Records (1910-1961) including correspondence, herd books, herd register route books, production records, farm records, a time book, photographs, clippings and printed materials.
Correspondence concerns the history of the Williamson pecan tree and the development by H. L. Brake of the Brake pecan tree. Clippings and other printed material concern plantings and nut sizes and quality of the Brake pecan (1930s).
A major portion of the collection reflects the operation of Little Rock Dairy Farm owned by H. L. Brake of Rocky Mount, N.C. A Holstein-Freisian herd register (1920s) gives pedigree information, milk records, date of purchase, and disposition for animals in the herd. When cause of death is known, it is noted. A herd book (1920s-1930s) also gives pedigree information. Herd production (1910-1913) and record books (1930-1937) summarize the number of cows, number dry, pounds of milk, cost of feed, and profit or loss. Individual cow reports and herd books give name, breed, date when the cow was fresh and/or dry, and when it was purchased or sold as well as pounds of milk, value, feed, its cost, and profit or loss.
Farm record books (1933-1938) give costs for the entire farm, including cost of crops, pasture, woods, orchards, truck land, gardens, buildings and improvements, machinery and equipment, feeds and supplies, and workstock. Other records include tenant and landlord shares, labor, rent, and price of commodities sold. A crop production section of the farm records includes yield and value for the various crops and gives net worth. Route books (1914, 1933-1939) contain customer names, dates, and milk purchased.
A time book (1935-1936) notes name, time worked, number of days, rate, amount earned, cash received, and purchases. A ledger (1928-1961) gives tenant accounts. Both the time book and the ledger note the housing of tobacco. A 1933 Memorandum Book contains photographs of North Carolina farmers with their tobacco, cotton, and corn crops. A series of loose photographs shows Holsteins in the Brake herd during the 1920s and 1930s.
Gift of Mr. William Brake
Processed by M. Boccaccio, February 1990
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.