Theodosia Burr Shepherd Explained

Theodosia Burr Shepherd
Birth Date:1845 10, mf=yes
Nationality:American
Spouse:William Edgar Shepherd
Children:Myrtle Shepherd Francis
Parents:Augustus Hall and Ellen P. (Lee) Hall

Theodosia Burr Shepherd (October 14, 1845, Keosauqua, Iowa – September 6, 1906, Ventura, California) was an American botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in plant breeding. Called the "Flower Wizard of California," and "The Pioneer Seed-grower," Shepherd was the first woman in California, and possibly the first woman in the United States, to hybridize flowers.

The Theodosia B. Shepherd Company, her seed and bulb business, is considered to be the foundation of California's seed industry. She was compared favorably to Luther Burbank. The location of her former garden is listed as number 34 in the City of Ventura Historic Landmarks and Districts.

Early life

Theodosia Burr Hall was born in Keosauqua, a settlement in the Iowa Territory, on October 14, 1845.[1] Her parents were Augustus Hall and Ellen P. (Lee) Hall.[2] In 1854, Augustus Hall was elected as the Democratic candidate to Congress in the First District. In 1857, he became a Chief Justice of the Nebraska Territory.[3] Theodosia grew up in Iowa, where she went to school. From 1857 to 1859, she boarded at a finishing school in Batavia, New York[2] run by Ruth Beardsley Bryan.[4]

Theodosia Burr Hall married lawyer William Edgar Shepherd of Oskaloosa, Iowa, in Bellevue, Nebraska, on either September 4, 1866,[5] September 9, 1866 or September 4, 1867.[2] They had four children: Augustus H., Myrtle Ellen (later Lloyd,[6] later Francis),Margaret (later Oaks), and Edith (later Mrs. Fred Kelsey.)[7] [8] Theodosia suffered from tuberculosis, or "lung trouble".[9] In 1873, the family moved to California in search of a more healthful climate.[2] They settled in "Ventura-by-the-Sea," where William Edgar Shepherd became the editor of the Ventura Signal.[10]

Horticulture

Described as having "a wizard's touch in the treatment of plants and flowers," Shepherd was the first woman in California to hybridize flowers and sell their seeds.[11] At the time of her death, she was credited with being "the most noted woman in this line of work... not only in California but over all the country." In 1905, one writer enthused that she was "known to every floriculturist in civilization as a hybridizer of blossoms and originator of new flowers".[11]

Shepherd collected seeds, plants, and rare flowers,[12] and developed new varieties of flowers, including begonias,[11] Coreopsis section Calliopsis,[2] cosmos,[11] nasturtiums,[2] petunias, poppies,[2] and a rose, 'Oriole.' She developed the 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory, and the 'Golden West' California Poppy.[13] [11] She also developed the first of the 'Superbissima' genotype of petunia, a variety called 'California Giant' which became the most frequently grown petunia of the 1930s.[14]

The work of developing a new flower began with the identification of potentially interesting "sports" of a flower, each of which was carefully raised. Then, "When the flower goes to seed, she gathers the seeds, sows them, watches and tends the resulting plants till they fructify and in like manner gathers the seeds of this second generation and garners them for planting." In addition,"hybridizing is an intensely interesting part of Mrs. Shepherd's work. She carefully selects the flowers she wishes to cross, then takes upon the tip of a little camel hair brush some of the pollen of one flower and deposits it upon the pistil of the other flower."[11] Such work involved "accurate, painstaking, patient and continuous labor".[15]

Shepherd was encouraged to consider hybridizing as a business by nurseryman Peter Henderson of New York, around 1881.[16] By 1884, she had formed the Theodosia B. Shepherd Company in Ventura, California. By 1892, she was cultivating 8 acres of gardens, which included a hedge of heliotrope long,[9] and selling seeds nationally and internationally. The business published an annual retail catalogue as well as two lists for wholesalers. The company was incorporated in 1902.[17] [8] The seed and bulb business that Theodosia established is considered to be the foundation of California’s seed industry.[18] In addition to growing and hybrizing flowers and running a company, Theodosia wrote and lectured about plants and flowers. She encouraged other women to make horticulture a profession by growing flowers and selling seeds.[16] She was seen as an exemplar for women in the profession.[19] Shepherd was favorably compared to Luther Burbank, a hybridizer of vegetables and fruits,[20] and was sometimes called "The Female Burbank" or "The Pioneer Seed-grower".[21] Her gardens were considered "to have put Ventura on the map".[22] Visitors to her gardens included Susan B. Anthony, Julia Ward Howe, and Washington Atlee Burpee of Burpee Seeds.[23] [24]

Later life

Theodosia Burr Shepherd died on September 6, 1906, in Ventura, California.[25] [26] She was cremated and interred in the Rosedale cemetery in Los Angeles.[27] On December 7, 1907, William Edgar Shepherd married Theodosia's widowed sister Ella Hall Enderlein.[5]

Theodosia's daughter Myrtle Shepherd Francis inherited her business. Like her mother, Francis specialized in breeding flowers, including self-seeding double petunias.[28] [29] Her second husband, Willard H. Francis, acted as manager.[30] [31]

In 1946, Myrtle Shepherd Francis wrote a biography of her mother, entitled Theodosia: The Flower Wizard of California. Manuscript copies were left in the archives of UCLA and UC Berkeley. An edited edition of the book was finally published on May 10, 2014.

Remnants of Theodosia's garden still remain in Ventura. She planted a banana plant and two strawberry trees which are now in the grounds of the E. P. Foster Library.[16] The corner of Chestnut and Poli Streets, near where she lived, was designated a local historic landmark as of July 17, 1978. At that time, the only plants remaining from her garden were a Star Pine and a Bird of Paradise.[32] There have been attempts to reclaim some of the areas that were once part of Shepherd's garden as community gardens.[33] [34] [35]

Materials relating to Theodosia Burr Shepherd are located in the archives of the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA[26] and the Bancroft library at UC Berkeley.[36]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Theodosia Burr Hall Shepherd . The Annals of Iowa . October 2, 2014 . 8 . 2 . 158 . 10.17077/0003-4827.4643 . free .
  2. Book: Leonard . John William . Who's who in America 1901–1902. 2 . Shepherd, Theodosia Burr . 1901 . A. N. Marquis & Co. . Chicago . 1026 . https://books.google.com/books?id=66tDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1026 . September 11, 2018.
  3. Book: Gue . Benjamin F. . History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century . Augustus Hall . 1902 . The Century History Company . New York . 114–115. 4 . https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_Iowa_From_the_Earliest_Times_to_the_Beginning_of_the_Twentieth_Century/4/Augustus_Hall . September 10, 2018.
  4. Web site: Barnes . Larry D. . An Overview of the Joseph Ellicott Mansion in Batavia . Batavia City Historian . September 11, 2018. February 9, 2012.
  5. Book: Builders of our nation. Shepherd, William Edgar . 1915 . American Publishers' Association . Chicago, Illinois . 693 . https://books.google.com/books?id=6WMfAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA693 . September 11, 2018.
  6. News: VENTURA COUNTY) PROMINENT WOMAN MARRIED Mrs. Myrtle Lloyd Weds W. H. Francis at Ventura . September 15, 2018 . Los Angeles Herald . October 8, 1903.
  7. Book: Guinn . James Miller . Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century . 1902 . Chapman Pub. Co. . Chicago . 1130–1131 . September 17, 2018.
  8. News: Theodosia B. Shepherd Company . September 17, 2018 . American Florist . Associated Floral Publishing Company . May 3, 1902. 18. 554.
  9. Brown . Clara Spalding . Midland women in California . September 14, 2018 . Midland Monthly Magazine. 393=410 . 1. 4 . July 1895.
  10. Book: Taylor . Judith M. . Tangible memories : Californians and their gardens, 1800–1950 . 2003 . Xlibris Corp . 9781401094669. 331–338 . registration .
  11. News: Gray . Lillian . Women who do things: Theodosia Burr Shepherd . September 15, 2018 . The Wilkes-Barre Record . Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . July 7, 1905. "this quiet indefatigable woman floriculturist was the first person to grow flower seed for the eastern states' trade. Her seeds have found their way throughout Europe. She is the pioneer flower seed grower of California.".
  12. Book: Catalogue of seeds, plants rare flowers . 1908 . Theodosia B. Shepherd Company . Ventura-by-the-Sea, Calif. . September 14, 2018.
  13. Web site: Denny . Geoffrey . Luther Burbank was the Male Theodosia Shepherd . Mississippi State University . September 14, 2018. March 6, 2018.
  14. Book: Anderson . Neil O. . Flower breeding and genetics : issues, challenges and opportunities for the 21st century . October 1, 2007 . Springer . 9781402044274 . 302 . September 15, 2018.
  15. Jerome . Lucy Baker . Business women of California . Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine . January 1905 . XLV . 61 . September 15, 2018.
  16. Web site: Theodosia Burr Shepherd . Ventura County Library . September 14, 2018. November 22, 2013.
  17. News: Bresler . Linda . The real dirt on... Theodosia Shepard . September 14, 2018 . Let's Talk Plants . 4. 4 . May 2011.
  18. Women of the Horticultural World . The Pacific Garden . December 1911 . 5 . 1 . 6–7 . September 14, 2018. On the foundation which she laid is builded the great seed industry of California..
  19. Florist and Gardener: Women as florists . Pacific Rural Press . May 11, 1895 . 49. 19. 295 . September 14, 2018.
  20. Shinn . Charles Howard . Glimpses of Ventura gardens . Garden and Forest: A Journal of Horticulture, Landscape Art and Forestry . October 2, 1895 . 8 . 399 . September 15, 2018.
  21. Hard . William . Women in Technical Work . The Technical World Magazine . 1906 . 6 . 136–137 . September 15, 2018. "Mrs. Shepherd is known in California under the two titles of 'The Female Burbank' and 'The Pioneer Seed-grower'.".
  22. News: Hayes . Virginia . Pioneer Horticulturists The People Who Helped Make S.B. a Floral Haven . Santa Barbara Independent . September 14, 2018. August 19, 2009.
  23. Hershey . David R. . Notable Women in the History of Horticulture . HortTechnology. 1992 . 2. 2 . 180–182 . 10.21273/HORTTECH.2.2.180 . September 14, 2018. free .
  24. News: Mother's Day celebration for "Mother of Flowers: Theodosia Burr Shepherd" . September 14, 2018 . Art Predator . May 10, 2014.
  25. News: DEATH CALLS FAMOUS FLORIST Mrs. Theodosia B. Shepherd Passes Away. WAS KNOWN AS 'THE BURBANK OF THE SOUTH" Originated a Celebrated Flower Garden in Ventura, and Put Forth a N umber of Imported Plants—Her Death a National Loss . September 15, 2018 . Morning Press . September 7, 1906.
  26. Web site: Finding Aid for the Theodosia Burr Shepherd Papers, ca. 1900–1940. Online Archive of California. California Digital Library. September 10, 2018.
  27. Obituary . American Florist . 1906 . 27 . Associated Floral Pub. Co . September 15, 2018.
  28. Smith . Bertha H. . The evolutionist of the petunia . Sunset, the Pacific Monthly . 29. 69–72 . September 14, 2018 . Southern Pacific Company . 1912.
  29. A self-seeding double petunia . Journal of Heredity . 1911 . 2 . 4 . 316 . 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a104616 . September 14, 2018.
  30. News: Taylor . Judith . The Begonia in California, Part 2: The Begoniacs . September 14, 2018 . Pacific Horticulture . July 2009.
  31. Book: Taylor . Judith M. . Visions of loveliness : great flower breeders of the past . December 1, 2014 . Swallow Press . 978-0804011570 . September 14, 2018.
  32. Web site: CITY OF SAN BUENAVENTURA HISTORIC LANDMARKS & DISTRICTS . City of Ventura . September 14, 2018. May 3, 2016.
  33. News: Kallas . Anne . Ventura garden harkens to historic woman's contributions to hybridize flowers . September 14, 2018 . Ventura County Star . May 14, 2014.
  34. News: Mother of Flowers Theodosia Shepherd's Biography Launches With New Ventura Garden . September 13, 2018 . Cision . May 2, 2014.
  35. News: Forman . Jill . The G.I.F.T. Garden in Ventura . September 15, 2018 . Ventura Breeze . September 27, 2017.
  36. Web site: Photographs of Theodosia Burr Shepherd [graphic] ]. Online Archive of California. California Digital Library. September 10, 2018.