Charles Pease Papers

Collection

Identifier: 2006-0201

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The collection is comprised of handwritten journals dating from 1919 to 1949 documenting year-round activities of Charles Pease's beekeeping and apiary operation. The collection also contains clippings, promotional materials, periodicals, a photograph, and publications authored and printed by Charles Pease during his lifetime. The journals, in addition to documenting his hive production, maintenance and beekeeping activities, contain Pease's observations of the natural world, birds and birdlife, and flowering plants in Canaan, Connecticut.

Dates

undated, 1919-1953

Access

The collection is open and available for research.

Restrictions on Use and Copyright Information

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

Biography/History

Charles Pease was a businessman, printer by trade, and editor of the Connecticut Western News In Canaan, Connecticut. Born in 1866, Charles Pease arrived in Canaan at 10 years old when his parents moved from Salisbury, Connecticut. His father Joseph C. Pease founded the Connecticut Western News in Salisbury in 1971, a weekly newspaper that furnished local news to citizens for more than 75 years.

Pease became a successful businessman with his commercial printing operation, Canaan Printing Company, which he established on Railroad Street in Canaan Village. In 1919, he began beekeeping as a hobby. By the early 1930s, his small apiary operation was a profitable honey business for which he was noted and respected statewide. As his skills developed, Pease published in local newspapers and beekeeping periodicals. His "Backlot Beekeeping" book, self-published in 1949, remains an important reference text for practicing beekeepers, written for beginners and advanced beekeepers alike.

Charles Pease was married twice; his first wife was Ila Freeman and the marriage ended in divorce. Ethel Strong, his second wife, died in 1963, five years after Pease, who died in 1958.

Extent

2 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Provenance and Acquisition

Acquired in 2006 from the Estate of Oliver F. Eldridge, care of Nancy E. Morgan.

Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to beekeeping and natural history. For detailed information on these collections please contact staff of Archives and Special Collections.