Raymond H. Fogler Library
Special Collections: Guide to the Eliot Farmers' Union Records
Arranged and described by Brenda Howitson Steeves
Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department
October 2004
Introduction and Summary Information
Collection Title: Eliot Farmers’ Union Records.
Dates of the Collection: 1915-1946 (inclusive); 1916-1936 (bulk).
Provenance: Gift of John W. Staples.
Collection Number: MS 162.
Box Numbers: 1-9 (formerly Boxes 15-20).
Size and Arrangement: The collection consists of nine archival record cartons of material (9.0 cubic feet).
Conservation Note: The collection has been re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes.
Preferred Citation: Eliot Farmers’ Union Records, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine.
Restrictions on Access and Use: Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.
History
The collection contains records of the Eliot Farmers’ Union, a store in Eliot, Maine, owned and operated by John W. Staples. The store seems to have been in existence from 1915 to 1946 and sold grain, flour and groceries. Very little information is available about John Staples; a town census taken in 1904 lists a John W. Staples as a farmer in Eliot.
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains two major types of records: invoices from suppliers of goods to the Eliot Farmers’ Union from 1915 to 1946, and order books recording customer purchases from the store, 1916 to 1943. The invoices are arranged alphabetically by company name and include such companies as General Mills, the Dover Grain Company, Kendall & Whitney, Milliken Tomlinson Company and the National Biscuit Company. The order books record by date customers’ names, what was bought and the costs. Typical purchases include oats, cheese, flour, corn, sugar, alfalfa, and stock feed. In addition, the collection contains deposit slips for the First National Bank of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, recording cash and checks deposited by John Staples, 1917-1932.
Box List
Box 1
Folder
1 Invoices, A-B (1918-1932)
2 Invoices, C (1917-1931)
3 Invoices, Dover Grain Co. (1929-1935)
4 Invoices, E (1918-1926)
5 Invoices, F (1915-1925)
6 Invoices, General Mills (1937-1944)
7 Invoices, General Mills (1939-1946)
8 Invoices, G (1919-1925)
9 Invoices, H-J (1922-1935)
10 Invoices, Kendall & Whitney (1917-1926)
11 Invoices, Kendall & Whitney (1927-1936)
12 Invoices & correspondence, Kendall & Whitney (1920-1935)
13 Invoices, J-M (1916-1932)
14 Invoices, Milliken Tomlinson Co. (1918-1922)
15 Invoices, Milliken Tomlinson Co. (1922-1929)
16 Invoices, National Biscuit Co. (1919-1923)
17 Invoices, National Biscuit Co. (1924-1929)
18 Invoices, National Biscuit Co. (1929-1940)
19 Invoices, N-R (1916-1937)
20 Invoices, Sa-So (1916-1934)
Box 2
1 Invoices, St-Th (1918-1936)
2 Invoices, Ti-W (1916-1937)
3 Invoices, Edwin J. York (1919-1922)
4 Invoices, Edwin J. York (1922-1925)
5 Invoices, Edwin J. York (1925-1928)
6 Invoices, Edwin J. York (1928-1933)
7 Invoices, Misc. (1918-1937)
8 Order books, 1916 (#2-7)
9 Order books, 1916-1917 (#8-15)
10 Order books, 1917 (#16-19)
11 Order books, 1917 (#20-23)
12 Order books, 1917 (#24-27)
13 Order books, 1917 (#28-31)
14 Order books, 1917 (#32-35)
15 Order books, 1917-1918 (#36-39)
16 Order books, 1918 (#40-43)
17 Order books, 1918 (#44-45, 47-48)
Box 3
Folder
1 Order books, 1918 (#49-52)
2 Order books, 1918 (#53-56)
3 Order books, 1918 (#57-60)
4 Order books, 1918 (#61-64)
5 Order books, 1918 (#65-68)
6 Order books, 1918 (#69-72)
7 Order books, 1918-1919 (#73-76)
8 Order books, 1919 (#77-80)
9 Order books, 1919 (#81, 83-85)
10 Order books, 1919 (#86-89)
11 Order books, 1919 (#90-93)
12 Order books, 1919 (#94-97)
13 Order books, 1919 (#98-101)
Box 4
1 Order books, 1919 (#102-105)
2 Order books, 1919 (#106-109)
3 Order books, 1919-1920 (#110-113)
4 Order books, 1920 (#114-117)
5 Order books, 1920 (#118-121)
6 Order books, 1920 (#122-125)
7 Order books, 1920 (#126-129)
8 Order books, 1920 (#130-133)
9 Order books, 1920 (#134-137)
10 Order books, 1920 (#138-141)
11 Order books, 1920 (#142-145)
12 Order books, 1920-1921 (#146-149)
Box 5
1 Order books, 1921 (#150-153)
2 Order books, 1921 (#154-157)
3 Order books, 1921 (#158-161)
4 Order books, 1921 (#162-165)
5 Order books, 1921 (#167-170)
6 Order books, 1921 (#171-174)
7 Order books, 1921 (#175-179)
8 Order books, 1921-1922 (#180-187)
9 Order books, 1922 (#188-199)
10 Order books, 1922 (#200-209)
11 Order books, 1922 (#210-219)
Box 5 cont.
Folder
12 Order books, 1922 (#220-229)
13 Order books, 1922-1923 (#230-239)
14 Order books, 1923 (#240-249)
Box 6
1 Order books, 1923 (#250-259)
2 Order books, 1923 (#260-269)
3 Order books, 1923 (#271-279)
4 Order books, 1923 (#280-289)
5 Order books, 1923-1924 (#290-299)
6 Order books, 1924 (#300-309)
7 Order books, 1924 (#310-319)
8 Order books, 1924 (#320-329)
9 Order books, 1924 (#330-339)
10 Order books, 1924 (#340-349)
11 Order books, 1924-1925 (#350-359)
12 Order books, 1925 (#360-369)
13 Order books, 1925 (#370-379)
14 Order books, 1925 (#380-389)
15 Order books, 1925 (#390-399)
Box 7
1 Order books, 1925-1926 (#400-409)
2 Order books, 1926 (#410-419)
3 Order books, 1926 (#420-429)
4 Order books, 1926 (#430-439)
5 Order books, 1926 (#440-449)
6 Order books, 1926 (#450-459)
7 Order books, 1926-1927 (#460-469)
8 Order books, 1927 (#470-479)
9 Order books, 1927 (#480-489)
10 Order books, 1927 (#490-499)
11 Order books, 1927 (#500-509)
12 Order books, 1927-1928 (#510-519)
13 Order books, 1928 (#520-529)
14 Order books, 1928 (#530-539)
15 Order books, 1928 (#540-549)
Box 8
Folder
1 Order books, 1928 (#550-559)
2 Order books, 1928-1929 (#560-569)
3 Order books, 1929 (#570-579)
4 Order books, 1929 (#580-583)
5 Order books, 1929 (#584-589)
6 Order books, 1929 (#590-597)
7 Order books, 1929 (#598-605)
8 Order books, 1929-1930 (#606-613)
9 Order books, 1930 (#614-621)
10 Order books, 1930 (#622-629)
11 Order books, 1930 (#630-635)
12 Order books, 1930 (#636-641)
13 Order books, 1931 (#642-647)
14 Order books, 1931 (#648-653)
15 Order books, 1931 (#654-659)
Box 9
1 Order books, 1931-1932 (#660-665)
2 Order books, 1932 (#666-670)
3 Order books, 1932 (#671-674)
4 Order books, 1932-1933 (#675-679)
5 Order books, 1933 (#680-685)
6 Order books, 1933-1934 (#686-691)
7 Order books, 1934 (#692-696)
8 Order books, 1934-1935 (#697-702)
9 Order books, 1935-1936 (#703-709)
10 Order books, 1938 (#711-712)
11 Order books, 1932-1934, 1943 (unnumbered)
12 Deposit slips, First National Bank, Portsmouth, NH, 1917-1932
13 Deposit slips, 1932-1934
Finding Aids for selected manuscript collections in the Special Collections Department at Fogler Library are accessible online in URSUS, in a browsable Guide to Manuscript Collections. Please contact Special Collections at spc@umit.maine.edu or (207) 581-1686 for further information.
Special Collections Staff: spc@umit.maine.edu | Revised: 01/15/2013
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