Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Charles B. Richardson Collection
Date(s)
- 1840-1959 (Creation)
Extent
1 box
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles Bruce Richardson was born in Virginia in 1808. He moved to Louisiana in 1827 and built a 569-acre plantation on Bayou Macon in Carrol Parish. He married Sarah Elizabeth Bosworth in 1830 and they had four sons. Richardson was appointed by Louisiana governor Isaac Johnson to be captain in the Louisiana Militia in 1846. In 1863, Richardson, his family, and slaves fled to Texas after receiving news that Ulysses. S. Grant's army was approaching. He purchased a 230-acre farm near Henderson, Texas in 1864. Charles Richardson was a self-taught horticulturist and was interested in natural sciences from horticulture to human anatomy and physiology. He published papers on his horticultural research in periodicals ranging from Texas Farm and Ranch to the Annual Reports of the United States Commissioner of Agriculture. He researched such varied subjects as the LeConte Pear, hog Cholera, and Texas Bluegrass and was well renowned East Texas. In addition, Richardson was the first master of the Rusk County Chapter of the Grange in 1874. He died on February 10, 1886.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This collection contains various articles, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia collected by Charles B. Richardson over his lifetime. Interesting pieces in the collection include Richardson's letter of promotion to Captain of the Louisiana militia (1848), newspaper clippings concerning various Civil War events, and a poster advertising agricultural combines dating from the mid-1870s. Another interesting piece in the collection is a payment receipt from October 26, 1863, for the services of a slave named Mike who worked on public defenses in Shreveport, Louisiana.
System of arrangement
This collection was arranged generally by subject matter in the 1970s when it was first minimally processed. Upon further processing in 2015, the usage of the same arrangement was kept in order to preserve original order and provenance.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Donation
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Note: University of Texas Center at Briscoe owns the Charles B. Richardson diary; There are photocopies and transcripts of the diary in this collection acquired through the help of the University of Texas at Briscoe in 1976.
Note: Oversized and or fragile items may be housed separately
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding Aid Authors: Jenny Reibenspies.
Archivist's note
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