Joseph W. Thomas and Sons nursery records 1884-1990

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Joseph W. Thomas and Sons nursery records 1884-1990

http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?id=PACSCL_CCHS_CCHSMSColl189

The Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Nursery in Chester County was one of the oldest and longest running horticultural enterprises in the state of Pennsylvania. It operated from 1853 to 1990, and was owned by three successive generations of the Thomas family. The Thomas nursery actually began in 1828 as a small farm and orchard called “Maple Farm,” which was owned by Charles and Ruth Thomas. It was their son, Joseph Williams Thomas, who formally established the nursery on a small portion of the farm around 1853. He named his burgeoning business, Chester Valley Nursery. Later, he changed the company’s name to Joseph W. Thomas and Company. Around 1888, Joseph’s sons, Edwin and Charles Lincoln, joined him in business and the name of the firm was changed once more to Joseph W. Thomas and Sons, reflecting the new partnership. The Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Nursery records contains documents created by that business from 1884 to 1993. Researchers will find financial records; general business records, especially plant order books; and a small collection of horticultural publications. There is also a very small portion of general records that relate to the nursery or nursery profession but were not created by the business such as, articles relating to the history of the nursery, a completed nursery order form from 1896, nursery stationary and printed ephemera, records of hours worked, and two grange booklets. The bulk of the collection is made up of business records, and in particular client orders.

5.0 Linear feet

Chester County Historical Society

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6327956

Chester County Historical Society

Related Entities

There are 7 Entities related to this resource.

Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Company.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t5748w (corporateBody)

The Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Nursery in Chester County was one of the oldest and longest running horticultural enterprises in the state of Pennsylvania. It operated from 1853 to 1990 and was owned by three successive generations of the Thomas family. The Thomas nursery actually began in 1828 as a small farm and orchard called “Maple Farm,” which was owned by Charles and Ruth Thomas. It was their son, Joseph Williams Thomas, who formally established the nursery on a smal...

Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s46vcw (person)

Llewellyn Hilleth Thomas (1903-1992). Physicist (atomic physics, nuclear, atomic and molecular structure, astrophysics). On the physics faculty at Ohio State University (1929-1943, 1945-1946); physicist and ballistician, Ballistic Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (1943-1945); on the physics faculty at Columbia University from 1950, member of senior staff of Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory established by IBM at Columbia; professor at North Carolina State University from 196...

Thomas, Charles Edwin, 1899-1974

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6848ftv (person)

Thomas, Edwin W., 1859-1940

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fw38vg (person)

Thomas, Charles Lincoln

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6945h1j (person)

Thomas, Joseph W., 1831-1901

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t58gwg (person)

Pennsylvania State Grange

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jn5n03 (corporateBody)