Jefferson, Lorian P.

Agricultural Economics, 1912-1935

b. Necedah, Wisc., 1871

d. Amherst, Mass., 1935

An historian of economics specializing in American agriculture, Lorian Pamela Jefferson was one of the first women in the field and became an expert on New England agricultural industry. Born in 1871 near Necedah, Wisconsin, Jefferson earned her B.L. from Lawrence University in 1892 and her M.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1907, continuing on to study towards her PhD, without finishing her research. Hired at the University in 1912 as an expert in the Division of Rural Social Science, Jefferson became a professor of Agricultural Economics in 1915.

Known as “Miss J”, Jefferson was a dedicated teacher and published extensively on various aspects of agricultural industry and marketing, including the McIntosh apple market and the agricultural labor movement. Illness forced Jefferson’s retirement from the University in 1935 and she died shortly thereafter.

• See Lorian P. Jefferson Papers, University Archives (FS 072)