
Estey, Joseph W.

Joseph W. Estey Account Book

1809-1827
1 vol. 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 093

Joseph W. Estey was the owner of a farm in Greenwich, Massachusetts with a grist and sawmill. The account book (started in Springfield and Ludlow, Massachusetts with his business partner Abner Putnam) documents business dealings, hired male and female help, personal and farm expenses (hiring tanners and blacksmiths), and a deed.

Subjects

Agricultural laborers--Massachusetts--GreenwichDomestics--Massachusetts--GreenwichFarmers--Massachusetts--GreenwichGreenwich (Mass.)--Economic condition--19th centuryHowe, EdwardHowe, GideonLincoln, BenjaminLudlow (Mass.)--Economic conditions--19th centuryMarcy, LabanMills and mill-work--Massachusetts--GreenwichOaks, JohnParson Clapp TavernPutnam, A. W.Putnam, AbnerSpringfield (Mass.)--Economic conditions--19th centuryVaughan, JosiahWare Manufacturing Co. (Ware, Mass.)Warner, John

Contributors

Estey, Joseph W.

Types of material

Account books
Fabos, Julius Gy

Julius Gy Fabos Papers

ca.1964-2011
64 boxes 94.75 linear feet
Call no.: FS 151
Depiction of Julius Fabos, 1966
Julius Fabos, 1966

Temporarily stored offsite; contact SCUA to request materials from this collection.

Born on a farm in Hungary in 1932, the landscape architect Julius Fabos survived the Second World War and the onset of Stalinism before escaping to America during the Revolution of 1956. Able to resume his studies, Fabos received his BS in plant science from Rutgers (1961) and MLA from Harvard (1964), joining the faculty at UMass Amherst shortly thereafter while continuing toward a doctorate in Resource Planning and Conservation at the University of Michigan (1973). A charismatic teacher and prolific writer, Fabos is noted internationally for his work on landscape assessment and planning and greenways. In the early 1970s, he helped establish the METLAND (Metropolitan Landscape Planning) interdisciplinary research group, which pioneered the use of GIS technology in landscape planning. Fabos has received numerous honors in his career, including recognition as a Fellow of American Society of Landscape Architects (1985), as a Medalist for the ASLA (1997), and recipient of an honorary degree from the Hungarian University of Horticulture. Fabos retired in 1997.

The Fabos papers contain a record of a distinguished career in landscape architecture, including Fabos’ numerous publications, grey literature, conference materials, notes, and selected correspondence.

Gift of Julius Fabos, 2010-2011

Subjects

GreenwaysLandscape architectureUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--FacultyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
Farley, George L.

George L. Farley Papers

1936-1937
1 box 0.5 linear feet
Call no.: FS 056

George Lewis Farley helped build the model for extension services before the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which mandated federal funds to land-grant Universities for supporting local agriculture. Referred to as “Uncle” George, Farley lead the Massachusetts 4-H Club for 25 years beginning in 1918 and was the first to create a 4-H clubhouse on a University campus. Born in Lynn, Mass. in 1873, Farley worked as the superintendent of schools in Brockton, Mass. before joining the University extension service. Farley died in 1941.

The George L. Farley Papers document the 4-H and Massachusetts extension service’s appreciation of Farley’s leadership through two books presented to Farley in 1936 and 1937. The first book contains the signatures of the members of all the Massachusetts 4-H clubs, organized by county and town. The second book is a scrapbook of letters of appreciation from friends, colleagues, farmers, senators, among which is a letter from then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Subjects

4-H ClubsUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--FacultyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Extension Service

Contributors

Farley, George L
Fellers, Carl R.

Carl R. Fellers Papers

1918-1942
1 box 0.5 linear feet
Call no.: FS 058
Depiction of Carl R. Fellers
Carl R. Fellers

Carl R. Fellers, trained as a chemist and an expert in the nutritional value of cranberry juice, was a professor and head of the Food Technology department, now Food Science, at the University. Fellers was born in Hastings, New York in 1893, earned his B.A. from Cornell in 1915, his M.S. and Ph.D from Rutgers in 1918, and earned a Medal of Merit for fighting the influenza outbreak during World War I. Fellers began work at the University in 1925 and while a professor, conducted research in bacteriology and food preservation, research which he would eventually apply to the food preservation and distribution practices of the United States Army during World War II. Fellers also worked closely with the cranberry growers and producers organization The Cranberry Exchange to help preserve and determine the nutritional value of their products. Fellers retired from the University in 1957.

The Carl R. Fellers Papers document his research on cranberry preservation, nutrition, and his work with the cranberry growers and producers association through published articles on cranberry and general food preservation, correspondence with The Cranberry Exchange on matters of cranberry nutrition and product marketing, and a collection of pamphlets, reports, and clippings on cranberry production. A typescript, unpublished history of cranberries by Fellers is also included in the collection.

Subjects

CranberriesUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--FacultyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of Food Science

Contributors

Fellers, Carl R
Fernald, Charles H.

Charles H. Fernald Papers

1869-1963
8 boxes 3.75 linear feet
Call no.: FS 059
Depiction of Charles H. Fernald
Charles H. Fernald

During a long and productive career in natural history, Charles Fernald conducted important research in economic entomology and performed equally important work as a member of the faculty and administration at Massachusetts Agricultural College. Arriving at MAC in 1886 as a professor of zoology, Fernald served as acting President of the College (1891-1892) and as the first Director of the Graduate School (1908-1912), and perhaps most importantly, he helped for many years to nurture the Hatch Experiment Station.

Correspondence, published writings, publication notes, newspaper clippings, Massachusetts Board of Agriculture Reports, and biographical material including personal recollections of former student and colleague Charles A. Peters.

Subjects

Agriculture--Study and teachingEntomologyMassachusetts Agricultural College--FacultyMassachusetts Agricultural College. Department of ZoologyZoology--Study and teaching

Contributors

Fernald, Charles H.
Fernald, Henry T.

Henry T. Fernald Papers

1881-1955
3 boxes 1.25 linear feet
Call no.: FS 060
Depiction of Henry T. Fernald
Henry T. Fernald

Henry T. Fernald received his doctorate in Zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1890, and after nine years on faculty at the Pennsylvania State College, he joined his father on the faculty of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. Like his father, Henry Fernald was an industrious and avid entomologist, and together the two expanded both the undergraduate and graduate curriculum in entomology. In addition to serving as Head of the Department of Entomology, Fernald followed his father as Director of the Graduate School at Massachusetts Agricultural College (1927-1930). A specialist in economic entomology and the systematics of the Hemiptera and Hymenoptera, Fernald also served as President of the Association of Economic Entomologists (1914).

Correspondence with colleagues, College administrators, including President Lewis, and alumni; biographical materials, news clippings and published writings.

Subjects

Agriculture--Study and teachingEntomologyMassachusetts Agricultural College--FacultyMassachusetts Agricultural College. Department of Zoology

Contributors

Fernald, Henry T.Lewis, Edward M
Flint, Charles L. (Charles Louis), 1824-1889

Charles L. Flint Papers

1854-1887
3 boxes 1.25 linear feet
Call no.: RG 003/1 F55
Depiction of Charles L. Flint
Charles L. Flint

Born in Middleton, Massachusetts, in 1824, Charles L. Flint worked his way through Harvard, graduating in 1849, taught for a short time, then returned to Harvard in 1850 to enter the Law School. In 1853, he left his law practice to become secretary of the newly formed Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, remaining in that position for 27 years. He had a part in the founding of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a member of the Boston School Committee, and as one of the founders of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, he served as secretary of the Board of Trustees for 22 years. Selected during a budgetary crisis, Charles L. Flint agreed to serve as President of Massachusetts Agricultural College without a salary. For four years he gave lectures at the college on dairy farming. Upon the resignation of President William Smith Clark in 1879, Flint was elected President, though he served only until the spring of 1880.

The Flint collection contains an assortment of photographs; reports as Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, 1854-1881; and printed versions of published writings.

Subjects

Massachusetts Agricultural College. PresidentMassachusetts. Board of Agriculture

Contributors

Flint, Charles L. (Charles Louis), 1824-1889

Types of material

Photographs