Manuscript Resources on The Sugar Industry
This guide describes manuscript collections documenting the sugar industry in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) at LSU. The records and personal papers of sugar planters and others whose livelihood came from growing sugar provide a wealth of documentation supporting research in agriculture, sociology, economics, history, and politics.
Researchers should also consult:
Sugar at LSU: Cultivating a Sweeter Future (Online Exhibition)
Savoy, Joseph and Paul. Papers, 1859-1885. 28 items. Location: A:10. Joseph Savoy was a sugar planter of Bayou Lafourche, Assumption Parish, Louisiana. His brother was Paul Savoy. Papers include bills of sale, account statements, correspondence, notes, and printed items related to Joseph and Paul Savoy's sugar operations and other business endeavors. Some items are in French, and some items bear the name of Mrs. Paul Savoy. Mss. 5360. |
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Shattuck, Albert R. Report, 1893, 1966. 1 ms. vol. Location: M:23. Report comparing the cost of raising cane; delivering it to the carrier; and manufacturing cane into sugar; and the price at which it was sold on Adeline, Calumet, Des Lignes, Glenwild, and Magnolia plantations for the year 1892. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2316. Referenced in Guides: Sugar, Plantations
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Short, William J. letter, 1872 Dec. 10. 1 letter. Location: MISC:S. William J. Short was a Louisiana sugar planter. Letter from William J. Short to his uncle, W.B. Robertson, of Plaquemine, Louisiana. The letter discusses recent hunting expeditions, the death of Gervais Schlater, and the sugar crop. Mss. 5106. Referenced in Guides: Sugar, Plantations
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Smithfield Plantation. Records, 1900-1970, undated 35 linear ft., 191 vols. Location: IMSMP, 124. Sugar plantation complex near Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Business records include correspondence; bills and receipts; cane yield reports; tax returns; stock orders; ledgers; journals; and production reports. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2908. Referenced in Guides: Sugar, Plantations
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Spalding, Edward. Letter book, 1820. 1 item. Location: MISC:S. Shipping merchant and slave trader from Bristol, Rhode Island. Letter book contains handwritten copies of letters written by Spalding while in Trinidad, Cuba. Most letters are addressed to Jacob Babbitt & Co. in Bristol, Rhode Island. Letters discuss market conditions for sugar and molasses; the loading of cargo and the shipment of goods and major exports; the arrival of slave ships in the harbor; and the slave trade in the West Indies. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3416. |
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Spell, Viela. Photographs, circa 1910-1940. 0.2 linear ft. Location: E:54. Louisiana amateur photographer. Photographic negatives and prints depicting life in rural Louisiana. Candid photographs of family members, laborers, sugarcane fields, and agricultural scenes are also present. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4226, 4633. |
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Stevens, Angulo and Co. Letterpress Copybook, 1856-1857. 1 vol. Location: G:20. Stevens, Angulo and Co. was a brokerage involved in sugar trade. Correspondence details international competition, prices and profits, and the partial crop failure in Louisiana. Correspondence also reflects economic conditions in the U. S., England, and France. For more information, see the online catalog. Mss. 4434. |
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Stirling, Lewis and family. Papers, 1797-1938 (bulk 1830-1860). 4.25 linear ft. Location: B:76-81, Vault:1, Vault:22, Vault CD MRDF 5 and 16. The Stirlings were sugar cotton planters of Wakefield Plantation, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Business and personal papers of the Stirling family reflect antebellum plantation economy, education, health, and travel. Military orders and receipts for supplies relate to Lewis' service in the Louisiana militia and at the Battle of New Orleans. After 1860 the papers diminish in number and consist primarily of family letters discussing labor problems with freedmen, migration to and life in Texas during the war, and plantation, household, and personal bills. Available (with some omissions) on microfilm 5322: University Publications of America Records of Ante-bellum Southern Plantations Series I, Part 2, Reels 21-25. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1866. Referenced in Guides: Sugar, Plantations, New Orleans to 1861, Education, African Americans, Medicine
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Stone Wall Plantation. Cashbook, 1872. 1 ms. Vol. Location: M:21. West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, sugar plantation. Entries are mainly for wages paid to laborers, giving name and type of work performed. Other entries are for freight and plantation supplies. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 483. |
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Stubbs, William Carter, 1846-1924. Papers, 1896-1924 (bulk 1896-1904). 22 items. Location: C:67. Director of the Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station and founder and head of the Audubon Sugar School. Professional correspondence discusses the management, organization, and finances of Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Stations and the agricultural curriculum at LSU in 1898. The 1904 letters address the development of a state agricultural museum. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 893, 965. |