Oversize
Series
Scope and Content
From the Collection:
The collection contains papers of two Bell Ranch managers, as well as records of the Bell Ranch. It is divided into four series: George F. Ellis Papers, Albert K. Mitchell Papers, Bell Ranch Records, and Oversize Material.
The Ellis series is divided into three sub-series: General Correspondence, Subject Correspondence, and Personal Papers. Ellis' general correspondence is grouped by date and then alphabetically. General correspondence covers topics pertinent to running a large ranch including items such as marketing and transportation records, pest control, details on drilling wells, fencing, and improving buildings at the Bell Ranch. The letters about supplies for the ranch cover everyday items like coffee pots, shingles, barn paint, saddle blankets, corral posts, knives, and feed. Correspondence with ranch owners, the Keeneys, concern quail and antelope hunting, visits to the ranch, health and family events, and rainfall. In letters to J. H. Knox, Head of Department of Animal Husbandry at New Mexico State University, Ellis asks for advice, discusses bulls and weaning calves. There are also letters from people seeking employment, people asking for breeding certificates for horses, flyers and brochures for equipment, letters about cattle breeding and livestock nutrition, scattered issues of New Mexico Tax Bulletin (1948-1949), and materials related to the various groups Ellis was involved with such as New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, Taxpayers' Association of New Mexico, and New Mexico Quarter Horse Association.
In the Ellis subject correspondence, are letters to organizations Ellis was involved with such as the New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association, American Society of Animal Science Research Committee, San Miguel County Rural Areas Development Program Committee, U. S. Forest Service, the New Mexico Wool Growers Association, Eastern New Mexico Weather Research Association and letters to Irving P. Krick regarding rainmaking (1950-1951). Ellis' personal papers cover his tenure as Regent at New Mexico State University and some of his speeches. Some topics covered in his regent files are change of the school name, athletics in college, student housing, and inequitable state funding for various state universities.
The Mitchell series is divided into two sub-series, General Correspondence and Subject Correspondence. The general correspondence is arranged alphabetically and then by date (latest to earliest). Sometimes Mitchell's reply is copied onto the backs of the original letters sent. General correspondence contains letters from applicants looking for work, various invitations to ranching events such as Ranch Improvement Field Day in Oklahoma, letters about Mitchell using an airplane in his ranching operations, his charitable donations, including the Washington Cathedral Building Fund, and the New Mexico Boys Ranch, his western art collection, buying and selling hereford cattle, hunting, and various items concerning World War II including letters from employees in the service.
Mitchell's correspondence reflects the concerns of New Mexico cattlemen in the 1940s and 1950s. Problems with the federal government over administration of the public lands, particularly Forest Service lands, reflect the general fear of extensive federal regulation of the livestock industry. His subject correspondence covers the various organizations Mitchell was involved with such as American National Live Stock Association, National Live Stock and Meat Board, and New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. There is correspondence to, from, and about Clinton P. Anderson, Secretary of Agriculture, regarding beef subsidies and the Price Control Act, meat rationing, and food shortages. There is also correspondence discussing preparing for peace-time covering such issues as nutrition, food production, boom in land prices, soldiers needing jobs, and tax issues. The New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (NMSU) Regent correspondence concerns the KOB radio station controversy, and some budget items. Regarding politics, there is material from the Republican National Committee, and the New Mexico State Central Committee about fund raising, women in the Republican Party, and letters from Rose Wilder Lane. Another real problem faced by New Mexico cattlemen during this era was the threat of foot and mouth disease being brought into this county from Mexico.
The Bell Ranch records are divided into three sub-series: Paid Bill File, Subject Files, and Payroll. Records for the Bell Ranch and the Red River Valley Company contain a paid bill file for 1939-1945 (the box was marked April 1, 1943-March 31, 1944), subject files, 1944-1945, and payroll records from 1947-1970. The paid bill file contains paid receipts from companies in and out-of-state covering such items as cutlery, feed and fertilizer, lawyers, printing, insurance, coffee, supplies, dry goods, and clothing.
Bell Ranch subject files contain cattle and horse breeding records, weather data observations, 1947-1949, inventories, phone and gas line right-of-way on the Bell Ranch, and livestock statistics. The payroll records are arranged alphabetically by employee name, 1947-1970. Information given on employees includes job title such as cowboy, maid, truck driver, bunk house cook, fence builder, windmill repair man, horse wrangler, and calf flanker. They also document when the employee started with the ranch, pay rate, Christmas bonuses, and deductions for store goods or gas.
The oversize series contains newspaper clippings, magazine articles, maps, posters, an architectural drawing of a barn, and statistical data sheets.
The Ellis and Mitchell correspondence contain some material in Spanish.
The Ellis series is divided into three sub-series: General Correspondence, Subject Correspondence, and Personal Papers. Ellis' general correspondence is grouped by date and then alphabetically. General correspondence covers topics pertinent to running a large ranch including items such as marketing and transportation records, pest control, details on drilling wells, fencing, and improving buildings at the Bell Ranch. The letters about supplies for the ranch cover everyday items like coffee pots, shingles, barn paint, saddle blankets, corral posts, knives, and feed. Correspondence with ranch owners, the Keeneys, concern quail and antelope hunting, visits to the ranch, health and family events, and rainfall. In letters to J. H. Knox, Head of Department of Animal Husbandry at New Mexico State University, Ellis asks for advice, discusses bulls and weaning calves. There are also letters from people seeking employment, people asking for breeding certificates for horses, flyers and brochures for equipment, letters about cattle breeding and livestock nutrition, scattered issues of New Mexico Tax Bulletin (1948-1949), and materials related to the various groups Ellis was involved with such as New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, Taxpayers' Association of New Mexico, and New Mexico Quarter Horse Association.
In the Ellis subject correspondence, are letters to organizations Ellis was involved with such as the New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association, American Society of Animal Science Research Committee, San Miguel County Rural Areas Development Program Committee, U. S. Forest Service, the New Mexico Wool Growers Association, Eastern New Mexico Weather Research Association and letters to Irving P. Krick regarding rainmaking (1950-1951). Ellis' personal papers cover his tenure as Regent at New Mexico State University and some of his speeches. Some topics covered in his regent files are change of the school name, athletics in college, student housing, and inequitable state funding for various state universities.
The Mitchell series is divided into two sub-series, General Correspondence and Subject Correspondence. The general correspondence is arranged alphabetically and then by date (latest to earliest). Sometimes Mitchell's reply is copied onto the backs of the original letters sent. General correspondence contains letters from applicants looking for work, various invitations to ranching events such as Ranch Improvement Field Day in Oklahoma, letters about Mitchell using an airplane in his ranching operations, his charitable donations, including the Washington Cathedral Building Fund, and the New Mexico Boys Ranch, his western art collection, buying and selling hereford cattle, hunting, and various items concerning World War II including letters from employees in the service.
Mitchell's correspondence reflects the concerns of New Mexico cattlemen in the 1940s and 1950s. Problems with the federal government over administration of the public lands, particularly Forest Service lands, reflect the general fear of extensive federal regulation of the livestock industry. His subject correspondence covers the various organizations Mitchell was involved with such as American National Live Stock Association, National Live Stock and Meat Board, and New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. There is correspondence to, from, and about Clinton P. Anderson, Secretary of Agriculture, regarding beef subsidies and the Price Control Act, meat rationing, and food shortages. There is also correspondence discussing preparing for peace-time covering such issues as nutrition, food production, boom in land prices, soldiers needing jobs, and tax issues. The New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (NMSU) Regent correspondence concerns the KOB radio station controversy, and some budget items. Regarding politics, there is material from the Republican National Committee, and the New Mexico State Central Committee about fund raising, women in the Republican Party, and letters from Rose Wilder Lane. Another real problem faced by New Mexico cattlemen during this era was the threat of foot and mouth disease being brought into this county from Mexico.
The Bell Ranch records are divided into three sub-series: Paid Bill File, Subject Files, and Payroll. Records for the Bell Ranch and the Red River Valley Company contain a paid bill file for 1939-1945 (the box was marked April 1, 1943-March 31, 1944), subject files, 1944-1945, and payroll records from 1947-1970. The paid bill file contains paid receipts from companies in and out-of-state covering such items as cutlery, feed and fertilizer, lawyers, printing, insurance, coffee, supplies, dry goods, and clothing.
Bell Ranch subject files contain cattle and horse breeding records, weather data observations, 1947-1949, inventories, phone and gas line right-of-way on the Bell Ranch, and livestock statistics. The payroll records are arranged alphabetically by employee name, 1947-1970. Information given on employees includes job title such as cowboy, maid, truck driver, bunk house cook, fence builder, windmill repair man, horse wrangler, and calf flanker. They also document when the employee started with the ranch, pay rate, Christmas bonuses, and deductions for store goods or gas.
The oversize series contains newspaper clippings, magazine articles, maps, posters, an architectural drawing of a barn, and statistical data sheets.
The Ellis and Mitchell correspondence contain some material in Spanish.
Dates
- 1929-1970
Language of Materials
From the Collection:
English
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: 8 boxes (7.1 cu. ft.)
Creator
- From the Collection: Ellis, George F. (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository
Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451