Theodosia Burr Shepherd was born in Keosauqua, IA; she was the daughter of Augustus Hall, a lawyer who later became Chief Justice of Nebraska; she married W.E. Shepherd on Sept. 9, 1866, and they moved to CA for her health in 1873; in 1881 she sent a package to Peter Henderson, a seedsman in NY, who encouraged her to grow seeds and flowers in the Ventura climate; she built up a business, the Theodosia B. Shepherd Company, which annually issued a retail catalogue and two wholesale lists; in 1902 the business was incorporated, and the stockholders were members of her family; she wrote and lectured on plant life, her hybridization work, and her success as a pioneering woman in the seed industry; she died Sept. 6, 1906 in Ventura, CA.
From the description of Papers, ca. 1900-1940. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 38929689
