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SUMMARY

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE

George W. Bennett was a merchant of general merchandise, plantation owner, cotton dealer, and postmaster of Bennettville, Louisiana. He operated cotton and sugarcane plantations and ran a plantation store at his plantation, Theoda, in Rapides Parish. In addition, he operated a cotton gin, and at one time considered purchasing a sugar mill. During his life, Mr. Bennett was frequently consulted by family members on their business affairs. After his death ca. 1906, his widow, Theoda J. Bennett, operated a general store for a time and later moved to Bunkie in Avoyelles Parish, La. The Bennetts had two daughters, Myrtle and Jennie, who attended Judson Institute in Alabama, and a son, who attended LSU.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

Papers consist of manuscript volumes and business papers pertaining to Bennett's varied commercial interests. They include correspondence, invoices, receipts, statements, shipping records, leases, contracts, legal judgments, and labor contracts with freedmen. Manuscript volumes contain an unbroken series of ledgers (1868-1917) with accompanying daybooks and journals (1874-1907), letter books (1871-1911), record books (1875-1912) of cotton and sugar cane purchases and sales, and stock inventories for his general store.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

I. Correspondence, 1838, 1871-1923, undated Correspondence reflects daily business activities associated with cotton and sugar trade and running a general merchandise store in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Letters primarily with business associates, suppliers, and customers, concern the sale and payment of merchandise, shipment of goods, and accounts with debtors and creditors. Other letters discuss the condition of cotton crops, freight, prices and other matters related to the marketing of cotton, corn, and sugar cane. II. Financial records, 1871-1929, undated Financial records contain bills from suppliers for goods, bills to costumers, receipts for payment, promissory notes, statements of account, and invoices related to George Bennett’s business affairs. The majority of invoices are those of commission merchants who handled the sale of cotton. Records of Theoda Plantation pertain to the production and sale of sugar cane and consist of daily records of sugar cane hauled during the fall of 1913; invoices and statements of the Evans Hall Refinery are also related to sugar production. This series also contains tax receipts (1871-1917) and bank records that include some bank statements (1886-1915), deposit slips, canceled checks and check stubs. Freight and shipping records include bills of lading, invoices, and other papers documenting the shipment of goods and merchandise. Orders include grocery lists, requests for credit, and the trading of goods for goods. Miscellaneous items include costumers’ grocery lists, payroll sheets and pay slips (1901-1902, 1909-1910, undated), stock inventories, handwritten price lists from vendors, inventory notes, and a few balance sheets (1881, 1902, 1909). Records kept by George Bennett during his interim as post master of Cheneyville include registration books (Nov. 2, 1889-Aug. 6, 1897) of material dispatched through the U.S. Post Offices and post card receipts (1888-1907) [post card receipts maintained in original order]. III. Legal documents, 1873-1901, undated Court judgments in favor of George Bennett for debts owed to him and insurance policies on his home, general store, and warehouse in Cheneyville, La. (1905-1909) comprise the majority of this series. Other items included are cane contracts with the Meeker Sugar Refining Company of Meeker, La., and the Jefferson Syrup Co. for the sale of sugar cane, and specifications and a contract for the construction of a one story, brick store in Cheneyville, La (undated).

IV. Printed material, 1871-1923, undated Among these items are scattered issues of New Orleans Price Current (1871-1872); a booklet advertising a cotton gin (1886); and an annual report (1904) and booklet (1904) issued by the Louisiana State Board of Agriculture pertaining to the insecticide, Paris green, and the laws regulating its use. Additionally, there are numerous handbills, cards and leaflets advertising foods, clothing, equipment, pianos, appliances and other merchandise; a broadside advertisement for Bennett’s store; and several published price lists from various companies and vendors for goods available. V. Manuscript volumes, 1859-1928, undated Volumes include an unbroken series of ledgers spanning nearly fifty years (1868-1917), with accompanying day books and journals for the operation of the general merchandise store. These ledgers list names of customers, dates, nature of and charges for purchases; volumes also show credits allowed for cash, cotton, labor, other produce, and, occasionally, in items such as deer skins. Additionally, there are invoice books (1874-1907), letter books (1871-1911) with outgoing correspondence to business firms, and checkbooks (1903-1909) with stubs showing accounts payable to business firms. Record books (1875-1912) contain information on related matters, including the purchase and sale of cotton and corn, stock inventories of Bennett’s general merchandise store, and records of such sundry matters as the minutes of the organizational meeting of the Bennettville Gun Club in 1881, and a record of game killed in 1883-1885.

INDEX TERMS

Terms Series Agricultural laborers --Louisiana II, V Agricultural wages -- Louisiana II, V Commission merchants I, II Cotton trade -- Louisiana I, II, V Cotton growing -- Louisiana I, II, V Hunting V Insecticides V Jefferson Syrup Co. III Meeker Sugar Refining Company III Paris green V Sugar trade -- Louisiana I, II, V Theoda Plantation (La.) II, V

CONTAINER LIST